Looking after Long Rock for years to come

Local residents interested in the future of Long Rock in Swalecliffe can find out more about plans to look after the site for the next five years at a public meeting later this month.

Long Rock is a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and is home to a wide variety of species and habitats.

The city council is responsible for caring for and maintaining it, and has developed a Long Rock management plan up to 2029, setting out a comprehensive strategy to protect this internationally significant site.

And as part of that work, a public engagement meeting will take place at Swalecliffe and Chestfield Community Association in St John’s Road, Swalecliffe, on Wednesday 31 January between 6.30pm and 8pm.

Council officers will be there to talk through what’s in the plan and residents will be able to share their views on what they hear.

The key aims of the plan are to promote the importance of Long Rock by raising awareness of its various land-based designations, implement a balanced approach to the management of both recreational and semi-natural areas of the site, and ensure the specific and routine management practices on the site are clearly explained to the public.

In particular, the council wants to make sure residents are provided with clear information about what is happening and proposed to happen at Long Rock, so that they are able to contribute to the decision making process.

Cabinet member for open spaces, Cllr Charlotte Cornell, said: “Long Rock is one of our most precious natural assets. It holds many designations for its environmental importance and it is incumbent on us to look after it and ensure it is there for generations to come.

“The management plan sets out exactly how we will do this, making sure our residents are involved in this process as much as possible.

“We look forward to setting this out in greater detail at the public meeting and anticipate a good turnout in line with how well loved Long Rock is within the local community.”

Following the public meeting, the management plan will be presented to city councillors at the Overview and Scrutiny Committee and then Cabinet for it to be formally adopted.

Long Rock SSSI consists of a variety of habitats including shingle beach, brackish tidal beds, marsh, scrub, woodland, scrapes, freshwater and brackish ditches.

The reserve is important for birds as the shingle beach provides roosting opportunities for wintering waders and possible nesting opportunities for species such as Little tern and Ringed plover. The scrape and scrub is rich in a variety of passerines, waterfowl and some wading species.

Published: 11 January 2024