Return to Agenda

ITEM EX13

EXECUTIVE – 1 OCTOBER 2002

THREE COUNTIES LOCAL BIOLOGICAL RECORDS CENTRE

Report by Director of Cultural Services and Director of Environmental Services


Introduction

  1. English Nature is currently promoting an initiative which would integrate the collation, storage and retrieval of biological data across Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire.

  2. For a number of years there has been a demand for data to be more allied to the Biodiversity Action Planning process. The responsibility for safeguarding, maintaining and expanding priority habitats and species has largely been devolved to a county level. Although many counties, including Oxfordshire, have prepared detailed habitat/species action plans (HAPs/SAPs) the process of implementing them has largely stalled. One of the main reasons for this inertia is a serious lack of accessible data relating to these priority habitats/species.

  3. In Oxfordshire, many of these key habitats are currently being surveyed and the information then stored on a database at the Biological Records Centre at the Oxfordshire Museums Store, Standlake. However, all of this survey data is site based and a lot more work is needed in order to establish the link between these sites and the priority habitats/species which they support. This information has to be stored in a way which is easily accessible and understood by a wide range of potential users. Up until now the resources for carrying out this task have been limited. As well as serving the BAP process the information is also vital in order to provide sound and up to date advice to District Council planners in all the Authorities. Biodiversity indicators are also part of Best Value and are an important component of Community Strategies.

    4. The Proposal

  4. Although English Nature is very keen to see Local Records Centres improved at a county level they prefer to operate more strategically to complement their Natural Areas framework. This framework is based on discrete units of countryside throughout England each with their own unique landscapes and associated habitats e.g. the Chilterns. In Oxfordshire, there are 6 Natural Areas which also cross over into adjacent counties such as Berkshire and Buckinghamshire.

  5. In order to bring biological recording in these three counties up to a common standard English Nature is willing to commit £60,000 p.a. for three years to help establish a new system. To try and reach a consensus English Nature commissioned the Somerset Environmental Records Centre (SERC) to identify various possible options. After much discussion, involving representatives from all three counties, the most acceptable compromise is the so called "hybrid option".

  6. This would mean establishing a new unit based in one of the existing records centres in either Buckinghamshire or Oxfordshire. This unit would consist of a Director, an I.T. specialist and three surveyors. There would be one surveyor per county. New I.T. equipment would also be required.

  7. However, English Nature will only proceed if there is sufficient financial backing from most, if not all, the Local Authorities in the three counties as these are perceived to be the main customers for such a service. If the new unit is not sustainable English Nature will not commit funding.

  8. Each county is now going through a process of seeking support and backing from all the councils in their area. In Oxfordshire, Craig Blackwell, the County Ecologist, is co-ordinating discussions between separate departments within the County Council and representatives from all the District Councils. He has put together a package of potential, jointly-funded biodiversity projects including a bid for the Local Records Centre. The aim is to secure funding, initially, for a three year period (April 2003-2006). English Nature is seeking a contribution of £24,000 per annum from each county. It will be up to the individual local authorities to decide on how this will be apportioned within their respective areas.

  9. English Nature funding will taper after the three year period. The director will be required to plan income and grant aid from 2006 and consideration will be given to transferring the Local Records Centre to ‘trust’ status.

  10. Following completion of the SERC report, representatives from Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire met to consider the best location for the proposed new Local Records Centre. They agreed that the best location would be at the Oxfordshire Museum, Woodstock, in space identified in the Pratten Building. A commercial rent will be charged for the accommodation. The County Museums and Heritage Officer has since met with English Nature to discuss the details and a Memorandum of Agreement is being prepared with advice from Legal Services.

  11. It is proposed that, subject to funding from English Nature and all the local authorities, the Local Record Centre be set up initially for a three year period.

  12. The proposal was discussed at the Museums Joint Working Group meeting in June and received support from the Oxfordshire County and District Councillors present; officers from the District Councils in Oxfordshire have echoed that support.

    13. Financial and Staff Implications

  13. If it is agreed that Oxfordshire’s will be shared equally between the six local authorities, the county council’s required to make an annual contribution towards the Local Records Centre of £4,000. This can be found from existing resources, namely income for biological recording carried out by the Curator of Natural Sciences/Biological Records Officer and income from the proposed rent for the new Local Records Centre accommodation at the Oxfordshire Museum. Other local authorities in Oxfordshire are being asked to contribute a similar amount.

  14. It is proposed that the new staff for the Local Records Centre (3FTE: director, IT officer and support officer) are employed by Oxfordshire County Council. All staffing costs, including recruitment and (should it prove necessary) redundancy, will be financed within the overall project budget. It is also proposed that existing staff from Oxfordshire County Council (1FTE: 0.5 FTE County Biological Records Officer and 0.5 FTE Wildlife Sites Officer) and staff from the other authorities are seconded to the Local Records Centre. The director of the Local Records Centre will report to the County Museums and Heritage Officer.

    15. RECOMMENDATIONS

  15. The Executive is RECOMMENDED to:

          1. agree, in principle, the establishment of a new Local Records Centre to service Biodiversity Action Planning requirements in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire;

          2. agree, subject to appropriate legal arrangements, the location of the new centre at the Oxfordshire Museum;

          3. agree the principle of the funding for the project over a 3 year period (April 2003-2006) as set out in paragraph 13 of this report;

          4. authorise the secondment of current Oxfordshire County Council staff and recruitment of additional staff as detailed in paragraph 14 of the report;

          5. authorise the Solicitor to the Council, in consultation with the Executive Members for Learning & Culture and Schools, to agree and execute a Memorandum of Agreement with English Nature and any other necessary legal documentation to carry out the services as described in the report.

RICHARD MUNRO
Director of Cultural Services

DAVID YOUNG
Director of Environmental Services

Background papers: Somerset Environmental Records Centre report 2002
,
Contact Officers:

Craig Blackwell, County Ecologist, Environmental Services. Tel: 01865 810469
Martyn Brown, County Museums and Heritage Officer, Cultural Services. Tel: 01993 814114

September 2002

Return to TOP