An Article by Lucy Shea – Clerk to The Banstead Commons Conservators
Banstead Downs is part of the Common Land managed by Banstead Commons Conservators. It is located at the very north of the Borough around the “Mad Mile” part of the A217 going towards Sutton.
Banstead Downs was given the special SSSI – Site of Special Scientific Interest – conservation status in 1955 due to the unique flora and fauna that can be found on the site. The mosaic of habitats are sensitively managed and important to support the rich biodiversity found on the site.
Calcareous (chalk and limestone) grasslands are some of our richest grasslands for plant and invertebrate species and the grassland areas on Banstead Downs are no exception. They are a rare habitat across the UK with less than c. 40,000 hectares remaining. Centuries of grazing have resulted in nutrient-poor soils that do not support arable farming, resulting in a largely man-made habitat that has to be maintained, either mechanically or by grazing livestock.
Natural England provides Banstead Commons Conservators with a Higher-Level Stewardship Grant to help contribute to the maintenance cost of managing the grassland areas and scrub on Banstead Downs. This year we have managed the grassland mechanically, we plan to reintroduce livestock to the pens again next year. Clearance work will continue this winter to support a succession of scrub habitats that provide niche environments for many different species to survive and reproduce.
Thanks to dedicated residents, we are fortunate to have biological records for the various butterfly and bird species found on Banstead Downs. If you’d like to learn more about wildlife monitoring on Banstead Commons, please contact us – bansteadcommons@aol.com.
See our article for more information about Banstead Common Conservators or visit their website.