Packhorse bridge, CrayThe built environment of the Dales consists mainly of small traditional towns and villages, isolated farms and barns, drystone walls, minor connecting roads and railway lines. It is often assumed that the built environment has no wildlife interest and is unimportant for biodiversity conservation. In the Yorkshire Dales this is not the case. A number of species are inextricably linked with the built environment. Many bird species such as house martins, swallows, owls and other more common species rely on the built environment for places to nest and feed. Bats make extensive use of the built environment for roosting and hibernating particularly since many of their natural roost sites have gone. A number of rare plant communities and species are now virtually restricted to road and rail verges as agricultural intensification has removed them from the wider countryside. Minor roads in Wensleydale have important colonies of common twayblade, fragrant orchid and common spotted-orchid and several roads in Ribblesdale, Swaledale and Littondale have significant stands of melancholy thistle. One minor road in upper Wharfedale has several colonies of the rare sand leek. Railway embankments are important for substantial colonies of orchids particularly along the Settle-Carlisle railway where frog orchid and globeflower can be found. Drystone walls, particularly those constructed from limestone, are extremely important habitats for mosses and lichens.
The built environment is also an area where wildlife and people come together which provides an opportunity to educate, raise awareness and involve local communities in biodiversity conservation within their immediate environment.
Road and rail verges
Species rich road verges require positive management through cutting at the right time of year and removal of clippings to keep nutrient levels low. At present, many of the Dales road verges are cut at the wrong time of the year or too often, while others are not cut at all.
Buildings
Conversion and major repairs to buildings often leads to the loss of suitable nesting or roosting sites for birds and bats. There are usually measures that can be taken to retain the wildlife interest while enabling repairs to be carried out. It is usually a lack of awareness of this and the mistaken belief that wildlife is always damaging to property.
Drystone walls
Drystone walls are currently being well-maintained through the support provided by agri-environment schemes. The long term maintenance of these walls is important if the moss and lichen flora associated with them is to be maintained.
