| Name | Grid Ref | Description |
|---|---|---|
| North Burn Marsh | NZ444278 | Marshy area on valley bottom at base of scrub covered slope. Flag iris and hard rush are dominant. Site boundary to encompass other wet flushes and adjacent grassland to protect possible water catchment area. |
| The Howls | NZ4631 | NZ4631 Ancient semi-natural broadleaved woodland along the valley of Char Beck and two of its tributaries. |
| Hart to Haswell Walkway (now includes Easington Road verge) | NZ485363 to NZ47037 includes NZ479365 to NZ478367 |
Mosaic of habitats along a former railway cutting. Mainly regenerating woodland with small area of ancient woodland to the north and patches of species rich grassland near the south. Diverse butterfly fauna, 23 species in total, including resident dingy skipper & white-letter hairstreak. Blomer’s rivulet moth present in ancient woodland section. Common lizard is also present. |
| Hart Warren Railway Embankment |
NZ492358 | North-east facing, steep sided railway embankment with very diverse flora including some locally rare species. |
| Naisberry Quarry |
NZ4733 | Former magnesian limestone quarry with faces now much scrubbed over. Some areas of species rich neutral grassland around the perimeter. |
| Black Wood Marsh |
NZ437299 | Small (0.5ha) marsh dominated by meadow sweet and rushes with small populations of yellow loosetrife, marsh cinquefoil and tufted sedge. One of only three sites in Cleveland with naturally occurring purple loosetrife (ULythrum salicariaU). |
| Pawton Hill Gill | NZ433321 | Small gill with sloping herb-rich sides, wet flushes and some scrub. Very important and species-rich site. Notable in Hartlepool for creeping willow, spring sedge, separate–headed sedge, heath grass, purple moor-grass, lady’s-mantles, burnetsaxifrage, pepper-saxifrage, common butterwort. |
| Beacon Hill Marsh |
NZ442326 | Wet flush/marsh at base of prominent hill, surrounded by acid-grassland showing some signs of ridge and furrow. Site boundary to encompass whole field to protect possible water catchment area. |
| Carr House Sands & West Harbour |
NZ520330 to NZ526305 (approx) |
This LWS is a combination of West Harbour & Carr House Sands, including Long Scar. It incorporates the most significant non SPA inter tidal sites for wetland birds. Newburn Rocks regularly holds > 5% of cited SPA population of ringed plover. |
| Crookfoot Reservoir |
NZ4331 | Former supply reservoir (party in County Durham) with little emergent vegetation. The normal highwater line is marked by a narrow strip of shore-weed (littorella uniflora). Significant numbers of waterbirds. Occasional passage osprey. Good nos of bats of at least 4 species including nathusius’ pipistrelle and noctule. |
| Amerston Gill | NZ4230 | Mixed woodland in the deep valley of Amerston Beck. Mostly broadleaved and dominated by ash. Ground flora is quite diverse with 10 species from App. 1, Woodland flora*. |
| Hartlepool Power Station |
NZ5227 | Ungrazed grassland with pools and large areas of scrub. The breeding bird community includes stonechat, sedge warbler & grasshopper warbler. Common lizard present in 2008 & 2009. Provides terrestrial habitat for the breeding population of common toad on Seaton Common. |
| Thorpe Bulmer Dene incorporating West Crimdon Dene |
NZ4435W - NZ4736E |
Woodland in the valley of Bellows Burn, for the most part broadleaved ancient semi-natural woodland. There has been some replanting with conifers at the western end. The herb layer is dominated by bluebells (hyacinthoides non-scripta) in the west, elsewhere there are stands of dog’s mercury (mercurialis perennis), wood anemone (anemone nemorosa) and wild garlic (allium ursinum). Also of note are early purple orchid (orchis mascula), marsh hawk’s-beard (crepis paludosa) and at least one large stand of herb paris (paris quadrifolia). |
| Greenabella Marsh |
NZ5126 | Rough grassland with wetland areas; water vole present; significant bird populations; high nos of amphibians. Dingy skipper & grayling butterfly present. Common lizard present. |
| Close Wood complex |
NZ4028 W NZ4427E |
Woodland, planted and natural, on both steep valley sides of Close Beck and Newton Hanzard Beck. Mainly plantation on an ancient woodland site but some remaining ancient semi-natural woodland. Only site in Cleveland for breeding common buzzard; honey buzzard suspected to have bred there. White-letter hairstreak butterfly present. |
| Bellows Burn Fen | NZ451353 | Marshy area with conifer plantation on ridge and furrow, and adjacent arable fields. Shade from large willows in place, but otherwise dominated by bulrush and bottle sedge. Five species from App 4 Wetland Flora. |
| Whelly Hill Quarry |
NZ4430 | A small magnesian limestone quarry. Currently grades from large exposures of bare rock to hawthorn scrub. It formerly included several typical limestone grassland plants such as crested hair grass; quaking grass and wild thyme. |
| Greatham Beck |
NZ488282 to NZ478295 |
Riparian corridor with long established water vole population. |
| Hart Quarry | NZ4734 | Large, working magnesian limestone quarry. Regular breeding site, annually since 2002, of peregrine falcon; the most successful site of only 4 such sites in the Tees Valley. Assemblage of breeding raptors and jackdaws Perimeter grassland meets neutral grassland criteria. |
| Gunnersvale Marsh |
NZ445295 |
Sharp-flowered rush dominated marsh in a hollow with adjacent arable and improved grassland. Great burnet present. Five species from App 4 Wetland Flora. |
| The Slake | NZ515342 | Relict upper saltmarsh in places. |
| Brierton Quarry | NZ4730 | Former sand quarry, partially refilled. Colonising naturally with scrub and ruderal species. |
| Tilery Gill Grassland |
NZ4633 | A mixture of habitats in an arm of Craddon Beck. Much of it has now become rank and lost the interest features for which it was originally designated. The north west arm qualifies by having 6 species from App 4 Wetland Flora and 4 grasses and 17 herbs from App 2 Neutral Grassland Flora. |
| Elwick Hall grassland |
NZ451323 | Small area of herb-rich grassland on two islands within old fishponds (scheduled ancient monument) and on one of the steep sides of the pond. Most of adjacent grassland is semi-improved ridge and furrow. Larger unimproved grassland area on steep slope next to beck to the east. Six grasses & 16 species from App 2 Neutral Grassland Flora 1 species from App 4 Wetland Flora. |
| Greatham Creek North Bank |
Small area of saltmarsh vegetation Some ornithological interest but not sufficient to merit LWS status on its own. | |
| West Carr Plantation |
NZ4027 | Approx 6ha of wet woodland on both sides of the Brierley Beck which is part of a much larger plantation woodland. The canopy includes a high proportion of grey alder but the ground flora is typical of wetland conditions. This is one of the globeflower introduction sites. |
| Greatham North West (formerly Sharwoods site) |
NZ5026 NZ5027 |
Formerly remnants of saltmarsh vegetation in tidal creeks cut off by a sea wall, notably puccinellia distans, salicornia sp, spergularia marina, glaux maritima. As of 2014 the sea wall has been breached to create 20ha of inter tidal habitat plus brackish and freshwater water bodies. |
| Philips Tank Farm |
NZ5026 | Areas of industrial grassland and wetland. The grassland habitats support a calcareous flora. A substantial population of dingy skipper butterfly is present. At least four amphibian species present, including great crested newt. |
| Tot Fenny’s Field |
NZ4825 | Small area of neutral grassland with some wetland habitats. At least 3 grasses & 5 herbs from App 2 Neutral Grassland Flora 6 species from App 4 Wetland Flora. Harvest mouse present. |
| Spion Kop Cemetery |
NZ5036 - NZ5135 |
At least five species from Appendix 5 Coastal Grassland Flora. Dune system seaward of the Cemetery. Shore wainscot moth present. |
| North Hartlepool Dunes |
NZ4935 | Pockets of coastal grassland extend down from Hart Warren Dunes SSSI to the Britmag site. Seaward of this there is a functional yellow dune system although this overlies tipped material. This area has good numbers of lyme grass moth. Common lizard present. |
| Brenda Road Brownfield |
NZ5027 - NZ5128 |
A linear strip of brownfield land alongside the railway line with a diverse flora. Great crested newts breed in small numbers in part of what might now be their only metapopulation in Hartlepool. Dingy skipper are present. Both GCN & dingy skipper likely to be contiguous population with Philips site. |
| Craddon Bank | NZ4632 | Species-rich neutral grassland on slopes with diverse wetland flora in the low lying area beside Craddon Beck. Three grasses & 7 herbs from App 2 Neutral Grassland Flora. |
| Hart Bypass | NZ4734 | Cutting through magnesian limestone with significant areas of bare rock on both sides. Southern embankment has 1 grass and 3 herbs from App 3 Calcareous Grassland Flora. |
| Rossmere Park |
NZ503299 | Entire wintering pop of Teesmouth little egrets roost on the island in the lake. |
| Hartville Meadow |
NZ482362 | A grazing field sloping down to a beck, with a high proportion of herbs (particularly clovers, self-heal and in places autumn hawkbit) in the sward. Two grasses &10 herbs from App 2 Neutral Grassland Flora (other grasses are likely to be present but not flowering at time of survey). |
| High Stotfold Gill |
NZ448532 | Grassland on steep slopes on sides of a small beck. Mature hawthorn present in approx 50% of area. Four grasses & 13 herbs from App 2 Neutral Grassland Flora. |
| Queens Meadow |
NZ5028 | Site of a former airfield now developing as a wetland with shallow pools and small stands of phragmites. A survey in 2008 found c100 clumps of frogspawn on 11th March; > 200 toads on 10th April and 38 smooth newt on 1 May. Only about 2/3 of water bodies were surveyed on each occasion so population likely to be significantly larger. Small number of great crested newts found to be present in 2014. |
| High Newton Hanzard meadow |
NZ425273 | Narrow road verge (1-2m) both sides of a single track road and cut regularly. Two grasses and 16 herbs from App 2 Neutral Grassland Flora. Adjacent field of semi-improved grassland, cut for hay. Three grasses and 9 herbs from App 2 Neutral Grassland Flora. |
| Char Beck grassland |
NZ456320 | A small section of grassland on an embankmentoverlooking the Char Beck. Water vole have been recorded over a period of years but the population was very small as there is very little suitable habitat. Has 4 grasses and 16 herbs from App 2, Neutral Grassland Flora. |
| Zinc Works Field |
NZ5327 NZ5326 |
An area of reclaimed land, comprising closely grazed grassland, which is immediately adjacent to the SPA and Seaton Channel and is on the coastal flyway for migratory species.On occasion supports >2% of the total of wintering waterbird population of the SPA but is particularly important for migratory passerines and its size, location and management make it unique in the Tees Valley in this respect. It would qualify as O1 on account of the passage ring ousels with >0.5% of the national population recorded at this site at one time. |
| Butts Lane | NZ453353 | Harvest mouse site. Nests found in Oct and Dec 2009. |
| Central Park embankment |
NZ515347 | Linear embankment overlooking Central Park with 11 species from App 6, Urban Grassland Flora. |
| Seaton Common |
NZ5227, NZ5327, NZ5228, NZ5328 |
Breeding population of Common Toad. An incomplete amphibian count of pools and ditches in March 2012 counted approximately 3,500 Common Toads. |
| Summerhill | NZ4831 | A small breeding population of great crested newts which were first recorded in 2012. |
| Brenda Road Sewage Works |
NZ517277 | Open mosaic habitat with at least 10 species from App 6, Urban Grassland Flora Substantial population of dingy skipper. |
* References to appendices are from the lists of qualifying species for various habitats in the document “Guidelines for the selection of Local Wildlife Sites in the Tees Valley”.