Annual Report for the year 1/4/2023 to 31/3/2024
Contents
1.0 Summary page 3
2.0 Staffing Complement page 3
3.0 Steering Group Membership page 4
4.0 Data handling page 5
4.1 Records received page 5
4.2 Records precision page 6
4.3 Database maintenance page 7
5.0 Data providers page 7
6.0 Data users page 8
6.1 Data transfer agreements/Service Level Agreements page 10
7.0 LWS resurvey programme page 10
8.0 Phase 1 habitat mapping page 10
9.0 Income page 11
10.0 Expenditure page 11
11.0 Cross-boundary data searches page 11
12.0 DLRC Activities page 12
13.0 YEDN page 13
14.0 ALERC page 13
List of figures page 13
List of tables page 13
1.0 Summary
This Annual Report focuses on the main issues and activities with which the Doncaster Local Records Centre (DLRC) has been involved during the period 01/04/2023 to 31/03/2024. This Annual Report will be included in the DLRC webpages. Recent previous Annual Reports are also available to view in the same location.
Summary of key points:
The Doncaster Local Records Centre responded to 178 enquiries for biodiversity information during the period 01/04/2023 to 31/03/2024, a 20% increase on the previous year. Quotations where applicable were supplied within 5 working days of receipt of enquiry;
The majority of enquiries came from commercial organisations. The remaining requests were submitted by DMBC, public bodies, members of the public and education establishments;
DLRC generated an income of £44200 including VAT during the financial year, that is £11900 more than the year 2022/2023;
Data input for this financial year included 11977 species records.
Summary of key activities:
Yorkshire Water – data supplied in response to terms of Service Level Agreement (SLA);
Environment Agency – data supplied in response to terms of SLA; new contract with EA in prep;
Data supply to partners as records become available;
Data supply to clients in response to data search enquiries;
Data input to database in response to records received.
2.0 Staffing Complement
Doncaster Local Records Centre (DLRC) forms part of a wider network of Local Records Centres in the UK. DLRC’s main role is to collect, manage and share information about wildlife and habitats within the City of Doncaster Metropolitan Borough administrative area to the benefit of biodiversity. The verified and validated biological records held in our database are provided as part of a service on a not-for-profit basis to a range of recipients including decisionmakers, environmental consultants, researchers, educational establishments and members of the public.
DLRC operates 3 days per week (currently Wednesday to Friday) and currently has one permanent staff member (the LRC Manager) and, on a 3 days-per-week basis, the Biological Records Officer (BRO) who maintains the database, deals with data enquiries and the daily business of DLRC, and assists with biological recording aspects of the work carried out by members of Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council’s Planning Policy and Environment Team. The DLRC Manager is Jonathan Clarke who oversees DLRC’s activities and controls the budget, in addition to his other duties.
The table below shows other members of the Planning Team who contribute to DLRC as part of their role, there being no changes to the previous year:
Table 1: Planning Team members directly involved in the work of DLRC
| Position | Staff | Main tasks |
| DLRC Manager | Jonathan Clarke | Overall LRC manager
Budget holder/finance manager |
| Biological Records Officer | Bob Marsh | Data requests
Species data – collation and validation/verification Habitat data – validation Database management Day-to-day finance matters |
| Biodiversity Officer | Melissa Massarella | Advice to DLRC on biodiversity matters |
| Principal Officer – Local
Plans/Environment
|
Donna Halliday | Phase I habitat mapping
Advice to DLRC on GIS matters |
3.0 Steering Group Membership
DLRC direction and work are guided and scrutinised by the Steering Group which comprises 12 members. Table 2 includes the full list of members at 31 March 2024. During 2021/22 there were several changes to the list of Members and positions representing Yorkshire Wildlife Trust and Natural England remain vacant.
Table 2: List of Steering Group members
| Name | Position/Representing |
| Jonathan Clarke | DMBC Planning Officer/LRC Manager/budget holder |
| Laura Trinogga | DMBC Doncaster Museum |
| Colin Howes | Independent Member |
| Derek Whiteley | Sorby Natural History Society |
| Helen Kirk | Thorne and Hatfield Moors Conservation Forum |
| Helen McCluskie | DMBC Principal Planning Officer |
| Louise Hill | Doncaster Naturalists’ Society |
| Bob Marsh | DMBC Biological Records Officer |
| Melissa Massarella | DMBC Biodiversity Officer |
| VACANT | Yorkshire Wildlife Trust |
| Mark Wills | Yorkshire Environmental Data Network |
| VACANT | Natural England |
4.0 Data handling
DLRC holds three main types of information – species records, habitat information and designated site information. The oldest records date back well over 200 years. The Recorder 6 database now holds 575300 species records from 11620 locations across the Borough.
4.1 Records received
As can be seen from the chart below, the number of records imported into our database has fluctuated widely over the last 8 years (see Figure 1). This depends on the volume of records received from contributors and the time available to the Biological Records Officer for computerising historical data from card index and relevant documents and importing recent local records from various sources.
Figure 1: Number of records entered annually to DLRC database since 2016
The data cover a wide range of taxa, with birds, flowering plants and insects accounting for the great majority, about 90%, of the records (see Figure 2). Other taxonomic groups represented are bony fish, harvestmen, mosses, lichens, millipedes, stoneworts, crustaceans, spiders, acarines, horsetails, mollusks, reptiles, amphibians, ferns and fungi.
Figure 2: Data input by taxonomic group between 01/04/2023 and 31/03/2024
4.2 Record precision
Figure 3 below shows a summary of the precision of records received and entered in the database in the year 2023/2024. The majority of records are at 100m precision, with the highest figure for 100m (six-figure) records.
DLRC aims to increase the proportion of records with a spatial accuracy of 100m or greater by encouraging recorders to include such resolutions in their data.
Figure 3: The spatial resolution of data entered in the database between 01/04/2023 and 31/03/2024
4.3 Database maintenance
The Recorder 6 software remains at version 6.30, last being updated in December 2022. During 2023/24 further dictionary updates were applied to the database which is presently in the latest version 53. All details of past and latest software and dictionary upgrades/updates may be found on the Recorder 6 website at Recorder6.info
It will be appreciated that the work we do at DLRC depends currently on the Recorder 6 database. In 2017 it was announced by JNCC, the prime mover behind the development of the Recorder project, that funding for future development would be withdrawn from 2018. From October 2019 the Recorder 6 working group initiated a scheme whereby Recorder 6 users could subscribe to obtain a licence to receive the updates to the software and dictionaries, a service that had been free to users and funded by JNCC until March 2018, and which was provided in the interim by the R6 Consortium. The Consortium will continue to undertake the development work to keep R6 up to date but will also recruit further expertise to expand the pool of developers and to develop further the software to ensure it is ‘future-proof’. Based on the ‘Willingness to pay’ question in the recent Recorder 6 users consultation organised by the Association of Local Environmental Records Centres (ALERC) the licence fee has been set at £25 per year for individuals, and £250 for organisations, this figure remaining the same for the year 2023/24. This figure should be considered in the light of the fact that support to users of Recorder in its evolving forms has always been at nil cost to those users (apart from the initial £30 software charge). Full details of the Recorder 6 future support arrangements may be found at Recorder-6-maintenance-and-development-plan As from October 2019 this licensing arrangement was initiated, and DLRC now subscribes to the scheme in order to obtain the latest upgrades and, importantly, technical help (also see notes under Section 10).
5.0 Data providers
Data providers between 01/04/2023 and 31/03/2024 were:
Doncaster Naturalists’ Society (as a body and various members)
ECUS
Environment Agency
Estrada Ecology
FPCR
International Otter Survival Trust
iRecord database
Lindholme Old Moor Management Group
NEYEDC (as part of cross-boundary data exchanges)
Rotherham LRC
Sorby Natural History Society
Various members of the public
West Yorkshire Ecology Services (as part of cross-boundary data exchanges)
Whitcher Wildlife
Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union – individual members and county recorders
Yorkshire Water
Yorkshire Wildlife Trust
6.0 Data users
The following companies, consultancies, organisations and private individuals requested our services during the period (see Table 3):
Table 3. List of data users during year 1/4/2023 to 31/3/2024
| Organisation/Company |
| ADAS |
| AECOM |
| Applied Ecological Services Ltd. |
| Arcadis Consulting (UK) Ltd. |
| Armstrong Ecology Ltd |
| Arup |
| Atkins Realis |
| Avian Ecology Ltd. |
| Baker Consultants |
| Biodiverse Consulting Ltd. |
| BiOME Consulting Ltd. |
| Brindle and Green Ltd. |
| Brooks Ecological Ltd. |
| BWB Consulting Ltd. |
| CGC Ecology |
| Collington Winter Environmental |
| Crow Ecology |
| Delta Simons Ltd. |
| DMBC |
| Don Catchment Rivers Trust |
| E3P |
| Ecus Ltd. |
| EDP |
| ELM Ecology |
| Elton Ecology Ltd. |
| ERM |
| Estrada Ecology Ltd. |
| FPCR Environment and Design Ltd. |
| Futures Ecology |
| HIWWT |
| JBA Consulting |
| JCA Limited |
| KJ Ecology Ltd. |
| Organisation/Company |
| LM Ecology |
| Middlemarch/WYES |
| Middleton Bell Ecology Ltd. |
| Miranda Cowan Ecology Ltd. |
| Mott MacDonald |
| MRB Ecology and Environment |
| NEYEDC |
| NEYEDC |
| OS Ecology |
| Peak Ecology |
| Quants Evironmental |
| Rachel Hacking Ecology |
| RammSanderson Ecology Ltd. |
| RDF Ecology |
| Ricardo PLC |
| ROAVR Group |
| RSK Biocensus |
| Sheffield & Rotherham Wildlife Trust |
| SLR Consulting |
| South Yorkshire Woodland Partnership – SRWT |
| Temple Group |
| Thomson Environmental |
| Total Ecology |
| Tyler Grange |
| W J & L A Mackintosh |
| WDEC |
| Weddle Landscape Design |
| Weddles |
| Whitcher Wildlife Ltd. |
| Wildscapes |
| Wold Ecology Ltd |
| Wychwood Biodiversity |
The total number of requests received during the period 1/4/2023 to 31/3/2024 was 178. Quotes were provided for 140 of these requests, 133 of these generating income. 5 requests fell outside the DMBC admin/recording area and the enquirer was advised to contact the relevant neighbouring LRC. 22 data search reports were provided free of charge to chargeexempt bodies and individuals, or where very few records were involved. Ecological
consultancies constituted by far the largest user group of data search requests during the period, the remainder coming from within DMBC, national organisations and from other LRCs.
The average time for providing a quotation for data provision was within 5 working days of the initial enquiry.
Doncaster Naturalists’ Society has in the past operated a log of natural history information requests from members of the public when such requests come in via the Museum. The Museum has now moved to a new building and until the level of public interest has been assessed this log has been discontinued temporarily.
6.1 Data transfer agreements/Service Level Agreements
We continue to operate our data exchange agreements with our partner organisations Doncaster Naturalists’ Society, Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union, Botanical Society of the British Isles (BSBI) and Yorkshire Wildlife Trust.
We, along with other Local Records Centres in Yorkshire, have a Service Level Agreement (SLA) with Yorkshire Water to supply biological records, and this is coordinated by North and East Yorkshire Ecological Data Centre. Data were sent to Yorkshire Water in April and October 2023, revised datasets being forwarded to Yorkshire Water on a biannual basis.
Environment Agency – data were supplied to EA under existing arrangements – a new agreement and pricing structure has yet to be finalized.
7.0 LWS resurvey programme
The 2019/2020 year saw the conclusion of the current Local Wildlife Sites resurvey programme. No resurveying was carried out in 2021/2022 or 2022/23. The year 2023/24 saw the recommencement of the LWS resurvey programme, adopting a modified UK Habitat Classification and condition assessment approach to support the local delivery of Biodiversity Net Gain. The final survey results have yet to be entered into the database.
8.0 Phase 1 habitat mapping.
Phase 1 Habitat Maps of Local Sites based on DMBC records and previous field surveys have been prepared and then annotated by the surveyors as a part of the LWS resurvey programme. Colour-coded paper maps thus prepared in the field are then digitised by DMBC staff in ArcGIS. Habitats within LWSs are thus clearly mapped and areas quantified.
The aim of a preparing Phase 1 Habitat Maps is to provide a record of the vegetation and wildlife habitat over a specific area. They provide an objective basis for a determination about a change of the boundary or designation status. Maps also give a clearly defined baseline for monitoring change and support the conservation of threatened habitats and species.
The updating of Phase 1 habitat mapping and detail within LWS citations continues by the Planning Team as new information is received.
9.0 Income
A revised charging structure for data enquiries came into force in April 2024 with an increase in rates (of approximately 5%) on the previous year.
A schedule of the latest charges initiated on 1/4/2024 has been posted on the LRC website.
DLRC generated an income of £44k including VAT during the financial year, that is £11.9k more than the year 2022/2023
During this reporting period, biodiversity data have been provided to North and East Yorkshire Ecological Data Centre (NEYEDC) which coordinates data provision to Yorkshire Water and Environment Agency on behalf of the Yorkshire LRCs.
10.0 Expenditure
Our annual subscription to ALERC remains at £500 – to put this figure into context this is equivalent to the income generated by two average data search requests. For this membership we receive recognition that we are an effective and efficient organisation within the LRC community and that we operate to standard guidelines. We also have access to a knowledge base and Forum which enable us when necessary to seek advice on the operation of our LRC and to obtain information and advice on new legislation and software practices as these become available, and we have access to contacts with other LRCs.
During the year 2023/2024 DLRC has continued to subscribe to the Recorder 6 licensing arrangement whereby a fee is paid to the Recorder 6 Consortium via the NBN Trust in order to receive upgrades to the database software and species dictionary. Before 2020 both Recorder 6 support and its development were underwritten by JNCC and were effectively free to users of the database. JNCC now no longer provides finance for these services which are now undertaken by the Recorder 6 Consortium, and the services are funded by users who wish to receive the upgrades. The licence fee applying to us is currently £250. Our projected move to the ORCA system of handling data search enquiries will make this expenditure unnecessary in the future as R6 will no longer be required.
There were no other items of expenditure during this reporting period.
11.0 Cross-boundary data searches
Yorkshire LRCs are currently engaged in setting up procedures and documentation to enable any of our group of LRCs to conduct cross-boundary data searches. This will offer clients an enhanced service comprising a quicker and cheaper data search where the target area crosses the boundary of a neighbouring LRC. This should benefit the client in that a single search may be commissioned rather than two or more, offering better-perceived value for money. DLRC now has working arrangements with North and East Yorkshire Ecological Data Centre and with the West Yorkshire Ecology Services, and Data Exchange and OS End User Licence agreements have been formalised with both organisations. Other LRCs that have a boundary with DLRC are Rotherham, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire. Currently we do not have cross-boundary agreements with these LRCs.
12.0 DLRC Activities during the period
DLRC continued to build on relationships with recorders and recording groups;
NBN Atlas, the UK’s largest biodiversity database, was found to hold many records for our recording area not held on our database. These records, where NBN licensing permits their use by DLRC, are downloaded on an annual basis and may be used in response to data enquiries. The source is acknowledged where data are used in output reports in response to enquiries;
During the last financial year DLRC used iRecord as a source of records for our area. An iRecord account has been set up and we have permission to download records from this source and use the records for standard LRC purposes, whilst agreeing to acknowledge the source of the data when these are used in reports in response to data enquiries; during the year iRecord data (confirmed records only) were downloaded and incorporated into the R6 database and this will continue to be done on an annual basis;
DLRC has been pursuing access to biological data contained in ecological consultants’ reports in respect of planning applications – this generally involves permission being granted by data holders to DLRC, so that we may extract data and use them
appropriately. Consultants are being contacted on an ad-hoc basis for permission to extract data from these reports;
DLRC has an archived storage facility shared with the Doncaster Naturalists’ Society. This archive comprising documents, photographs and card indices is presently housed within the old Museum building (now the official Doncaster Archive facility) which is presently subject to a major building reorganisation. The future location of this archive is presently under consideration and this situation remains unchanged from the previous financial year.
The South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority is exploring the potential role of Local Records Centres in managing and distributing Natural Capital data assets and this work will continue into the next reporting period.
DLRC is supporting the development of the South Yorkshire Local Nature Recovery Strategy and this work will continue into the next reporting period.
12.1 Data search enquiries – proposal to automate procedures.
Response to data search enquiries is the most important part of DLRC’s work, and DLRC wishes to evolve and improve the day-to-day operation of the Records Centre. To this end we are formulating a plan to migrate from Recorder 6 and current methods of responding to data search requests to a more innovative and web-based system known as ORCA, and the proposals are as follows. The scheme will involve the installation of software which will allow enquirers to access data to their own requirements via a dedicated web page incorporating a self-service approach. The customer will specify on a map their area of interest entering their own search specification. They will receive an instant cost of their enquiry according to DLRC’s search charges then in force and may adjust their search parameters according to the dictates of their budget. Data (spreadsheets/GIS files) will be downloaded by the customer on acceptance of this on-line quotation with no intentional time delay. We propose that all payments to DLRC will be by invoicing. ORCA will act to monitor/track/prompt this invoicing.
The ORCA system is hosted by Cofnod, the North Wales LRC which operates the SQL database (which DLRC would use in a similar fashion that Recorder 6 is used at present), the mapping functions and the financial structure.
The proposal for this work has been considered by DMBC’s Technology Governance Board who authorize and approve new, enhanced or replacement technology. Approval and authorization have been achieved, and the LRC aims to implement the new system during the final quarter of the 2024 calendar year. The Recorder 6 database has been moved to a test version of the ORCA system and LRC staff are familiarizing themselves with the new software before we go “live”. The Recorder 6 system will be maintained for a period covering the
changeover before being decommissioned later in the year. The planned move to ORCA is to improve our offer to clients and enable more staff time to be invested in developing Local Records Centre Services and to deal with a backlog of data input. The automation of specific services will not result in reduced staffing.
Steering Group members will be kept up to date with progress.
13.0 YEDN
YEDN (Yorkshire Ecological Data Network, previously known as Yorkshire and Humber Ecological Data Network) is a network encompassing all the regional LRCs – regular (currently biannual) meetings of the Yorkshire LRCs are hosted by this network and current topics affecting the LRCs of Doncaster, Rotherham, Sheffield, West Yorkshire Ecology and NEYEDC are discussed. Meetings during 2023/24 were held remotely with virtual Teams meetings. Meeting arrangements in year 2024/25 have yet to be determined. Minutes of these meetings are available to Steering Group members on request to the LRC.
14.0 ALERC
Currently, DLRC is an accredited Local Records Centre within ALERC and is accredited until mid-2025.
List of figures
Figure 1: Number of records entered annually to DLRC database since 2016.
Figure 2: Data input by taxonomic group between 01/04/2023 and 31/03/2024.
Figure 3: The spatial resolution of data entered in the database between 01/04/2023 and 31/3/2024.
List of tables
Table 1: Planning Team members directly involved in the work of DLRC.
Table 2: List of Steering Group members.
Table 3: List of data users during year 1/4/2023 to 31/3/2024.
R Marsh