Strensall Common

Strensall Common is an area of heathland some 6 mi north of York and just to the east of the village of Strensall in the City of York, England. The (47 & 48 Vict. c. ccix) allowed the War Department to compulsory purchase 1,080 acre of land to the east of the main road at Strensall covering a large portion of what is Strensall Common. The camp had been used since 1876 and had trained more than 8,000 soldiers a year, but they were billeted in tents. A newspaper report of 1883 noted that the 3rd Battalion of the West Yorkshire Regiment had been on training there and found the land "unhealthy" and had a distinct lack of drinking water. In the eventuality more than 1,900 acre was used to build…

The SSSI relating to Strensall Common describes it as being more than 578 ha in area, with most of it being managed by the British Army as part of its military training area. However 22 ha is managed by the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust. The common is home to more 60 species of bird and more 150 varieties of plant. There are several ponds and pools across the common, with Kidney Pond, Pillwort Scrape and Crossley's Pond being the best known. Between them the ponds have been, or are, host to smooth newts, palmate newts, common frog, common toad and common lizards. The ponds are also host to idioptera linnei, a small species of crane fly that is rare in Northern England and is listed as…