A NEW nature park and protected habitat for great crested newts looks set to be created on land at Woolston Eyes, close to Thelwall Viaduct.
Churchill Enviro Ltd is asking Warrington planning chiefs for a three-year extension to their existing consent for deposit ground No 1, south of the River Mersey and north of the Manchester Ship Canal.
The proposal is to change the date of all tipping and restoration of deposit ground No 1 so that it is completed by June 15, 2025. But it has been delayed by the pandemic.
Geoff Settle, chairman of Warrington Nature Conservation Forum and a former footpath warden at Woolston, said “The site like the rest of the Woolston Eyes Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) consists of material dredged from the Manchester Ship Canal as part of the infill.
“The proposed infilling and restoration of the Ground No. 1 site as a nature park is an engineering operation which is deemed appropriate in the Green Belt where it will preserve openness and enhance the SSSI site.”
The Eyes has been managed to a high standard for 40 years by the Woolston Eyes Conservation Group, whose patron is naturalist Chris Packham. Once complete the intention is for Ground No. 1 to be overseen and managed by the group who have an extraordinarily successful history over the years.
Mr Settle said: “I believe that Churchill Enviro Ltd ecologists have already created an environment on site that has protected 6,000 great crested newts and a colony of toads. Landscaping and ponds are surrounded by special barriers that keep the amphibians in a safe environment.”
He remembers other sites in the area where extensions have been granted – for example at Rixton Clay Pits where land has been recovered from clay quarries and developed into a superb conservation area famed for its great crested newts, dragonflies, and butterflies. The dragonflies and butterflies were starting to appear for the first time this weekend.
Mr Settle added: “It is an amazing corridor of reclamation north of the Manchester Ship Canal that is thriving with wildlife and changing the landscape. There is even a mature tree topped hill opposite Ramswood Nursery. I believe an extension of the licence under appropriate conditions should be granted to Churchill Enviro Ltd.
“There have been no objections from the environmental organisations namely the Greater Manchester Ecology Unit (GMEU) and Natural England. GMEU say that the project is regarded as a clear opportunity to secure improvements to the Woolston Eyes SSSI.
“They go on to conclude that the proposed measures in the applicant’s masterplan would deliver, significant benefits to protected and priority species – significant net gain on the site and provide an exemplary ecological mitigation scheme overall.”
