List of Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Cheshire

There are 63 Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) in Cheshire, England, covering a total area of 19,844 hectares (49,035 acres). Of these, 51 have been designated for their biological interest, 7 for their geological or geomorphological features, and 5 for both.

SSSIs are governed by the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, which mandates that sites be selected for their "flora, fauna, or geological or physiographical features".Guidelines for the Selection of Biological SSSIs, Part A: "Rationale". (Nature Conservancy Council; 1989) (). Downloaded from , 14 April 2010. The body responsible for designating biological SSSIs in England is Natural England, which took over the role of designating and managing SSSIs from English Nature on its creation in 2006. Earth sciences SSSIs are notified separately by the Joint Nature Conservation Committee across the entire UK via Geological Conservation Review.Joint Nature Conservation Committee: Geological Conservation Review (GCR) (accessed 14 April 2010) Natural England, like its predecessor bodies, uses a system of areas termed "Areas of Search", which broadly correspond with the 1974–1996 counties, and for consistency the same approach is followed here. In the case of Cheshire, the Area of Search differs from the modern ceremonial county boundary. Since the 1990s, nature conservation in England has also focused on 120 natural areas: regions defined by natural features rather than by administrative boundaries.Natural England: Natural Areas (accessed 15 April 2010) The Cheshire Area of Search encompasses four natural areas.Natural England: Natural Areas: Search Natural Areas (accessed 15 April 2010)

The majority of the SSSIs fall within the Meres and Mosses natural area, which covers the bulk of the county, extending into Shropshire and Staffordshire to the south.English Nature: Meres and Mosses (27 February 1998) (accessed 10 April 2010) This region is dominated by the Cheshire Plain, a wide expanse of flat or gently undulating farmland which rarely rises above 100 metres in elevation. Despite intensive agricultural use, diverse wetland habitats survive including mosses (bogs), swamps, fens, meres and thousands of ponds. Flashes, originating in subsidence after salt extraction, contain examples of inland salt marsh, an extremely rare habitat internationally. Ancient woodland is sparse throughout this area, but is found on the slopes of the Mid Cheshire Ridge and in river valleys towards the north of the county. The lowland heath habitat is very rare, occurring only at a handful of sites. The Mid Cheshire Ridge rises abruptly in the middle of the plain, with a high point of 227 metres; its Triassic sandstones are exposed at the Raw Head geological site.

Two extensive sites, Goyt Valley and Leek Moors, lie at the eastern edge of the county and the south-western end of the Pennines, within the South West Peak natural area of the Peak District.Natural England: The South West Peak Natural Area Profile (accessed 13 April 2010) At a significantly higher elevation than the other Cheshire SSSIs and underlain by millstone grit and shale, they contain a variety of upland habitats, predominantly heather moorland, grassland and blanket mire.

Ten SSSIs are located in Warrington and Halton and the former borough of Ellesmere Port & Neston, in the north-west of the county. These fall within the Urban Mersey Basin natural area, which also covers Greater Manchester and Merseyside. Although the area as a whole is one of the most densely populated regions in Europe, much of the area within Cheshire is farmland. Semi-natural habitats here include ancient woodland, raised bog and freshwater wetland. The Rixton Clay Pits site represents former industrial land, and railway cuttings expose geological features.English Nature: The Urban Mersey Basin Natural Area: A Nature Conservation Profile (March 1997) (accessed 13 April 2010) Finally, the Liverpool Bay coastal region contains two estuaries, the Mersey and Dee, which are Cheshire's largest SSSIs.Natural England: Liverpool Bay Natural Area: A nature conservation profile (29 October 1997) (accessed 14 April 2010)

Sites

Site name Reason for designation Area Grid reference Year in which notified Map Citation Biological interest Geological interest Hectares Acres Abbots Moss38.494.81984 Alderley Edge93.6231.21951 Bagmere26.966.31963 Bar Mere12.831.51979 Beechmill Wood and Pasture6.215.41979 Betley Mere29.673.21963 Bickerton Hill91.0224.81979 Black Lake, Delamere1.74.31963 Brookhouse Moss10.124.91979 Chapel Mere11.829.11987 Comber Mere65.0160.51963 Dane-In-Shaw Pasture8.220.21990 Danes Moss51.3126.81985 Dee Cliffs, Farndon2.05.01979 Dee Estuary5,241.212,951.21954 Dunsdale Hollow6.917.01987 Flaxmere Moss7.017.21965 Flood Brook Clough5.112.61979 Frodsham Railway and Road Cuttings1.33.31979 Gannister Quarry1.64.01985 Gleads Moss2.86.91979 Goyt Valley1,332.63,292.91951 Hallwood Farm Marl Pit0.10.31986 Hatch Mere13.332.71951 Hatherton Flush1.94.81985 Hatton's Hey Wood, Whittle's Corner and Bank Rough23.758.51979 Holcroft Moss18.144.71991 Holly Banks9.323.11979 Inner Marsh Farm22.555.61998 Leek Moors3,970.89,812.11954 Lindow Common17.743.71963 Linmer Moss2.45.81994 Little Budworth Common54.4134.31979 Madams Wood9.523.41990 Mersey Estuary6,714.516,591.91951 Norbury Meres23.758.61979 Oak Mere68.8169.91986 Oakhanger Moss14.435.61994 Peckforton Woods57.9143.01984 Pettypool Brook Valley46.7115.31951 Plumley Lime Beds23.357.51963 Quoisley Meres28.370.01963 Raw Head13.533.41979 Red Brow Cutting0.20.41991 Risley Moss83.8207.11986 River Dane295.8730.81994 River Dee (England)371.5917.91996 Rixton Clay Pits13.733.71979 Roe Park Woods35.487.51990 Rostherne Mere152.5376.81984 Sandbach Flashes157.1388.21963 Sound Heath4.811.91963 Tabley Mere44.9110.91963 Tatton Meres90.3223.21963 Taylor's Rough & Wellmeadow Wood6.516.01979 The Mere, Mere19.448.01985 Warburton's Wood and Well Wood6.917.01979 Well Rough and Long Plantation8.621.21979 Wettenhall and Darnhall Woods45.3111.91979 Wimboldsley Wood16.440.61979 Witton Lime Beds16.440.51979 Woolston Eyes269.8666.71985 Wybunbury Moss23.257.41951

Notes All tabulated data are sourced from the Natural England website, and were last updated on 1 March 2010.SSSI background data (Cheshire) – compiled 01 Mar 2010. Retrieved from ; 11 April 2010.Natural England citation sheets for each SSSI. Retrieved 13 April 2010.

Data rounded to one decimal place. Area in acres converted from hectare value.

Grid reference is based on the British national grid reference system, also known as OSGB36, and is the system used by the Ordnance Survey.

Link to maps using the Nature on the Map service provided by Natural England.Natural England: Nature on the Map: Welcome to Nature on the Map (accessed 15 April 2010)

Natural England citation sheets for each SSSI.

The River Dane and Holly Banks SSSIs overlap.

References