LPA: Cheshire East
NCA: Shropshire Cheshire and Staffordshire Plain
Biodiversity Gain Site No: BGS-160425002
Biodiversity Units
Open Mosaic – 84.74 units
Wet Woodland – 4.20 units
Neutral Grassland – 41.2 units
Mixed scrub – 22.1 units
Broad leaved woodland – 26.09 units
Ponds – 2.6 units
Watercourse (ditches) – 6.26 units
Local Context
Cledford Lagoons Habitat Bank, located within Cheshire East Council, located off Cledford Lane and adjacent to the Trent and Mersey canal, in the heart of the town of Middlewich. The Habitat Bank is being delivered in partnership with Tata Chemicals (Europe) Ltd.
This former industrial waste site, dating back to 1896, supported the adjacent saltworks now owned by British Salt Limited (a Tata company).Comprising of a series of settlement beds for wastes derived from the production of soda ash and salt purification. GEDG are currently completing the capping the site to enable the creation of the nature reserve.
The site itself is a designated Local Wildlife Site, providing habitat for amphibians, reptiles, bats and nesting birds. The Habitat Management Plan adopted by GEDG will enhance the biodiversity value of the site and improve the conditions of the individual habitats.
Habitat
The site currently comprises of some c.70 acres of poor condition open mosaic habitats, broad leaved woodland, wet woodland, mixed scrub, ditches, ponds and managed grassland. The project aims to enhance all habitats to good conditions, creating further open mosaic habitats, new ponds, neutral grassland and clean surface water ditches.
The project will create some 84.74 open mosaic habitat units, along with4.20 units of wet woodland, 41.2 units of neutral grassland, 22.1 units of mixed scrub, 26.09 units of broad leaved woodland, 2.6 units of ponds and 6.26 units of watercourse (ditches).
A core element of the project is the unique creation of new open mosaic habitats, considered to be the first example of its kind in England and thus enabling considerable off site brownfield redevelopment to take place.
Social Value
The Cledford Lagoons Habitat Bank is firstly a project for nature conservation; however, it is also designed with community engagement at its heart. Enabling considered public access provides significant benefits to human health and mental wellbeing.
GEDG uniquely supports local community access on its habitat banks, providing educational opportunities to local schools, in this case Middlewich High School.
GEDG’s approach to this site will provide buyers of units with additionality in terms of species monitoring and community engagement. GEDG are retaining Middlemarch Environmental, owned by Warwickshire Wildlife Trust, to monitor the habitat bank over the 30-year management period.
