Plans for woodland and habitat creation at Shotwick Park

Shotwick Park in Saughall will remain in public ownership, following a decision at Cheshire West and Chester’s Cabinet meeting today.

The proposed project will establish woodland and habitat creation and will deliver the Council’s aspirations within the Borough Plan to provide Greener Communities.

Plans will be developed to transform the site into a mosaic of native woodland, wildflower meadows, and wetland habitats, with public access incorporated.

The project will support the Council’s ambition to become a carbon neutral borough by 2045, alongside its nature recovery objectives. It will also contribute to the Council’s target of establishing 150ha of new woodland a year, helping to grow the Mersey Forest and the wider Northern Forest.

Councillor Carol Gahan, Cabinet Member for Finance and Legal said:

“As part of our wider approach to the Council’s land management we’re considering a range of options for our land assets, including this site at Shotwick, which will benefit both nature and our communities, whilst helping us meet our climate targets.

“The Council will engage with local residents and the parish council and cocreate proposals for the project as it develops. This includes making sure that plans will not affect public access to the footpath network on this site or the ancient scheduled monument of Shotwick Castle, ensuring the relevant requirements for funding and habitat creation are met. Further details will be shared with the local community as plans progress.”

Councillor Louise Gittins, Leader of the Council, said:

“This is a positive step in the future direction of how the Council uses its land, prioritising projects that will improve biodiversity, boost habitat creation and create a carbon store through the establishment and management of woodland.

“We’re seeing more instances of extreme weather and issues such as localised flooding due to our changing climate, so it is vital that decisions such as this are made with our climate commitments as a top priority.

“Creating more opportunities for people to access nature provides our residents with so many health and wellbeing benefits and I’m looking forward to seeing this project develop and the community continuing to access this site for recreation purposes.”

Plans are in place to secure funding through the national Trees for Climate programme for the project and to use this as a basis for further work to develop habitat by the Council or by working with other public bodies. The site also provides the opportunity for the Council whilst enhancing ecological resilience and restoring habitat for local wildlife.

The site's archaeological features will be considered when developing plans and Chester Archaeological Society will be engaged throughout the design process.

Trees for Climate represents one of the most significant programmes of delivery across the Community Forest network since the first Forests were launched three decades ago.

Funded by Defra, Trees for Climate plays a significant part in the national Government’s commitment to address climate change and carbon mitigation through the planting of millions of trees. What’s more, Trees for Climate is also bringing about much wider social, economic, and environmental transformation across the country.

Find out more at: 

www.englandscommunityforests.org.uk/trees-for-climate

Pictured - A vision of what could be achieved at Shotwick Park.