It is a criminal offence to disturb or kill many species present within the green belt
land that Warrington Borough Council has put forward for urbanisation in the
Preferred Development Option. New roads and building developments also disturb
nearby wildlife outside of the earmarked area.
Some of the species the PDO will affect include but are not limited to: bats, badgers,
dragonflies and damselflies, water voles, all wild birds - their nests and eggs, moths,
butterflies, bumblebees, honey bees, hedgehogs, shrews, dormice, pine martins,
ducks, frogs, herons, lizards, newts and toads.
Game birds are not included in the act, they are covered by the Game Acts, which
fully protect them during the close season. Brown Hares are also protected in the
close season.
Woodland, meadows, verges, ponds, streams, hedgerows and trees provide vital
resources for mammals, fish, birds, and insect species. The development of green
belt land destroys entire habitats for our native wildlife and puts some species at
further risk of extinction.
Biodiversity is key to the survival of life on Earth. Its loss deprives future generations
of irreplaceable genetic information and compromises sustainability including
pollination of crops and wild flowers.
The groundbreaking UK National Ecosystem Assessment (NEA) published in June
2011 provides a comprehensive account of how the natural world, including its
biodiversity, provides us with services that are critical to our wellbeing and economic
prosperity. However, the NEA also showed that nature is consistently undervalued in
decision-making and that many of the services we get from nature are in decline.
Over 40% of priority habitats and 30% of priority species were declining in the most