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Cheshire's Environmental Planning Service aims to conserve the county's natural and historic environment for the enjoyment of this and future generations. Environmental damage can be caused by factors such as urban development, road building, pipeline construction, mineral extraction, forestry and agriculture. It is crucial that the need for economic growth and development is balanced with the need to protect the natural and historic environment.
Conserving the Natural and Historic Environment of Cheshire
Cheshire boasts internationally important estuaries, Meres and mosses and nationally important examples of ancient woodlands, grasslands and lowland heathlands, not to mention individual trees, hedgerows and ponds that are important on a local level.
| Biodiversity is the variety of life. It means the living things around us in nature, from trees, flowering plants, birds and butterflies to mosses and lichens. It also refers to the wide range of habitats which flora and fauna depend on. |
Cheshire actually has less wildlife per hectare than many neighbouring counties and many species are threatened due to disappearing habitats. It is these and other species that the service works to protect.
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A total of 83 per cent of Cheshire is rural, but less than one per cent of the county is made up of nature reserves. Many of the remaining habitats are isolated smaller areas. Less than four per cent of the county consists of woodland - less than half the national average.
In the 20th century Cheshire lost the red squirrel from its woodland haunts, along with breeding birds such as corncrake, nightjar and black grouse. Out of 37 species of butterfly recorded in Cheshire during the 20th century, seven became extinct and a further five species were seriously threatened. |
Cheshire has a rich and diverse selection of archaeological remains, from Iron Age forts to medieval villages, and from Roman settlements to Saxon crosses. They are often the only means of discovering how ordinary men and women lived, worked and died in the past
The county's rich history is evident in its wide range of listed buildings, ranging from the Saxon crosses at Sandbach to the space-age radio telescope at Jodrell Bank in Withington.
Such buildings, along with conservation areas, parks and gardens, and many of the county's historic towns and villages, all play a part in shaping Cheshire's environment and image.
| There are 6,000 listed buildings, 180 conservation areas and 21 registered parks and gardens in Cheshire. |
How the Environment Planning Service works
The Service is here to make informed judgements about conservation, development and land management using the latest computer technology, including several databases. The most important of these are:
The County Historic Environment Record (CHER)
This is a database of all known archaeological sites and historic landscapes in Cheshire, dating from prehistory through to the post-medieval periods and including industrial sites and military remains.
Details include the type of site, its date, location, description and sources of information. They may also include reports on surveys or excavations, plans and photographs. Revealing Cheshire's Past is a current initiative to increase access to the County CHER.
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There are 5,700 records in the County Historic Environment Record, including 220 Scheduled Monuments (nationally important sites), 170 medieval moated sites and 120 Bronze Age round barrows.
The Anderton Boat Lift, a Scheduled Monument, was built in 1875 as a link between the river weaver and the Trent and Mersey Canal. It has been recently restored to working order and is the only boat lift in England. |
Historic Buildings Database
This details all Cheshire's Listed buildings, conservation areas and historic parks and gardens, which are graded for national, regional and local importance.
Register of Cheshire Sites of Biological Importance (SBI)
The Council maintains this register in partnership with the Cheshire Wildlife Trust with advice from English Nature. Sites are classified according to whether they are of county (Grade A), district (Grade B) or more than local (Grade C) importance.
SBIs complement the nationally-designated Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). They are protected through the Council's County Structure Plan and minerals, waste and district local plans rather than by law.
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There are 628 Sites of Biological Importance in Cheshire, covering some 10,623 hectares.
The Meres and mosses of the Flintshire-Shropshire-Cheshire-Staffordshire plain from an internationally important series of open water and peat land sites.
Cheshire is nationally important for farm ponds, containing some 16,400 (or 10 per cent) of all those existing in England and Wales in 1985. |
Historic Landscape Characterisation
The council is carrying out a survey of historic rural areas as part of a national initiative developed and funded by English Heritage. This survey, due to be completed in October 2004 complements the existing Historic Towns Survey, which assessed the archaeological and historic development of the county's towns.
The survey will be an important tool in making informed decisions on conservation and development proposals.
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