Our UK Mosslands are being destroyed and we now only have 1% remaining, most of these are here in the North West. If we don’t act now we will lose them forever.
Mosslands are our rainforests. Not only do they store huge amounts of carbon, they also provide a home for a host of amazing plants and wildlife. You can help save them in your local area for you and for future generations.
Say ‘No’ To Peat Extraction TODAY
Applications have been submitted in Wigan and Salford to give more time to extract peat from Chat Moss, which straddles the border between the two areas... We only have a limited time to object and so we need you to act today to save the site...before it is gone forever.
How You Can Help...
1. The latest application is in Wigan, so you can write a letter telling Wigan Borough Council that you ‘object’ to them approving the application to destroy this habitat, which is vital for biodiversity and a hugely important part of the local area. Please write your letter in your own words, but here are a couple of examples to help inspire you: Example Letter 1, Example Letter 2 and Example Letter 3.
2. You will need to quote the following application reference numbers: A/10/74592 and A/10/74593. Make sure you include your name.
3. You can email your objection to A.Neilson@wigan.gov.uk or post it to:
Angela Neilson
Environmental Services Dept,
Wigan Council
Civic Buildings
New Market Street
Wigan WN1 1RP
4. Download this poster and help us spread the word!
5. Sign up here to keep in touch with the campaign:
It's also not too late to object in Salford! Here's how you can help...
1. Write a letter telling Salford Council that you ‘object’ to them approving the application to destroy this habitat, which is vital for biodiversity and a hugely important part of the local area. Please write your letter in your own words, but here are a couple of examples to help inspire you: Example Letter 1 and Example Letter 2.
2. You will need to quote the following application reference numbers: 10/58824/FULEIA, 10/58825/FULEIA and 10/58826/FULEIA. Make sure you include your name.
3. You can email your objection to planning.contact@salford.gov.uk or post it to:
Planning Urban Vision Partnership Ltd,
Emerson House,
Albert Street,
Eccles,
Salford,
M30 0TE.
What We Are Doing
The Wildlife Trust for Lancashire, Manchester and North Merseyside have submitted our objection to Salford City Council, and you can see the related documents here:
- Executive summary of the Trust's comments on William Sinclair's Environmental Statement
- Detailed comments on the Environmental Statement
We are currently in the process of sending similar documentation to Wigan Borough Council with regards to the application there.
About Chat Moss
There are three large peat extraction sites in the Chat Moss area west of Manchester and planning permission for one of these sites expires at the end of 2010.
It was expected that once the extraction had finished, the site would be restored as an active mossland, but we now know that this is not what the developers have in mind.
Planning applications have been submitted to Salford City Council and Wigan Borough Council by William Sinclair which is asking for permission to continue extracting peat on the site for another 15 years. This will enable them to take another 2m of peat off the site.
It has always been intended that as soon as the current permission finished (in December 2010), restoration of the site to active sphagnum bog would take place. The new permission, if it was granted, would push the restoration date 15 years into the future, and needless to say, the more peat that is extracted, the more difficult it will be to restore the site anyway. 
The Trust is co-ordinating a major plan of opposition to the proposal. Peat extraction runs counter to both local and national policies and will have a continuing devastating effect not just on the biodiversity of the site, and neighbouring sites, but also on carbon emissions and climate change. 99% of the lowland raised bogs in the Trust’s area have been destroyed, and the Trust is determined to save the rest.
We have long been urging gardeners to use non-peat based composts. Ironically, the applicants William Sinclairs produce just such a compost (New Horizon) which was judged by Gardener’s Which this year to be one of the top three best performing composts.
Equally ironically, the worst performing compost was Scotts Miracle Gro which is 100% peat. This proves that there are perfectly viable and effective alternatives to peat that are now better than peat itself! There is just no need to destroy our few remaining bogs to grow better plants.
The Lancashire Wildlife Trust has been working with mosslands since 1982. The two sites owned by the Trust within the Chat Moss Area are Astley Moss and Cadishead Moss. There are currently 100 hectares of habitats and vegetation remaining across the Chat Moss area, and we currently manage 48 hectares of this.
The Trust are currently undertaking a large scale restoration project on the Astley Moss and Cadishead Moss sites, which involves raising the water levels to ‘re–wet’ the bogs and return them to a favorable condition. This work has so far been very successful.
Dr Chris Miller, Mosslands Project Manager said: "The work we are doing in this area is fantastic in saving this rare and endangered habitat from destruction. Mosslands play host to many rare species, provides an amazing natural carbon store and provides natural flood defense."
Mick Weston, Operations Manager, said "In terms of global importance, these habitats are our rainforest."
