Latest news with #peatland
BBC News
3 days ago
- Politics
- BBC News
Danes Moss: Campaigners say peatland plan withdrawal 'step to victory'
Campaigners have welcomed a council's decision to scrap its plans for close to 1,000 homes on a peatland site in Cheshire as the "first step to victory".Cheshire East Council has rowed back on the proposal and asked officers to look at alternative uses for Danes Moss in Macclesfield, which could include restoring the Eccles, the chair of the Danes Moss Trust, said he felt pressure from the campaign group had led to the decision and there was "no justification to build there". Cheshire East opposition councillor, Conservative Chris O'Leary, told a meeting of the authority it was right to "reset the council's plan". The original proposals for the site, known as the South Macclesfield Development Area, included 950 homes, a supermarket and a link East Council owns 55% of the site, while Barratt Homes owns approximately 41%.Campaigners had been calling for no building there because of the amount of peatland, although it has been earmarked for development since 1997.A report ahead of the council meeting said the proposals to build on the land "cannot be fully reconciled" with the council's peat and carbon on Cheshire East Council's economy and growth committee voted on Tuesday to withdraw the homes application and approved plans to review include selling the land rethinking the development plans, or allowing for a "nature-led" recovery, an option added after a cross-party amendment. During the debate, O'Leary said: "Anyone who's visited Dane's Moss will know what an incredibly special place it is and it's quite right we reset the council's plans".The withdrawal was needed to "consider all the available options and make the right decisions for the right reasons for the future of this incredible site," he Labour's Anna Burton said that doing nothing was "not an option"."The wetland peat is drying out, so whatever decisions are made long term doing nothing is not an option," she councillors voted in favour of the withdrawing the application, with two Eccles told BBC Politics North West that he hoped councillors had "seen sense that there's no justification on earth to damage or build on peatlands".He said: "It's good news that the original plans are not going to go ahead but we still feel there should be zero development on this site because of the huge global importance of peatlands."James Melling of the Cheshire Wildlife Trust, which has a nature reserve on the border of the site, said he was "delighted" with the said: "I think it's testament to the hard work of all the campaigners involved and Save Danes Moss have been fantastic." See more Cheshire stories from the BBC and follow BBC North West on X. For more local politics coverage, BBC Politics North West is on BBC One on Sunday at 10:00am and on BBC iPlayer.
BBC News
28-05-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Danes Moss: Housing plan for peatland site to be withdrawn
Plans for a new housing development on a peatland site in Cheshire look set to be withdrawn, as the proposals "cannot be fully reconciled" with the council's peat and carbon had been raised about plans for almost 1,000 new homes on a site known as the South Macclesfield Development Area, which is jointly owned by a commercial housebuilder and Cheshire East CouncilA report to councillors has recommended that current applications should be withdrawn and alternative options for the site looked council will discuss the site's future at a meeting on Tuesday 3 June. Cheshire East Council owns 55% of the site, while Barratt Homes owns approximately 41% of the proposed development is situated next to the Danes Moss, which has been identified as a Site of Special Scientific had raised concerns about the proposals, particularly with regard to the potential loss of rare peatland found on the planning permission was granted in January a community group called Save Danes Moss, founded in 2021 (later becoming Danes Moss Trust), had objected to the plans following the submission of the reserved matters application, which afforded further details of the proposed development.A petition in 2022 also received more than 6,000 signatures with Cheshire Wildlife Trust, which runs neighbouring Danes Moss nature reserve, claiming the council had not completed the right studies. Now, the current reserved matters applications look set to be the report to councillors, officers said both Barratt and the council had "concluded that the approved development proposals cannot be fully reconciled with the current council policies relating to peat and carbon management".Officers said they anticipated any alternative plans would include "a reduced number of residential units built on the least environmentally sensitive parts of the site".The report stated a link road proposed as part of the development was "unlikely to be delivered" in any alternative plan, and it recommended the council withdrew from the grant funding agreement with Homes council's economy and growth committee is due to discuss the future of the site at a meeting on Tuesday. See more Cheshire stories from the BBC and follow BBC North West on X. For more local politics coverage, BBC Politics North West is on BBC One on Sunday at 10:00am and on BBC iPlayer.
The Guardian
23-05-2025
- Climate
- The Guardian
Wildfire warning signs put up in Peak District as climate crisis increases threat
Wildfire warning signs normally seen in the parched Australian outback have been installed in the UK for the first time. In a stark illustration of the worsening impact of the climate emergency, signs have been put up in the Peak District and south Pennines, where there have been more than 30 moorland fires since March. It is part of efforts by rangers and volunteers to prevent discarded cigarettes, campfires and barbecues from sparking more fires during the prolonged warm and dry weather. Matt Scott-Campbell, of the Moors for the Future Partnership, said the aim was to inform the public about the growing risk of wildfires. 'These signs are normally used in countries that have lived with the risk of wildfire for generations. But now we are seeing the effects of climate change … this might be the beginning of us as a society really coming to terms with the fact that we need to modify our behaviours when we're accessing wild places.' He said the area between Sheffield and Manchester was facing a triple challenge of a warming climate, increasing visitor numbers and a budget reduction of about 50% in the past decade. 'We really want to encourage people to come and experience these amazing habitats, these ultra-high-value peatland ecosystems. But we need to be accessing them and enjoying them responsibly in ways that don't create fires,' Scott-Campbell said. For the past 20 years specialist teams have been working on the moors to try to manage and preserve the nature-rich peatland, blocking erosion gullies to increase water retention and cutting back heather to create a more diverse habitat. An initial inspection of the land after the recent spate of fires found that those areas that had been restored and protected had survived with less damage. Scott-Campbell said: 'Damaging fire events like those of recent weeks only increase the urgency with which we must act to restore and protect degraded blanket bog habitats in the face of a changing climate.' Sign up to Down to Earth The planet's most important stories. Get all the week's environment news - the good, the bad and the essential after newsletter promotion Phil Mulligan, the chief executive of the Peak District national park, said healthy and restored uplands were already playing a vital role in efforts to tackle the climate emergency and he urged all visitors to be vigilant about fire risks. 'I cannot stress enough the need for care, responsibility and vigilance when visiting the countryside of our national parks,' he said. 'None of us want to play witness to the very picture-postcard views we cherish being lost to fire.'
BBC News
13-05-2025
- Climate
- BBC News
Lancashire wildfire warning over peatland barbecues and campfires
A warning has been issued about the dangers of lighting barbecues or campfires on peatland due to the risk of sparking "uncontrollable" wildfires. Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service (LFRS) said it had tackled several blazes in remote peatland across the county, mainly sparked by disposable barbecue trays. A spokesperson said many people do not realise that, on dry ground, the heat generated by barbecues can ignite the peat below the surface. LFRS posted pictures on its Facebook page to show the aftermath of fires it had dealt with in recent days. 'Pack a picnic' The spokesperson said heat can "linger" beneath the surface, even though people think they have extinguished their barbecues and campfires before leaving the area."Later, as temperatures rise or the wind picks up, that hidden fire can flare up and ignite surrounding grass and vegetation, spreading fast and far before anyone can react."The fire service urged people to "pack a picnic" instead before visiting peatland areas. Listen to the best of BBC Radio Lancashire on BBC Sounds and follow BBC Lancashire on Facebook, X, and Instagram and watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer.
Irish Times
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Irish Times
Michael Healy-Rae's trees-on-peatland plan is environmental vandalism
In a promotional video posted online by the Department of Agriculture, Michael Healy-Rae, Minister of State with responsibility for forestry, foregrounded his personal experience having planted a 'forestry plantation' in his early twenties. He also recently purchased more forestry. It can be rare for a minister – junior or senior – to have especially relevant expertise to bring to the role they're given, but in this case, Healy-Rae has literally got his hands dirty. Unfortunately, some recent comments suggest this may be where his expertise ends. Recently, Healy-Rae gave a speech in the Seanad about forestry . In these remarks, he advocated planting on peatland. This plan would be a reversal of Government policy, counter to Government restrictions and European Union policy around afforestation, and terrible for the environment and biodiversity. The science is clear: it would release carbon, worsening Ireland's very poor trajectory on meeting carbon reduction targets, and would obliterate progress made on rewetting peatlands. Speaking to The Journal, a professor of climate change at Maynooth University, Peter Thorne , described planting forestry on peatlands as 'environmental vandalism' and 'about the dumbest thing we can do'. READ MORE In his remarks, Healy-Rae referred to forestry that fell during Storm Eowyn as 'the product'. He said 'it is great to see our natural resource being turned into fine products' when discussing farmed trees going to sawmills. But such trees are not a 'natural resource'. They are a non-native monocultural species that degrade the landscape and do little for biodiversity. There are questions to be asked about why someone who would attempt to pursue such policies would be given the brief of forestry Fianna Fáil senator Paul Daly also pitched planting on peat: 'There is an argument made that when peaty soil is disturbed when sowing trees, it releases a certain amount of carbon and that this amount may not be weighed against the sequestration of the tree.' Daly's version of events is not about 'an argument', it is about science. 'Considering all these advantages of a tree, maybe a little carbon loss at planting might not be bad at all,' he continued. This is nonsense. Of course it is bad. Fine Gael Senator Paraic Brady also advocated for planting on peatland, saying: 'A lot of regions I have mentioned have peaty rich soil. It has grown timber very successfully in the past. Trees such as Sitka spruce have been grown in the soil. There is no reason why such trees cannot grow again. We need a package to be put in place in order that the soil can be replanted.' Again, a patently bad idea. Thankfully, some senators spoke sense. Sinn Féin senator Joanne Collins made the obvious point that 'the process of draining, planting, harvesting and replanting peatlands is contributing to carbon emissions, not reducing them. Afforestation on peatlands must stop.' Her fellow party member, Senator Pauline Tully, also said: 'Peatland that has forest on it needs to be returned to peatland because we are losing more carbon than we are saving.' In the face of these factual points, Healy-Rae bucked both sense and science and said his officials in the Department will 'look at planting more peatland'. He added: 'Farmers want to plant peatland.' There are questions to be asked about why someone who would attempt to pursue such policies would be given the brief of forestry. But Government knew exactly what it was getting when it made that choice. Healy-Rae has an opportunity to lead by example in a way that makes sense not just for farmers, but for Ireland and for nature. He has experience in forestry. Why then, considering his brief, is he pitching such a ridiculous idea? Is it about generating more income for farmers today, and to hell with tomorrow? Farmers need to be paid well and encouraged to plant native broadleaf trees and help nature. They are key partners in all of this. Short-term, populist, destructive plans will not work for anyone. Because of human behaviour, there is much about the climate crisis we cannot change In the big picture, there will be no money to be made, because the fines on Ireland for breaching our climate, carbon and emissions targets will be enormous. The degradation of our land more generally will devastate farmers in the long-term. There is no returning to the past. The experts are clear that planting forestry on peatlands was, and is, a grave mistake. In the past, we did not have the scientific knowledge to fully appreciate the negative impact of obliterating peatland. But we do know now. The future of forestry in Ireland should be a nature-first, non-commercial approach, where native woodlands and rewilding form the tenets of our attempt to address the degradation of our land. Because of human behaviour, there is much about the climate crisis we cannot change. Yet we can make positive changes that would radically improve the countryside. One of those is ending open grazing by sheep, deer and goats. Another is replacing commercial tree-crop plantations with native forestry. Any attempt to reverse the small gains that have been made by once again desecrating peatlands is environmentally reckless and against the national interest.
