Cotswold Water Park given greater protection by Natural England

All of the Cotswold Water Park has been given Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) status but what does this mean for residents?

In a boost to Nature Recovery, all 177 lakes covering 2,000 hectares of the Cotswold Water Park have been given Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) status.

Gaining the status will help Natural England work with all the owners and occupiers of the Park to protect and enhance its wildlife, while they continue to live, work, run businesses, and follow leisure pursuits there.

The Park was created and continues to expand as a result of mineral mining activity across Gloucestershire, Wiltshire and Oxfordshire, and is a leading example of how people and nature can thrive side by side. Such sites have been especially important during the pandemic, providing places to connect with nature and spend time outdoors.

Wildlife and recreation do not just co-exist in the Park but in many cases are inter-dependent. Land specifically managed to meet the needs of leisure users also provides invaluable habitat that encourages wildlife to flourish, such as the sailing clubs which manage marginal areas as scrub, providing an excellent habitat for breeding birds.

Breeding birds in the Park include scarce species such as little egret, little ringed plover and nightingale, alongside large numbers of ducks of several species, mute swans, greylag geese, coot and herons. The scrub and reedbed are full of breeding warblers including reed, sedge and Cetti’s warblers, blackcaps and willow warblers, and around 35,000 waterbirds are present over the winter.

This expanded designation also ensures that Cotswold Water Park can play a key role in the Nature Recovery Network (NRN) recently announced by Natural England. The NRN Delivery Partnership brings together representatives from over 600 organisations to drive forward the restoration of protected sites and landscapes across England, helping to provide at least 500,000 hectares of new wildlife-rich habitat. Cotswold Water Park is a key link in the Nature Recovery Network and a great example of how working with a wide range of partners allows people to enjoy sustainable recreational activities while enhancing and creating rich habitats for nature.

The notification process:

As of 7 January 2021, the extended SSSI covering all 177 lakes has been formally notified to landowners and occupiers and other interested parties. There will be a 4-month period in which anyone can make representations or object to the notification. If all objections are resolved or none are submitted, the designation will be confirmed. If there are unresolved objections the Natural England Board will hear all of these; they must then decide whether to confirm the designation (with or without reductions). If the notification is not confirmed within 9 months of the date of notification, the notification falls.

Representations can be made via: https://consult.defra.gov.uk/natural-england/cotswold-water-park.