Wildlife campaigners in Stockport have written to the council over plans to expand Stockport County’s Edgeley Park ground by building a car park
They say that planners want to turn Edgeley’s only wildlife area into a car park in a letter sent to twelve councillors
The group say that while they fully support the stadium’s redevelopment to benefit our community,they strongly object to the car park and access components, which contradict six key policies
The Edgeley Wildlife Reserve (EWR), a rewilded deciduous woodland, constitutes a Habitat of Principal Importance, is the largest and only natural green space of meaningful size in Edgeley, constituting 40% of the ward’s natural green space/wildlife habitat (1.4 acres of 3.57 acres in total).
89% of its trees were classified as of Moderate to High quality in the Arboricultural Impact Assessment supplied in support of the application. It is located within the Green Chain and supports 26 bird species, of which six are Red-listed and five are Amber-listed, meaning 42% of its birds are threatened, underscoring its critical role in supporting declining UK species.
Additionally they say the reservehosts 150 trees, of which 77 are mature or established, and 50 wild flora species—a diversity unlikely matched elsewhere in the ward. This floral
richness supports pollinators and wildlife, underpinning ecological resilience in an area severely lacking such habitats.
The developers, they say, disingenuously claim to enhance biodiversity by proposing tree pits in the car park, hedgerows, and small, fragmented patches of so-called “woodland” that fail to meet Forestry Commission standards for woodland classification
The applicant’s mitigation plans , they add,cannot compensate for the loss of this irreplaceable habitat, particularly its connected mosaic habitat of woodland, grassland, and scrub.
You can read the full letter HERE
