A SITE close to Tameside’s border with Saddleworth has been declared a Site of Biological Importance (SBI).
The land where Mossley meets Grasscroft, which lies between the A670 Mossley Road and the railway that runs through the area, has been given the designation by the Greater Manchester Ecology Unit (GMEU).
Being termed a Site of Biological Importance offers no legal protection from plans to develop it but they do receive some protection through different policies.
Their status must be also taken into consideration by local authorities when planning applications affect them.
Before being designated as an SBI, sites are visited by GMEU staff and are surveyed using a ‘walk-over survey.’
Once there, records of flora and fauna there are made, along with measures like an egg search for amphibians, pond netting, observing of presence of birds with breeding status if possible and field signs for other animals like bats, newts, water vole and badgers.