North Merseyside Local Wildlife Sites
In North Merseyside, Local Wildlife Sites (LWS), are places that are of particular importance to biodiversity in the local area. LWS are not legally protected like Sites of Special Scientific Interest or other ‘statutory’ sites but once identified they are adopted into the Local Plan of a local authority and afforded greater recognition in local conservation and decision making. This in turn amounts to some protection for the wildlife living there.
Every LWS has an official boundary and ‘citation’. The citation lists the features for which the site has been designated. These features often include species or habitats of importance to conservation but may also include notes on the general wealth of biodiversity and the naturalness of a site (amount of native species compared to non-native).
While Merseyside BioBank manages aspects of the information that informs the Local Site process in North Merseyside. The top copies of documentation including guidance and the citations themselves are held on the North Merseyside Local Sites Partnership page here: https://northmerseysidelsp.org.uk/
Local Wildlife Site and Local Geological Site information is also provided as part of our ‘standard service’ or can be accessed directly from us via a search.