List of Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Greater Manchester

This is a list of the Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) in Greater Manchester, a metropolitan county in North West England. In England the body responsible for designating SSSIs is Natural England, which chooses a site because of its fauna, flora, geological or physiographical features.[1] As of 2006, there are 21 sites designated within this Area of Search, of which 14 have been designated due to their biological interest, 5 due to their geological interest, and 2 for both biological and geological interest.[2]

Huddersfield Narrow Canal close to Stalybridge.

Natural England took over the role of designating and managing SSSIs from English Nature in October 2006 when it was formed from the amalgamation of English Nature, parts of the Countryside Agency and the Rural Development Service. Natural England, like its predecessor, uses the 1974–1996 county system[3] and as such the same approach is followed here, rather than splitting these sites between the Lancashire and Cheshire lists. The data in the table is taken from English Nature's website in the form of citation sheets for each SSSI.[4]

For other counties, see List of SSSIs by Area of Search.

Sites

Site nameReason for DesignationArea[A]Grid reference[B]Year in which notifiedMap[C]
Biological interestGeological interestHectaresAcres
Abram Flashes Y 39.698.0SD6100031990Map
Ashclough  Y5.814.3SD763063 & SD7570631988Map
Astley & Bedford Mosses Y 92.2227.8SJ6929751989Map
Brookheys Covert Y 2.45.8SJ7429041977Map
Bryn Marsh & Ince Moss Y 68.3168.8SD585025 & SD5950251989Map
Compstall Nature Reserve Y 12.831.6SJ9769171977Map
Cotteril Clough Y 10.325.5SJ8058391951Map
Dark Peak[D] Y Y31,852.978,708.4SK1109601951Map
Dunham Park Y 78.0192.7SJ7408701965Map
Gale Clough And Shooterslee Wood[E] Y 8.621.2SD7021411979Map
Highfield Moss Y 21.352.6SJ6149561986Map
Hollinwood Branch Canal Y 3.38.2SJ910993SJ9200041986Map
Huddersfield Narrow Canal Y 18.445.5SJ936986SD9810331988Map
Ladcastle and Den Quarries  Y2.56.2SD9950601984Map
Lowside Brickworks  Y1.43.5SD9410411989Map
Ludworth Intake[F]  Y5.112.7SJ9949111998Map
Nob End Y 8.821.7SD7490631988Map
Red Moss Y 47.2116.6SD6351041995Map
Rochdale Canal Y 25.663.1SD937161SD8910092000Map
South Pennine Moors[G] Y Y20,938.151,739.0SD9203001994Map
Tonge River Section  Y0.71.8SD7260951987Map

Notes

A Data rounded to one decimal place.
B Grid reference is based on the British national grid reference system, also known as OSGB36, and is the system used by the Ordnance Survey.[5]
C Link to maps using the Nature on the Map service provided by Natural England.
D The Gale Clough and Shooterslee Wood site extends into the county of Lancashire and so can be found on the list of SSSIs in Lancashire.[4]
E The Dark Peak site extends into three other counties and so can be found on lists of SSSIs in Derbyshire, South Yorkshire and West Yorkshire.[4]
F The Ludworth Intake site extends into the county of Derbyshire and so can be found on the list of SSSIs in Derbyshire.[4]
G The South Pennine Moors site extends into three other counties and so can be found on lists of SSSIs in Lancashire, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire.[4]

References