Cotswold Water Park SSSI

Closed 7 Jun 2021

Opened 7 Jan 2021

Contact

Peter Holmes

(Senior Adviser)

West Midlands Area Team

0208 026 0938

peter.holmes@naturalengland.org.uk

Feedback updated 1 Oct 2021

We asked

Natural England consulted with owners, occupiers and interested parties on the notification of Cotswold Water Park Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) on 7 January 2021 and the proposal to de-notify parts of the previously notified Cotswold Water Park SSSI that are not considered to be of special interest.

Consultations closed on 7 June 2021.

You said

Following consideration of representations and objections at its meeting on 15 September and resumed meeting of 29 September 2021, the Board of Natural England approved the confirmation of the notification of the Cotswold Water Park SSSI with modifications to the description of the special interest (area figure amendment and the addition of little grebe Tachybaptus ruficollis  to the citation), boundary map and Views about Management (VAM).

No representations or objections were received to the proposal dated 7 January 2021 to remove the SSSI notification (known as ‘de-notification’) from parts of the previously notified Cotswold Water Park SSSI that are not considered to be of special interest.  The proposed denotification has been confirmed without modification. The denotified land (as shown on the maps that formed part of the notification document of 7 January 2021 is no longer subject to the effects of notification as an SSSI.

We did

Natural England confirmed the enlarged Cotswold Water Park SSSI under section 28C of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and
de-notified the areas no longer of Special Scientific Interest under section 28D of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 on 1 October 2021.

Results updated 1 Oct 2021

The list of operations requiring Natural England’s consent which formed part of the notification document of 7 January 2021 remains unaltered.  The other legal documents, (boundary map, citation describing the features of special interest and statement of Natural England’s views on the management of the SSSI) have been amended and are available below.

Files:

Overview

The Cotswold Water Park is a 40 square mile complex of 177 lakes formed by gravel workings on the borders of Gloucestershire, Wiltshire and Oxfordshire. There are two principal blocks of lakes: a larger one in the west centred on Ashton Keynes and a smaller eastern one centred on Fairford, with stepping-stones formed by recent workings in between.

The Cotswold Water Park SSSI was notified in June 1994, comprising 10 lakes of special interest for standing water habitats and the associated charophytes (stoneworts). The Cotswold Water Park is of special interest for its nationally important numbers and assemblages of breeding and non-breeding waterbirds and populations of aquatic plants which occur within and are supported by the wider habitat mosaic.

The Cotswold Water Park is notified as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) 7 January 2021.

We recommend you read more about the changes to the Cotswold Water Park SSSI which are described (with maps) in the notification document in the related documents section.

You can submit your views via an online survey or by email to peter.holmes@naturalengland.org.uk .

Why your views matter

We are now seeking views on changes to the notification of the Cotswold Water Park SSSI under the following Sections of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981:

  • notification of additional land under Section 28C
  • proposed de-notification of part of the Cotswold Water Park SSSI under Section 28D

 

What happens next

We are now assessing the response to the consultation and will be making a recommendation to the Board of Natural England in due course. Natural England has to make a decision to either confirm or withdraw this notification by 6 October 2021 or the notification will cease to exist. We will widely promote Natural England's decision.

Audiences

  • Charities/Voluntary Organisations
  • Government Agencies
  • Local Authorities
  • Walkers
  • Farmers
  • Tenant Farmers
  • Agricultural Landlords
  • Land Agents
  • Public Bodies
  • Consultants

Interests

  • Natural environment
  • Biodiversity
  • Conservation
  • Land management
  • Environmental Stewardship
  • Uplands
  • Protecting wildlife