Climate Emergency

The Council is committed to making changes across all our services to play our part to tackle the Climate Emergency and it is one of the Council’s seven key priorities, as set out in our Stronger Futures plan.

The objectives that underpin this priority include:

• Reducing the carbon footprint of the Council

• Support the decarbonisation of energy, industry and business

• Improve sustainable transport and infrastructure

• Enable low carbon buildings, homes and development

• Enhancing green spaces

• Reduce waste and increase recycling

As an organisation we have a target to be carbon neutral by 2030 and are leading by example to help the borough to be carbon neutral by 2045.

Below are some examples of the work we’ve done so far to help achieve this

Walk through the Cheshire countryside and you are never far from a hedgerow. Lacing together fields, lanes and villages, hedges are far more than simple boundaries. They are one of the most distinctive features of our rolling, mainly pastoral landscape – and one of the most hardworking.

A colourful hedgerow

Hedgerows quietly underpin food production, help Cheshire adapt to a changing climate, support wildlife, manage water, and shape the character of the places we live, work and visit. In many ways, they are one of the county’s most valuable – and most overlooked – assets.

During National Hedgerow Week (4 - 10 May) we're looking at why they are so important for the county and the work being done to protect and restore them.

A defining feature of Cheshire’s countryside

Cheshire’s hedgerow network has helped shape the county’s familiar patchwork of fields for centuries. These green corridors frame views, soften the landscape and create the sense of place that people associate with the county.

This visual quality is not just about beauty. The quality of Cheshire’s countryside and its hedgerows is a core part of the county’s unique selling point. Attractive landscapes support tourism, encourage inward investment and contribute to healthier, happier communities.

Hedgerows are therefore not simply a background feature – they play a strategic role in placemaking, helping Cheshire remain a desirable place to live, work and do business.

Supporting productive farming and food security

For generations, hedgerows have supported Cheshire’s strong agricultural tradition. Well‑managed hedges provide shelter from wind and driving rain, helping livestock stay healthy and reducing stress during increasingly frequent heatwaves and storms. This directly supports animal welfare and farm productivity.

Hedgerows also help regulate farm microclimates, allowing grass to grow earlier in spring and later into autumn. This can extend the grazing season, improving resilience for farmers as weather patterns become less predictable.

Hedgerows and climate adaptation

Hedgerows also play an important role in responding to our changing climate and are able to store significantly more carbon in the soil beneath them than adjacent farmland. They help:

• store carbon in woody growth and soils, locking it away for decades
• reduce flooding by slowing rainfall and surface runoff
• protect soils from erosion during heavy rain or drought
• create cooler, shadier conditions, benefiting livestock and nearby crops

Managing water in a clay landscape

Cheshire’s clay‑rich soils present particular challenges when rain arrives in heavy bursts. Hedgerows play a vital role in helping water soak into the ground rather than rushing straight into ditches and rivers.

Deep hedge root systems:

• Improve soil structure
• Help rainwater penetrate slowly
• Recharge groundwater supplies
• Reduce sudden peaks in river flows

This supports cleaner water, more reliable supplies, healthier rivers and wetlands, and reduces flood risk for neighbouring communities – all while retaining enough water for nature and productive farming across the wider landscape.

Wildlife havens

Hedgerows are often described as “wildlife highways” – and for good reason. They connect woodlands, grasslands, rivers and farmland into a living, breathing network.

A single hedge can support birds, bats, insects, hedgehogs, dormice, wildflowers and countless other species. Flowering hedges provide pollen and nectar, berries feed birds in winter, and dense cover offers safe nesting and shelter year‑round.

By linking habitats together, hedgerows allow wildlife to move across the landscape as conditions change – a function that is becoming ever more important as the climate warms.

A network under pressure

Despite their value, hedgerows have been lost at an alarming rate. Cheshire was once the number one hedgerow county in England, but since 1976 the county has lost around 66% of its hedgerows, shrinking from approximately 33,000 km to just 10,118 km.

This loss has reduced landscape character, weakened wildlife networks and diminished the natural systems that help manage water, soil and climate.

Turning the tide: nature recovery in action

The good news is that momentum is building to help protect these vital assets of the borough. Cheshire and Warrington’s Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS) recognises hedgerows as a priority habitat, describing them as living ecosystems that support wildlife, store carbon and strengthen climate resilience.

Partners in the Cheshire Local Nature Partnership are working together to:

• Secure funding for hedgerow creation, restoration and long‑term management
• Expand green corridors across urban and rural areas
• Support farmers, landowners and communities to play their part
• Protect existing hedges while growing new ones for the future

These efforts aim to rebuild a connected hedgerow network that works for nature, farming, water, climate and people.

Cheshire Local Nature Partnership and Cheshire West and Chester Council, as the responsible authority to lead nature's recovery in Cheshire and Warrington, are exploring ways that could be used to fund many of our hedgerows to be restored and put back across the landscape. They are actively looking for partners and funders who may wish to be part of the solution and are interested in hearing from businesses, organisations or individuals who may be interested in investing in a hedgerow recovery scheme for Cheshire.

Contact the Local Nature Partnership for more information.

Hedgerows are providers of food security, climate resilience, biodiversity and placemaking value, woven deeply into Cheshire’s past and essential to its future.

Protecting and expanding them is an investment – in the landscape we love, the water we rely on, the food we produce, and the places we want future generations to enjoy.

During National Hedgerow Week, a national awareness event celebrating the importance of hedgerows, we are highlighting work undertaken at one of the Council’s woodlands to help strengthen hedgerows and provide vital habitats for local wildlife.

The Council’s Forestry Officer and Green Infrastructure Health Ranger teamed up with Wirral Countryside Volunteers and other community volunteers in February 2026 to begin restoration work on the hedges at Wervin Woods, a Council-owned woodland located between Chester and Ellesmere Port.

Wervin Woods is a community and conservation woodland established during the 2022/23 planting season. Alongside the woodland creation, work has been ongoing to restore and establish a mosaic of habitats, including a pond, wildflower areas, and grassland meadow, with hedgerows being the latest improvement project.

The site’s hedgerows had weakened due to overshading—where growth becomes too tall and dense—and poor overall structure. This is often caused by decades of over-trimming, which took place prior to the Council taking ownership of the site.

Hedgelaying, a traditional technique where hedge stems are partially cut and bent over, has been used to restore the hedgerows at Wervin Woods. This method helps keep hedges healthy, strong, and functional, rather than allowing them to become tall, gappy, or overgrown. The laid stems grow new shoots, making the hedge thick and dense again, which enhances wildlife habitats, supports farmland management, and preserves cultural heritage.

The Cheshire and Warrington Local Nature Recovery Strategy recognises the importance of hedgerows as living ecosystems that support wildlife and store carbon. Cheshire was once the number one hedgerow county in England but has lost 66% of its hedgerows since 1976—falling from 33,000 km to 10,118 km—making it vital that we protect and restore what remains.

Benefits of Hedgelaying

The National Hedgelaying Society highlights the many benefits associated with this traditional practice:

Ecological benefits
Hedgelaying creates dense, bushy hedges that provide shelter, nesting sites, and food for a wide range of wildlife, including birds, small mammals, insects, and pollinators such as bees and butterflies. The structure of laid hedges allows species to move safely between habitats and helps protect vulnerable wildlife, including hedgehogs, bank voles, and butterflies such as the brown hairstreak.

Agricultural and land management benefits
Hedgelaying produces thicker, more resilient hedges than standard trimming, creating effective barriers for livestock without the need for additional fencing. Hedgerows also reduce wind speed, prevent soil erosion, and act as natural barriers against pests and pollution. By increasing soil infiltration and reducing peak water flows, they can help improve water management and last for decades with minimal maintenance.

Cultural and aesthetic value
This traditional countryside craft has been practised in the UK for hundreds of years. Different regions have developed distinctive styles, allowing hedges to reflect local heritage and craftsmanship. Beyond their practical function, laid hedges enhance the visual appeal of landscapes, contributing to the enjoyment of rural areas and the preservation of cultural identity.

Wildlife and conservation
Laid hedges provide immediate shelter for wildlife and encourage the growth of native plant species, which in turn support local ecosystems. Conservation-focused hedgelaying often minimises the use of stakes and binders, creating self-supporting, wide, and tangled hedges that maximise habitat value from the outset. This approach balances ecological benefits with practical land management needs.

Get involved with our volunteering opportunities

All of the Council’s woodland creation sites have a year-round programme of volunteering and education opportunities, allowing volunteers to enhance and maintain the woodlands and be part of species monitoring. If you are interested in getting involved please email: woodland@cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk for more information.

Cheshire West and Chester Council has rolled out parking enforcement using cycles across Chester, strengthening parking enforcement while reducing reliance on vans and cutting carbon emissions.

As the service has grown, keeping on top of parking compliance beyond the city centre had increasingly required vehicle use. While foot patrols remain the mainstay of city‑centre enforcement, cycles have been introduced as a sustainable alternative for outer beats, neighbourhoods, and connecting routes.

Three existing Civil Enforcement Officers (CEOs) volunteered to pilot the new role. The Council partnered with BikeRight to deliver cycle proficiency training, ensuring officers were confident riding in busy traffic and around larger vehicles.

To ensure high visibility while remaining clearly identifiable as CEOs, a bespoke uniform was introduced using high‑visibility yellow and orange with clear CEO branding. The bikes used are fully equipped for everyday use, and officers now split their time between cycle and foot patrols.

Civil enforcement officer, Stefan, with his bike

Since deployment in January this year, officers now combine cycle and foot patrols, extending coverage without increasing vehicle journeys.

The CEOs have said that using a bike has completely changed how they work. They can cover more ground, respond quickly and engage positively with the public.

The Council’s Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Transport and Highways, Councillor Karen Shore said: “Introducing cycle enforcement was about finding a smarter, greener way to support compliance. Cycle enforcement is practical, efficient, and supports our wider push for active travel. It’s reduced our reliance on vans while helping officers work more flexibly, and the feedback we’ve received has been extremely positive.”

Making a few simple changes to reduce the amount of food we waste at home can help to save money and protect the planet. Cheshire West and Chester Council is supporting Stop Food Waste Day on 29 April and encouraging all residents to recycle their unused food instead of throwing it away.

Most unused food can be recycled, including bread, cakes, pastries, cheese, butter, eggs and their shells, fruit and vegetables, meat and fish including bones, rice, pasta, beans, tea bags, coffee grounds, uneaten pet food.

Recycled food waste becomes green energy, as well as fertiliser for use on farmland, which can support communities and help to tackle climate change.

It isn’t just the planet that benefits either. Recycling your food waste at home means cleaner bins, fewer smells, and can help people to save money by thinking more about how much food they need.

Most households already have a brown caddy, but if you don’t, you can order one for free on the Council's website, alternatively call us on: 0300 123 7026.

More information about food waste in Cheshire West and Chester can be found on the Council website:

Since the 1980s we’ve lost 157 species in Cheshire, with 3,200 species not recorded since 1990s .

People in the borough are being asked to take part in an epic nature challenge between 24 - 27 April 2026 to play their part to help map wildlife in the area. The City Nature Challenge is a global event where people in hundreds of City Regions worldwide are working together to record as much wildlife as possible.

You can help nature just by ‘catching’ a picture of a species on your phone in a phone app like iNaturalist.

You don’t need to be a scientist. You don’t need expensive equipment. You don’t even need to travel far.
If you can spot a bird, a flower, or an insect and record what you see, you can actively help nature.

Why recording species matters

Every time someone records a species—whether it’s a butterfly in their garden or a bird on a walk—it adds a vital piece to a much bigger picture. These records show what lives where, how common it is, and how things are changing over time. That information is gold for conservation.

Nature is changing fast. Climate change, habitat loss, and pollution are reshaping the world around us. Species records act like early warning signals. When plants flower earlier, birds arrive later, or insects disappear from places they once thrived, recorded observations are often the first clue that something’s wrong.

Small observations, big impact

Scientists alone can’t be everywhere. But thousands of people recording wildlife? That’s powerful.

When everyday nature lovers log what they see, they create a huge, shared dataset that helps:

• Detect species declines before it’s too late
• Track the spread of invasive species
• Protect important habitats
• Influence real conservation decisions

Your single record might seem small—but combined with others, it can shape national and even global conservation efforts.

Reconnect with the wild where you live

Recording species doesn’t just help science—it changes you.

Once you start noticing and naming what’s around you, walks become more interesting. Green spaces feel more alive. You start to recognise patterns, seasons, and surprises. That connection builds care—and people protect what they care about.

Be part of the solution

Nature doesn’t need superheroes. It needs observers.

By recording species, you become part of a growing community that’s actively helping to understand and protect the natural world. It’s simple, it’s meaningful, and it makes a real difference.

So next time something catches your eye—a bird call, a wildflower, a buzzing insect—don’t just admire it.

Record it.
Share it.
Help nature thrive.

Ready to get involved? Start with what’s right in front of you.

Visit the Record website for more information about this year's City Nature Challenge.

For more details about Nature’s Recovery in Cheshire & Warrington visit the Local Nature Partnership website

This coming Saturday, 28 March, millions of people across the world will take part in Earth Hour, switching off non‑essential lights at 8.30pm to show support for our planet. Earth Hour 2026 marks the 20th anniversary of the global movement, encouraging individuals, organisations, and communities to “give an hour for Earth” by taking positive action for nature and the climate.

The Council will be taking part by turning lights off at Eastgate Clock, Newgate, Chester Town Hall and other Council buildings across the borough.

What Is Earth Hour?

Earth Hour began in 2007 and has since grown into a worldwide moment of unity, with landmarks and homes going dark for 60 minutes to highlight the urgency of climate and nature loss. The turning off of lights is symbolic and the campaign also encourages people to spend an hour doing something meaningful for the environment—whether learning, relaxing in nature, or volunteering.

Ways to get involved

The Earth Hour website has lots of ideas of ways to get involved on the day, from getting creative to watching a nature documentary. Find out more - Give an Hour for Earth | Earth Hour

There are plenty of opportunities for residents to participate locally too, whether it is before, during, or after the hour itself.

1. Visit the Hoole Green Festival (Saturday, 28 March)

Taking place from 10am to 4.30pm at Hoole Community Centre (near Chester), the Hoole Green Festival brings together sustainable makers, green organisations, eco talks, entertainment, and a single‑use‑plastic‑free bar. It’s a perfect way to spend your Saturday ahead of Earth Hour and get inspired by local environmental action.
Visit Eco Communities' website to learn more

2. Join or support a local volunteering group

Our Climate Emergency Inspire hub has information about local organisations and community groups taking action to protect the environment and share their knowledge around addressing the climate crisis. It’s an ideal starting point for anyone who wants to be more involved in local environmental action.
Explore local opportunities on the Climate Emergency Inspire Hub

3. Take part in community litter picking

The Council supports local groups who regularly clean up streets and green spaces across the borough. Toolkits are available from the Council’s Your Streets team to use for light maintenance and community clean-ups to help individuals and groups who want to do their bit and get involved. Eco Communities also have an interactive map on their website where you can find Litter Pick Hubs, where you can borrow equipment to help clean up your community.
Visit the Council's website for more information on the Your Street Toolkits

4. Visit a local repair café

Reducing waste is a powerful action for the planet. The Council is supportive of local reuse initiatives, which play a key part in helping to deliver on the aims of our ten year waste strategy and our Climate Emergency Response Plan.
Repair cafés are one of the local community initiatives that are playing their part to create a circular economy, repairing items to keep them in use for longer, rather than discarding them. There are several repair cafes taking place regularly across the borough.
Find details about local repair cafés

5. Research how to retrofit your home to make it more energy efficient

Retrofitting your home can help to make your home warmer and more comfortable to live in. Take some time on Saturday to research what energy efficiency improvements you could make to your home. These measures could make your home warmer, reduce your carbon emissions by reducing the amount of energy you use and may even lower your energy bills.

Read the retrofitting guide on our Energy for Everyone hub

6. Enjoy a local greenspace

Earth Hour is also about reconnecting with nature. West Cheshire is home to a wide range of beautiful green spaces—parks, rivers, and woodlands—ideal to enjoy with family and friends, to head out for a twilight walk, stargazing session, or just to spend some time in, for quiet reflection, away from screens.

Find out about parks and greenspaces in the area

Lime trees at Marbury Country park

7. Sign up to the Climate Emergency enewsletter

The Council’s monthly Climate Emergency newsletter provides lots of advice and guidance of activities you can do to help the planet and is a great way to keep up-to-date on the positive action already taking place across the borough.

Sign up online

Whether you take part at 8.30pm for an hour or take some time out during the weekend, Earth Hour provides the perfect opportunity to come together with others across the globe to pause and show support for the planet.

On World Wetlands Day (2 February), Cheshire West and Chester Council is celebrating one of the planets most valuable and yet most threatened ecosystems. Wetlands, including ponds, marshes, wet meadows, and wet woodland, are biodiversity hotspots, natural water filters, carbon stores and valued spaces for people to connect with nature. However, globally, wetlands are disappearing at an alarming rate, with nearly 90% lost in the last 300 years.

Types of wetlands in west Cheshire

West Cheshire is home to a rich and varied network of wetland habitats, shaped by our rivers, low‑lying landscapes and historic land use. These include:

• Ponds and small waterbodies – vital for amphibians, insects, birds and aquatic plants, and especially important in farmed and urban landscapes.
• Rivers and floodplains – including the Rivers Dee and Weaver and their tributaries, with surrounding wet grasslands, reedbeds and wet meadows.
• Marshes and wet grassland – seasonally wet areas that support wildflowers, pollinators and breeding birds such as snipe and lapwing.
• Mosslands, fens and wet woodland – permanently wet habitats that support specialist species and help store carbon.
• Ditches, scrapes and seasonal pools – often man‑made but extremely valuable for wildlife and water management.

Together, these habitats form an interconnected wetland network that is essential for nature recovery across the borough.

The River Dee

Work to protect local wetlands

A range of strategic, conservation‑led programmes are underway across the borough to safeguard and enhance wetlands within Cheshire West.

Local Nature Recovery Strategy

The Cheshire and Warrington Local Nature Recovery Strategy sets out the actions needed to aid nature’s recovery across the county, including restoration, creation and positive management of ponds and broader wetland networks, aiming to reverse decades of ecological decline. Ponds and wetlands are recognised as key elements in the region’s strategic nature recovery network, linking isolated habitats and supporting species movement at a landscape scale.

Ponds and wetlands are also acknowledged for their role in regulating water within the landscape, which is becoming increasingly important as weather patterns grow more extreme. During periods of heavy rainfall, wetland habitats help to reduce flooding by temporarily storing larger volumes of water and slowing the flow across the landscape. At drier times of year, their ability to retain water becomes an essential resource for wildlife, as well as livestock in agricultural areas.

Chester Wetlands

The Council is working in partnership with the Land Trust, Networks for Nature (an initiative led by Chester Zoo), and other stakeholders at the Countess of Chester Country Park to deliver a significant wetland restoration project on the outskirts of Chester. The project will involve re-aligning the existing watercourse to restore the natural meanders and flow, as well as forming scrapes; all of which will help to prevent flooding, improve water quality and create healthy habitats for wildlife and local visitors to enjoy. The wetland will also play a vital role in carbon sequestration, acting as a carbon sink to contribute to climate change mitigation efforts.

District Licensing Scheme for Great Crest Newts

Ponds play an important role in our borough providing habitat that supports amphibians, such as Great Crested Newts, birds, mammals, and invertebrates. Cheshire has one of the highest pond densities in the country and was once known as the pond capital of Europe, however, a lot of the historic ponds have now been degraded or lost.

As part of the Council’s work to address the nature crisis, the Council is acting as the habitat delivery body for Natural England's great crested newt strategic licensing scheme, known as District Level Licensing (DLL). This programme of work aims to maintain the favourable conservation status of great crested newts by creating and enhancing the ponds and surrounding terrestrial habitats that they use.

Under DLL, developers pay a conservation payment, which is then used to create or restore new ponds in strategic areas within the borough. The ponds are secured, monitored, and managed for 25 years – all funded by the developers.

Since the scheme started in 2018, the Council has created and restored over 180 ponds, including 15 in the last 12 months. The Council’s Biodiversity and Green Infrastructure Team continue to monitor these, ensuring they remain healthy and thriving habitats for local wildlife.

The Council is asking landowners and farmers in the borough to come forward if they have any ponds that are heavily scrubbed over or dry, and in need of restoration. There is also the potential to restore ‘ghost ponds’ that were historically present in the landscape. A grant is available to successful applicants to cover the full costs of each pond restoration. Applications must come from within target areas that have been mapped by Natural England, and conform to design specifications for size, depth and profile. More than one third of land in the borough falls within the target area. You can view which areas are included on Natural England's website.

A number of ponds have also been restored on Council owned sites, helping to create healthier ponds that will benefit local wildlife and communities for years to come. Below is a selection of three pictures showing how the work done can really bring ponds back to life.

A pond on a Council site before restoration work began

The same pond within three months of restoration works taking place

The same pond on the most recent monitoring visit

The Council’s Biodiversity and Green Infrastructure team can provide support and advice throughout the application process for the DLL scheme. To find out more about the scheme, and to see if you are eligible, please contact the biodiversity team via email: Biodiversity@cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk.

The Council has been offering Bikeability training to local schools in the borough, through our provider BikeRight, over the last five years.

In 2025 alone 3,500 children have completed their Bikeability training, setting them up to ride safely for years to come.

The free training covers a wide range of important skills to ensure that each pupil has the knowledge and confidence to ride safely in the local area.

Recently a parent of a child, who had attended the training at their local primary school, shared their thoughts on how the course had reformed their 9-year-olds cycling habits. We’ve shared the review below, with the child and Bikeability instructor’s details anonymised.

“We are absolutely delighted with the Bikability training my son received, and we can’t thank you enough.

My 9-year-old, has come home a completely reformed cyclist. He genuinely loved the course and specifically mentioned how much he enjoyed the instructor’s training.

The most life-changing result? The helmet. I, his mother, have spent years engaging in daily, soul-crushing negotiations over why a helmet is necessary, Now, he simply reaches for it. No debate. No commentary.

The difference, I have concluded, is that while I may possess a lifetime of love and parental wisdom, your instructor (the cool, ex-army instructor who rides bikes all the time) possesses the highly coveted quality of coolness. He explained how dangerous the roads can be and my son finally listened. Lesson learned: I am not cool.

He has picked up fantastic safety tips, like the crucial warning about being aware of parked cars and the dreaded potential for "car-dooring".

This course was perfect for him, and I'm genuinely grateful for the time taken to keep the kids safe."

Moulton Primary School also shared their experience of running Bikeability training in their school. Their PE Coordinator said:

“I am writing in response to the recent email regarding Bikability, and I would like to wholeheartedly confirm that the training provided was outstanding.

The pupils who took part thoroughly enjoyed the experience and all reported learning something new. Several pupils who participated in the Level 1 course commented on how inspiring the instructors were and shared that they now feel confident riding a bike, even though some had never ridden one before the sessions.

Pupils who completed both Level 1 and Level 2 courses spoke very highly of the coaches, describing them as caring, supportive, and encouraging. They particularly appreciated that mistakes were treated as learning opportunities, with coaches offering guidance rather than being strict, helping them to overcome challenges with confidence.

Many pupils also commented on feeling much safer on the roads as a result of the high-quality teaching and said they now feel more confident undertaking longer-distance bike rides. There was an overwhelming amount of positive feedback from all pupils, highlighting how much fun they had and how exhilarating the entire experience was.

From the bottom of our hearts, thank you and well done to the coaches, the team, and everyone involved in supporting the pupils. This was a truly memorable experience and something the pupils at Moulton School will never forget.”

If you want to find out more about how cycle training has changed since you were in school and the offer of free Bikeability training in the borough, visit: Bike Right’s website for more information.

Alongside the free school Bikeability training, there is also free adult and family cycle training available which can be adapted to suit your cycling level and the area where you are likely to cycle regularly.

Make 2026 the year you dust off your bike and take the time to refresh your cycling skills.