CHESHIRE Wildlife Trust is bidding to save part of Moore Nature Reserve from development after raising fears over its future becoming 'vulnerable'.

The organisation is supporting residents across the town in trying to prevent the loss of the site to future construction work.

An area of the reserve has been submitted in the local plan preferred development option as part of the authority's proposals for Port Warrington.

The trust's evidence and planning manager, Rachel Giles, submitted a response in the consultation.

She said: "We believe developing this site would be highly damaging to local biodiversity, the community and would be environmentally unsustainable.

"We have submitted a response, which outlines the harm a development on the nature reserve would cause to species such as dragonflies, bees, butterflies, breeding and wintering birds.

"Reflecting the council's own planning policies set out in the Warrington local plan borough-wide strategy 'securing a high quality environment', we believe that the nature reserve should be protected from development.

"We believe that the ecological networks and wildlife corridors need to be mapped before any decisions are made in order to see what impact future developments would have on Warrington's biodiversity in the long term."

The reserve has areas of woodland, meadows, five large lakes and wetlands and is home to a diverse range of plants, animals, birds and mammals.

Situated between the Manchester Ship Canal and the Mersey, the site has been managed as a nature reserve since 1991, following a period as a sand quarry.

It is managed by wardens employed by FCC Environment, which operates the nearby landfill site.

Charlotte Harris, chief executive officer at Cheshire Wildlife Trust, said: "Moore Nature Reserve is not only a haven for species but a great asset to the community.

"There is a bank of evidence of how visiting green spaces and getting outside helps people deal with stress and improve mental health.

"This site has become a go-to place for people in the community appreciating this benefit.

"Owners of the land, Peel Holdings, have it licensed as a landfill site, meaning that the nature reserve has to stay in existence until 2021, but then its future becomes vulnerable.

"We are urging Warrington Borough Council to take heed of our advice and the voice of the community on this issue."