Historic site named Manchester’s newest Local Nature Reserve

Part of the Southern Cemetery located in Chorlton Park ward has been designated as Manchester’s 11th Local Nature Reserve.

The Council’s Executive has backed the status for a 28-hectare section of the old part of the cemetery which opened in 1879 and is the largest municipal cemetery in the UK, and second largest in Europe.

Local nature reserves are sites that contain wildlife and/or geological features that are of specific, local interest. This area of the cemetery features tree-lined avenues of mature beach and plane trees and has many magnificent specimen trees of significant age and ecological value.

The council says a key part of its biodiversity strategy, which was adopted in 2022, is to increase the number of Local Nature Reserves in Manchester.

The section of the old part of the cemetery designated a nature reserve excludes areas which are in current use for burials or storage. Local Nature Reserve Status is subject to formal approval by Natural England.

Councillor Tracey Rawlins, Executive Member for Environment, said: “Green spaces across our city have a vital role to play in our wellbeing and we are determined to support and celebrate biodiversity in these special places.

“Local Nature Reserves are selected because of their rich flora and fauna but also their strong Friends group which show how much they mean to the community.”

Councillor Lee-Ann Igbon, Executive Member for Vibrant Neighbourhoods, said: “Southern Cemetery is a flourishing and well-loved green space that rightly deserves its Local Nature Reserve status to go alongside the Green Flag it already has in recognition of how well-managed it is.”