A corner of south Manchester with ‘immense’ wildlife has been declared a nature reserve.
Manchester council formally earmarked a section of Southern Cemetery, the largest municipal graveyard in the UK, as a local nature reserve on Friday (March 14). It’s the tenth council reserve to be announced, with the last designation taking place in March 2023.
However, councillors have designated an area which is ‘away from active burial sites’. The 28-hectare plot in Chorlton is already home to bats, owls, birds, bees, and butterflies.
Deputy council leader Joanna Midgeley, who represents the Chorlton Park ward for Labour, said the ‘wildlife is immense’.