Wilmslow Police are currently investigating whether water voles, our most endangered mammal, have been eliminated from Lindow Moss, Wilmslow's most important historical and archeological site.
Sergeant Angie Coppock and PC Lesley Long attended a site meeting with ecological consultant Derek Gow and Richard Gardner of Cheshire Wildlife Trust on Tuesday 19th January - because to interfere with water voles or their habitat is a criminal offence.
Last year, the Saltersley Common Preservation Society commissioned Derek Gow who specialises in water vole conservation to visit the site, also known as Saltersley Common.
He originally visited Lindow Moss in 2010 to carry out a water vole survey for SCPS, which was formed in the late 1990's and campaigns to protect the Moss, and after his follow up visit in November 2015, Derek described the peat extraction at Lindow Moss as 'simply devastating' and called for the rare habitat to be restored.
Croghan Peat were granted permission to extract peat at Lindow Moss in 2003 subject to 51 conditions, condition 51 of which called for a Water Vole Protection Scheme and stated no working in the ditches was to be allowed until the scheme was in place.
However, according to Tony Evans, Secretary of SCPS, Croghan Peat immediately started digging.
Saltersley Common Preservation Society brought this to the attention of Cheshire County Council (CCC) and in May 2005 Croghan Peat were fined £700 and ordered to pay £5175 costs.
Tony Evans commented "The scheme was eventually submitted and agreed in 2006. From that day to this it has been ignored, just like us with Cheshire County Council and Cheshire East Council."
"In 2010 we commissioned Derek Gow to conduct an independent survey. His report ran to 74 pages of text and photos and proved we were right. Paul Hill, the ecologist who wrote the original report and was retained by Croghan Peat agreed we were right. Unfortunately, CEC ignored us.
"In 2013 we took our complaint to the Local Government Ombudsman who found the council guilty of maladministration. This time CEC ignored the ombudsman."
Early last year Saltersley Common Preservation Society also noticed that sand was being exposed on the site, Condition 31 states 'no sand shall be disturbed'. SCPS brought this to the attention of CEC who said they would bring this to the attention of Croghan Peat and call a site meeting.
Tony Evans said "After about six months we asked the outcome of the meeting and was told 'the operator declined to attend a meeting'.
Sergeant Angie Coppock told wilmslow.co.uk "The Police are in the initial stages of the investigation and will need to speak to Cheshire East Council in the first instance to establish if they wish to make a complaint as the land in question is owned by them."
In November 2015, CEC issued wilmslow.co.uk with the following statement "The Council continues to monitor the site on a regular basis and we continue to discuss any concerns with the peat extraction operator, whilst monitoring the site in relation to any impact on wildlife including water voles."
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