Dear friends and supporters,
Danes Moss has entered spring. Sphagnum moss is growing on the SSSI. Most noticeably, trees, birds and insects have burst into new life alongside other wild creatures, more shy or hard to observe but spotted by those who can wait long enough! The air, water and peaty soil is warmer. And residents of Macclesfield and nearby remain so lucky to have this place within walking distance of our homes.
But, if our friends and neighbours think that Danes Moss is now ‘saved’ they are sadly wrong. Development remains a possibility unless the council’s ‘Local Plan’ is reviewed and planning applications are withdrawn.
I urge you to spend some time on Danes Moss. Enjoy this incredible place. But remember that its future is not yet secure. With that in mind, perhaps you can help us in our mission to secure it?
Read more below for updates and thanks, as ever, for your continued support.
Tom Eccles
Chair
OPTIONS APPRAISAL
Cheshire East Council continue to work through their Options Appraisal for the 136 acres of Danes Moss they call the ‘South Macclesfield Development Area.’ We are making contributions behind the scenes and we will update you with any significant progress when it happens.
The Council is moving to the old ‘cabinet’ decision making model, which means that the Economy and Growth Committee no longer exists. So, once the Options Appraisal is completed, who will vote to make a decision? This important detail remains unclear, but we will update you once we know.
SAVE DANES MOSS WINS CAMPAIGN AWARD
We were honoured to be presented with an award for Best Community Climate and Nature Action at the National Campaigners Awards in London this month. The awards are organised by the Sheila McKechnie Foundation.
Our award category was ‘Best Community, Climate and Nature Action’.
You can watch our part of the ceremony here at around the 47 minutes mark.
SHARE YOUR MEMORIES OF DANES MOSS
Do you have childhood memories of Danes Moss?
Did anyone in your family work as a peat cutter on the moss?
Do you have old photographs of Danes Moss?
If so, please get in touch with us! info @ danesmosstrust.com
Species of the month: Moths
Rather than a species, this month we are highlighting all of our Danes Moss moths. Danes Moss is an extremely biodiverse site and the moths there are no exception, to date we have found over 450 species of butterflies and moths in total across the whole of Danes Moss, take a look here.
There are Cheshire county first records, nationally scarce species and many legally protected species such as those protected under the NERC Act as section 41 species of principal importance.
There are still many more to find on the Moss, New species for 2026 so far include the Scarce Yellow-spot Tortrix (pictured above) it is a rare species across the UK and this is only the fifth Cheshire County record. We also recently found a Small Barred Longhorn Moth which was the third Cheshire county record. This underscores how important Danes Moss is within Cheshire East as a vital biodiversity hotspot.
Many moths look amazing and have great names, see below for a couple that need no explanation!
CLIMATE RESEARCH
Can British peatlands survive climate change? We recently read a study ( Ritson et al, 2025. https://besjournals.
Researchers applied three different scenarios of global warming to British blanket bogs, which mainly occur in uplands like the Peak District. All three scenarios led to “substantial losses in areas suitable for peatland by 2061 – 2080.” In the hottest scenario, there was virtually no peatland left. The mid-range scenario predicted just small pockets of peatland surviving in Snowdonia. This is climate pathway that we are actually on. The best case scenario relies on drastic reductions in global emissions and limiting global warming to less than 2 degrees C.
Whilst the study didn’t include lowland bogs, like Danes Moss, all peatlands will be affected by climate change. And it makes our mission to protect Danes Moss and other peatlands even more urgent. Every day that passes without beginning restoration of all our peatlands is another day closer to losing them for good.
So, what can be done? Read on…
LOCAL ACTION MATTERS
We are recruiting volunteers! Please get in touch if you can help us in any way. In particular, we would appreciate help with social media content and organising events. You do not need to be an expert in anything to volunteer with us.
Get in touch via: info @ danesmosstrust.com
AIM HIGHER: SUPPORT THE CLIMATE & NATIONAL SECURITY BILL
Local environmental action can only achieve so much. We need transformative action from national politicians to protect nature. ‘Zero Hour’ have been campaigning for several years to introduce stronger legislation to protect nature. The bill already has a lot of cross-party support. We hope you will visit their website here ( https://www.zerohour.uk ), share their message and write to your MP.
NB: Macclesfield MP, Tim Roca is listed as a supporter of the bill.
So, please…
- do stay in touch
- volunteer with us
- spread the word about Danes Moss
- And, if you can, get out there yourself and experience the wonder of this beautiful peatland.
Thank you for your support.
Events & activities coming up!
- Sunday 28 June, 10-15.30 our monthly stall at Treacle Market in St Michael’s Churchyard. Come join us for a catch-up
- PRIDE Saturday 4th July, supporters are welcome to join us in the parade, We will have a stall in St Michaels Churchyard and we will be doing a special PRIDE themed activity for all ages and we can do eco friendly pride and festival glitter tattoos.
Climate change impacts on blanket peatland in Great Britain. Journal of Applied Ecology, 62, 701–714. Available at: https://besjournals.
