Sites of Biological Importance (SBI), also known as LWS, in Greater Manchester

UPDATED JULY 2026 Greater Manchester Ecology Unit (GMEU) operates the SBI register for, and on behalf of, the ten Local Authorities that comprise Greater Manchester. This dataset contains all adopted SBI boundaries (based upon the 2024 review season), including the name of each site and a summary of its defining features. SBIs are Greater Manchester's equivalent to Local Wildlife Sites (LWS). SBIs are non-statutory areas of substantive nature conservation importance within the county of Greater Manchester. The SBI system is designed to establish and highlight to planners, landowners and site managers where areas of high biodiversity interest occur so that appropriate decisions on planning applications, land use and land management can be made. Full SBI citations, including site descriptions, statistics and grading information can be purchased from GMLRC if required.