Natural England - Opportunities and optimum sitings for energy crops within the North West region

Opportunities and optimum sitings for energy crops within the North West region

The maps below refer to the North West region. Please remember that the maps are indicative. Refer to the guidance regarding their use before accessing. These are large files and may take a couple of minutes to download

  1. Miscanthus yield map: (829kb)pdf document.  This map identifies areas where high, average and low miscanthus yields may occur - guidance
  2. SRC yield map: (2.5mb)pdf document.  This map identifies areas where high, average and low SRC yields may occur - guidance
  3. Existing energy crop locations: (2.43mb)pdf document. This map identifies areas of existing energy crops, planted under the 2000 – 2006 Energy Crops Scheme. This map allows consideration of opportunities to develop biomass projects and energy supply chains - guidance
  4. Designated areas [document removed].  This map identifies a number of environmental designations that may impact where energy crops can be located - guidance. Please note that these maps have been produced differently to the other maps. Further instructions regarding their use.
  5. Joint character areas (JCAs): (2.62mb)pdf document.  This map identifies which JCA a piece of land falls in. Once identified, please click on the appropriate JCA in the map below. This will bring up a table providing  information about the impact of energy crops within that JCA - guidance

In addition, there is also a guidance document outlining a number of environmental issues that should be considered when applying for an energy crop grant.

North West Joint Character Areas

Hotspot map

5. Border Moors & Forests 6. Solway Basin 7. West Cumbria Coastal Plain 8. Cumbria High Fells 9. Eden Valley 10. North Pennines 11. Tyne Gap & Hadrian's Wall 17. Orton Fells 18. Howgill Fells 19. South Cumbria Low Fells 20. Morecambe Bay Limestones 21. Yorkshire Dales 31. Morecambe Coast & Lune Estuary 32. Lancashire & Amounderness Plain 33. Bowland Fringe & Pendle Hill 34. Bowland Fells 35. Lancashire Valleys 36. Southern Pennines 51. Dark Peak 53. South West Peak 54. Manchester Pennine Fringe 55. Manchester Conurbation 56. Lancashire Coal Measures 57. Sefton Coast 58. Merseyside Conurbation 59. Wirral 60. Mersey Valley 61. Shropshire, Cheshire & Staffordshire Plain 62. Cheshire Sandstone Ridge