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Working alongside English
Nature in a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI)
The next few pages describe a
2003 project for a client whose garden is within a designated
Site of Special Scientific Interest. The site crosses the Devon border into Somerset and is administered by the Somerset English Nature team. The following outline of just what defines
an SSSI is from the English Nature website
www.english-nature.org.uk which
has a far more in-depth explanation as well as a number of examples and
articles.
Introduction to the Site
of Special Scientific Interests (SSSI)
Sites of Special Scientific
Interest (SSSI) represent our best sites for wildlife and geology. Well over
half, by area, are internationally important and many play an important part in
local culture and economies or provide wonderful opportunities for people to
enjoy wildlife and landscape. The national wildlife and geological features of
SSSIs are irreplaceable parts of our national heritage.
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Sites of Special
Scientific Interest are notified throughout Great Britain. However, English
Nature is responsible for identifying and protecting these sites in England. We
achieve this primarily in partnership with SSSI owners and managers, and as a
result the majority are in good condition and well managed.
Notification as an
SSSI is primarily a legal mechanism to protect sites that are of particular
conservation interest because of the wildlife they support, or because of the
geological features that are found there. |
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SSSIs can be found all over
England, and together with those in Scotland and Wales, they form a national
network of areas with the greatest value to wildlife or geological
conservation
There are approximately
4,100 SSSIs in England, from the south-west tip of Cornwall to the northernmost
edges of Cumbria. Some are very small - about 130 are less than half a hectare.
Others cover thousands of hectares - the largest is The Wash, an area of
intertidal mudflats of great importance for its waterfowl and wader
populations, covering 66,050 hectares. The first SSSIs were identified shortly
after the Second World War when, in 1949, one of English Nature's predecessors
(The Nature Conservancy) was given a duty to notify local planning authorities
of SSSIs so that wildlife and geological interest could be taken into account
during the planning process. Their protection has increased gradually over the
years through the following pieces of legislation:
The National Parks and
Access to the Countryside Act 1949
The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981
The Wildlife and Countryside Amendment Act 1985
The Countryside and
Rights of Way Act 2000 |
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SSSIs are selected
according to specific scientific criteria. The Guidelines for the Selection of
Biological SSSIs, published in 1989 by the Joint Nature Conservation Committee,
set down the selection criteria for biological SSSIs. These include size,
fragility and naturalness of sites and the rarity of the species or habitats
they support.
When an SSSI is identified
English Nature notifies the owners and occupiers of the land, the local
planning authority, and the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural
Affairs. Certain public bodies such as the Environment Agency, water and
sewerage companies, internal drainage boards and any other public bodies whose
activities could affect SSSIs are also informed.
The notification package
explains to owners and occupiers of SSSIs, the site's location and the features
of special interest, how the land should be managed to maintain that interest
and a list of operations likely to damage those features. |
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Owners and occupiers
are given an opportunity to make representations in response to the
notification of a new SSSI. These are then considered by English Nature's
Council before deciding whether to confirm a notification.
Owners and occupiers (ie
landowners, tenants and commoners) of SSSIs must give English Nature written
notice before initiating any operations likely to damage the site, or allowing
someone else to carry out these activities. None of the operations listed in
the notification documents may proceed without English Nature's consent.
English Nature provides
advice, practical assistance and financial support which help owners and
occupiers manage SSSIs for the benefit of conservation. In many cases
management agreements have been negotiated with English Nature to ensure that
the land is kept in the best condition for the wildlife it supports. |
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Conservation of wildlife
in gardens - an introduction
Before we explain the work undertaken in
connection with this garden, you might like to read a general introduction to
gardening with wildlife conservation in mind - and who better to give it than
the Chair of English Nature? One of the articles on this site is from an
introduction to a CD produced by English Nature. It covers many of the concerns
that relate to our client's garden as a part of an SSSI and so is reproduced
here in full, with permission, by following this
link.
© 2003
English Nature |
