Here’s where to start when you want to find out the conservation importance of a site under threat.
Understanding the value to wildlife, or other conservation interests, of a site you want to protect is really important. You can use this information to support your comments on planning applications or local plans/local development plans, or to consider ways to help get a site’s wildlife value better recognised.
Your first step should be to find out if the site is already protected by a conservation designation. If a site is protected, or it qualifies for protection, your local planning authority will need to take this into account when making planning decisions.
There are many types of conservation designations, based on a wide range of wildlife, geological, landscape and historical features. For wildlife sites, the type of designation depends on how important the site is in a local, national or international context. Depending on their special interests, some sites may benefit from more than one type of designation.
Depending on the type of threat, it may also be important to know whether there is a designated site close by as it’s possible that birds and other wildlife could be affected indirectly, such as through disturbance, light pollution, or impacts on hydrology.
Sometimes designated site species (especially birds) may also use surrounding land for feeding or other activities, meaning that those areas are ‘functionally linked’ to the designated sites.
All statutory designated wildlife sites of national and international importance across England, Scotland and Wales (as well as other geographic information about the natural environment in Great Britain) can be found on the Multi Agency Geographic Information for the Countryside (MAGIC) website.
Wildlife designations and other biogeographical information for Northern Ireland can be found on the Natural Environment Map Viewer.
Locally important (or ‘non-statutory’) wildlife sites are usually mapped in local plans/local development plans (or older area plans in Northern Ireland) that are available from your local planning authority. See this useful guide to Local Wildlife Sites by the Wildlife Trusts. You can also search for your local planning authority here.
If a site has a conservation designation, it’s worth finding out exactly why the site was designated. In other words, which species, habitats, seasons, or other features is the site especially important for. Eg, is it designated because of important numbers of nesting or wintering birds, or because of year-round interests, such as a special type of habitat or geology? This information can usually be found in the site’s citation document.
Searchable information on individual statutory site designations can be found at:
Generally speaking, a site with a conservation designation is likely to be easier to defend than a site with none. But bear in mind that a conservation designation is not an automatic ‘red card’ to development, and you will need to explain to the decision-maker how you think the designated interests of the site will be impacted by the proposals.
Different levels of conservation designation have different protection regimes – the higher the value (or importance) of its interests, the greater the legal and policy protection afforded to it.
Nationally important statutory sites for wildlife (known as Sites of Special Scientific Interest [SSSIs] in England, Wales and Scotland, and Areas of Special Scientific Interest [ASSIs] in Northern Ireland) and locally important (non-statutory) wildlife interests are protected by national planning policies. Further policies setting out the approach to their protection and enhancement through the planning system are also usually included within individual local plans/local development plans.
Under these policies, development which would harm national and local sites is generally not permitted unless there are reasons which outweigh the value of the site. In such cases, appropriate measures are usually required to minimise (and in some cases compensate for) impacts, particularly in the case of nationally important statutory sites.
SSSIs also benefit from certain legal protections under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 in England, Scotland and Wales. The equivalent Wildlife in Northern Ireland Order 1985 provides similar protections for ASSIs in Northern Ireland. Many of these legal protections relate to the management and protection of sites from non-development related activities. However, they do include some useful processes and safeguards, such as the need for decision-makers to consult the Government’s nature conservation body when a nationally important wildlife site could be harmed by a development proposal.
Internationally important sites in the UK, including Special Protection Areas (SPAs) (for birds) and Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) (for other wildlife), are protected under legislation commonly known as ‘the Habitats Regulations’. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, Ramsar Wetland sites are also covered by this legislation (under policy in those UK countries). These regulations provide the highest level of protection afforded to wildlife sites in the UK and set a high bar for developments that could cause damage to the wildlife interests of these special sites.
Take a look at our guide to the Habitats Regulations (in the planning system guides for your particular country) for more information about how this special legislation works.
Although the approach to the protection of conservation sites is similar across the UK, it is important to check the precise wording of the relevant local and national policies and legislation for the site you are concerned about as there are some variations.
Recording wildlife living within a site and making sure that your records are shared with decision-makers and record centres, is a great way to help protect it. As well as helping to ensure that wildlife is taken into account when conservation and planning decisions are made, recording wildlife is a fascinating and rewarding activity in its own right, and it’s something that anyone can do, regardless of your experience or knowledge.
Take a look at our How to record wildlife guide as there are some important things to know before you head out to survey wildlife.
If appropriate, volunteer to escort planning officers/planning committee members on a site visit to identify habitats/species of conservation value” -Jim, Cleethorpes, local nature champion
If you want to find out what has already been recorded at a site, there are a few places that you can look. The best place to start is the National Biodiversity Network (NBN), which holds the UK’s largest repository of biodiversity data, the NBN Atlas. The Atlas allows you to search for a postcode or area and explore the species that have been recorded there.
Not all data currently makes it to the NBN though, so to get a complete picture you may also want to look elsewhere. iNaturalist and iRecord both have tools to allow you to explore the records for an area, and many Local Environmental Record Centres (LERC) also provide tools for exploring data. You can find out which LERC covers a particular part of the UK by using the LERC finder tool at alerc.org.uk. LERCs usually charge a fee for data requests, but this is often reduced or waivered for members of the public and other non-commercial uses.
The British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) also offer a dedicated data report service, combining the BirdTrack data with other bird survey data to provide a comprehensive initial assessment of the birdlife using a particular site.
Widespread and common bird species are unlikely to be given much weight in the planning process. So it’s best to focus on (and highlight to the local planning authority) any species present that have additional protection under the UK wildlife protection laws (species listed on Annex 1 of the EU Birds Directive are also given added protection under separate UK laws) or that are recognised as species of conservation concern (such as Red-listed and Amber-listed birds under the Birds of Conservation Concern or national priority species).
Many areas also have local priority species and habitats, so it’s worth checking these with your LERC.
If there is no existing designation, but you believe that the site is highly valuable for wildlife or other conservation interests, then you can try lobbying for its protection. Do bear in mind though that getting a site designated is not usually a quick or easy process and you will need to be able to clearly demonstrate that the site meets the relevant criteria for statutory or non-statutory (local) site designation.
To start, you will need good quality, scientifically gathered evidence of the species or other special features present on the site. Ideally, you will also need strong support from local wildlife organisations and the local Ecologist or Biodiversity Officer (if there is one) within the local authority. National designations including SSSIs/ASSIs are the responsibility of the statutory nature conservation bodies (ie Natural England, NatureScot, Natural Resources Wales, Northern Ireland Environment Agency), while local designations are generally the responsibility of the relevant local authority.
It is also a good idea to speak to the landowner if you know who they are. Remember that you will need the landowner’s permission if you wish to carry out wildlife surveys on their land away from public footpaths or other permitted access areas.
Don’t forget to think about the other benefits a site might offer to the local community. If the site is accessible to the public, or even if it just offers ‘green’ views from nearby footpaths, assessing the amenity value of your site can also be useful. Decision-makers will not necessarily know that a piece of land is important to local people as well as wildlife.
Use the huge wellbeing/health elements of nature as well to avoid ‘It's just a few wildlife folk/NIMBYs moaning about a bird...’ and show it's great for everyone to protect green space and sites.” -Local nature champion
You may want to note:
Do people use the site for jogging, cycling or walking?
Do children use the site for playing or for educational purposes?
How far will people have to travel to the nearest green space if this one disappears?
Will development have an adverse impact on the local landscape?
Building links to other interest groups, such as ramblers, wild swimmers or other organised groups, can also be helpful if you are thinking about starting a campaign to protect an area of land.
Take photos of the area concerned to highlight nature, views, public usage.” -Local nature champion
Take a look at our other guides in the Find out more links below to help you to gather the facts before you start making your case.
