Foreword

Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) has produced this booklet for the private owners and occupiers of areas of land and water, which are important for the natural heritage, and have been designated as Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs). The booklet explains how we work with you and others to designate and manage SSSIs and what the changes brought about by the Nature Conservation (Scotland) Act 2004 mean for SSSI owners and occupiers.

This Act addresses the widely-recognised shortcomings of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (as amended) and reflects the Government’s aim to promote caring for Scotland’s biodiversity. If you own or occupy an SSSI, the new Act introduces changes which could affect you. Five of the main changes, explained further in this booklet, are as follows.

  1. Operations likely to damage the natural features of an SSSI, and listed in the notification, become lists of operations requiring consent (ORC). We will review these lists for all SSSIs.
  2. You must get our permission before carrying out an ORC. In cases where the proposed activity could damage the natural features of the SSSI, we will talk to you and agree how it could be changed to protect the SSSI. Where we cannot agree or reach a compromise, we will discuss with you ways in which we can resolve any differences, for example by mediation or expert arbitration or determination. If this fails, or you do not wish to pursue it, we may refuse consent or issue a consent with conditions. If we do this, you can appeal to the Scottish Land Court.
  3. If we constrain your established management of the land we must offer to enter a management agreement with you to compensate you for any actual financial loss our decision causes you.
  4. For some activities that affect the natural features of an SSSI, you will need consent from another regulatory authority rather than SNH.
  5. You must tell us if you dispose of land designated as an SSSI and if there are any new or additional occupiers of your land within the SSSI. You must also tell the new owner or occupier about the SSSI.

Other significant changes from the earlier legal arrangements are highlighted in notes at the end.

This booklet only gives a broad outline of the law and should not be taken as a definitive interpretation of it. If you have any questions about an SSSI or how the arrangements affect you or anything you propose to do on or near an SSSI, please contact your local SNH office or refer to a copy of the Act and its explanatory notes.