Selecting and managing Local Sites
How Local Sites partnerships should select, manage and deselect Local Sites.
Applies to England
Local Sites are non-statutory areas of significant nature conservation value, identified and selected at a local level. They are not legally protected, but rely on local policy and decision making. Find out more about Local Sites and nature conservation
Local Sites partnerships are responsible for selecting Local Sites and supporting their management.
Site selection process
As a Local Sites partnership, you may choose to take direct responsibility for evaluating and selecting new sites and reviewing existing sites, or you can elect a smaller site selection panel to do this.
You must select sites using locally agreed processes, applying consistent criteria to ecological and geological evidence.
You should use appropriate technical knowledge and understanding of local circumstances, within a wider regional and national context. You must develop and maintain criteria based on the site selection framework and make sure you identify the full range of:
- important species
- habitats
- geological features
You must assess candidate sites against the agreed criteria and select all sites that meet the criteria. You should use up‑to‑date ecological or geological evidence to inform decisions.
For each selected site, you must record the reasons, including species, habitats or features of interest, how they were assessed, and any functions the site supports. You must then share this information with site owners and make it available to others, following agreed upon data standards and licences.
You must contact site owners for permission to access sites to survey and monitor. Check whether the site owner wants to raise any issues, and explain to them:
- the implications of the survey
- what will happen if a site is selected
- how they can challenge the outcome of future decisions – this should be limited to factors directly related to the application of the site selection criteria
Principles for site selection
The nature conservation value of a site may include a range of benefits beyond the conservation and recovery of biological or geological diversity, including:
- wider ecosystem services
- the opportunity for contact with and enjoyment of nature
- resources for learning or research
Selection should support national, regional and local biodiversity and geological priorities. This guidance provides a framework for assessing local priorities, not a rigid set of rules.
You should select all areas of substantive nature conservation value. Determining what is ‘substantive’ depends on factors including:
- thresholds for local nature conservation benefits
- distribution, abundance and trends in species, habitats and geological features
- maintaining viable populations and functioning ecological communities
- providing connectivity between existing designated sites
- differing abundance and therefore significance of the nature conservation resources, for example between rural areas and urban areas
- general scarcity of natural interest in the area
- the importance of certain features at the edge of their range
Use a standard terminology for species, habitats and geological features for consistency.
Developing site selection criteria
First, partnerships should identify any current or historic features of nature conservation interest in the area.
Decisions about what is considered locally important should be informed by:
- ecological and geological principles and processes
- distribution and abundance of wildlife or geological features at national, regional and local scales
- trends for increase or decline in abundance and distribution
Biological and geological features vary across the country. What is significant in one location may not be in another. Your partnership should have locally defined criteria with measurable thresholds, developed with reference to some or all the standard criteria of a Local Site:
- size or extent
- diversity
- naturalness
- rare or exceptional feature
- fragility
- typicalness
- recorded history and cultural associations
- connectivity within the landscape
- value for appreciation of nature
- value for learning
There are additional criteria for Local Geological Sites. These are:
- The value of a site for educational purposes in lifelong learning.
- The value of a site for study by both professional and amateur Earth scientists.
- The historical value of a site in terms of important advances in Earth science knowledge, events or human exploitation.
- The aesthetic value of a site in the landscape, particularly in relation to promoting public awareness and appreciation of Earth sciences.
Applying the criteria
You must evaluate potential sites against the agreed criteria. All sites that meet the criteria should be selected.
You must apply the criteria transparently and consistently across all sites and interest types. This will mean using knowledge and understanding to reach sound judgements. It should not be a mechanical, rule-based approach. You should develop, update and follow local guidance on applying the criteria to different habitats, species and geological features.
If multiple small fragments of semi‑natural habitat form potential ecological linkages, the boundary for a Local Site can include the discontinuous patches and the land between them.
Potential and candidate sites
Some Local Site partnerships may use different terms to describe Local Sites that have not yet been selected. For example, they may be called potential, candidate or proposed sites. How these terms are defined and applied can also vary from one partnership to another.
Generally:
- potential sites are identified as having possible nature conservation value, but have not yet been fully surveyed to assess if they meet the Local Sites criteria
- candidate sites have been surveyed and appear to meet the criteria for site selection but have not yet been formally reviewed and designated by the site selection panel
Your partnership should keep records of potential and candidate sites alongside the database for existing Local Sites.
Candidate sites should be treated the same as formally selected Local Wildlife Sites (LWS), unless local survey and assessment against criteria proves that that they do not meet LWS status.
Relationship with other designations
Open spaces
Local Sites should be one part of a wider open space strategy. These strategies must address the full range of social and recreational needs that rely on open spaces. In some areas, particularly urban areas, a Local Site may be the only accessible open space, making it vulnerable to pressures from multiple uses.
Selecting such sites for their nature conservation value is important, and open space strategies should make separate provision for social or community uses that would otherwise harm biodiversity or geological features.
Where open space is valued primarily for social or community functions rather than its natural interest, it should not be selected as a Local Site but should instead be recognised under local open space policies.
Local nature reserves
Local nature reserves (LNRs) contain special interest for their flora, fauna, geological or physiographical features and are managed for preservation, study, research, and public enjoyment.
If a Local Site has notable ecological or geological value and offers potential for education, research or quiet enjoyment, local authorities may consider declaring it as an LNR.
Sites of special scientific interest
Some sites of special scientific interest (SSSIs) may contain additional features of local nature conservation value, which could justify their selection as Local Sites. For example, a biological SSSI may also contain geological features of local significance or may play a strong role in providing local communities with access to nature.
Where a SSSI contains features of local significance that fall outside its national SSSI objectives, your Local Sites partnership should discuss with Natural England. This is to ensure these interests are recognised in management advice, provided this does not conflict with the site’s national or international importance.
This coordination should not prevent your partnership from working with landowners and Natural England to enhance the site’s management or public understanding. You can still include SSSIs that also meet Local Sites criteria in public information about Local Sites.
Where a SSSI forms part of a wider area of substantive nature conservation value, you should assess land adjacent to the SSSI against Local Sites criteria to determine whether it also qualifies for Local Site selection.
Managing and resourcing Local Sites systems
You should monitor the condition of Local Sites and help make sure they are well-managed to protect the features they were selected for. Local Sites systems require ongoing administration and resourcing at a local level.
Organisations can support their own biodiversity and geodiversity objectives by allocating finances or staff time to supporting the Local Sites system. This contribution can be an opportunity to strengthen an organisation’s positive environmental credentials. There are several areas of Local Sites management that need resources.
Site records and information sharing
You should gather, maintain, analyse and share information about Local Sites through a Local Environmental Records Centre or other sources. This information can include the distribution and abundance of features, habitats and species.
Make sure relevant information about the Local Sites system and individual sites is shared with the appropriate people and organisations. The Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts maintain a website with information about LWS in England, including the total number of Local Sites and area covered, as well as a library of resources relevant to Local Site stakeholders.
You should make information about Local Sites accessible – this should include:
- locations
- a simple map
- features and interests
Information about the importance of Local Sites within a local system should be publicly accessible. This information should then be used in relevant decision making.
Data standards
Quality data is essential for identifying, selecting and managing Local Sites.
You should define standards to make sure data collected is accurate and consistent. This will help make sure information used in site selection, management and monitoring is robust, comparable and accessible to those who need it.
Local Sites data should:
- be recorded and stored in locally consistent formats, using standard terminology for species, habitats and geological features
- include clear metadata, such as survey dates, methods and sources
- include site boundaries mapped using appropriate GIS formats, with accurate boundaries and links to feature information
- follow agreed processes for verification and quality assurance
Management advice and support
You should support landowners and land managers to manage their sites to maintain and enhance their nature conservation value. You can help them assess whether proposed activities would be neutral, beneficial or detrimental.
You can support landowners by:
- providing management guidance
- helping produce management plans
- providing maps showing important features including habitats, species and geological features
- running proactive advice programmes, ideally with face-to-face engagement
Your support will be most effective if you give landowners and managers proactive tailored advice and work directly with them to help them positively manage sites.
Local authority departments, agencies and voluntary bodies should include commitments to protecting and enhancing Local Sites in their plans, policies and wider functions.
Community involvement
Local Sites partnerships should consider whether sites can offer opportunities for community involvement.
Some sites may be sensitive to disturbance or be on privately owned land where this is not appropriate.
However, for other sites there can be opportunities for partnerships to support links between local environmental and educational groups. This could include volunteer conservation groups, non-governmental organisations and local schools.
Partnerships can also encourage community groups to record local species and habitats, and send records to their local environmental records centre (LERC). This information can contribute to the evidence used for selecting Local Sites.
Reviewing and monitoring Local Sites
You should regularly review whether:
- your Local Sites system is operating effectively
- there are potential new sites
- sites still represent priorities and opportunities for nature conservation in the area
- existing sites still meet the local criteria
- site condition is favourable and conservation measures are effective
Monitoring should measure the features for which sites were selected and compare them to agreed targets. The general condition of sites should be monitored to ensure they retain their substantive value.
Partnerships should aim to review sites every 5 to 10 years.
For areas with a large number of sites, the selection and review process may take several years and be carried out as a rolling programme of work.
Deselection
Partnerships can deselect sites if their nature conservation value deteriorates so significantly that they no longer qualify.
When considering whether to deselect a site, you should consider the potential for restoring the site’s features. This is particularly important if a site has been deliberately damaged or degraded through neglect or inappropriate management.
You should notify owners and any interested parties about proposed deselection and give them the opportunity to comment. Once agreed, you should issue formal notification.