Sites of special scientific interest: get consent advice
Request initial informal advice or paid advice from Natural England about consent for activities on your SSSI land.
Applies to England
If you’re planning to apply for consent for activities on a site of special scientific interest (SSSI), you can contact Natural England for advice.
Discuss your proposal with Natural England
You may be able to get initial informal advice from Natural England before submitting your proposal to help reduce delays in the consent process.
Natural England can provide informal advice on:
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checking if your proposal will significantly affect a SSSI
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what you should include with your proposal
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routine and repeated operations on the SSSI, including routine agricultural activities
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management of your site to reach a favourable or recovering condition
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management measures specific to your site’s notified features
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potential sources of funding
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the law on protecting the SSSI
Ask Natural England a question or get advice related to protected sites.
Pay for standard discretionary advice
You can pay for extra advice from Natural England if what you want to do is more complicated. Natural England can:
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help you review your survey results
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advise on your mitigation strategies to reduce damage to the environment
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advise on drafting your consent application
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help if you need advice quickly (in less than 28 working days)
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help if you need complex advice to meet a defined deadline
Contact Natural England as soon as possible if you need advice quickly.
If you want Natural England’s advice you must ask for it before you submit your notice for consent.
How much you might pay depends on:
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the amount of advice you need from Natural England and how complex your proposal is
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whether or not a Natural England adviser needs to visit your site
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how quickly you need advice
If you want advice on how to avoid damage to protected sites or species, you’ll pay £110 per hour.
If you want a meeting, you’ll pay:
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£500 per adviser for a 90 minute meeting: at your site, a Natural England office or using a conference call
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£110 per hour per adviser for each additional hour
If you want an adviser to travel to your site, you’ll pay the adviser’s:
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travel costs at 45p per mile
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public transport, tolls and expenses over and above the mileage at cost
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travel time as part of the hourly rate
You may also need to pay if your request form is incomplete. Natural England will return the form and request the missing information.
How to apply
Fill in the form to request discretionary SSSI consent advice.
Email your completed form to: protectedsites@naturalengland.org.uk.
Read Natural England’s
Pay for fast-track advice
You’ll pay £500 for help to draft a notice for a straightforward case and get a response within 28 working days.
You’ll pay £110 per hour for a more complex case. You can specify when you need your response by.
How to apply
Fill in the fast-track consent advice request form for the fast-track advice service.
Email your completed form to: protectedsites@naturalengland.org.uk.
Read Natural England’s .
Pay for the quick check service
You can use Natural England’s quick check service to make sure your draft proposal contains all the information required before you submit your consent notice. You’ll pay £200 for this service. You’ll get a response within 28 working days. This service is not suitable for complex cases.
This service does not give you consent to carry out operations on your SSSI land. You must serve a statutory notice on Natural England, before it can give consent. Find out how to get Natural England’s consent.
How to apply
If you use the quick check service, fill in both forms on the quick check service page.
Email your completed forms to: protectedsites@naturalengland.org.uk.
Read Natural England’s .