dataset · England
Priority Habitats Inventory (England)
The Priority Habitat Inventory is a spatial dataset that maps priority habitats identified in the UK Biodiversity Action Plan and listed as being of principal importance for the purpose of conserving or enhancing biodiversity, under Section 41 of the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act (2006). The PHI is updated twice a year and where possible habitats are mapped to polygons in OS Mastermap. These polygons are merged or split where necessary to create resulting habitat patches. The PHI
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Licence: ["There are no public access constraints to this data. Use of this data is subject to the licence identified.", "There are no public access constraints to this data. Use of this data is subject to the
Evidence quality: 57
Listed in data.gov.uk public catalogue API on 2026-10-16; relevance/value screened (haiku).
Metadata checked: 2026-10-14T13:20:00.000Z
What's in it
- Data offered docs-verified
- priority habitat polygons (27 terrestrial and freshwater habitat types, e.g. blanket bog, lowland heathland, reedbeds, lakes, ponds) · secondary habitat classes (fragmented heath, grass moorland, good quality semi-improved grassland, no main habitat) · feature codes for priority ponds/lakes, woodland, grassland, heathland and coastal dunes
- Coverage docs-verified
- England · Dataset reference date (creation) 2014-11-24; revision 2025-10-23
- Resolution docs-verified
- Polygons, mapped to OS MasterMap where possible; merged or split to form habitat patches
- Update frequency docs-verified
- Twice a year (summary); metadata states frequency of update as notPlanned
- Formats docs-verified
- GeoJSON · GeoPackage · File Geodatabase · OGC API - Features · WFS · WMS · ESRI REST Feature Service · PDF · XLSX · LYRX
- Access docs-verified
- Free / open: no public access constraints; use subject to Open Government Licence v3.0. Some content also under CC BY 4.0 (Cumbria Wildlife Trust grassland extract).
Useful for
- Use cases llm-inferred
- Screen development boundaries for priority habitat overlap in FRA and ecology constraints reports · Priority habitat baseline for BNG habitat mapping and trading-rule checks · Map priority ponds, lakes and wetland habitats near drainage or SuDS outfall options · Identify priority habitats along road, rail or pipeline corridors during route options appraisal
- Audience llm-inferred
- ecologists · environmental consultants · planners · GIS analysts · flood consultants
Limitations
- Constraints llm-inferred
- England only · Mapping is only to OS MasterMap polygons where possible, so some habitats are not polygon-accurate · Update frequency is inconsistent between summary (twice a year) and metadata (notPlanned) · Attribution statement required (Natural England and Ordnance Survey) · Some secondary classes are not priority habitats and need ecological interpretation · Priority habitat status requires ecological survey verification for planning use
Evidence
- https://environment.data.gov.uk/api/file/download?fileDataSetId=d30e3fa2-5ca6-4851-b19d-1429ad9d84e0&fileName=PHI V3 Datasets.xlsx
- https://www.data.gov.uk/dataset/4b6ddab7-6c0f-4407-946e-d6499f19fcde/priority-habitats-inventory-england
Check upstream coverage, uncertainty and licence before use. Station observations are not forecasts or design levels.