dataset · England
Sites of Special Scientific Interest Units (England)
Site Units are divisions of SSSIs. based on habitat, tenure and management, and are the basis for recording all information on SSSI Condition and management. They range in Area from 0.004ha up to 18,000ha and only overlap where SSSIs overlap. Boundaries are generally mapped against Ordnance Survey MasterMap. Attribution statement: © Natural England copyright. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right [year].
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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
- SSSI Unit boundaries (England)
- Coverage docs-verified
- England
- Update frequency docs-verified
- as needed (no fixed schedule)
- Formats docs-verified
- OGC API - Features · WFS · WMS · ArcGIS REST Feature Service · SHP (zipped) · GPKG (zipped) · GeoJSON (zipped) · FileGDB (zipped)
- Access docs-verified
- Free and open download; no public access constraints; use subject to the Open Government Licence (OGL) v3.0
Useful for
- Use cases llm-inferred
- Screen development red-line boundaries for overlap with SSSI units in planning and EIA scoping · Add designated-site context to ecological baseline and BNG habitat assessments · Check drainage or outfall routes for proximity to SSSI units in GIS overlays
- Audience llm-inferred
- ecologists · planners · environmental consultants · GIS analysts · EIA practitioners
Limitations
- Constraints llm-inferred
- Boundaries are generally, not uniformly, mapped against OS MasterMap · Updated as needed, so no fixed refresh schedule · Attribution statement contains an unfilled '[year]' placeholder that must be completed when citing · Area ranges from 0.004 ha to 18,000 ha, so very small units may need care in overlay analysis
Evidence
- https://environment.data.gov.uk/api/file/download?fileDataSetId=ac583517-5716-4098-8054-0d9e04ccc295&fileName=Data_Gov_UK_Metadata_Sites_of_Special_Scientific_Interest_Units_England.url
- https://www.data.gov.uk/dataset/c52ead19-47c2-473b-b087-0842157e00b6/sites-of-special-scientific-interest-units-england1
Check upstream coverage, uncertainty and licence before use. Station observations are not forecasts or design levels.