dataset · England
SSSI Impact Risk Zones (England)
The Impact Risk Zones for Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI IRZs) are for local planning authorities (LPAs) to determine if a proposed development is likely to affect a terrestrial SSSI and when to consult Natural England. The SSSI IRZs are a Geographical Information System (GIS) tool developed by Natural England to make rapid initial assessment of the potential risks posed by development proposals to SSSIs and those Special Areas of Conservation (SACs), Special Protection Areas (SPAs)
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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: 68.4
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 impact risk zones (zones around each site reflecting feature sensitivities) · indicators of development types with potential adverse impacts · Natural England statutory advice for certain development types (in certain locations)
- Coverage docs-verified
- England
- Update frequency docs-verified
- monthly
- Formats docs-verified
- Shapefile · GeoPackage · GeoJSON · File Geodatabase · WMS · WFS · OGC API - Features · ESRI REST Feature Service
- Access docs-verified
- Free/open: no public access constraints; Open Government Licence v3.0 with Natural England attribution statement
Useful for
- Use cases llm-inferred
- Planning constraints screening for a development site at pre-application stage · Checking whether a drainage outfall or SuDS scheme may trigger Natural England consultation · Ecological constraints layer for BNG baseline and habitat impact assessment
- Audience llm-inferred
- ecologists · planners · GIS analysts · environmental consultants · drainage engineers
Limitations
- Constraints docs-verified
- Terrestrial SSSIs only (marine sites not covered) · Screening tool for initial assessment only, not a full ecological assessment · Statutory advice included only in certain locations · Attribution statement required
Evidence
- https://environment.data.gov.uk/api/file/download?fileDataSetId=59186901-6045-490f-bdf1-6de06fda8ad4&fileName=SSSI IRZ User Guidance v5.4 02Apr25.pdf
- https://www.data.gov.uk/dataset/5ae2af0c-1363-4d40-9d1a-e5a1381449f8/sssi-impact-risk-zones-england1
Check upstream coverage, uncertainty and licence before use. Station observations are not forecasts or design levels.