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Planning consideration

Special areas of conservation

An area containing wildlife or marine life habitats and species that need conservation

Design stage
On the platform
Tags

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Github
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Synonyms
  • Protected sites
Legislation
Expected number of records
1,911
Frequency of updates
Ad hoc
Useful links
Technical specification
No specification added

Background information

Each planning consideration we work on passes through the stages of our design process, where we research and answer specific questions to help us collect more information.

Backlog

  • Who asked for 'Special areas of conservation' data?

    Claire, planning policy SME

  • What is the driver for the request?

    Existing planning requirement

  • Which 2024 focus area does the request support?

    • Faster local plans

Screen

  • What is the 'Special areas of conservation' consideration?

    Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) are protected areas in the UK designated under the Habitats Directive, a European Union directive transposed into UK law. They are established to conserve specific habitats and species of European importance.

  • Is there legislation that defines 'Special areas of conservation'?

    Yes

  • Who, in law, is responsible for the planning consideration or makes decisions about 'Special areas of conservation'?

  • Which organisations do we think should publish the data?

  • Is the Special areas of conservation a trigger?

    Yes

    • What needs to be done because Special areas of conservation has acted as the trigger?

      In locations where SACs are present, it is likely that planning officers will require applicants to have consideration to this, and may require the submission of supporting documentation to highlight the mitigation proposed to ensure that there are limited impacts on the SAC.

  • Is the Special areas of conservation something to consult during plan making?

    Yes

    • Provide information about when Special areas of conservation is used during plan making

      In locations where SACs are present, it is likely that the LPA will have policies included within their Local Plan, setting out the policy requirements relating to SACs. These ight include the grounds for which development might be refused or approved, as well as any mitigation which might be required to limit impacts on the area.

  • Is there any Special areas of conservation data already available?

    Yes

  • Do we think the data should come from a single source?

    Yes, this data is available nationally via a single endpoint provided by Natural England.

  • Will a data standard be required?

    No

Research

  • Do we understand the lifecycle of a Special areas of conservation?

  • Do we understand how the data is created/produced?

    We expect that this data was produced using Ordnance Survey basemaps.

  • Where will or should the data be used?

    The data will ensure that the relevant mitigation is in place, both when plan-making and making planning decisions.

    • Local plans - SACs are occasionally referenced in local plans, so we think that this consideration feeds into the process of creating a local plan.

  • Who are the statutory consultees for Special areas of conservation?

  • Other than the statutory consultees who are the primary users of Special areas of conservation? How do we expect them to use Special areas of conservation?

    Developers/landowners/site promoters, LPAs and planning professionals

  • What are the planning needs for this data?

    In locations where SACs are present, it is likely that planning officers will require applicants to have consideration to this, and may require the submission of supporting documentation to highlight the mitigation proposed to ensure that there are limited impacts on the SAC.

    Similarly, in locations where SACs are present, it is likely that the LPA will have policies included within their Local Plan, setting out the policy requirements relating to SACs. These ight include the grounds for which development might be refused or approved, as well as any mitigation which might be required to limit impacts on the area.

  • Who are the types of users who might benefit from having access to Special areas of conservation data?

    Developers/landowners/site promoters, LPAs and planning professionals

  • What are some potential uses of Special areas of conservation data?

    In locations where SACs are present, it is likely that planning officers will require applicants to have consideration to this, and may require the submission of supporting documentation to highlight the mitigation proposed to ensure that there are limited impacts on the SAC.

    Similarly, in locations where SACs are present, it is likely that the LPA will have policies included within their Local Plan, setting out the policy requirements relating to SACs. These ight include the grounds for which development might be refused or approved, as well as any mitigation which might be required to limit impacts on the area.

  • What's the value of adding Special areas of conservation data to the platform?

    In locations where SACs are present, it is likely that planning officers will require applicants to have consideration to this, and may require the submission of supporting documentation to highlight the mitigation proposed to ensure that there are limited impacts on the SAC.

    Similarly, in locations where SACs are present, it is likely that the LPA will have policies included within their Local Plan, setting out the policy requirements relating to SACs. These ight include the grounds for which development might be refused or approved, as well as any mitigation which might be required to limit impacts on the area.

  • From what we have learnt so far are there any risks to making Special areas of conservation data available?

2 updates

  • Kieran Wint (05 September 2024)

    As per some research we did, summarised in this blog on an analysis of local plans and local area requirements, we think that this consideration acts as an INPUT to the process of creating a local plan.

  • Kieran Wint (03 September 2024)

    As per the published dataset by Natural England on data.gov.uk, the metadata suggests that this dataset is updated on an ad hoc basis.

Last updated: 2025-04-28 14:59:36