Criteria for selecting Sites of Importance for nature Conservation in Hampshire

November 2000

Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation

The criteria set out in this document define those sites which are considered to be of particular importance for nature conservation within Hampshire. These sites are in addition to the statutorily designated sites and referred to as Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINCs). The criteria have been jointly agreed by Hampshire County Council, English nature and the Hampshire Wildlife Trust. Schedules listing and showing the location of SINCs within individual Districts of Hampshire are compiled in liaison with these planning authorities.

The importance of identifying and protecting SINCs is recognised in Planning Policy Guidance Note 9: Nature Conservation. Provision for SINCs in Hampshire is given in Policy E11 of the Hampshire County Structure Plan 1996-2011 (Review) and individual local plans.

Policy E11 of the Hampshire County Plan (Review) states:

Development which is likely to have an adverse impact on Sites of Importance for nature Conservation will not be permitted unless the local planning authorities are satisfied that the need for the development outweighs that impact. Where development is permitted, the local planning authorities will need to be satisfied that sufficient provision is made to minimise the damage and provide appropriate compensatory measures.

Criteria for selecting Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation in Hampshire

Woodland

1A Ancient semi-natural woodlands.

1B Other woodland where there is a significant element of ancient semi-natural woodland surviving.

(ii) they comprise important community types of restricted distribution in the County, such as yew woods and alder swamp woods

1D Pasture woodland and wooded commons, not included in any of the above, which are of considerable biological and historical interest.

Neutral/acid/calcareous grassland

2A Agriculturally unimproved grasslands

2B Semi-improved grasslands which retain a significant element of unimproved grassland.

2D Grasslands which have become impoverished through inappropriate management but which retain sufficient elements of relic unimproved grassland to enable recovery.

Heathland

3A Areas of heathland vegetation; including matrices of dwarf shrub, acid grassland, valley mires and scrub.

3B Areas of heathland which are afforested or have succeeded to woodland if;

(i) they retain significant remnants of heathland vegetation which would enable their recovery, or

(ii) they are contiguous with, or form an integral part of an open area of heathland,

Coastal habitats

4A Semi-natural coastal and estuarine habitats, including saltmarsh, intertidal mudflats, sand dunes, shingle, brackish ponds. grazing marsh and maritime grasslands.

Wetlands

5A Areas of open freshwater (eg. lakes, ponds, canals, rivers, streams and ditches) which support outstanding assemblages of floating/submerged/emergent plant species, invertebrates, birds or amphibians.

5B Fens, flushes, seepages, springs, inundation grasslands etc. that support a flora and fauna characteristic of unimproved and waterlogged (seasonal or permanent) conditions.

Species

6A Sites which support one or more notable species.

6B Sites which regularly support a significant population of a species which has a restricted distribution or has substantially declined in population or range. Such sites may be used seasonally or for only one part of a species life-cycle.

6C Sites which support an outstanding assemblage of species.

Social value

7A Sites of nature conservation interest which occur in areas otherwise deficient in such interest, and/or are known to be of particularly high value to local communities eg. community wildlife sites.

Sites selected under this criteria will be rigorously confined to those which, if lost, would result in a considerable and demonstrable loss to the local community which would be very difficult/impossible to replace. Because of the widespread distribution of sites of nature conservation interest in Hampshire, and the high threshold used to define critical importance, only a limited number of sites are likely to meet this criteria.

Geology and geomorphology

8A Sites which have been designated as Regionally Important Geological/Geomorphological Sites (RIGS)

GLOSSARY

Ancient - refers to woodlands which have developed particular ecological characteristics as a result of their long continuity. Those identified to date which are over 2ha are included on the Hampshire Inventory of Ancient Woodlands (Provisional).

Semi-natural - modified types of vegetation in which the dominant and constant species are accepted natives to Britain and that locality, and the structure of the community conforms to the range of natural vegetation types.

Agriculturally unimproved grassland - grassland that is composed of a mixed assemblage of indigenous species in essentially semi-natural communities which has been allowed to develop without the major use of herbicides or inorganic fertilisers.

Notable species - include Red data Book species, Nationally Scarce species, species covered under Schedules 1,5 and 8 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, Annex 1 of the EC Bird Directive 79/409 and Annex 11 and 1V of the EC Directive 92/43/EEC 'The Habitats Directive', and those covered by the Bern, Bonn and Ramsar Conventions. Notable species will also include species which are considered 'County Rare' or 'County Scarce'. County Rare = those species recorded in 1% or less tetrads in Hampshire or either of the two vice-counties (11 and 12) separately. County Scarce = 4% or less tetrads.

Regionally Important Geological/Geomorphological Sites - are sites of regional importance excluding SSS1s. RIGS are analogous to biological non-statutory sites.