Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs)
This spatial dataset contains the digital boundaries of Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) in Wales. SSSIs cover a wide range of habitats from small fens, bogs and riverside meadows to sand-dunes, woodlands and vast tracts of uplands. Most are in private ownership, although some are owned and managed by local wildlife trusts, or other voluntary conservation bodies.
Notification of an SSSI under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 has since been amended by the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2001, which brought about numerous changes in the way SSSI are notified managed and protected.
In order to ensure consistent, favourable long-term management of these sites, Natural Resources Wales (NRW) with landowners have prepared management plans for all SSSI in Wales. Local planning authorities are required to consult NRW before allowing any development to proceed that may affect an SSSI. Water, gas and electricity companies must also do the same.
SSSIs have been designated, from 1949 to the present day, and are on-going. The data has been held digitally since the mid-1990s. This data has been checked by relevant NRW staff. Please refer to the designation map as the legal definitive boundary. For large SSSIs that were captured digitally and have been printed on a smaller scale map than OS MasterMap, please refer to the OS MasterMap edition at time of capture to view the definitive boundary.
- Identification
- Extent
- Distribution
- Quality
- Keywords
- Spatial Reference System
- Content
- Constraints
- Maintenance
- Metadata
Identification
- Identifier
- NRW_DS98776
- Alternative Title
-
- Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).lyr
- Sites (SSSI)
- Metadata Language
- English
- Lineage
-
All SSSIs designated before GIS technology have been converted into digital data from paper maps of various scales. In 2008 the whole dataset was updated to OS MasterMap (mostly to CCW 2006 OS update). This update referred to the original designation maps and all notational descriptions on these maps e.g. “Only the water under the bridges included in the site” OR “SSSI boundary follows, in part the lines of the Mean High and Low Water Marks; both are liable to change.” All new or re-notified sites will be put to the latest release by NRW of OS MasterMap and this information is recorded in the attribute data under the Last_Edited column. As OSMM is updated by the Ordnance Survey it is important to check where boundaries may subsequently have moved.
- Additional Information
-
Please refer to Countryside Acts 1949,1981 and 2001, for reasons for capture of original designation. NRW has also created a subset of this dataset showing only those where relate to the marine environment. These are available on the Welsh Government marine planning portal.
- Dataset Reference Date (Publication)
- 2024-11-05
Temporal Extent
- Begin date
- 1992-01-01
- Topic category
-
- Biota
- Environment
- Imagery base maps earth cover
- Geoscientific information
Extent
Extent
- Geographic Extent
- Wales (WLS)
Vertical Extent
- Medin Extent Keyword
-
water column boundary layer; benthic boundary layer; atmospheric boundary layer
Distribution
Distribution
- Format Type and Description
-
-
Geographic Information System
(
)
- Specification
-
ESRI Feature Class
-
Geographic Information System
(
)
- Resource Locator
- Download Data and Web Service ( WWW:LINK-1.0-http--link )
- Resource Locator
- Web Mapping Service ( OGC:WMS )
Quality
Data quality
- Quality Scope
- Dataset
- Lineage
-
All SSSIs designated before GIS technology have been converted into digital data from paper maps of various scales. In 2008 the whole dataset was updated to OS MasterMap (mostly to CCW 2006 OS update). This update referred to the original designation maps and all notational descriptions on these maps e.g. “Only the water under the bridges included in the site” OR “SSSI boundary follows, in part the lines of the Mean High and Low Water Marks; both are liable to change.” All new or re-notified sites will be put to the latest release by NRW of OS MasterMap and this information is recorded in the attribute data under the Last_Edited column. As OSMM is updated by the Ordnance Survey it is important to check where boundaries may subsequently have moved.
Keywords
Keywords
- Type
- Theme
Citation
- Date (Publication)
- 2008-06-01
Keywords
-
NRW Thesaurus
-
- conservation (see also conservation of specific subjects)
- geographical information systems (GIS)
- habitats (see also specific types of habitats)
- Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI)
- Type
- Theme
Citation
- Date (Publication)
- 2024-06-19
Keywords
-
SeaDataNet Parameter Discovery Vocabulary
-
- Habitat extent
- Habitat characterisation
- Type
- Theme
Citation
- Date (Publication)
- 2024-06-19
Keywords
-
NRW SMNR Keywords
-
- Sustainable Management of Natural Resources (SMNR)
- Sea and Coast (SMNR)
- Mountains, Moorland and Heaths (SMNR)
- Coastal Margins (SMNR)
- Management Areas (SMNR)
- Physical Geography (Physiography) (SMNR)
- Marine (SMNR)
- Semi-natural Grasslands (SMNR)
- Animals, Plants and Other Organisms (SMNR)
- Ecosystem Services (SMNR)
- Regulating Services (SMNR)
- Woodlands (SMNR)
- Natural Resources (Incl. Features and Processes) (SMNR)
- Cultural Services (SMNR)
- Freshwater and Wetlands (SMNR)
- Provisioning Services (SMNR)
- Soil and Land (SMNR)
- Ecosystem (SMNR)
- Type
- Theme
Citation
- Date (Publication)
- 2024-06-26
Spatial Reference System
Content
Content Information
NRW Profile
Custom Elements
Constraints
Constraints
Limitations on Public Access and Use
- Restriction type
- Other restrictions
Access Constraints Directive
- Limitations
- no limitations
Access Constraints Text
- Other constraints
-
There are no access restrictions on this data. NRW may release, publish or disseminate it freely.
Use Constraints
- Use constraints type
- Other restrictions
- Other constraints
-
© CNC/NRW All rights Reserved. Contains Ordnance Survey Data. Ordnance Survey Licence number AC0000849444. Crown Copyright and Database Right Data may be re-used under the terms of the Open Government Licence providing it is done so, acknowledging both the source and copyright of the owners. It is the recipient's responsibility to ensure the data is fit for the intended purpose.
Attribution Statement
- Other constraints
-
Contains Natural Resources Wales information © Natural Resources Wales and Database Right. All rights Reserved. Contains Ordnance Survey Data. Ordnance Survey Licence number AC0000849444. Crown Copyright and Database Right.
Licence
- Other constraints
- Open Government Licence
Metadata
Metadata
- File Identifier
- 4f4c4942-4343-5764-6473-3938373736 XML
- Metadata Language
- English
- Resource type
- Dataset
- Metadata Date
- 2024-11-12T16:50:40.688Z
- Metadata Standard Name
- NRW
- Metadata Standard Version
-
1.0