Local Wildlife Sites (formerly known as Sites of Nature Conservation Importance – SNCIs) are non-statutory sites that contain features of substantive nature conservation value. They are identified and selected locally using agreed criteria and detailed ecological surveys.
Sussex has over 600 Local Wildlife Sites covering approximately 5 % of the county. Most Local Wildlife Sites in Sussex were originally surveyed and designated in the in the early 1990s as part of a partnership between local planning authorities and conservation bodies. In the intervening years there have been different arrangements in place across East and West Sussex for managing the Local Wildlife Site systems; with differing levels of resources available.
In 2015, West Sussex County Council transferred lead responsibility for the West Sussex Local Wildlife Site system to Sussex Biodiversity Record Centre. At that time the system was unfunded.
Sussex Biodiversity Record Centre is currently working with a range of partners, including local planning authorities, conservation bodies and Natural England, to try and get a functioning Local Wildlife Site system up and running again – across the whole of Sussex.
Information on existing Local Wildlife Sites in Sussex can be accessed through our data request service.