4 Conclusion
23. We welcome Natural England's
decision to review the existing SSSI series through a new Notification
Strategy. The acknowledgement that "denotification of sites
(or parts thereof) that are not considered to be of special interest"
is an important way of ensuring that "the series as whole
is not devalued" is an important one. We trust that Natural
England will take this point forward and actively manage its SSSI
series to reflect the dynamic nature of the environment.
24. We recommend that Natural
England commission research on the impact of SSSI status on land
values in England, rather than relying on statistics based on
Scottish data where the sites are often of a very different nature.
25. The review process must
be soundly based on up-to-date evidence and scientific knowledge.
The points made by the Chief Executive of Natural England that
the Guidelines for Selection of Biological SSSIs need updating,
in part to reflect the pressures of climate change, therefore
merit urgent attention. We welcome the news that the JNCC is
giving this work a higher priority but, given that it is now 20
years since the Guidelines were first produced, this work must
not be allowed to drift: a timetable should be established and
published as soon as possible and there should be a process of
consultation with interested organisations.
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