Owner assent for works on an SSSI under section 28E
Section 28E stops an owner or occupier carrying out any operation on the notified list without Natural England's written consent, and that includes ordinary farming work.
If you own or occupy land inside a Site of Special Scientific Interest, section 28E of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 stops you carrying out any operation on the notified list unless Natural England has consented in writing. That SSSI owner assent under section 28E is a separate consent from planning permission, it covers ordinary farming operations as well as building work, and doing the work without it is a criminal offence rather than a matter of enforcement notices and appeals.
The list is specific to your site. It was served when the site was notified, and a copy will have gone to every owner and occupier on the record at the time. If you bought the land afterwards, the obligation still binds you and the paperwork may never have reached you, so the first job on any SSSI holding is to get the notification documents from Natural England.
What the notification imposes on you
The notification package has three parts, and all three matter.
The citation, which describes why the site was notified and what the special interest is. On a lowland meadow it will name the plant communities. On a river it will name the habitat and species features. On a raised bog it will name the hydrology as well as the vegetation.
The list of operations likely to damage the special interest, usually shortened to the OLD list. This is the operative document for section 28E.
Natural England's views about the management of the land, which are advisory rather than binding, though they matter when a consent request is considered and when any agri-environment agreement is drawn up.
Reading the list of operations
The list is much broader than most owners expect, and its entries are drafted generically.
Typical entries on a grassland or wetland site include cultivation such as ploughing, rotovating, harrowing and reseeding, changes in the grazing regime covering stock type, intensity and seasonal pattern, changes in stock feeding, mowing or cutting where the pattern or timing alters, and the application of manure, fertiliser, lime and pesticides. Others cover the dumping or discharge of materials, burning, drainage work including moor-gripping and any change to existing drainage, changes in water abstraction, modification of the structure of watercourses, tree and woodland management from planting to felling, the erection of permanent or temporary structures, the storage of materials, the use of vehicles likely to damage the interest, and recreational activity that damages vegetation.
Two consequences follow. First, the entries cover what you may regard as normal husbandry. Reseeding a field or increasing the stocking rate is likely to be on the list. Second, "changes in" is doing real work in that drafting. Carrying on the same regime you have always followed is usually acceptable. Changing it is what triggers the need for consent.
Where the site is notified for species rather than habitat, read the list with the survey requirements in mind. Work that affects a protected species also engages a separate licensing regime, and the evidence for that comes from a Protected Species Survey rather than from the SSSI notification.
Asking for assent
The process is a written notice to Natural England setting out what you propose.
- Identify the operation against the wording on your OLD list, and quote that wording.
- Describe the work: what, where, when, how, with what machinery, and over what area. Include a map with the area marked and the site boundary shown.
- Explain the purpose, and where the work is intended to benefit the interest features, say how.
- Say what mitigation you propose: timing outside a breeding or flowering season, buffer strips, machinery constraints, phasing across the site.
- Send it to the local Natural England adviser for the site, and keep the acknowledgement.
Natural England has a statutory period in which to determine the request under section 28E, and where it does not determine within that period the request is treated as refused. Silence is not consent, so check the current period in the section before you rely on any date, and never assume that an unanswered letter clears you to begin.
Talking to the adviser before submitting saves time. Most refusals are avoidable with a change of timing or extent, and the adviser will usually say what they can agree.
Conditions, refusal and the appeal
A consent can be given subject to conditions, and it very often is. Expect conditions on timing, extent, machinery, stocking rates and the duration of the consent itself. Many consents are time-limited, so a consent given five years ago for an annual operation may have expired.
Where consent is refused, or granted on conditions you cannot live with, section 28F provides an appeal to the Secretary of State. There is a deadline, so diarise it from the date on the decision.
The practical alternative is a management agreement. Where a consent would be refused because the operation conflicts with the interest, Natural England can enter into an agreement covering how the land is managed, with payments where the restriction goes beyond what would otherwise be expected. Operations carried out in accordance with such an agreement do not need separate consent.
Offences, and who commits them
Two limbs, and owners frequently misunderstand the second.
An owner or occupier who carries out, or causes or permits to be carried out, a listed operation without consent commits an offence unless they have a reasonable excuse. Pleading that a contractor did it without instruction is not straightforward, because permitting is enough.
Separately, any person who intentionally or recklessly destroys or damages the special interest features, or intentionally or recklessly disturbs notified fauna, commits an offence. That limb catches contractors, utility companies, neighbours and members of the public as well as the landowner.
Penalties are fines, and the courts can require restoration of the land to its former condition. An emergency exception exists, but it requires notice to Natural England as soon as practicable afterwards, and "emergency" means what it says.
A practical rule for anyone letting land or engaging contractors on an SSSI: put the OLD list in the contract, name the consented operations and their conditions, and require the contractor to confirm they have read them.
Where planning permission takes the place of assent
An operation carried out in accordance with a planning permission granted on an application does not need separate section 28E consent. That is the exception most often relied on, and it has a trap in it.
Permitted development is not permission granted on an application. It is permission granted by a development order. So an agricultural building erected under Part 6 of the General Permitted Development Order, a Class Q barn conversion or a Class MA change of use on SSSI land does not pick up the exception, and consent under section 28E may still be needed. Some permitted development rights are also restricted on designated land in the first place, so check the Order as well.
Where an application is made, the local planning authority has to consult Natural England on development likely to affect an SSSI, and any conditions imposed will usually reflect what Natural England asks for. That means a single process rather than two, which is a reason to apply for permission even where a permitted development route looks available.
Illustrative example: a 40 hectare holding, half of which lies inside a wet grassland SSSI. The owner wants to install a 200m field drain, reseed a 3 hectare parcel and put up a 300 m² stock shed. Drainage and reseeding are both on the OLD list and need consent, which is granted for the reseeding with a species mix condition and a September timing, and refused for the drain because it would lower water levels across the notified units. The shed sits outside the SSSI boundary on the dry half of the farm and proceeds under a Part 6 notification, with Natural England commenting on run-off.
Records to keep on the holding
Keep one file, and keep it with the deeds.
The notification, citation and OLD list. Every consent with its conditions and expiry date. Any management agreement or agri-environment agreement, with its prescriptions. Correspondence with the adviser. A dated log of operations carried out on the notified land, with maps. Any appeal decision.
Boundaries and designations are not fixed forever, and the record on MAGIC should be checked rather than assumed, for the same reasons set out in our note on constraints that lapse, expire or are revoked. Where a scheme is coming, an early ecological appraisal will tell you which consents and surveys you need and in what order, and a Preliminary Ecological Appraisal is the usual starting point.
Browse the full list of report types to see what a designated site will add to an application, or start a draft from a postcode on PlanScope.
This is general guidance, not legal advice; check the position with Natural England, your local planning authority or a qualified professional before relying on it. PlanScope provides AI-assisted draft reports for planning applications. Reports should be reviewed before submission. We do not guarantee planning approval. For specialist technical reports, qualified professional input may be required.
Frequently asked questions
What is the list of operations likely to damage?
It is the schedule served with the SSSI notification that sets out the operations needing Natural England's consent on your land. Entries are drafted generically and cover cultivation, grazing changes, fertiliser and lime, pesticides, drainage, burning, tree work, structures, vehicle use and recreational activity. It is specific to the site, so work from your own copy rather than a general list.
Does ordinary farming need consent on an SSSI?
Often yes. Reseeding, ploughing, applying fertiliser or lime, altering drainage and changing the grazing regime commonly appear on the list. The wording usually turns on changes to an existing practice, so continuing a long-standing regime is generally acceptable while changing stocking rates, timing or inputs triggers the need for consent.
What happens if Natural England does not reply?
Silence is not consent. Section 28E sets a statutory period for determination, and where no decision is issued within it the request is treated as refused. Check the current period in the section before relying on a date, keep the acknowledgement of your notice, and speak to the local adviser rather than waiting out the clock.
Does planning permission remove the need for section 28E consent?
Permission granted on an application does, where the operation is carried out in accordance with it. Permitted development does not, because that is permission granted by a development order rather than on an application. So a Part 6 agricultural building, a Class Q conversion or a Class MA change of use on SSSI land may still need consent.
Who can be prosecuted for damaging an SSSI?
An owner or occupier who carries out, or causes or permits, a listed operation without consent commits an offence unless they have a reasonable excuse. Separately, any person who intentionally or recklessly damages the special interest features or disturbs notified fauna commits an offence, which catches contractors, utilities and visitors as well as the landowner.
Sources and further reading
This article is general guidance about the planning system in England and, where stated, the rest of the UK. It is not legal or professional advice. Check your local planning authority’s validation requirements and take professional advice for your specific site.