Less red tape for landowners with SSSIs

Landowners and managers who enter rural programme contracts and need to work on protected natural areas of their land will no longer have to get additional SSSI (site of special scientific interest) consents.

As part of the Scottish Government’s new Wildlife and Natural Environment Act (WANE), land managers will no longer have to obtain consent from SNH for works carried out on a SSSI under a Rural Priorites contract, or under a protected species licence, a muirburn licence, or a species control order from SNH.

Stewart Pritchard, SNH Protected Places operations manager, said: “This is part of our continuing effort to make things easier for our customers, cutting the red tape for the hundreds of applicants who must work on SSSIs. These land managers do valuable work protecting special habitats and species in Scotland, and it’s important to make the process as easy as possible for them. It will also save us all time and money.”