Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) citation review and feature interpretation

The project will involve undertaking a comprehensive analysis of SSSI citations to correctly interpret and establish a legally sound list of notified features. Two worked examples are provided in Annex 1, the text in these examples is for reference only to depict how conclusions were made, it is anticipated that the outputs the successful Contractor provides will be in a spreadsheet format. Please note, some citations will be easier than the examples, and others more complex. Natural England will provide guidance on award of contract to assist with the interpretation of the citations and ensure a consistent approach is taken across sites.

When listing the identified features of a site this should be expressed in simple and brief terms, as written in the citation. There is no need to alter the wording or to fit the features into pre-defined categories such as National Vegetation Classification (NVC) or Common Standards Monitoring classifications. An audit trail explaining how each feature was identified must be provided.

A full list of SSSI citations to be reviewed will be provided to the successful Contractor with links to a pdf version of each citation document. It is only the citation document that should be reviewed, no other site information can be taken into account for this exercise. Approximately 3,500 sites will need to be assessed by the successful Contractor over the course of the contract, however Natural England will highlight priority sites that will need to be delivered first.

Natural England will set milestones for delivery of outputs at fixed times during the length of the contract to be agreed with the successful contractor. Natural England will take up to a 10% sample of each output batch to QA and provide feedback. This feedback should then be incorporated by the successful contractor into a final list of notified features for the relevant sites. The % QA sample may reduce as the successful contractor becomes more familiar with the process