You should use this form to give notice of a planned activity on a site of special scientific interest (SSSI) that needs Natural England’s consent.
Your planned activities must be taking place within a SSSI.
Only certain individuals can submit a notice. They must be either:
- the land owner
- the land occupier
- someone with the land owner or occupier's permission
You can only apply for permission for one land owner or occupier at a time. You can apply for permission for activities across more than one SSSI if the land owner or occupier is the same.
If you are applying for consent as part of a land management scheme agreement, you will need a Single Business Identifier (SBI) number.
You may be asked for proof of permission to submit notice if you are not the owner.
Check if the activity is an ORNEC
You need to give notice for SSSI consent if your planned activities match at least one of the operations requiring Natural England’s consent for the relevant SSSI site. These are known as operations requiring Natural England's consent (ORNEC).
You can check if an activity is an ORNEC for any given SSSI by using the free designated sites system (opens in new tab) website.
Search for the relevant SSSI, select 'View details' then 'View ORNECs'.
Processing time
We will assess your application and contact you as soon as possible if we need more information.
We will provide a decision within 4 months of receiving your application.
You do not need to submit this notice if you have already applied for another Natural England licence, or have submitted a planning application for the same activity. We will use the information you have already provided.