Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will allow Natural England to extend the Holt and West Moors SSSI to incorporate the adjoining 4.8 acres of Blackfield Farm which Natural England has identified as being of significant importance to flora and fauna.

Defra ministers have no formal role in the notification of terrestrial Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs). Notifications are a matter for Natural England and are based on Natural England’s opinion on the evidence for special scientific interest on a site. If Natural England is satisfied that the science supports the proposal to notify the site under Section 28 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, it is under a duty to do so. Natural England must notify all owners and occupiers and inform the local planning authority, Defra Secretary of State and certain public bodies.