SMR 3: Habitats and species
SMR 3: Habitats and species
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(Previously SMR 5)
You must protect species of flora and fauna. Extra rules apply if you have land
designated as a Special Area of
Conservation (SAC).
What you must do
You must not:
- deliberately pick, collect, cut, uproot or destroy a wild plant of a ‘European
protected species’.
The list of European protected species is available in the appendix for SMR 3 (see More information).
You will not break this rule if you are operating under a licence issued by Natural England to undertake authorised
action, or can rely on a legal defence provided in the Habitats Regulations.
In England, Special Areas of
Conservation (SACs) are always designated as a Site
of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).
On land designated as a SAC you must:
- get Natural England's consent in
writing before carrying out, causing or permitting any specified operation listed in a
Site of Site
of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) legal documents, or listed within a special
nature conservation order, unless that operation is carried out in accordance with a
management agreement, scheme or notice.
| A specified operation is one which has
been identified as likely to damage the special interest features of the area. This
information forms part of the notification package for SSSIs. You must comply with all
management notices served by Natural
England. |
| A management notice is different from a
management agreement as it legally obliges the recipient to carry out certain activities. You
must comply with the terms of any restoration order served by a court. This applies where
the purpose of the notice or restoration order is to protect or restore the special
interest features of the area or otherwise restore the land to its former condition as may
be so specified. |
You must not:
- intentionally or recklessly destroy or damage the special interest features of the area
or disturb any protected flora or fauna that are a special interest feature. (This rule
can apply to actions that take place other than on the SAC itself but which have the same
consequences).
‘Special interest features’ of an area are interpreted as the notified
interest features of the Site of Special Scientific Interest that are also relevant to the
Special Area of Conservation.
You will not break the rules for a SAC if you have a ‘reasonable excuse’. A
‘reasonable excuse’ may include the following:
- planning permission to carry out the work
- consent from a public body or statutory authority that has complied with its duty to
consult Natural England before giving
the consent
- it is an emergency operation (provided that Natural England is told as soon as possible
after the emergency).
More information
The appendix
for habitats and species (SMR 3) is available on GOV.UK.
Contact
Natural England: 0845 600 3078