§ Lord Melchettasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they can confirm that a small area of unenclosed moorland on Unst, Shetland has recently been apportioned with a view to it being re-seeded, and whether they will state:
whether they will state NCC's policy towards potentially damaging operations on proposed SSSI's such as Unst.
- (a) whether the area in question lies within a proposed Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI);
- (b) whether the Nature Conservancy Council (NCC) objected to the proposal and, if not, why not;
- (c) when the Nature Conservancy Council estimate they will formally notify the area as an SSSI;
- (d) whether the re-seeded area will be included within the SSSI when it is notified; and
§ Lord SkelmersdaleI understand that since the beginning of this year there have been five applications for apportionment of unenclosed hill-land on Unst totalling 85.2 hectares and that none has yet been approved. It is not clear whether the area referred to is covered by one of these applications. In any case it would not be appropriate to disclose details of sites which may be notified as Sites of Special Scientific Interest before due notice has been given to the owners and occupiers concerned.
The NCC's policy towards potentially damaging operations on proposed sites is to seek to influence by persuasion and advice, drawing attention to paragraph 7 of the Code of Guidance for Sites of Special Scientific Interest. This says that owners and occupiers who have received notice of a proposed notification should not, in advance of the NCC's final decision, carry out any operation specified in it without consulting the NCC.