SANDFORD HEATH SSSI

HL Deb 27 July 1988 vol 500 c373WA

Lord Melchett

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they will state why land notified as a Site of Special Scientific Interest in 1982 at Sandford Heath in Dorset has been subsequently denotified despite the presence on the affected area of sand lizards, a species requiring special habitat conservation measures under the Berne Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats.

The Earl of Caithness

I am advised by the Nature Conservancy Council that no area of the Sandford Heath SSSI has been denotified. Preliminary notice of the proposed Sandford Heath SSSI was first given in November 1982. The area formally notified in 1987 excluded part of the site which had been affected by residential development. Following representations by the landowner concerned, a further minor adjustment to the boundary of the SSSI was made and the notification was confirmed by the NCC on 13th May 1988.