Katrina Martin / 2020VISION
County Wildlife Sites
County Wildlife Sites (CWS) are special places protected by Natural England for their high biodiversity.
In Suffolk, there are over 950 County Wildlife Sites covering approximately 11,000 hectares - almost 3% of the county. These wild places play a key role in connecting wildlife habitats across Suffolk's living landscape.
CWS designation is non-statutory but is a recognition of a site's importance for wildlife, with many sites being of regional - or even national - importance because of their unique natural heritage and endangered species.
At Suffolk Wildlife Trust, our Wilder Landscapes team provide advice and support for landowners, businesses, and local councils who own or manage County Wildlife Cites - to help care for these important places for nature.
If you own or manage a County Wildlife Site, and would like advice from our experts, tap the button below to complete a short form and we will get in touch:
Get in touch
Graham Hart, Suffolk Wildlife Trust Conservation Adviser
Graham Hart, Conservation Adviser
Our Conservation Adviser - Graham Hart - provides support and advice for those managing County Wildlife Sites and Private Nature Reserves. He has over 20 years of conservation experience from a variety of voluntary roles with many different organisations across the region.
Graham specialises in bats, dormice and amphibians, and holds a number of Natural England licences to work with these protected species. He has always had a passion for wildlife and for working alongside landowners to help nature at a larger scale.
More about County Wildlife Sites
County Wildlife Sites may be privately or publicly owned, and can vary in size and shape from small meadows, green lanes, dykes and hedges to much larger areas of ancient woodland, heathland, greens, commons, and marsh.
County Wildlife Sites are designated according to selection criteria. The Suffolk CWS panel, made up of representatives from Suffolk County Council, Suffolk Biodiversity Information Service (SBIS), Suffolk Wildlife Trust and Natural England, meets to assess and designate CWS using the Suffolk CWS criteria. SBIS maintain a register that includes the locations, boundaries, and key features of CWS in Suffolk.
The majority of CWS are privately owned and are not publicly accessibile.
Visit the Suffolk Biodiversity Information Service website to find out more:
Protecting County Wildlife Sites
In addition to our CWS advisory work, we also monitor planning applications for potential development that puts County Wildlife Sites at risk. CWS are recognised by national planning policy (National Planning Policy Statement (NPPF)) as having a fundamental role to play in meeting national biodiversity targets.
CWS are not protected by legislation but their importance is recognised by local authorities when considering planning applications. Under current planning policy there is a presumption against granting permission for development that would have an adverse impact on a CWS. This is strengthened by the provisions of the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006 that require all public bodies to have regard for the conservation of biodiversity.
Read more about our working with local planning and Nationally Significant Infrastructure projects:
Wilder Planning