· LIVE DATA · UPDATED DAILY ·
England's most environmentally-protected councils.
LADs ranked by SSSIs, ancient woodland, nature reserves, Ramsar wetlands and EU-designated habitats. The places where development faces the strongest statutory ecological constraints.
| # | Council | SSSI | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wealden | 28 | 2,723 |
| 2 | Chichester | 31 | 1,822 |
| 3 | Rother | 19 | 1,743 |
| 4 | Herefordshire, County of | 76 | 1,682 |
| 5 | Mid Sussex | 11 | 1,426 |
| 6 | Sevenoaks | 17 | 1,369 |
| 7 | Waverley | 12 | 1,174 |
| 8 | New Forest | 18 | 1,067 |
| 9 | Tunbridge Wells | 9 | 1,064 |
| 10 | Horsham | 21 | 999 |
| 11 | Ashford | 11 | 941 |
| 12 | East Hampshire | 16 | 919 |
| 13 | Mole Valley | 10 | 833 |
| 14 | Winchester | 14 | 831 |
| 15 | Dorset | 122 | 810 |
| 16 | Wiltshire | 122 | 781 |
| 17 | Maidstone | 8 | 780 |
| 18 | Basingstoke and Deane | 12 | 745 |
| 19 | Tandridge | 8 | 727 |
| 20 | West Berkshire | 49 | 692 |
| 21 | South Lakeland | 74 | 625 |
| 22 | Cornwall | 118 | 624 |
| 23 | Shropshire | 102 | 614 |
| 24 | South Oxfordshire | 35 | 588 |
| 25 | Northumberland | 104 | 580 |
| 26 | Windsor and Maidenhead | 9 | 568 |
| 27 | Canterbury | 13 | 524 |
| 28 | Guildford | 12 | 515 |
| 29 | Tonbridge and Malling | 7 | 510 |
| 30 | Test Valley | 18 | 501 |
| 31 | West Oxfordshire | 27 | 474 |
| 32 | Wycombe | 23 | 431 |
| 33 | Isle of Wight | 35 | 414 |
| 34 | County Durham | 81 | 384 |
| 35 | Vale of White Horse | 21 | 369 |
| 36 | Wokingham | 4 | 352 |
| 37 | Eden | 86 | 332 |
| 38 | Chiltern | 2 | 324 |
| 39 | Aylesbury Vale | 23 | 314 |
| 40 | Malvern Hills | 44 | 298 |
| 41 | Allerdale | 46 | 281 |
| 42 | Lewes | 14 | 279 |
| 43 | Somerset West and Taunton | 28 | 274 |
| 44 | Arun | 3 | 253 |
| 45 | Ryedale | 53 | 252 |
| 46 | Bracknell Forest | 7 | 248 |
| 47 | North Devon | 20 | 246 |
| 48 | Reigate and Banstead | 3 | 243 |
| 49 | Cheshire East | 28 | 224 |
| 50 | Harrogate | 24 | 220 |
| 51 | Richmondshire | 45 | 212 |
| 52 | South Hams | 21 | 209 |
| 53 | Craven | 62 | 208 |
| 54 | East Suffolk | 53 | 206 |
| 55 | Stratford-on-Avon | 35 | 206 |
| 56 | Hart | 14 | 205 |
| 57 | Carlisle | 26 | 202 |
| 58 | Copeland | 34 | 201 |
| 59 | Teignbridge | 36 | 198 |
| 60 | East Hertfordshire | 16 | 196 |
| 61 | Mendip | 42 | 196 |
| 62 | Torridge | 22 | 196 |
| 63 | West Suffolk | 45 | 196 |
| 64 | Central Bedfordshire | 32 | 195 |
| 65 | Forest of Dean | 43 | 194 |
| 66 | South Somerset | 35 | 194 |
| 67 | Staffordshire Moorlands | 20 | 187 |
| 68 | Cotswold | 32 | 185 |
| 69 | Swale | 1 | 183 |
| 70 | South Bucks | 7 | 182 |
| 71 | West Devon | 36 | 181 |
| 72 | Derbyshire Dales | 50 | 180 |
| 73 | Folkestone and Hythe | 7 | 177 |
| 74 | Dacorum | 8 | 170 |
| 75 | Lancaster | 26 | 166 |
| 76 | Cherwell | 17 | 159 |
| 77 | South Northamptonshire | 12 | 159 |
| 78 | East Devon | 19 | 158 |
| 79 | Mid Devon | 11 | 158 |
| 80 | Uttlesford | 12 | 158 |
| 81 | Babergh | 14 | 152 |
| 82 | North Somerset | 36 | 148 |
| 83 | Braintree | 4 | 146 |
| 84 | Bromley | 6 | 143 |
| 85 | Milton Keynes | 2 | 143 |
| 86 | Ribble Valley | 15 | 142 |
| 87 | Stroud | 24 | 142 |
| 88 | Wychavon | 32 | 136 |
| 89 | Cheshire West and Chester | 23 | 131 |
| 90 | Hambleton | 10 | 127 |
| 91 | Dover | 4 | 126 |
| 92 | Mid Suffolk | 23 | 121 |
| 93 | North Hertfordshire | 6 | 121 |
| 94 | South Norfolk | 24 | 120 |
| 95 | South Gloucestershire | 21 | 118 |
| 96 | Scarborough | 22 | 117 |
| 97 | Bath and North East Somerset | 21 | 116 |
| 98 | Sheffield | 8 | 114 |
| 99 | Kirklees | 4 | 112 |
| 100 | North Warwickshire | 12 | 111 |
Source: planning.data.gov.uk via PostcodeProperty.ai. Total = SSSI + ancient woodland + Local + National Nature Reserves + Ramsar + SAC + SPA. Open Government Licence v3.0.