Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) in the United Kingdom are areas of conservation, consisting of protected areas, recognised for their biological or geological significance. In Northern Ireland an SSSI is called an area of special scientific interest (ASSI).

An Area of Search (AOS) is a geographical area used in the selection of these sites.[1] In England these are largely based on the 1974–1996 administrative counties (with larger counties divided into two or more areas). In Scotland they are largely based around the 1975 - 1996 districts, whereas in Wales they are based on districts (the second-tier administrative divisions which functioned between 1974 and 1996) or counties.[1] The individual AOSs are between 400 km2 and 4,000 km2 in size.[1] There are 59 AOSs in England, 12 in Wales, and 44 in Scotland.[2]

Until the 2010s, Natural England, which maintains the database of English SSSIs, kept the listing of counties as it was in 1974, but by 2015 they had updated their lists to reflect some later changes. However, two counties abolished in 1996 are still used as areas of search by Natural England: Avon (which is now divided between Somerset, Gloucestershire and Bristol) and Cleveland (which is now divided into County Durham and North Yorkshire).

England

Area of Search [A] Number of sites Sites list
Biological Geological Both Total
Avon 38 39 9 86 List of SSSIs in Avon
Bedfordshire 35 5 0 40 List of SSSIs in Bedfordshire
Berkshire 63 8 0 71 List of SSSIs in Berkshire
Buckinghamshire 55 10 0 65 List of SSSIs in Buckinghamshire
Cambridgeshire 90 10 1 101 List of SSSIs in Cambridgeshire
Cheshire 51 7 5 63 List of SSSIs in Cheshire
Cleveland 12 4 2 18 List of SSSIs in Cleveland
Cornwall 81 54 32 167 List of SSSIs in Cornwall
County Durham 67 16 5 88 List of SSSIs in County Durham
Cumbria 170 70 38 278 List of SSSIs in Cumbria
Derbyshire 54 28 17 99 List of SSSIs in Derbyshire
Devon 109 71 31 211 List of SSSIs in Devon
Dorset 103 20 16 139 List of SSSIs in Dorset
East Riding of Yorkshire 39 14 3 50 List of SSSIs in East Riding of Yorkshire
East Sussex 46 14 4 64 List of SSSIs in East Sussex
Essex 64 19 3 86 List of SSSIs in Essex
Gloucestershire 69 32 20 121 List of SSSIs in Gloucestershire
Greater London 30 7 0 37 List of SSSIs in Greater London
Greater Manchester 14 5 2 21 List of SSSIs in Greater Manchester
Hampshire 108 4 6 118 List of SSSIs in Hampshire
Herefordshire 62 21 4 83 List of SSSIs in Herefordshire
Hertfordshire 36 7 0 43 List of SSSIs in Hertfordshire
Isle of Wight 26 4 11 41 List of SSSIs on the Isle of Wight
Kent 67 21 10 98 List of SSSIs in Kent
Lancashire 49 14 6 69 List of SSSIs in Lancashire
Leicestershire 58 12 6 76 List of SSSIs in Leicestershire
Lincolnshire 98 23 3 121 List of SSSIs in Lincolnshire
Merseyside 10 1 3 14 List of SSSIs in Merseyside
Norfolk 123 25 15 163 List of SSSIs in Norfolk
North Yorkshire 162 56 23 241 List of SSSIs in North Yorkshire
Northamptonshire 48 9 0 57 List of SSSIs in Northamptonshire
Northumberland TBC TBC TBC 114 List of SSSIs in Northumberland
Nottinghamshire 63 1 2 66 List of SSSIs in Nottinghamshire
Oxfordshire 76 27 7 110 List of SSSIs in Oxfordshire
Rutland 16 1 2 19 List of SSSIs in Rutland
Shropshire TBC TBC TBC 110 List of SSSIs in Shropshire
Somerset 83 35 9 127 List of SSSIs in Somerset
South Yorkshire 18 14 3 35 List of SSSIs in South Yorkshire
Staffordshire TBC TBC TBC 65 List of SSSIs in Staffordshire
Suffolk 109 28 5 142 List of SSSIs in Suffolk
Surrey 52 8 2 62 List of SSSIs in Surrey
Tyne and Wear 25 6 6 37 List of SSSIs in Tyne and Wear
Warwickshire TBC TBC TBC 62 List of SSSIs in Warwickshire
West Midlands 11 9 3 23 List of SSSIs in the West Midlands
West Sussex 54 19 5 78 List of SSSIs in West Sussex
West Yorkshire 21 9 2 32 List of SSSIs in West Yorkshire
Wiltshire 108 21 5 134 List of SSSIs in Wiltshire
Worcestershire 106 15 5 121 List of SSSIs in Worcestershire
A A number of sites are split between more than one county and will be included in this table more than once.

Northern Ireland

County Areas Sites list
Biological Geological Both Total
County Antrim TBC TBC TBC TBC List of ASSIs in Antrim
County Armagh TBC TBC TBC TBC List of ASSIs in Armagh
County Down TBC TBC TBC TBC List of ASSIs in Down
County Fermanagh TBC TBC TBC TBC List of ASSIs in Fermanagh
County Londonderry TBC TBC TBC TBC List of ASSIs in Londonderry
County Tyrone TBC TBC TBC TBC List of ASSIs in Tyrone

Scotland

Area of Search Number of sites Sites list
Biological Geological Both Total
Angus and Dundee TBC TBC TBC 45 List of SSSIs in Angus and Dundee
Annandale and Eskdale TBC TBC TBC 15 List of SSSIs in Annandale and Eskdale
Badenoch and Strathspey TBC TBC TBC 23 List of SSSIs in Badenoch and Strathspey
Banff and Buchan TBC TBC TBC 20 List of SSSIs in Banff and Buchan
Berwickshire and Roxburgh TBC TBC TBC 54 List of SSSIs in Berwickshire and Roxburgh
Caithness TBC TBC TBC 65 List of SSSIs in Caithness
Clydesdale and South East Glasgow TBC TBC TBC 53 List of SSSIs in Clydesdale and South East Glasgow
Cumnock and Kyle TBC TBC TBC 50 List of SSSIs in Cumnock and Kyle
Dumbarton and North Glasgow TBC TBC TBC 46 List of SSSIs in Dumbarton and North Glasgow
Dunfermline and Kirkcaldy TBC TBC TBC 25 List of SSSIs in Dunfermline and Kirkcaldy
East Perth TBC TBC TBC 47 List of SSSIs in East Perth
East Ross and Cromarty TBC TBC TBC 35 List of SSSIs in East Ross and Cromarty
Edinburgh and West Lothian TBC TBC TBC 23 List of SSSIs in Edinburgh and West Lothian
Falkirk and Clackmannan TBC TBC TBC 20 List of SSSIs in Falkirk and Clackmannan
Gordon and Aberdeen TBC TBC TBC 35 List of SSSIs in Gordon and Aberdeen
Inverness TBC TBC TBC 32 List of SSSIs in Inverness
Islay and Jura TBC TBC TBC 20 List of SSSIs in Islay and Jura
Kincardine and Deeside TBC TBC TBC 42 List of SSSIs in Kincardine and Deeside
Kintyre TBC TBC TBC 12 List of SSSIs in Kintyre
Lorne TBC TBC TBC 24 List of SSSIs in Lorne
Mid and East Lothian TBC TBC TBC TBC List of SSSIs in Mid and East Lothian
Mid Argyll and Cowal TBC TBC TBC TBC List of SSSIs in Mid Argyll and Cowal
Moray and Nairn TBC TBC TBC TBC List of SSSIs in Moray and Nairn
Mull, Coll and Tiree TBC TBC TBC TBC List of SSSIs in Mull, Coll and Tiree
Nithsdale TBC TBC TBC TBC List of SSSIs in Nithsdale
North East Fife TBC TBC TBC TBC List of SSSIs in North East Fife
North Lochaber TBC TBC TBC TBC List of SSSIs in North Lochaber
North West Sutherland TBC TBC TBC TBC List of SSSIs in North West Sutherland
North Wester Ross and Cromarty TBC TBC TBC TBC List of SSSIs in North Wester Ross and Cromarty
Orkney TBC TBC TBC TBC List of SSSIs in Orkney
Renfrew and Cunninghame TBC TBC TBC TBC List of SSSIs in Renfrew and Cunninghame
Rùm and the Small Isles TBC TBC TBC TBC List of SSSIs in Rum and the Small Isles
Shetland TBC TBC TBC TBC List of SSSIs in Shetland
Skye and Lochalsh TBC TBC TBC TBC List of SSSIs in Skye and Lochalsh
South East Sutherland TBC TBC TBC TBC List of SSSIs in South East Sutherland
South Lochaber TBC TBC TBC TBC List of SSSIs in South Lochaber
South Perth TBC TBC TBC TBC List of SSSIs in South Perth
South Wester Ross and Cromarty TBC TBC TBC TBC List of SSSIs in South Wester Ross and Cromarty
Stirling TBC TBC TBC TBC List of SSSIs in Stirling
Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale TBC TBC TBC TBC List of SSSIs in Tweeddale and Ettrick and Lauderdale
West Perth TBC TBC TBC TBC List of SSSIs in West Perth
Western Isles North TBC TBC TBC TBC List of SSSIs in Western Isles North
Western Isles South TBC TBC TBC TBC List of SSSIs in Western Isles South
Wigtown and Stewartry TBC TBC TBC TBC List of SSSIs in Wigtown and Stewartry

Wales

Area of Search Number of sites Sites list
Biological Geological Both Total
Brecknockshire TBC TBC TBC 84 List of SSSIs in Brecknock
Carmarthen & Dinefwr TBC TBC TBC 79 List of SSSIs in Carmarthen & Dinefwr
Ceredigion TBC TBC TBC 100 List of SSSIs in Ceredigion
Clwyd TBC TBC TBC 81 List of SSSIs in Clwyd
East Gwynedd TBC TBC TBC 103 List of SSSIs in East Gwynedd
Gwent TBC TBC TBC 78 List of SSSIs in Gwent
Mid & South Glamorgan TBC TBC TBC 69 List of SSSIs in Mid & South Glamorgan
Montgomeryshire TBC TBC TBC 76 List of SSSIs in Montgomery
Preseli & South Pembrokeshire TBC TBC TBC 75 List of SSSIs in Preseli & South Pembrokeshire
Radnorshire TBC TBC TBC 87 List of SSSIs in Radnor
West Glamorgan TBC TBC TBC 56 List of SSSIs in West Glamorgan
West Gwynedd TBC TBC TBC 135 List of SSSIs in West Gwynedd

References

  1. 1 2 3 NCC 1989, page 17, note 4.11
  2. ↑ NCC 1989, page 18, where all AOS boundaries are mapped Map
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