Freedom of Information Request - Individual declaration dates for Scotland statutory protected areas
Date: 04 June 2025
Our ref: SIR180130/A5178757
Information Request – Individual declaration dates for Scotland statutory protected areas
Your Request
'Individual National Nature Reserve sub-areas declared after 2010 (with name, ID, area, Easting and Northing, and polygons)
• Individual Local Nature Reserve sub-areas declared after 2010 (with name, ID, area, Easting and Northing, and polygons)
• Individual SSSI sub-areas declared after 2010 (with name, ID, area, Easting and Northing, and polygons)
• Individual Ramsar sub-areas declared after 2010 (with name, ID, area, Easting and Northing, and polygons)
• Individual National Scenic Areas sub-areas declared after 2010 (with name, ID, area, Easting and Northing, and polygons)
• Individual Marine Protection Areas sub-areas declared after 2010 (with name, ID, area, Easting and Northing, and polygons)'
Our Response
Our Protected Areas team have provided the information that you have requested in a spreadsheet attached separately to this response.
However, we do not hold individual polygon records for site extensions or reductions, when a site boundary changes, a new boundary is drafted and then published for the whole site.
You will be able to add some of the spreadsheet data to the shapefile data you have retrieved from the Open Data Portal, for example:
- establishment dates
- documented land area (ha) and GIS land area (ha) for the whole site
- OS six-digit grid ref, easting and northing for the whole site
We have included the reason for the most recent designation date post 2010 and the change to land area (ha) for those sites which are not new protected areas.
As we do not hold individual polygon records for site extensions or reductions, we must apply an EIRs exemption, 10(4)(a) (Information not held) to this part of your request.
How We Handled Your Request
We believe you have asked for environmental information as defined in the Environmental Information (Scotland Regulations 2004 (‘the EIRs’), so we are dealing with your request under those regulations. To be able to use the EIRs, we must apply an exemption under section 39(2) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (‘FOISA’). The Scottish Information Commissioner’s guidance recommends that public authorities apply this exemption to environmental information and handle request under the EIRs.
If you would like to find out more about the access to information legislation, there is a guidance booklet available on the Scottish Information Commissioner’s website.
Review and Appeal
I hope this information meets your requirements, but if you are dissatisfied with how we have responded to your information request, please write to us within 40 working days explaining your concerns. You can contact us at Battleby, Redgorton, Perth, PH1 3EW or email us at [email protected]. We will carry out a review of our response and contact you with our findings within 20 working days.
If you are not satisfied following this, you can make an appeal to the Scottish Information Commissioner within 6 months. The Scottish Information Commissioner can be contacted at:
Scottish Information Commissioner
Kinburn Castle
Doubledykes Road
St Andrews
Fife
KY16 9DS
Telephone: 01334 464610
Yours sincerely
FOI Officer,
NatureScot
Document downloads
Due to accessibility issues the attached information, referenced above, is available on request by contacting the FOI team at [email protected]. Please reference the case number (starting with SIR).
