Rural Payments and Services

The aim of these rules is to conserve land designated as a Special Area of Conservation (SAC).

SACs are sites which are designated under the Habitats Directive due to their international importance for threatened habitats and species. Many SACs are also designated as Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).

SACs are an additional level of protection which recognises their international importance. In Scotland there 239 SACs.

If you have Special Areas of Conservation on your land.

You must:

1. get Scottish Natural Heritage’s (SNH) consent in writing before carrying out, causing or permitting any specified operation listed in an SSSI’s legal documents - referred to as Operations Requiring Consent (ORC) - or listed within a special nature conservation order

2. comply with all management notices served by SNH or the terms of any restoration order served by a court relevant to the purpose of the SAC (a management notice legally obliges the recipient to carry out certain activities)

You must not:

1. intentionally or recklessly destroy or damage the special interest features of the area or disturb any fauna that are a special interest feature. This requirement can apply to actions that take place other than on the SAC itself but which have the same consequence

You will not break the rules above, when:

• you have a planning permission to carry out the work
• you have consent from a public body or statutory authority that has complied with its duty to consult SNH before giving it consent
• it is an emergency operation (provided that SNH is told as soon as possible after the emergency)

You can find out more information about Special Areas of Conservation, including whether your land is in a SAC by contacting your local Scottish Natural Heritage office or by visiting the Special Areas of Conservation pages of the Scottish Natural Heritage website.

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