Local nature reserves (LNRs) are designated by local authorities under the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949. The local authority must have a legal control over the site, by owning or leasing it or having an agreement with the owner. LNRs are sites which have a special local interest either biologically or geologically, and local authorities have a duty to care for them. They can apply local bye-laws to manage and protect LNRs.[1][2]
As of March 2019, there are twenty-seven LNRs in West Sussex.[3] Nine are Sites of Special Scientific Interest, six are Nature Conservation Review sites, four are Ramsar sites, two are Special Areas of Conservation, four are Special Protection Areas, one includes a scheduled monument and two are managed by the Sussex Wildlife Trust.
West Sussex is in south-east England and it has a population of approximately 780,000.[4] The county town is Chichester. In the north of the county are the heavy clays and sands of the Weald. The chalk of the South Downs runs across the centre from east to west and in the south a coastal plain runs down to the English Channel.[5]
- ^ "Protected or designated areas". Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs and Natural England. 9 April 2013. Archived from the original on 4 May 2015. Retrieved 29 July 2015.
- ^ "Local nature reserves: setting up and management". Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs and Natural England. 2 October 2014. Archived from the original on 4 July 2015. Retrieved 29 July 2015.
- ^ "Designated Sites View: West Sussex". Local Nature Reserves. Natural England. Archived from the original on 27 March 2019. Retrieved 21 March 2019.
- ^ "West Sussex Quick Facts". West Sussex.info. Archived from the original on 25 October 2018. Retrieved 17 July 2019.
- ^ "West Sussex". Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc. Archived from the original on 2 April 2019. Retrieved 18 July 2019.