West Yorkshire named as second worst county over protecting countryside

A total of 497 Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) were assessed in West Yorkshire and only 60, or 12 per cent, were found to be in a favourable condition, new analysis shows.

The analysis by the JPIMedia Data Unit found that a total of 434, or 87 per cent of the sites, were found to be in an unfavourable condition.

They included seven entries for the Leeds Liverpool Canal, which were found to be unfavourable but recovering.

Mickletown Ings was found to be in an unfavourable condition and declining.

West Yorkshire placed second behind Greater Manchester, which topped the list of worst counties for the condition of its Sites of Special Scientific Interest.

In Greater Manchester, 481, or 91 per cent, of its total of 531 SSSIs were found to be in an unfavourable condition.

The analysis found a colony of puffins on the Shetland Islands’ Sumburgh Head is in an unsatisfactory and declining state, with the situation blamed on climate change;

And it raised concern over the status of breeding peregrine falcons at Fair Head and Murlough Bay in Northern Ireland;

All protected sections of Cornwall's famous Bodmin Moor were assessed as being in an unfavourable condition.

Paul de Zylva, of Friends of the Earth, said it was “shocking that our top wildlife sites are in such poor condition”.

He said: “If we can’t even protect the jewels in the crown, it’s little wonder that UK nature is in such poor shape.

“The new government must make the protection and restoration of our natural environment a top priority.”

Kate Jennings, head of site conservation policy at the RSPB, added: “The current state of SSSIs across the four countries of the UK is shocking. Many have not been assessed for years so the actual picture may in fact be worse.

“If our governments are serious about tackling the climate and nature emergencies we need a huge step change in action, and it needs to happen now.”

Nikki Williams, The Wildlife Trust’s director of campaigns and policy, said bodies such as Natural England, which monitor the condition of sites, had been starved of funding.

She called for them to get a substantial cash injection “to enable them to carry out their functions effectively and to ensure our protected sites are restored and enhanced”.

Across the UK

In England, SSSIs are inspected in smaller sections called units. More than half of these units, 53 per cent, are in an unfavourable condition, inspection data shows.

Guidelines state SSSI features in England should be assessed at least every six years, but the analysis found more than half, 12,394, of sites have not been assessed since 2011.

A spokesperson for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) said while most of England’s SSSIs were either in a favourable condition or were recovering, they recognised that “more needs to be done to improve these vital sites”.

The spokesperson added: “That’s why we are focusing on restoring those sites that are still in a recovering condition so we can enhance these important areas."