List of Sites of Special Scientific Interest in County Durham

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This is a list of the Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) in County Durham, England. It excludes SSSIs situated in that area south of the River Tyne that is now part of the metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear as well as the area north of the River Tees which, prior to 1996, formed part of the county of Cleveland.

As of July 2010, County Durham has 88 sites that have been designated as SSSIs, of which 67 have been designated for their biological interest, 16 for their geological interest, and 5 for both.

Five of these sites are shared with an adjacent county: Moorhouse and Cross Fell with Cumbria; Derwent Gorge and Horsleyhope Ravine, Hexhamshire Moors and Muggleswick, Stanhope and Edmundbyers Commons and Blanchland Moor with Northumberland; Durham Coast with both Cleveland (in the south) and Tyne and Wear (in the north).

Designation of SSSIs

Sites of Special Scientific Interest are areas that have been selected for special protection because of their floral, faunal or geological significance. The concept was first given a statutory basis in the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949, the relevant provisions of which were repeated in the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. Under the 1949 Act, responsibility for selecting and notifying SSSIs in England was delegated to the newly created Nature Conservancy, which was replaced in 1973 by the Nature Conservancy Council (NCC). In 1991, the NCC was split up, its responsibilities in England being passed to English Nature which, in turn, was amalgamated into a new body, Natural England, in 2006.

The process for establishing an SSSI is as follows:

When a site has been identified, Natural England notifies the landowner, the occupier (if different) and the local planning authority (plus relevant government departments and agencies); Owners and occupiers are given time to lodge objections or make representations concerning the restrictions imposed on an SSSI; The Board of Natural England considers these responses and decides whether to confirm or withdraw the SSSI notification.

The initial notification of a site is accompanied by a citation sheet, which outlines the reasons for the notification: the data in the following list is summarised from these individual citation sheets.Natural England citation sheets for each SSSI. Retrieved 2008-02-26. (PDF files).

Reasons for notification as SSSI

Of the 88 SSSIs designated in County Durham, 67 have been designated for their biological interest, 16 for their geological interest, and five for both biological and geological interest.

Biological

While many of the SSSIs designated for biological reasons cover a variety of habitats, most have been designated primarily for one (or more) of a small number of reasons, as detailed in the individual citation sheets:

Habitats Moorland (upland heath and bogs) – Bollihope, Pikestone, Eggleston and Woodland Fells, Bowes Moor, Cotherstone Moor, Hexhamshire Moors, Lune Forest, Moorhouse and Cross Fell, Muggleswick, Stanhope and Edmundbyers Commons and Blanchland Moor, Upper Teesdale Lowland heath – Green Croft and Langley Moor, Hesledon Moor West, Waldridge Fell Wetlands (carr, fen, etc) – Burnhope Burn, Butterby Oxbow, Causey Bank Mires, Frog Wood Bog, Hell Kettles, Hesledon Moor East, Hesledon Moor West, Hisehope Burn Valley, Hulam Fen, Middleton Quarry, Pike Whin Bog, Pow Hill Bog, Railway Stell West, Redcar Field, The Carrs, Waldridge Fell, Witton-le-Wear Semi-natural woodland – Backstone Bank and Baal Hill Woods, Baldersdale Woodlands, Brignall Banks, Castle Eden Dene, Derwent Gorge and Horsleyhope Ravine, Hawthorn Dene, Hisehope Burn Valley, Hunder Beck Juniper, Shipley and Great Woods, Slit Woods, Westernhope Burn Wood Magnesian limestone grassland – Bishop Middleham Quarry, Cassop Vale, Charity Land, Dabble Bank, Durham Coast, Fishburn Grassland, Hawthorn Dene, Hesledon Moor East, Pig Hill, Pittington Hill, Quarrington Hill Grasslands, Raisby Hill Grassland, Sherburn Hill, The Bottoms, Thrislington Plantation, Town Kelloe Bank, Trimdon Limestone Quarry, Tuthill Quarry, Wingate Quarry Hay meadows – Bowlees and Friar House Meadows, Cornriggs Meadows, Far High House Meadows, Grains o' th' Beck Meadows, Hannah's Meadows, Low Redford Meadows, Mere Beck Meadows, Middle Crossthwaite, Middle Side and Stonygill Meadows, Newton Ketton Meadow, Rigg Farm and Stake Hill Meadows, West Newlandside Meadows, West Park Meadows Open water – Brasside Pond, The Carrs, Witton-le-Wear Fauna Breeding birds – Bollihope, Pikestone, Eggleston and Woodland Fells, Bowes Moor, Cotherstone Moor, Durham Coast, Hexhamshire Moors, Lune Forest, Moorhouse and Cross Fell, Muggleswick, Stanhope and Edmundbyers Commons and Blanchland Moor, Teesdale Allotments, Upper Teesdale Invertebrates – Bishop Middleham Quarry, Cassop Vale, Durham Coast, Green Croft and Langley Moor, Hexhamshire Moors, Middleton Quarry, Moorhouse and Cross Fell, Pig Hill, Quarrington Hill Grasslands, Raisby Hill Grassland, Sherburn Hill, Thrislington Plantation, Town Kelloe Bank, Upper Teesdale, Waldridge Fell

Geological

The surface geology of County Durham is largely confined to rocks dating from the Carboniferous and Permian periods. In the west of the county, outcrops of Dinantian limestones are found in the river valleys, while the upland areas are underlain by the younger Namurian Millstone Grit Series. To the east, these rocks dip beneath the Westphalian Coal Measures, which underlay a broad swathe in the centre of the county. Further east, the Coal Measures are overlain by Permian Magnesian Limestone, which forms a low plateau across the eastern part of the county. Igneous intrusions are a prominent feature of the geology and gave rise to extensive mining for lead and other minerals, especially in the upper Weardale area in the west of the county.

Although each SSSI designated for geological reasons has its own distinctive features, they fall into a small number of broad categories, as indicated in the individual citation sheets:

Stratigraphy Sedimentary – Botany Hill, Crag Gill, Crime Rigg, Durham Coast, Hawthorn Quarry, Raisby Hill Quarry, Rogerley Quarry, Sleightholme Beck Gorge – The Troughs, Stony Cut, Cold Hesledon, Trimdon Limestone Quarry, Yoden Village Quarry Igneous – Greenfoot Quarry, Moorhouse and Cross Fell, Upper Teesdale, West Rigg Open Cutting Mineralogy – Close House Mine, Foster's Hush, Moorhouse and Cross Fell, Old Moss Lead Vein, Upper Teesdale, West Rigg Open Cutting Palaeontology – Middridge Quarry Quaternary events – Durham Coast, Upper Teesdale Geomorphology Cave development – Fairy Holes Cave, God's Bridge, Moorhouse and Cross Fell Coastal – Durham Coast Periglacial – Moorhouse and Cross Fell Fluvial – Moorhouse and Cross Fell

Area covered

From its inception, English Nature classified sites using the 1974–1996 county system. As Natural England uses the same system, it is also adopted in the following list. As a result, some sites that lie within the ceremonial county of Durham and might therefore be expected to be listed here will be found instead in either the Cleveland or the Tyne and Wear lists.

For other counties, see List of SSSIs by Area of Search.

Sites

Site name Reason for designation Area Grid reference Year in which notified Map Biological interest Geological interest Hectares Acres Backstone Bank and Baal Hill Woods 46.5 114.9 1987 Baldersdale Woodlands 19.6 48.4 1991 Bishop Middleham Quarry 8.6 21.3 1968 Bollihope, Pikestone, Eggleston and Woodland Fells 7,949.2 19,643.2 1996 Botany Hill 3.8 9.3 1984 Bowes Moor 4,457.7 11,014.9 1989 Bowlees and Friar House Meadows 5.6 13.9 1991 Brasside Pond 25.1 62.0 1966 Brignall Banks 85.0 210.0 1987 Burnhope Burn 5.1 12.6 1987 Butterby Oxbow 7.3 18.0 1957 Cassop Vale 40.9 101.0 1958 Castle Eden Dene 193.0 476.8 1984 Causey Bank Mires 6.8 16.8 1987 Charity Land 5.8 14.4 1999 Close House Mine 3.4 8.3 1995 Cornriggs Meadows 15.2 37.5 1989 Cotherstone Moor 2,449.5 6,050.1 1955 Crag Gill 2.3 5.7 1984 Crime Rigg and Sherburn Hill Quarries 23.2 57.4 1968 Dabble Bank 4.1 10.2 2002 Derwent Gorge and Horsleyhope Ravine 49.034.0 121.084.0 1976 Durham Coast 765.4 1,891.4 – 1960 Fairy Holes Cave 208.8 515.9 1961 Far High House Meadows 5.5 13.6 1990 Fishburn Grassland 1.1 2.8 1992 Foster's Hush 1.3 3.2 Frog Wood Bog 3.2 7.9 1989 God's Bridge 9.3 22.9 1986 Grains o' th' Beck Meadows 12.3 30.4 1989 Green Croft and Langley Moor 6.59.012.2 16.122.230.2 1989 Greenfoot Quarry 0.9 2.2 1984 Hannah's Meadows 7.1 17.5 Hawthorn Dene 64.1 158.4 1968 Hawthorn Quarry 9.8 24.2 1990 Hell Kettles 3.4 8.4 1976 Hesledon Moor East 6.0 14.8 1998 Hesledon Moor West 7.4 18.2 1984 Hexhamshire Moors 9,433.9 23,311.7 1998 Hisehope Burn Valley 14.9 36.9 1988 Hulam Fen 0.2 0.5 1986 Hunder Beck Juniper 3.5 8.5 1994 Kilmond Scar 4.5 11.1 1963 Low Redford Meadows 9.3 22.9 1991 Lune Forest 6,333.4 15,650.3 1998 Mere Beck Meadows 6.6 16.3 1989 Middle Crossthwaite 24.1 59.5 1991 Middle Side and Stonygill Meadows 17.3 42.7 1991 Middleton Quarry 6.0 14.8 1964 Middridge Quarry 1.9 4.7 1979 Moorhouse and Cross Fell 13,707.0 33,870.0 1951 / 1963 Muggleswick, Stanhope and Edmundbyers Commons and Blanchland Moor 9,118.1 22,531.4 1997 Neasham Fen 2.5 6.1 1992 Newton Ketton Meadow 1.8 4.5 1989 Old Moss Lead Vein 0.6 1.5 1961 Park End Wood 10.3 25.5 1964 Pig Hill 12.6 31.2 1992 Pike Whin Bog 1.3 3.1 1984 Pittington Hill 6.4 15.8 1987 Pow Hill Bog 6.7 16.6 1986 Quarrington Hill Grasslands 4.5 11.1 2000 Railway Stell West 4.6 11.4 – 1986 Raisby Hill Grassland 15.1 37.4 1984 Raisby Hill Quarry 52.4 129.5 1957 Redcar Field 0.7 1.6 1985 Rigg Farm and Stake Hill Meadows 14.7 36.3 1989 Rogerley Quarry 5.6 13.8 – 1984 Sherburn Hill 16.7 41.2 1985 Shipley and Great Woods 63.4 156.5 1975 Sleightholme Beck Gorge - The Troughs 7.5 18.5 1976 Slit Woods 14.1 34.8 1976 Stony Cut, Cold Hesledon 0.8 2.1 1996 Teesdale Allotments 1,308.3 3,231.6 1994 The Bottoms 2.2 5.2 1999 The Carrs 12.9 31.9 1988 Thrislington Plantation 22.7 56.1 1962 Town Kelloe Bank 6.0 15.0 1976 Trimdon Limestone Quarry 0.8 2.0 1992 Tuthill Quarry 10.7 26.5 1994 Upper Teesdale 14,035.6 34,681.9 1951 Waldridge Fell 113.5 280.4 1965 West Newlandside Meadows 12.5 30.8 1990 West Park Meadows 6.7 16.6 1989 West Rigg Open Cutting 4.8 11.9 1989 Westernhope Burn Wood 11.8 29.1 1976 Wingate Quarry 23.4 57.7 1984 Witton-le-Wear 36.2 89.4 1966 Yoden Village Quarry 0.4 1.0 1988

Notes Data rounded to one decimal place. Grid reference is based on the British national grid reference system, also known as OSGB36, and is the system used by the Ordnance Survey. Where an SSSI consists of multiple, non-contiguous sections, each section is assigned its own OS grid reference. Link to maps using the Nature on the Map service provided by Natural England. Natural England also lists Derwent Gorge and Horsleyhope Ravine under Northumberland. Natural England also lists Durham Coast under both Cleveland and Tyne and Wear. The grid reference for Hexhamshire Moors places it in Northumberland, not Durham; Natural England lists it under both counties. Natural England also lists Moorhouse and Cross Fell under Cumbria. Natural England also lists Muggleswick, Stanhope and Edmundbyers Commons and Blanchland Moor under Northumberland.

References

External links List of SSSIs in County Durham at Natural England