List of Sites of Special Scientific Interest on the Isle of Wight

The Needles, part of Headon Warren And West High Down SSSI

This is a list of the Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) on the Isle of Wight, England. The Isle of Wight is an island and county three miles off the south coast of England in the English Channel. Its geology is complex, with a chalk downland ridge running east to west through its centre and important fossil beds from the Lower Cretaceous to the Lower Tertiary around the coast.^[1] This geology gives rise to many distinct habitats, with strong maritime influences, including chalk grassland, neutral meadows, and broad-leaved woodland.^[1] The Isle of Wight has a population of 140,000, making it one of the country's smaller counties in terms of population.^[2]

In England, the body responsible for designating SSSIs is Natural England, which chooses a site because of its fauna, flora, geological or physiographical features.^[3] Natural England took over the role of designating and managing SSSIs from English Nature in October 2006, when it was formed from the amalgamation of English Nature, parts of the Countryside Agency, and the Rural Development Service. As of 2008, there are 41 sites designated in this Area of Search; of these, 26 have been designated for their biological interest, 4 for their geological interest, and 11 for both.^[4]

The data in the table is taken from citation sheets for each SSSI, available at their website.^[5]

Sites

Site name	Reason for designation		Area^[A]		Grid reference^[B]	Year in which notified	Map^[C]
	Biological interest	Geological interest	Hectares	Acres
Alverstone Marshes			83.8	207.0	SZ572859	1951	Map
America Wood			21.4	52.9	SZ567820	1986	Map
Arreton Down ^[D]			29.8	73.6	SZ540872	1979	Map
Bembridge Down			56.3	139.0	SZ628856	1951	Map
Bembridge School And Cliffs			12.6	31.1	ST647869	1999	Map
Bonchurch Landslips			28.2	69.7	SZ582785	1977	Map
Bouldnor And Hamstead Cliffs			95.7	236.4	SZ390910	1951	Map
Brading Marshes to St. Helen's Ledges			488.5	1,207.0	SZ635883	1951^[E]	Map
Briddlesford Copses			167.2	413.2	SZ549904	2003	Map
Calbourne Down			15.4	38.1	SZ429858	1989	Map
Colwell Bay			13.6	34.2	SZ323873	1959	Map
Compton Chine to Steephill Cove			629.2	1,554.8	SZ489763	2003	Map
Compton Down			196.3	484.9	SZ365856	1951	Map
Cranmore			12.4	30.7	SZ393901	2002	Map
Cridmore Bog			14.4	35.6	SZ495815	1985	Map
Eaglehead and Bloodstone Copses			10.3	25.5	SZ584877	1987	Map
Freshwater Marshes			23.3	57.6	SZ344866	1951	Map
Garston's Down			20.3	50.2	SZ475855	1971	Map
Greatwood And Cliff Copses			16.3	40.3	SZ5680 – SZ5780	1986	Map
Headon Warren And West High Down			276.3	682.6	SZ316852	1951	Map
King's Quay Shore			97.2	240.1	SZ536935	1951	Map
Lacey's Farm Quarry			0.1	0.3	SZ323862	1993	Map
Lake Allotments			0.2	0.5	SZ586838	1988	Map
Locks Farm Meadow			2.3	5.7	SZ449908	1988	Map
Medina Estuary			100.5	248.3	SZ508924	1977	Map
Mottistone Down			31.4	77.6	SZ414846	1971	Map
Newtown Harbour^[F]			619.3	1,530.3	SZ425915	1951	Map
Northpark Copse			9.9	24.5	SZ435885	1986	Map
Parkhurst Forest			183.5	453.3	SZ473915	1986	Map
Priory Woods			2.9	7.3	SZ635900	1998	Map
Prospect Quarry			4.3	10.6	SZ385866	1971	Map
Rew Down			23.5	58.1	SZ550775	1977	Map
Rowridge Valley			39.8	98.3	SZ454864	1951	Map
Ryde Sands and Wootton Creek			424.4	1,048.7	SZ548920 – SZ634908	1993	Map
Shide Quarry			4.8	11.8	SZ506881	1971	Map
St Lawrence Bank			0.5	1.2	SZ536768	1998	Map
The Wilderness			12.6	31.1	SZ505824	1951	Map
Thorness Bay^[G]			86.2	213.0	SZ455935	1966	Map
Ventnor Downs			162.6	401.8	SZ575786	1951	Map
Whitecliff Bay And Bembridge Ledges			131.6	325.2	SZ657872	1955	Map
Yar Estuary			132.4	327.2	SZ353886	1977	Map

Notes

^A Data rounded to one decimal place.

^B Grid reference is based on the British national grid reference system, also known as OSGB36, and is the system used by the Ordnance Survey.^[6]

^C Link to maps using the Nature on the Map service provided by English Nature.

^D Arreton Down was originally notified as a geological SSSI, but was then renotified in 1987 for its biological interest only.^[5]

^E This site includes three former SSSIs known as St Helen’s Duver, Brading Marshes and St. Helen’s Ledges. They were notified in 1951, 1971 and 1977 respectively.^[5]

^F This also includes the former SSSI, Hart’s Farm Meadows which was designated in 1986.^[5]

^G This site was formerly known as Gurnard Ledge to Saltmead Ledge SSSI and was extended in 1987.^[5]

References

1. "Isle of Wight Natural Area". Natural England. Retrieved 16 January 2008.
2. "Population Statistics". National Statistics. Archived from the original on 2 March 2009. Retrieved 16 January 2008.
3. "Notification of SSSIs". Natural England. Retrieved 1 August 2006.
4. "SSSIs on the Isle of Wight". Natural England. Retrieved 24 January 2008.
5. Natural England citation sheets for each SSSI (PDF files). Retrieved on 2006-07-07.

   "Alverstone Marshes" (PDF). "America Wood" (PDF). "Arreton Down" (PDF). "Bembridge Down" (PDF). "Bembridge School And Cliffs" (PDF). "Bonchurch Landslips" (PDF). "Bouldnor And Hamstead Cliffs" (PDF). "Brading Marshes To St. Helen's Ledges" (PDF). "Briddlesford Copses" (PDF). "Calbourne Down" (PDF). "Colwell Bay" (PDF). "Compton Chine to Steephill Cove" (PDF). "Compton Down" (PDF). "Cranmore" (PDF).

   "Cridmore Bog" (PDF). "Eaglehead And Bloodstone Copses" (PDF). "Freshwater Marshes" (PDF). "Garston's Down" (PDF). "Greatwood And Cliff Copses" (PDF). "Headon Warren And West High Down" (PDF). "King's Quay Shore" (PDF). "Lacey's Farm Quarry" (PDF). "Lake Allotments" (PDF). "Locks Farm Meadow" (PDF). "Medina Estuary" (PDF). "Mottistone Down" (PDF). "Newtown Harbour" (PDF). "Northpark Copse" (PDF).

   "Parkhurst Forest" (PDF). "Priory Woods" (PDF). "Prospect Quarry" (PDF). "Rew Down" (PDF). "Rowridge Valley" (PDF). "Ryde Sands and Wootton Creek" (PDF). "Shide Quarry" (PDF). "St Lawrence Bank" (PDF). "The Wilderness" (PDF). "Thorness Bay" (PDF). "Ventnor Downs" (PDF). "Whitecliff Bay And Bembridge Ledges" (PDF). "Yar Estuary" (PDF).

6. "Guide to National Grid". Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 7 August 2006.