List of Sites of Special Scientific Interest in East Sussex

This is a list of the Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) in East Sussex, a county in South East England. East Sussex is bordered by Kent to the north, and Surrey to the south,^[1] and has an estimated population of 757,600 within an area of 1,795 km² (443,554.2 acres), therefore making it the 28th largest cermeonial county in the United Kingdom.^[2]

As of 2008^[update], there are 64 sites designated within this Area of Search, 47 of which have been designated for their biological interest, 13 for their geological interest, and four for both biological and geological interest.^[3]

In England, the body responsible for designating SSSIs is Natural England, which selects sites because of their flora, fauna, geological or physiographical features.^[4] 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.

East Sussex is, from a geological viewpoint, the southern anticline of the Weald. The South Downs contain numerous chalk hills, which continue along much of the southern area of the county. East Sussex is home to much marshland area, with large amounts to the east of Beachy Head.^[5]

The data in this table is taken from English Nature's website in the form of citation sheets for each SSSI.^[6]

Sites

A–F

Site name	Reason for Designation		Area[A]		Grid reference[B][C]	Year in which notified[D]	Map[E]
	Biological Interest	Geological Interest	Hectares	Acres
Arlington Reservoir	Y		99.4	245.6	TQ535075	1985	[1]
Asham Quarry		Y	2.8	7.0	TQ441059	1993	[2]
Ashburnham Park	Y		273.5	110.7	TQ695148	1986	[3]
Ashdown Forest	Y		3144.6	7770.3	TQ450300	1986	[4]
Bingletts Wood	Y		15.8	39.2	TQ623211	1985	[5]
Blackhorse Quarry		Y	0.1	0.4	TQ769142	1989	[6]
Bream Wood	Y		7.6	18.7	TQ523329	1985	[7]
Brede Pit and Cutting		Y	0.1	1.3	TQ832184	1990	[8]
Brighton to Newhaven Cliffs	Y	Y	167.5	413.7	TQ390015	1986	[9]
Burgh Hill Farm Meadow	Y		0.9	24.3	TQ537128	1984	[10]
Buxted Park	Y		83.4	206.1	TQ488225	1989	[11]
Castle Hill	Y		113.5	280.4	TQ370070	1986	[12]
Chailey Common	Y		169.0	417.4	TQ390215	1985	[13]
Clayton to Offham Escarpment[F]	Y		379.3	937.2	TQ301136 and TQ400120	1986	[14]
Combe Haven	Y		156.1	385.7	TQ770102	1985	[15]
Dallington Forest	Y		16.2	40.0	TQ652208	1985	[16]
Darwell Wood	Y		37.6	92.9	TQ710202	1986	[17]
Ditchling Common	Y		63.6	157.1	TQ335183	1986	[18]
Dungeness, Romney Marsh and Rye Bay	Y		9,090.0	22461.8	TR069201	1986	[19]
Eridge Green	Y		8.4	20.7	TQ554358	1985	[20]
Eridge Park	Y		390.1	963.9	TQ576344	1986	[21]
Firle Escarpment	Y		301.3	744.6	TQ480061	1985	[22]
Folkington Reservoir	Y		5.7	14.1	TQ564036	1987	[23]
Fore Wood	Y		21.5	52.6	TQ753128	1984	[24]

H–P

Site name	Reason for Designation		Area[A]		Grid reference[B][C]	Year in which notified[D]	Map[E]
	Biological Interest	Geological Interest	Hectares	Acres
Hastingford Cutting		Y	0.05	0.2	TQ523259	1990	[25]
Hastings Cliffs to Pett Beach	Y	Y	299.4	739.8	TQ872112	1990	[26]
Heathfield Park	Y		40.8	100.8	TQ593210	1986	[27]
Hemingfold Meadow	Y		4.9	12.1	TQ777149	1984	[28]
Herstmonceux Park	Y		4.5	11.1	TQ650107	1986	[29]
High Rocks		Y	3.2	7.9	TQ560382	1986	[30]
High Woods	Y		33.5	82.7	TQ713100	1985	[31]
Houghton Green Cliff		Y	0.1	0.3	TQ931224	1990	[32]
Kingston Escarpment and Iford Hill	Y		64.4	159.1	TQ380080	1986	[33]
Leasam Heronry Wood	Y		2.2	5.2	TQ907216	1983	[34]
Lewes Brooks	Y		330.0	822.8	TQ410085 and TQ430075	1988	[35]
Lewes Downs	Y		149.8	370.2	TQ437103	1986	[36]
Lower Dicker		Y	0.1	0.2	TQ557111	1998	[37]
Lullington Heath	Y		71.7	175.7	TQ545017	1986	[38]
Maplehurst Wood	Y		31.6	78.0	TQ807134	1985	[39]
Marline Valley Woods	Y		55.0	135.8	TQ780122	1986	[40]
Milton Gate Marsh	Y		18.6	46.9	TQ541058	1991	[41]
Northiam SSSI		Y	0.3	0.7	TQ829253	1998	[42]
Offham Marshes	Y		38.1	94.1	TQ404118	1989	[43]
Paines Cross Meadow	Y		3.6	9.0	TQ616238	1991	[44]
Park Corner Heath	Y		3.5	8.7	TQ511149	1988	[45]
Penn's Rocks	Y		10.1	25.0	TQ520348	1985	[46]
Pevensey Levels	Y		3501.0	8650.9	TQ650070	1990	[47]
Plashett Park Wood	Y		154.3	381.2	TQ460156	1985	[48]

R–Z

Site name	Reason for Designation		Area[A]		Grid reference[B][C]	Year in which notified[D]	Map[E]
	Biological Interest	Geological Interest	Hectares	Acres
River Line		Y	1.8	4.6	TQ714190 and TQ719192	1997	[49]
Rock Wood	Y		10.3	25.5	TQ471249	1985	[50]
Rye Harbour	Y	Y	761.1	1800.6	TQ935180	1984	[51]
Sapperton Meadows	Y		14.6	36.1	TQ588195	1991	[52]
Seaford to Beachy Head	Y	Y	1,102	2723.1	TQ540970	1986	[53]
Southerham Grey Pit		Y	8.4	20.8	TQ427090	1990	[54]
Southerham Machine Bottom Pit		Y	1.6	3.9	TQ432090	1999	[55]
Southerham Works Pit		Y	0.8	2.0	TQ426096	1996	[56]
St. Dunstan's Farm Meadows	Y		10.2	25.2	TQ608193	1992	[57]
Stockland Farm Meadows	Y		5.8	14.2	TQ527251	1992	[58]
Waldron Cutting		Y	0.1	0.4	TQ552187	1990	[59]
Weir Wood Reservoir	Y		83.5	206.3	TQ395347	1985	[60]
Willingdon Down	Y		60.2	148.7	TQ578022	1986	[61]
Willingford Meadows	Y		11.4	28.2	TQ655223	1990	[62]
Wilmington Downs	Y		208.2	514.5	TQ545035	1986	[63]
Winchelsea Cutting		Y	0.1	0.3	TQ902169	1990	[64]

See also

• List of SSSIs by Area of Search

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.^[7]

^C Those SSSIs with more than one OS grid reference are composed of multiple sections, separated by non-SSSI land.^[7]

^D Site notification consists of designating a site as an SSSI and consulting with the owner(s). This list uses the date notified under Section 28 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.

^E Link to maps using the Nature on the Map service provided by Natural England.

^F Clayton To Offham Escarpment site extends into the county of West Sussex and so can be found on the list of SSSIs in West Sussex.^[6]

References

Sites of Special Scientific Interest in the United Kingdom, grouped by Area of Search England Avon Bedfordshire Berkshire Buckinghamshire Cambridgeshire Cheshire Cleveland Cornwall County Durham Cumbria Derbyshire Devon Dorset East Sussex Essex Gloucestershire Greater London Greater Manchester Hampshire Hereford and Worcester Hertfordshire Humberside Isle of Wight Kent Lancashire Leicestershire Lincolnshire Merseyside Norfolk North Yorkshire Northamptonshire Northumberland Nottinghamshire Oxfordshire Shropshire Somerset South Yorkshire Staffordshire Suffolk Surrey Tyne and Wear Warwickshire West Midlands West Sussex West Yorkshire Wiltshire Northern Ireland County Antrim County Armagh County Down County Fermanagh County Londonderry County Tyrone Scotland Angus and Dundee Annandale and Eskdale Badenoch and Strathspey Banff and Buchan Berwickshire and Roxburgh Caithness Clydesdale and South East Glasgow Cumnock and Kyle Dumbarton and North Glasgow Dunfermline and Kirkcaldy East Perth East Ross and Cromarty Edinburgh and West Lothian Falkirk and Clackmannan Gordon and Aberdeen Inverness Islay and Jura Kincardine and Deeside Kintyre Lorne Mid and East Lothian Mid Argyll and Cowal Moray and Nairn Mull, Coll and Tiree Nithsdale North East Fife North Lochaber North West Sutherland North Wester Ross and Cromarty Orkney Renfrew and Cunninghame Rum and the Small Isles Shetland Skye and Lochalsh South East Sutherland South Lochaber South Perth South Wester Ross and Cromarty Stirling Tweeddale and Ettrick and Lauderdale West Perth Western Isles North Western Isles South Wigtown and Stewartry Wales Brecknock Carmarthen & Dinefwr Ceredigion Clwyd East Gwynedd Gwent Mid & South Glamorgan Montgomery Preseli & South Pembrokeshire Radnor West Glamorgan West Gwynedd