Summary data for all classified SPAs in the UK are available
to download as a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet, which enables
users to carry out a number of analyses of the UK SPA
list.
It is important to note that the spreadsheet has been
developed from a number of sources, including Natura 2000 Standard
Data Forms and the SPA Review, and these are clearly indicated.
Data for potential SPAs (currently in the process of being
classified) are not available, but will be added once sites have
been classified (some information for potential SPAs is available
in the
SPA Review).
The spreadsheet contains a number of worksheets:
'SPA site details' - contains summary
information about the SPAs themselves, including a brief
description, their size, location and date of classification. Most
of the data are sourced from the Natura 2000 Data Form, the
exceptions are those in 'overview' and 'local authority' which are
sourced from the SPA Review. The list includes all classified SPAs
and the sites that have been subsumed by other classified
sites.
'Bird data submitted to the EU' - shows the
occurrence of each species on each site. The list of species for
each site includes only those listed on the Natura 2000 Data Form
submitted to the European Commission. It does not yet take account
of the amendments published in the SPA Review - because in many
cases these data have not yet been submitted to the EU as part of
an amended Natura 2000 Data Form.
'SPA maps' - offers a simple mapping
facility. If a particular feature or site is selected in the above
worksheets using the Autofilter function, a dot map will be
displayed showing the location of the site(s).
'
SPA component SSSIs' - lists the Sites of
Special Scientific Interest (or Areas of Special Scientific
Interest in Northern Ireland) that underpin SPAs. This information
is sourced from the SPA Review. Information on SSSIs/ASSIs can be
obtained from the relevant statutory nature conservation agencies
(the
Countryside Council for Wales,
Natural
England (formally English Nature) and
Scottish Natural Heritage, together
with the
Northern Ireland
Environment Agency (formally Environment and Heritage Service
in Northern Ireland). Details of most SSSIs in England are
available via
Natural
England website, and for ASSIs in Northern Ireland on the
NIES website.
'SPA habitat classes' - indicates the
percentage of certain broad habitat types in each SPA. These are
intended to give a general impression of the character of the SPA.
The habitat types are defined by the Natura 2000 Data Form.
'SPA physical characteristics' - contains
information on landscape, geomorphology, geology and soils. It is
intended to give a general impression of the physical character of
the SPA, and is not a detailed description. Note that some
characteristics listed may form only a minor component of the site.
This information is sourced from the Natura 2000 Data Form.
Within each worksheet the columns are coloured to aid
navigation, and additional explanatory information is provided for
most columns - to read this, hover your mouse cursor over the
column heading.
The spreadsheet has been compressed into a ZIP archive to
reduce download size - you will need compression software such
WinZip or StuffIt to expand the file. Note that file size is
approximately 600 kb in ZIP compressed
format. The spreadsheet is updated after any new SPA information is
submitted to the EC, so if you have previously saved it to your own
disk, please check that you are still using the latest version. The
naming convention is
UK_SPA_data_yyyymmdd.xls where yy is
year, mm is month and dd is day.
Last updated 14 December 2009. Previous
update 31 August 2009.
Important note: although the data presented
in this spreadsheet are derived both from legal and published
sources the spreadsheet is not a legal document. For legal uses we
recommend that copies of legal documents are requested directly
from the relevant country agency.