Great Britain Special Protection Area Boundaries, Updated October 2024

Spatial boundaries for Special Protection Areas (SPAs) in Great Britain, including offshore areas. The dataset is maintained by the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) and was last updated in October 2024. It forms part of the UK's National Site Network for biodiversity conservation.

Use Cases

• Map and analyze protected bird habitats based on the spatial boundary data.
• Monitor changes to the conservation network based on periodic updates for new sites or boundary amendments.
• Conduct spatial planning assessments to avoid impacts on designated Special Protection Areas.

Strengths

• Boundary data is updated periodically by the authoritative body JNCC.
• Includes offshore areas, providing a more complete spatial coverage of protections.

Limitations

• Row count and column definitions are unknown, limiting suitability assessment.
• The description notes that statutory bodies may update data between JNCC's periodic releases, so the dataset may not be the absolute latest.

Provenance

Source

Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC)

Collection Method

Maintained as part of the UK National Site Network datasets, updated following site network changes.

Time Range

Current as of October 2024.

Freshness

Last updated October 2024; platform record updated 2026-04-14.

Geography

Great Britain, including offshore areas.