Limestone Pavement Orders: Protected Geological Habitats in the UK

Natural England publishes a spatial dataset describing the geographic extent of areas protected under Limestone Pavement Orders. These orders, established under Section 34 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, criminalize the removal of limestone pavement outcrops, which are valuable wildlife habitats and geological features. The dataset was last updated on 2026-07-13 and contains Ordnance Survey data under Crown copyright.

Use Cases

• Mapping protected geological features based on the spatial extent of Limestone Pavement Orders.
• Analyzing habitat conservation coverage based on the designation of limestone pavements as SSSIs and priority habitats.
• Supporting enforcement of wildlife protection laws based on the legal boundaries defined by the orders.
• Studying the distribution of UK Biodiversity Action Plan priority habitats based on the associated limestone pavement habitat layer.

Strengths

• Legally authoritative source from Natural England, the UK government's conservation agency.
• Explicit legal basis defined by Section 34 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.
• Integrates with the UK Biodiversity Action Plan as a published priority habitat.
• Contains high-precision spatial data from Ordnance Survey (Crown copyright).

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Description metadata is limited; actual data quality requires manual inspection after download.

Provenance

Source

Natural England

Collection Method

Likely compiled from statutory designations and geological surveys.

Time Range

Orders established from 1981 onward; dataset snapshot date is 2026-07-13.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-07-13 13:02:32.951971; freshness should be verified.

Geography

United Kingdom, specifically areas with limestone pavement outcrops.