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If you havent carried out works requested by Natural England in a management scheme and the features of the land are being inadequately conserved and restored, they can serve you with a management notice.

This will only happen if Natural England have been unable to reach an agreement with you, the owner or occupier of an SSSI, if theyve been unable to reach agreement with you about how to manage the land.

Natural England will post or email you (and any other owners or occupiers) a legal notice, or deliver it in person. This management notice will tell you:

• which management requirements it believes youve not carried out
• which features of special interest are being inadequately conserved or restored
• timescales in which you must carry out the management requirements
• how to appeal if you disagree with the notice

You can still get any payment Natural England offered you for carrying out works requested in the earlier management scheme.

When you can appeal

Unless you agree an extension you have 2 months, from the date of Natural Englands notice, in which to appeal to the Secretary of State.

If youre granted an appeal, Natural England wont enforce the management notice until your appeal is decided.

Natural England may enforce a management notice if any requirements havent been met by deadlines in the notice, and as long as the appeal period has ended and no appeal is in progress.

Youre breaking the law if you do not carry out works Natural England has specified. They could:

• send you a notice to comply - you could face prosecution and an unlimited fine if you do not
• enter your land and carry out any work or enforce requirements - youll have to pay for the work
• get a compulsory purchase to force you to sell your land to them (a last resort)

If you lose an appeal (the management notice is affirmed) and youve not met the requirements in the time given, Natural England can take the same 3 steps.

Who can appeal

You can appeal if you disagree with the requirements of your management notice. The reasons you give are known as your grounds of appeal.

You can also appeal if you think another owner or occupier should be responsible for all or some of the requirements of the management notice and associated costs, but you cannot appeal against the general financial terms offered by Natural England. In this case youll need to serve a copy of your appeal notice on each person youve named.

If you disagree with the payment Natural England offers you to carry out works in a management scheme or notice, speak to your SSSI adviser and, if needed and Natural England agrees to this, to the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution.

Youll need to explain why you disagree with the reasons Natural England gave for serving you with the management notice, or why someone else is responsible for the work or costs.

Youll be able to supply supporting evidence, for example expert views, later on. However, if you do not at least mention all of your main reasons when you request an appeal, it could lengthen the process and you might have to pay costs.

Before you appeal

Discuss your objections to the management notice with your SSSI adviser (particularly if youve not fully discussed the management scheme with them). If you cannot reach agreement you could use a mediator - this could be arranged by the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution.

You may be able to agree an extension of the appeal deadline with Natural England, for example if youre working with them to reach an agreement to avoid a formal appeal. Agree the extension in writing before the end of 2-months from the date on the management notice. If you do end up appealing youll need to send a copy of the agreement to Defra, along with your appeal information.

Choose how to appeal

When you submit your notice of appeal and supporting information youll need to say if you want to appeal by:

• written representations
• hearing
• inquiry

Defra will consider your choice but may decide the inquiry should follow a different procedure if it believes its more appropriate to the case. For example, if your case is very complex, of great public interest or where an inspector may need to cross-examine several witnesses, Defra is most likely to choose an inquiry even if you want to appeal by written representations. However, if any party wants either a hearing or an inquiry Defra must choose between these 2 options.

Whichever procedure your appeal goes through, an inspector from the Planning Inspectorate will consider your case and write a report for the Secretary of State based on the evidence.

First steps for all appeals

Your appeal will usually start in the same way whichever procedure it goes through.

1. You send Defra a notice of appeal including all of the required information and documents.
2. Defra reviews your appeal notice. As long as it decides your notice of appeal is valid and youve submitted all the information and documents needed by the 2-month deadline, the Secretary of State will forward copies to Natural England and any other named party as soon as possible, explaining the implications of the notice.
3. Within 2 weeks of receiving your appeal notice and information, Natural England and any other named party tell Defra whether theyd like to be heard by hearing or inquiry.
4. Defra writes to all parties to confirm which appeal procedure theyve decided is appropriate, at least 2 weeks after notifying Natural England and any other parties. The date on this letter will be your appeal start date, which later deadlines relate to.
5. Within 2 weeks of your appeal start date, Natural England must give notice of the appeal to any interested parties (these parties will have 4 weeks to send Defra their written representations - their views on the case). Natural England will also tell you, Defra and any named party who theyve contacted, and share any representations received so far.
6. Within 6 weeks of the start date you, Natural England and any named party must send Defra your statement-of case, and any interested parties must send Defra written representations.
7. Defra shares each partys statements and any representations as soon as possible.

The next steps vary depending on whether you appeal by written representations, hearing or inquiry.

Appeal by written representations

This is likely to be cheapest and quickest. Its still likely to take at least 8 months to get a decision, but if you appeal by hearing or inquiry it could take a year or longer.

You wont need to attend any meeting and costs cannot be awarded against you.

An appeal by written representations will go through the standard steps for all appeals. It will then go through these steps.

1. Within 3 weeks of exchange of statements and representations, you, Natural England and any named party send Defra any comments.
2. Defra shares each partys comments.
3. Within 3 weeks of the date on the notice sent with the representations, you, Natural England and any named party may make comments on the representations. These will be shared by Defra
4. An inspector from the Planning Inspectorate considers your case and may visit your site.
5. The inspector reports to the Secretary of State.
6. The Secretary of State decides on the appeal and Defra sends you and other parties a decision notice and report.

If you send information to Defra once a deadline has passed or that doesnt relate to grounds given in your initial appeal it may not be considered.

Appeal by hearing

A hearing is a discussion of your appeal led by an inspector from the Planning Inspectorate. Its less formal than an inquiry, for example witnesses arent cross-examined - and is usually qui

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