Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Related legal acts

Key definition

Natural England definition

What does Natural England mean? In legal practice, Natural England is the statutory nature conservation adviser for England, frequently engaged in planning and infrastructure consenting, Habitats Regulations Assessment, protected species licensing and site conservation. Created by the Natural environment and Rural Communities Act 2006, and acting under legislation including the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017 and the Marine and Coastal access Act 2009, it is the “appropriate nature conservation body” for England. Key functions include: statutory consultee responses on planning and nationally significant infrastructure; SSSI notification and consents; advice on Habitats Regulations Assessment and nutrient neutrality;...

Natural England’s environmental crime investigations: scope, statutory powers, PACE procedures, civil sanctions and practical tips for SSSI, species licence, EIA (agriculture), pesticide and weeds offences in England

Published by a LexisNexis Corporate Crime expert

Practice notes

When does natural england investigate?

There is an overlap in the duties of the various enforcement bodies (eg the police, local authorities, the environment agency (EA), Natural England (NE), Natural Resources Wales (NRW)) that address crimes against the environment. In any environmental investigation, the first task is invariably to determine precisely which organisation is responsible for enforcement action in the circumstances.

For information on the powers held by other environmental enforcement agencies, see the following Practice Notes:

Environment Agency—powers to investigate environmental crime
Natural Resources Wales—powers to investigate environmental crime
Local authorities—powers to investigate environmental crime
Scottish Environment Protection Agency—powers to investigate environmental crime

For information on the enforcement of environmental offences generally, also see the Practice Note: Environmental prosecution and enforcement policy.

NE is an executive Non-Departmental Public Body, sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), which was established to conserve England’s wildlife, land and seas. Natural England has limited statutory enforcement responsibilities. It deals predominantly with crimes affecting wildlife and its habitats. Specifically:

where severe environmental damage is caused to natural habitats, protected species or Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) under the Environmental Damage (Prevention and Remediation) (England) Regulations 2015, SI 2015/810...

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Christian Jowett

30 Park Place, Cardiff and 36 Group, London

Christian’s core specialisms lie in regulatory law and in administrative law.Christian’s environmental crime practice focuses primarily on waste, but extends to the whole calendar of environmental offending. He has a particular interest in subsidiary confiscation and asset recovery under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, which is best represented by R v Morgan [2013] EWCA Crim. 1307, [2014] 1 All E.R. 1208, [2014] Env.L.R. 5, [2013] Lloyd's Rep FC 655, an appeal arising from an environmental prosecution, which concerned the interface between criminal confiscation, environmental regulation, landfill tax and the effect of Article 1, Protocol 1 to the ECHR.A longstanding member of the Wales Working Party of the UK Environmental Law Association, Christian was elected to its National Council in 2017 with special responsibility for Wales, and has for several years co-convened UKELA’s Wales Devolved Group....

Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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