Green Croft and Langley Moor is a Site of Special Scientific Interest

Site of Special Scientific Interest

A Site of Special Scientific Interest is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom. SSSIs are the basic building block of site-based nature conservation legislation and most other legal nature/geological conservation designations in Great Britain are based upon...

 in the Derwentside

Derwentside

Derwentside was, from 1974 to 2009, a local government district in County Durham, England.The district took its name from the River Derwent, which made up part of the northern border of the district. Its main towns were Consett and Stanley, with the district council offices on Consett's Medomsley...

 district in north County Durham

County Durham

County Durham is a ceremonial county and unitary district in north east England. The county town is Durham. The largest settlement in the ceremonial county is the town of Darlington...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. It consists of three separate areas, two to the south of Annfield Plain

Annfield Plain

Annfield Plain is a village in County Durham, in England. It is situated on a plateau between the towns of Stanley, to the north-east, and Consett, to the west. According to the 2001 census, Annfield Plain has a population of 3,569. Along with much of the surrounding area, Annfield Plain's...

 and one just west of Quaking Houses

Quaking Houses

Quaking Houses is a small village near to the town of Stanley in County Durham, in England. It may have been originally settled by Quakers, but during the Industrial Revolution it developed into a mining village with traditional terraced houses. The Quaker origin is supported by the 1873 name for a...

, between the towns of Consett

Consett

Consett is a town in the northwest of County Durham, England, about southwest of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is home to 27,394 .Consett sits high on the edge of the Pennines. In 1841, it was a village community of only 145, but it was about to become a boom town: below the ground was coking coal and...

, to the west, and Stanley

Stanley, County Durham

Stanley is a former colliery town and civil parish in County Durham, England. Centred on a hilltop between Chester-le-Street and Consett, the town lies south west of Gateshead....

, to the east.

All three locations contain areas of heath

Heath (habitat)

A heath or heathland is a dwarf-shrub habitat found on mainly low quality acidic soils, characterised by open, low growing woody vegetation, often dominated by plants of the Ericaceae. There are some clear differences between heath and moorland...

 and mire

Poor fen

A poor fen is a natural wetland habitat, consisting of dense low growth of small sedges and other plants...

, habitats that are, except at Waldridge Fell

Waldridge Fell

Waldridge Fell is a Site of Special Scientific Interest located immediately south-west of Chester-le-Street in the northern part of County Durham, England. It is one of the largest areas of lowland heath in County Durham and contains the only lowland valley-mire in the county...

, rare and fragmented in lowland Durham. At Langley Moor there is an area of woodland which is dominated by downy birch, Betula pubescens, with some sessile oak, Quercus petraea.

Apart from its importance for habitat conservation

Habitat conservation

Habitat conservation is a land management practice that seeks to conserve, protect and restore, habitat areas for wild plants and animals, especially conservation reliant species, and prevent their extinction, fragmentation or reduction in range...

, the site also includes some small ponds, which support a breeding population of great crested newt

Great Crested Newt

The Great Crested Newt, also called Northern Crested Newt or Warty Newt is a newt in the family Salamandridae, found across Europe and parts of Asia.-Distribution:...

s, Triturus cristatus, and a dragonfly

Dragonfly

A dragonfly is a winged insect belonging to the order Odonata, the suborder Epiprocta or, in the strict sense, the infraorder Anisoptera . It is characterized by large multifaceted eyes, two pairs of strong transparent wings, and an elongated body...

, the black darter, Sympetrum danae, which is rare in north-east England.

The great crested newt is a European Protected Species

European Protected Species

European Protected Species are species of plants and animals protected by law throughout the European Union. They are listed in Annexes II and IV of the European Habitats Directive....

 and one of only three amphibians that are protected under the UK Biodiversity Action Plan

Biodiversity Action Plan

A Biodiversity Action Plan is an internationally recognized program addressing threatened species and habitats and is designed to protect and restore biological systems. The original impetus for these plans derives from the 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity...

.