In 1984, planning permission was given for development of all of Canford Heath, providing that the site did not become a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). In response, an application was made in 1985 for much of Canford Heath to become a SSSI, due to the rare habitat and wildlife on the heathland. The application was accepted in 1988, although developers were still permitted to build houses on land not in the SSSI. A report by the Conservation Committee of the British Herpetological Society to the House of Lords in 1988 said that "more than half of Canford, our largest single heath, is being built over with most of its reptiles doomed or already lost", and a 1988 New Scientist article claimed that the SSSI boundary had been drawn around planning permission on the heath granted by Bournemouth Council, and that houses could be built as little as 50 metres away from the SSSI, endangering rare reptiles. In 1991, then Secretary of State Michael Heseltine revoked planning consent for development on all of Canford Heath. In 2008, planning permission was given to develop homes on a former landfill site not in the SSSI, but plans were later abandoned. The former landfill site is now being restored to heathland.