The local authority must have a legal control over the site, by owning or leasing it or having an agreement with the owner.
[1][2] As of January 2019, there are forty-four local nature reserves in Surrey.
Two sites are scheduled monuments and fourteen are managed by the Surrey Wildlife Trust.
Its top level of government is provided by Surrey County Council and the lower level by eleven boroughs and districts, Elmbridge, Epsom and Ewell, Guildford, Mole Valley, Reigate and Banstead, Runnymede, Spelthorne, Surrey Heath, Tandridge, Waverley and Woking.
It has a variety of habitats with mature trees, grassland, scrub, hedgerows and a pond.