Transcript The Hamble Estuary`s Nature Conservation Sites

The Hamble Estuary’s Nature Conservation
Sites - Natural England’s Role
The Hamble Estuary Partnership
3rd December 2013
Hilary Crane
Marine Lead Adviser
Overview
• Natural England’s purpose / role
• The designated nature conservation sites of the River Hamble
• Natural England’s work on the River Hamble
– Site monitoring and management
– Conservation Advice
– Casework
• Questions
Natural England’s Role
“To protect and improve England’s natural environment and encourage
people to enjoy and get involved in their surroundings.”
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Non-departmental Public Body responsible to the Secretary of State for
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
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We work with farmers, land owners, developers, planning authorities,
harbour authorities, other regulatory agencies, scientists / researchers
and the general public.
The River Hamble’s Designated Sites
Solent Maritime SAC
• Estuaries
• Intertidal mudflats / sandflats
• Saltmarsh
• Subtidal sandbanks
• Lagoons
• Vegetated shingle
• Sand dunes
• Desmoulin’s whorl snail
The River Hamble’s Designated Sites
Solent & Southampton Water SPA/Ramsar
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Over-wintering birds – Brent Geese, Blacktailed Godwit, Teal and Ringed Plover
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Breeding birds – Mediterranean Gull,
Common Tern, Sandwich Tern, Roseate Tern
and Little Tern
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Waterfowl assemblage
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Wetland habitats - lagoons, saltmarshes,
estuaries, intertidal flats, shallow coastal
waters, grazing marshes, reedbeds, coastal
woodland and reefs
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Assemblage of rare plants and
invertebrates
The River Hamble’s Designated Sites
Sites of Special Scientific Interest
• Mudflats
• Saltmarsh
• Vegetated shingle
• Ancient broad-leaved woodland - including
rare Wild Service and Small-leaved Lime
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Coastal grazing marsh
Reedbeds
Vegetated shingle
Heathland
Invertebrates - including Purple Emperor
Rare coastal plants
Over-wintering birds – Black-tailed Godwit,
Dunlin, Grey Plover, Ringed Plover, Redshank,
Curlew, Teal, Wigeon and Great Crested
Grebe.
Natural England’s Work on the Hamble
Site Monitoring
SSSI condition assessments – Lincegrove & Hacketts Marshes 2013
• Unfavourable recovering – good range of saltmarsh species present
including Carex extensa and Sarcocornia perennis, with transition to
reedbed or sea couch at the landward edge.
• Threats from diffuse water pollution and smothering from algal mats
Natural England’s Work on the Hamble
Site Monitoring
Solent Maritime SAC
• Survey of subtidal communities in
partnership with the Environment Agency
• Estuary characterisation –
o Tidal regime
o Topography - physical form
o Morphology – indicator for
anthropogenic changes
• EA’s saltmarsh and macroalgae tools for
Water Framework Directive monitoring
Natural England’s Work on the Hamble
Site Management
• Stewardship agreements and
advice to land owners
• Solent Diffuse Water Pollution
Plan – with EA
• Catchment Sensitive Farming
partnership project – capital
grants targeting equine holdings
in 2014/15
• Working with MMO and SIFCA on
management of fisheries within
European Marine Sites
Natural England’s Work on the Hamble
Conservation Advice
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Updating Favourable Condition Tables
for SSSIs
o Lincegrove & Hacketts Marshes; Upper
Hamble Estuary and Woods finalised this
summer – awaiting QA
o Lee-on-the-Solent to Itchen Estuary – due
next year
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Updating our Conservation Advice for
European Marine Sites
o Solent Maritime SAC – by October 2014
o Solent and Southampton Water SPA/Ramsar
– draft by April 2015
Natural England’s Work on the Hamble
Casework
o Natural England is a statutory consultee for many types of licenses and
permissions. We provide our advice to the regulators who then determine the
application taking account of the relevant nature conservation interests.
o We also provide advice to land owners, developers and other agencies (e.g.
Highways, Water companies)
o Individual project assessment and in-combination (cumulative) effects
Questions?