The Hamble Estuary’s Nature Conservation Sites - Natural England’s Role

The Hamble Estuary Partnership3rd 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.”

• Non-departmental Public Body responsible to the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

• 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

•Over-wintering birds – Brent Geese, Black-tailed Godwit, Teal and Ringed Plover

•Breeding birds – Mediterranean Gull, Common Tern, Sandwich Tern, Roseate Tern and Little Tern

•Waterfowl assemblage

•Wetland habitats - lagoons, saltmarshes, estuaries, intertidal flats, shallow coastal waters, grazing marshes, reedbeds, coastal woodland and reefs

•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

• 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

• Updating Favourable Condition Tables for SSSIso Lincegrove & Hacketts Marshes; Upper

Hamble Estuary and Woods finalised this summer – awaiting QA

o Lee-on-the-Solent to Itchen Estuary – due next year

• Updating our Conservation Advice for European Marine Siteso Solent Maritime SAC – by October 2014o 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?