Please read the following letter regarding the proposed special areas of conservation and special protection areas.

Additional consultation areas exist and further information can be found HERE

Dear Colleague
MARINE SPECIAL AREAS OF CONSERVATION AND SPECIAL PROTECTION AREAS IN ENGLISH, WELSH AND OFFSHORE WATERS
This letter is to inform you about progress in the designation of new marine Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) and Special Protection Areas (SPAs). A formal consultation was undertaken by Natural England, the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) and the Countryside Council for Wales (CCW), from November 2009 to February 2010, on 10 possible marine Special Areas of Conservation (pSACs) and 2 potential Special Protection Areas (pSPAs) in English, Welsh and offshore waters around the UK.
Following this consultation, Natural England and JNCC submitted final recommendations for 10 SACs and 2 SPAs, to Defra for approval in June 2010. In addition JNCC submitted 2 further offshore SACs that were consulted on in 2007-2008; and CCW submitted Liverpool Bay/Bae Lerpwl SPA, which lies partly in Welsh waters, to the Welsh Assembly Government for their approval. Further consultation on two inshore sites and one offshore site was also recommended.
All these recommendations have received cross Government clearance and where appropriate have been submitted to Europe. The final sites are listed as follows and shown on the location map attached:

Final sites

These sites have been submitted to the European Commission:

Candidate SACs:

1. Haisborough Hammond and Winterton

Inshore and offshore waters of Outer Wash; minor boundary changes as a result of the consultation

2. Inner Dowsing, Race Bank and North Ridge

Inshore and offshore waters of Outer Wash; minor boundary changes as a result of the consultation

3. Margate and Long Sands

Thames Estuary; minor boundary changes as a result of the consultation
Date: 20th August 2010
Our ref: 3rd Floor Bridgewater House 60 Whitworth Street Manchester M1 6LT

4. Lyme Bay and Torbay

Dorset and Devon coast; this site was formerly part of Poole Bay to Lyme Bay pSAC, which has now been split into two sites. Lyme Bay and Torbay has been submitted to the European Commission but the second site, Studland to Portland, is still under consideration and will be consulted on again in due course.

5. Prawle Point to Plymouth Sound and Eddystone

Devon coast and inshore Cornish waters; minor boundary changes as a result of the consultation

6. Lizard Point

Cornwall; no boundary changes as a result of the consultation

7. Lands End and Cape Bank

Cornwall; no boundary changes as a result of the consultation

8. Shell Flat

Morecambe Bay; minor boundary changes as a result of the consultation

9. Bassurelle Sandbank

Offshore waters of Dover Strait; no boundary changes as a result of the consultation

10. North West Rockall Bank

Off north-western Scotland; boundary changed as put forward in the addendum which was part of the consultation.

11. North Norfolk Sandbanks and Saturn Reef (consulted on 2007-2008)

Offshore waters off Norfolk; minor boundary changes as a result of the consultation.

12. Wyville Thomson Ridge (consulted on 2007-2008)

Off northern Scotland; no boundary changes as a result of the consultation.
SPAs:

13. Outer Thames Estuary

Inshore and offshore waters – minor boundary changes as a result of the consultation – classified by the Minister for the Environment and Rural Affairs and notified to the European Commission

14. Liverpool Bay/Bae Lerpwl

Inshore and Welsh waters – no boundary changes as a result of the consultation. Liverpool Bay/Bae Lerpwl has been classified by both the Minister for the Environment and Rural Affairs for Defra, and by the Minister for the Environment, Sustainability and Housing (one of the Welsh Ministers) and notified to the European Commission.
Sites subject to additional consultation

15. Lune Deep pSAC

Evidence has come to light which led Natural England to recommend a new boundary for Lune Deep, which formerly formed part of the Shell Flat and Lune Deep pSAC. Because the boundary changes are significant, Natural England is re-consulting on this site. Lune Deep is recommended for its Annex 1 reef habitat.

16. Prawle Point to Start Point pSAC

Evidence came to light during the consultation which led Natural England to conclude that there is Annex 1 reef habitat east of Prawle Point, which could in the future be included in the Prawle Point to Plymouth Sound and Eddystone candidate SAC. As the area of this potential extension is significant it is subject to a further consultation.

17. Dogger Bank pSAC

The Dogger Bank offshore SAC is recommended for its Annex 1 sandbank habitat. Informal discussions on this proposed site were held by JNCC in 2008, and subsequently changes have been made to JNCC’s proposal. This site has not been subject to formal consultation previously.
The consultation period for all three sites is from 20th August 2010 (the date of this letter) to 12th November 2010. If you have a national, offshore or local interest in these sites you will receive a separate letter from Natural England or JNCC with information on the consultation, the documents to read and how to respond.
Maps, SAC selection assessment documents, SPA departmental briefs, impact assessments, draft conservation objectives, consultation documents and a report of the consultation are all available on http://www.naturalengland.org.uk/ourwork/marine/sacconsultation/default.aspx for inshore sites and http://www.jncc.gov.uk/marineconsult for offshore sites.
If you would like feedback on how any response you have made to the consultations so far has been considered, please contact us at Natura2000consultation@naturalengland.org.uk for inshore sites or offshoreconsult@jncc.gov.uk for the offshore sites.
Yours faithfully
James Marsden
Director, Marine
Natural England
John Goold
Director of Marine
JNCC
David Parker
Director of Science
Countryside Council for Wales