Jncc coastal Directories Project Region 11 The Western Approaches

Chapter 6  History and archaeology
A. Gale & V. Fenwick
153
Chapter 7  Coastal protected sites
R.G. Keddie
165
7.1
Introduction
165
7.2
Sites designated under international conventions and directives
167
7.3
Sites established under national statute
171
7.4
Sites identified by statutory agencies
177
7.5
Other types of protected site
181
Chapter 8  Land use, infrastructure and coastal defence
187
8.1
Introduction
S.L. Fowler, M.J. Dunbar,
C.A. Crumpton  & M.J. Goodwin
187
8.2
Land use
S.L. Fowler & M.J. Dunbar
188
8.3
Infrastructure 
S.L. Fowler, M.J. Dunbar, C.A. Crumpton 
& M.J. Goodwin
193
8.4
Coastal defence
S.L. Fowler
200
Chapter 9  Human activities
205
9.1
Fisheries
C.F. Robson
205
9.2
Mariculture
C.F. Robson
215
9.3
Quarrying and landfilling
C.A. Crumpton & M.J. Goodwin
219
9.4
Marine aggregate extraction, dredging and 
solid waste disposal at sea
C.A. Crumpton & M.J. Goodwin
223
9.5
Oil and gas developments
M.J. Goodwin & C.A. Crumpton
228
9.6
Water quality and effluent discharges
C.A. Crumpton & M.J. Goodwin
231
9.7
Leisure and tourism
M.J. Dunbar & S.L. Fowler
237
Chapter 10  Coastal management
S.L. Fowler
245
10.1
Introduction
245
10.2
National coastal initiatives with regional elements
246
10.3
Regional coastal management groups and initiatives
250
Appendix
259
A.1
Frequently cited contact names and addresses
259
A.2
Local planning authorities; ports and harbour authorities
260
A.3
Core reading list
261
A.4
Contributing authors
262
4

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Information is vital for sound policy formulation.  Decision
makers at national and local level need to know more than
just the scale, location and importance of natural resources
that are of value to humans.  They have to understand how
human activities affect the value of those resources and how
to conduct those activities in an environmentally sustainable
way.  This is true for virtually every activity that impinges
on the natural environment.  In the coastal zone the
complexity of the relationships between the physical and
biological systems adds another dimension to the problems
of formulating management policy.
I am pleased, therefore, to be introducing the Coasts and seas
of the United Kingdom series.  The Coastal Directories project,
of which this series of seventeen regional reports, covering
the whole of the UK coast, is an important product, has
brought together an encyclopaedic range of information on
our coastal resources and the human activities that are
associated with them.  Amongst the topics covered are the
basic geology of the coasts around the United Kingdom and
measures taken for coast defence and sea protection, the
distribution and importance of the wildlife and habitats of
our coasts and seas, including fish and fisheries, and the
climate and sea level changes to which they all are subject.
In addition to the value of the information itself, the way the
project has been run and the data collected has made an
important contribution to the quality of the product.  A wide
range of individuals and organisations concerned with the
conservation and use of the coastal margin have
collaborated in collating the information, their variety
reflecting the extent of the interplay between the coastal
environment and human activities.  These organisations
included the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food,
the Scottish Office, the Department of the Environment
(Northern Ireland), the National Rivers Authority (now the
Environment Agency), the Countryside Commission, the
Welsh Office, the Department of the Environment, the Sea
Fisheries Committees, English Nature, Scottish Natural
Heritage and the Countryside Council for Wales, together
with local authorities, voluntary conservation organisations
and private companies (notably those in the oil industry,
through the UK Offshore Operators Association).  I am also
pleased to be able to acknowledge the contribution made by
the staff of the Joint Nature Conservation Committee.  As
the work has evolved since the first meetings of the Steering
Group in 1990, the value of involving such a broad span of
interests has been highlighted by the extent to which it has
allowed new approaches and information sources to be
identified.
The regional reports will be of value to all who live and
work in the maritime areas of the UK, where informed
management is the key to the sustainable use of resources.
The reports should become indispensable reference sources
for organisations shouldering new or expanded
responsibilities for the management of Special Areas of
Conservation under the EC Habitats Directive.  In addition,
the reports will make an important contribution to the
implementation of the UK Biodiversity Action Plan.  
5
Foreword
The Earl of Selborne
Chairman, Joint Nature Conservation Committee

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These notes provide some general guidance about finding
and interpreting the information in this book.
Structure
The book is divided into ten chapters, each split into
sections containing summary data on the topics shown in
the Contents list.  
Chapter 2
provides a general physical
background to the region.  Sections in
Chapters 3
, 
4
and 
5
have been compiled to the following standard format: 
•
Introduction
:  presents the important features of the
topic as it relates to the region and sets the region in a
national context.
•
Important locations and species
: gives more detail on
the region’s features in relation to the topic.
•
Human activities
: describes management and other
activities that can have an effect on the resource in the
region.
•
Information sources used
: describes the sources of
information, including surveys, on which the section is
based, and notes any limitations on their use or
interpretation.
•
Acknowledgements
•
Further sources of information
: lists references cited,
recommended further reading, and names, addresses
and telephone numbers of contacts able to give more
detailed information.
Sections in the remaining chapters all have the last three
subsections and follow the other elements as closely as
practicable, given their subject nature.
At the end of the book there is a list of the addresses and
telephone numbers of organisations most frequently cited as
contacts, as well as a core reading list of books that cover the
region or the subject matter particularly well.  Finally there
is a full list of authors’ names and addresses. 
Definitions and contexts
The word ‘region’ (as in ‘Region 11’) is used throughout this
book to refer to the coastal and nearshore zone, broadly
defined, between the two points given in the title of this
book.  The area covered varies between chapter sections,
depending on the form in which data are available.
Coverage is usually either coastal 10 km squares, sites within
one kilometre of Mean High Water Mark, or an offshore area
that may extend out to the median line between the UK and
neighbouring states.  Inland areas of the counties concerned
are not included unless specifically stated.  Information is
presented in the context of the local authority units existing
before April 1996, except where data are very recent, making
reference to the new local authority units possible.  
‘Britain’ here means Great Britain, i.e. including only
England, Scotland and Wales.  ‘United Kingdom’ also
includes Northern Ireland. 
The term ‘North Sea Coast’, as used here, means the coast of
Britain covered by The directory of the North Sea coastal margin
(Doody, Johnston & Smith 1993): that is, from Cape Wrath
(longitude 5°W) along the east and south coasts of Britain to
Falmouth (again longitude 5°W), and including Orkney and
Shetland. 
The ‘West Coast’, as used here, normally includes the coast
and seas from Falmouth to Cape Wrath along the west coast
of Britain.  Only where explicitly stated have data for the
Isle of Man and/or Northern Ireland been included in West
Coast descriptions. 
Sites within each chapter section are described in clockwise
order around the coast, incorporating islands within the
sequence.  Maps and tables are numbered sequentially
within their chapter section; for example in section 5.4, Map
5.4.1 is the first map referred to and Table 5.4.2 is the second
table.  
Throughout the book, the information given is a summary
of the best available knowledge.  The sites mentioned as
important, the numbers and distributions of species,
archaeological features discovered and information on all
the other elements of the natural and man-made
environment are as known at December 1994, unless
otherwise stated.  The fact that no information is presented
about a topic in relation to a locality should not be taken to
mean that there are no features of interest there, and fuller
details should be sought from the further sources of
information listed at the end of each section.  Note,
however, that under the Environmental Information
Regulations (1992; Statutory Instrument No. 3240) you may
be asked to pay for information provided by organisations.
6
How to use this book

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