Jncc coastal Directories Project Region 11 The Western Approaches

West along the northern Bristol Channel shore the inner
shores of the small Thaw Estuary were almost entirely
converted from intertidal to dry land in the 1960s, but on the
outer, coastal, shores there remain small but diverse patches
of coastal habitats including vegetated shingle, saltmarsh,
sand dune and rocky shores.  The narrow Ogmore Estuary
borders Merthyr Mawr, an accreting sand dune system, one
of the last remaining major areas of sand dune on this
coastline. 
Many of the region’s estuaries have one or more
nationally rare plants associated with them (see 
section 5.2
),
and there are nationally rare terrestrial or marine
invertebrates associated with the Fal, Helford, Hayle, Taw-
Torridge, Bridgwater Bay, Severn, Thaw and Ogmore
Estuaries (see also 
section 5.3
).  The Fal, Helford, Camel and
Taw-Torridge are sea bass nursery areas (see also 
section 5.7
).
4.1.3  Human activities
Throughout the region estuaries are predominantly rural,
although most have towns associated with them.  In the
south-west of the region towns and villages are
predominantly either holiday resorts and/or harbours for
fishing and leisure craft.  There are major urban and
industrial developments, including docks at the mouth of
the Fal.  The Hayle has a long history of industrialisation
and most of the inner estuary shore is urban or industrial.
There are several harbours and boat-building yards in the
Taw-Torridge.  The Severn Estuary is the most extensively
developed and industrialised estuary in the region: over one
million people live in the towns and major cities on its
shores, notably Bristol, Cardiff, Gloucester and Newport
(see also 
section 8.3
).  There are major port and industrial
complexes at Avonmouth and around Newport and Cardiff,
and it is from these areas that most waste, including heavy
metals, is discharged into the estuary (see also 
section 9.6
).
The former inner estuary of the Thaw is now mostly
occupied by a power station.
Estuarine water quality is generally good in the region,
but in parts of the Fal Estuary, Bridgwater Bay and Severn
Estuary it is classified as poor (
Table 4.1.3
) (Buck in prep.).
Land claim has affected several of the region’s estuaries,
chiefly those in the lower-lying and more populous east of
the region.  Some of the historic land claim was for ports,
harbours and associated developments, such as in the
Hayle, Taw-Torridge and in Cardiff Bay (Severn Estuary).
Other areas of former tidal marshes of the Taw-Torridge,
Bridgwater Bay and the Severn Estuary are now lowland
wet grasslands behind sea walls.  In several places in the
Fal Estuary there are pools created from tidal arms of the
estuary, one of which is the only surviving tidal mill pond in
Cornwall, and on the Severn Estuary the forthcoming
amenity barrage will remove Cardiff Bay from the tidal
estuary.  A proposal for a similar barrage at Newport was
rejected.
There is extensive general recreational use of the region’s
estuaries, with sailing and water sports widespread,
especially in the sheltered inlets of the Fal, Helford River,
Camel and Taw-Torridge, and general use of beaches in the
outer parts of many estuaries, especially in Devon, Cornwall
and Somerset.  Natural resource exploitation, chiefly
shellfisheries, fisheries and bait-collecting, is widespread,
being an important use of all but the smaller estuaries, and
wildfowling occurs on parts of the larger estuaries,
especially in many places around the Severn Estuary (see
also 
section 9.7
).
4.1.4  Information sources used
This section is summarised chiefly from JNCC’s An inventory
of UK estuaries, being published in six regional volumes
along with an introductory and methods volume.  Most
estuaries in Region 11 are included in Volume 2.  South-west
Britain (Buck 1993), with Falmouth and Helford River in
4.1  Estuaries
65
Table 4.1.3  
Human uses and water quality on Region 11 estuaries
Estuary
Centre grid ref.
Human use type
Water quality
urban
industrial
rural*
recreational
Cornwall
154. Falmouth
SW8334
q
q
q
q
q
q
A, (B)
155. Helford River
SW7626
q
q
A
1. Hayle Estuary
SW5538
q
q
q
q
q
A
2. Gannel Estuary
SW8061
q
q
q
q
q
A
3. Camel Estuary
SW9375
q
q
q
q
q
q
A
Devon
4. Taw-Torridge Estuary
SS4631
q
q
q
q
q
A
Somerset
5. Blue Anchor Bay
ST0244
q
q
n/a
6. Bridgwater Bay
ST2947
q
q
q
q
q
q
A, B
Somerset, Avon, Glos., Gwent, S. Glamorgan
7. Severn Estuary
ST4080
q
q
q
q
B, A
S. Glamorgan
8. Thaw Estuary
ST0366
q
q
q
A
Mid Glamorgan
9. Ogmore Estuary
SS8776
q
q
q
A
Sources: Davidson & Buck (in prep.), National Rivers Authority (1991).  Key: *includes natural resource exploitation.  q = major human use;
q
q  
= minor human use; n/a = water quality assessment not available.  Notes: multiple water quality codes are in downstream sequence;
brackets indicate a water quality found in only a small part of the estuary.

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