Severn Estuary Regulation 33 Advice
Regulation 33 advice for the Severn Estuary SAC, SPA and Ramsar site from Natural England and the Countryside Council for Wales.
Regulation 33 of The Conservation (Natural Habitats &c.) Regulations 1994 requires Natural England and the Countryside Council for Wales (CCW) to provide advice to the relevant authorities on the conservation objectives for European Marine Sites and Ramsar Sites in England and Wales and on any operations which may cause deterioration of natural habitats or the habitats of species, or disturbance of species for which the sites have been designated.
This information will be a key component of any management scheme that may be developed for this site and it will also aid competent authorities in defining the scope and nature of ‘appropriate assessment’ which the Habitats Directive requires to be undertaken for ‘plans and projects’ having a significant effect on the European site (Habitats Regulations 20, 48, 50, 60-62 and 85B).
These documents contain Natural England and CCW’s advice under Regulation 33 in relation to the designated sites which comprise the Severn Estuary European Marine Site.
These are:
Severn Estuary Special Area of Conservation (SAC)(see note 1 below)
Severn Estuary Special Protection Area (SPA)
Severn Estuary Ramsar Site
Notes:
1. At the time of issue of this document, the Severn Estuary has been accepted by the European Commission as a Site of Community Importance (SCI) but formal notices have not yet been issued (expected to take place in 2009). Given the imminent notification of the SAC the Severn Estuary SCI is referred to as SAC throughout this document).
2. CCW and Natural England’s predecessor English Nature, issued advice under Regulation 33(2)(a) and 33(2)(b) in relation to the SPA in February 2005 which is now superseded by this document.
3. CCW and Natural England also issued advice under Regulation 33(2)(a) in relation to the cSAC in June 2008 which is also superseded by this document.
4. This advice does not cover the terrestrial areas of the Severn Estuary SPA (ie. ground which lies behind flood defences and which are not subject to the tidal influence of the estuary and are not therefore within the European Marine Site.
Supplementary documents
Download a low resolution copy of the documents below or contact Charlotte Pagendam for full resolution copies.
Appendix 1: (4.89mb)
- Map showing the extent and relationship of the Severn Estuary SAC, SPA and Ramsar Site
Appendix 2: (4.66mb) - Map showing the extent of the “estuaries” feature of the Severn Estuary SAC and Ramsar Site
Appendix 3: (3.3mb) - Map showing the extent of the “subtidal sandbanks” feature of the Severn Estuary SAC
Appendices 4 and 4a: (1.56mb) - Map showing the extent of the “intertidal mudflats and sandflats” feature of the Severn Estuary SAC
Appendices 5 and 5a: (3.47mb) - Map showing the extent of the “Atlantic salt meadow” feature of the Severn Estuary SAC
Appendix 6: (3.11mb) - Map showing the extent of the “reef” feature of the Severn Estuary SAC
Appendix 7: (4.64mb) - Map showing the extent of the “hard substrate habitats and their notable communities” subfeature of the “estuaries” feature of the Severn Estuary SAC and Ramsar Site
Appendix 8: (3.97mb) - Maps showing the extent and distribution of the supporting habitats of the bird interest features of the Ramsar Site and SPA
Appendix 9: (100kb) - Map showing the mean number of all waterfowl species recorded in the winters of 1987/88 to 1991/92 and 2002/03, from BTO low tide count data across the Severn Estuary SPA
Appendix 10: (374kb) - MarLIN Marine and Coastal Activities
Appendix 11: (74kb) - Summary of peak birds counts for the Severn Estuary Ramsar Site and SPA (1988/9 – 2006/7) – data from BTO WeBS counts and annual reports
