Site Overview

The site is a Special Protection Area (SPA) first classified in 2000 which has been designated in recognition of the internationally important numbers of purple sandpiper and turnstone which winter along the North East shoreline and for breeding population of little tern and arctic tern.

 

Purple Sandpiper (Photo: Tom Cadwallender)

An infographic for this marine protected area can be downloaded HERE

 

Boundary Map and available GIS data

The boundary map for this site can be downloaded from HERE

Boundary maps of all English marine protected areas can be downloaded from Natural England at this link

Additional spatial data

Additional spatial information, including the location of marine priority habitats, can be viewed and downloaded at the MAGIC website

An infographic for this MPA can be downloaded HERE

Conservation Objectives

The  conservation objectives for the sites are:

… the objectives are to ensure that, subject to natural change, the integrity of the site is maintained or restored as appropriate, and that the site contributes to achieving the aims of the Wild Birds Directive, by maintaining or restoring:

  • the extent and distribution of the habitats of the qualifying features
  • the structure and function of the habitats of the qualifying features
  • the supporting processes on which the habitats of the qualifying features rely
  • the populations of qualifying features
  • the distribution of qualifying features within the site

The site’s conservation objectives apply to the site and the individual species for which the site has been classified

Formal conservation advice has been published by Natural England and should be referred to.  This gives guidance on how to further the conservation objectives for the site, identifies the activities that are capable of affecting the qualifying features and the processes which the qualifying features are dependent upon.

The conservation advice for the site can be viewed HERE

Natural England have also produced Supplementary Guidance on the Conservation Objectives for site which aim to describe the range of ecological attributes that are most likely to contribute to a site’s overall integrity.

Organisations with responsibility for MPA

For more information please see our FAQ’s or you can get in touch