A Special Area of Conservation (SAC) is the land designated under Directive 92/43/EEC on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora. Data supplied has the status of "Candidate". The data does not include "Possible" Sites. Boundaries are mapped against Ordnance Survey MasterMap.Full metadata can be viewed on data.gov.uk.

As of September 2025: This data product does not currently contain any geometry features, so the hosted data has been unshared from ArcGIS Online / Natural England Open Data Geoportal and the Defra Data Services Platform hosting platform environment.data.gov.uk. The environment.data.gov.uk "Download data by Area of Interest" and WMS, WFS and OGC Feature Service API resource links in this metadata record will not function or display any data until site geometry features are mapped into the dataset. Natural England have made the decision to leave this metadata record published until future Possible Special Areas of Conservation sites are confirmed. These are possible SAC site boundaries. Please note that as a result of the consultation there may be minor changes to the final boundary of the site once designated. A Special Area of Conservation (SAC) is the land designated under Directive 92/43/EEC on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora. Data supplied has the status of "Possible". Boundaries are mapped against Ordnance Survey MasterMap. Attribution statement: © Natural England copyright. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right [year].

Survey name: 2010 Natural England (NE) Lundy, SAC monitoring This is a collation of surveys to gather data and evidence from a variety of marine environments. The survey purposes vary and include recommended Marine Conservation Zone (rMCZ) Phase I or II verification surveys, condition assessments, surveys of features of Natura 2000 sites (Special Area of Conservation, Special Protection Area), Intertidal surveys, Benthic grab surveys and others. All surveys are carried out to specified standards and follow established methodologies. Attribution statement: © Natural England copyright. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right [year].

Survey name: 2006 Natural England Survey of the Subtidal Sediments of the Solent Maritime SAC This is a collation of surveys to gather data and evidence from a variety of marine environments. The survey purposes vary and include recommended Marine Conservation Zone (rMCZ) Phase I or II verification surveys, condition assessments, surveys of features of Natura 2000 sites (Special Area of Conservation, Special Protection Area), Intertidal surveys, Benthic grab surveys and others. All surveys are carried out to specified standards and follow established methodologies. Attribution statement: © Natural England copyright. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right [year]. Attribution statement: © Natural England copyright. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right [year].

Centre for Marine and Coastal Studies (CMACS) Ltd were contracted by Natural England to carry out feature condition monitoring on intertidal features within the Solent Maritime Special Area of Conservation (SAC) which encompassed Chichester Harbour, Langstone Harbour, Southampton Water, West Solent and the northern coast of the Isle of Wight.

 Surveys were based around transects with a 400m wide corridor (i.e. 200m either side of the transect) and with locations
             for target notes placed at 50m intervals within the survey corridor. Surveys were carried out on foot where the intertidal
             area was small and/or firm underfoot and from a hovercraft where soft sediments were present. 

 Target notes
             and photographs of visible flora and fauna were supplemented with 0.01m2 core samples consisting of five faunal replicates
             and a further one for particle size analysis (PSA), as well as 1m2 quadrats dug out to 20cm to aid biotope classification.
             Samples were sieved at 0.5mm and all invertebrates enumerated and biomass estimated by wet weight by species. 


             Chichester Harbour was characterised by mud habitats in the upper reaches with sand shores to the south of Thorney Island
             and near to the harbour mouth. Algal mats were recorded in the upper reaches of the harbour, notably Bosham Channel, where
             seagrass was also present but extensive beds were only discovered recorded from the southwestern corner of the harbour. Fauna
             in the muddy areas was dominated by oligochaetes and cirratulid polychaetes especially Tubificoides benedii and Tharyx killariensis
             as well as the small gastropod Hydrobia ulvae. In sandy areas, the fauna was characterised by the lugworm Arenicola marina,
             the orbiniid polychaete Scoloplos armiger and tanaid crustaceans. 

 Langstone Harbour was also characterised
             by mud habitats almost throughout the entire area but with some areas of coarse mixed sediment on the upper shore which supported
             a wide variety of macroalgae but which also showed signs of bait digging. Algal mats were much more prevalent in Langstone
             Harbour than in Chichester Harbour but seagrass was also much more extensive. The fauna of the samples from Langstone Harbour
             was very similar to that of Chichester Harbour with a numerical dominance of cirratulids, oligochaetes and Hydrobia ulvae.


 In Southampton Water, there was a greater mix of habitats from tide-swept coarse sediment to fine silt and
             clay. The tide-swept gravels and pebble at the mouth of the Hamble Estuary supported a diverse assemblage of macroalgae and
             epifauna which included ascidians, barnacles, bivalves and sponges. Within the Hamble Estuary itself, there were very soft
             fine sediments which supported cockles but there were also thick algal mats which supported large numbers of Hydrobia ulvae
             but caused anoxia at the mud surface. Soft, fine sediments were also encountered on the western side of Southampton Water
             from Calshot to Hythe with a fauna dominated by Tharyx killariensis but with large numbers of cockles and Hydrobia ulvae near
             Calshot itself. 

 On the seaward side of Calshot, to western side of the Beaulieu Estuary, there were coarse
             mixed sediments which supported ephemeral algae, small actiniarians, and a rich fauna of polychaetes, amphipods and molluscs.
             There was also a large seagrass bed on the lower shore at Calshot and evidence of bait digging in these areas, particularly
             at Lepe Beach. Within the Beaulieu and Lymington Estuaries the habitats were fine, soft sediments with a similar fauna to
             the mud areas of Chichester and Langstone Harbours but with a greater prevalence of ragworm and tellins. 

 The
             north coast of the Isle of Wight was characterised by protrusions of clay and outcrops of bedrock which supported piddocks
             and a rich crustacean fauna as well as a variety of macroalgae predominantly fucoids. In addition, the habitats of Thorness
             Bay included mixed coarse sediment supporting barnacles and littorinids and sand supporting sand mason worms and small patches
             of seagrass beds. The very sheltered areas of Newtown Harbour and the Medina Estuary where typically mud habitats with cockles
             and thick algal mat but also with some mixed sediments mid estuary which supported cockle, sponges and littorinids.

This dataset provides information on both terrestrial and marine protected sites across England, and the status of their Conservation packages, which are accessed via Designated Sites View. The dataset covers protected sites including Marine Conservation Zones (MCZ), Special Protection Areas (SPA) and Special Areas of Conservation (SAC). Attribution statement: © Natural England, JNCC, UKHO Law of the Sea data, Crown Copyright and database right 2023. Ordnance Survey licence number 100022021. Contains public sector information available from Natural England, Joint Nature Conservation Committee and the UK Hydrographic Office (UKHO) under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Special Areas of Conservation sub-features are used to further describe Annex 1 habitats designated within SACs. A process of standardising Annex 1 sub-features corresponding to the EUNIS habitat classification hierarchy was developed, and a standard list of sub-features was then created and defined according to existing EUNIS habitat descriptions and associated biotopes. Sub-features for SACs are derived from the Marine Recorder snapshot data holding marine benthic sample data such as species, physical attributes and biotopes. Attribution statement: © Natural England copyright. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right [year].

Survey name: 2013 Natural England Fal and Helford SAC Maerl Drop-down Video and Dive Survey This is a collation of surveys to gather data and evidence from a variety of marine environments. The survey purposes vary and include recommended Marine Conservation Zone (rMCZ) Phase I or II verification surveys, condition assessments, surveys of features of Natura 2000 sites (Special Area of Conservation, Special Protection Area), Intertidal surveys, Benthic grab surveys and others. All surveys are carried out to specified standards and follow established methodologies. Attribution statement: © Natural England copyright. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right [year].

Survey name: 2014 Natural England Fleet Lagoon SAC Monitoring Survey This is a collation of surveys to gather data and evidence from a variety of marine environments. The survey purposes vary and include recommended Marine Conservation Zone (rMCZ) Phase I or II verification surveys, condition assessments, surveys of features of Natura 2000 sites (Special Area of Conservation, Special Protection Area), Intertidal surveys, Benthic grab surveys and others. All surveys are carried out to specified standards and follow established methodologies. Attribution statement: © Natural England copyright. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right [year]. Attribution statement: Attribution statement: © Natural England copyright. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right [year].

Survey name: 2011 Natural England Isles of Scilly SAC Intertidal reef and underboulder survey This is a collation of surveys to gather data and evidence from a variety of marine environments. The survey purposes vary and include recommended Marine Conservation Zone (rMCZ) Phase I or II verification surveys, condition assessments, surveys of features of Natura 2000 sites (Special Area of Conservation, Special Protection Area), Intertidal surveys, Benthic grab surveys and others. All surveys are carried out to specified standards and follow established methodologies. Attribution statement: © Natural England copyright. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right [year]. Attribution statement: © Natural England copyright. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right [year].

Survey name: 2012 Natural England/JNCC Fal and Helford SAC kelp forest condition assessment and maerl studies This is a collation of surveys to gather data and evidence from a variety of marine environments. The survey purposes vary and include recommended Marine Conservation Zone (rMCZ) Phase I or II verification surveys, condition assessments, surveys of features of Natura 2000 sites (Special Area of Conservation, Special Protection Area), Intertidal surveys, Benthic grab surveys and others. All surveys are carried out to specified standards and follow established methodologies. Attribution statement: © Natural England copyright. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right [year]. Attribution statement: Attribution statement: © Natural England copyright. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right [year].

AbstractThis is a spatial dataset that predicts the distribution of broad-scale marine habitats (EUNIS Level 3 classification) within across the Holderness coast nearshore region, produced through the interpretation of geophysical datasets combined with existing benthic sample data.Why is it important that NE publishes this data?The Holderness coast is a unique and diverse marine ecosystem, but it is sensitive to increasing infrastructure and development applications in the region. This broad-scale habitat map is an important addition to Natural England's evidence base and will help to guide our advice on marine and coastal development in the area. advice. It also likely to be a useful resource for developers during the planning process, particularly to guide where further survey efforts should be targeted, and may too be of interest to any other stakeholders working along the Holderness coast.ExtentYorkshire Coast: The nearshore area between Spurn Point and the area South of Flamborough Head, encompassing Smithic Sands and Holderness Inshore Marine Conservation Zone (MCZ), and parts of Flamborough and Filey Coast Special Protection Area (SPA), Flamborough Head Special Area of Conservation (SAC) and the Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and Humber Estuary SAC, SPA and SSSILineageA number of data layers from different sources were geo-processed to produce this map layer.The two main data layers used were:(a) Bathymetry mosaic. These data were acquired by the UK Hydrographic Office, on behalf of the UK Civil Hydrography Programme and the Marine Conservation Zones (DEFRA). The British Geological Society (BGS) processed the raw data to form single surface bathymetry mosaics, and it was these mosaic layers that were shared to Natural England via Open Government License, and subsequently passed on to our contractors, Envision.(b) Backscatter layers. These data were collected and processed for the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) under the Civil Hydrography Programme. These layers were download directly from the BGS GeoIndex viewer, by our contractors Envision, under Open Government License.Our contractors, Envision, combined both datasets (a) and (b) to create a geophysical dataset for the Project Area, from which parameters such as rugosity and variability were derived, as these are good indicators of heterogenic habitats.Envision then integrated these physical derivatives, with existing benthic sample data (c, d, e), to infer the distribution of habitats across the Project Area. The benthic sample data was sourced from the following national datasets, all available under Open Government License / without limitations of use:(c) Cefas OneBenthic (including data from the Regional Seabed Monitoring Plan)(d) EMODnet Seabed Habitats - collated habitat point data (2019)(d) BGS GeoIndex Sample Data - shallow geology and geophysics data collected as either part of regional or local mapping work, or provided to BGS by third parties.(e) Cefas OneBenthic (including data from the Regional Seabed Monitoring Plan)Quality Assurance of the final map product was carried out by Envision and internally at Natural England.Full metadata can be viewed on environment.data.gov.uk

Survey name: 2015 Natural England Dee Estuary SAC Condition Assessment This is a collation of surveys to gather data and evidence from a variety of marine environments. The survey purposes vary and include recommended Marine Conservation Zone (rMCZ) Phase I or II verification surveys, condition assessments, surveys of features of Natura 2000 sites (Special Area of Conservation, Special Protection Area), Intertidal surveys, Benthic grab surveys and others. All surveys are carried out to specified standards and follow established methodologies. Attribution statement: © Natural England copyright. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right [year]. Attribution statement: Attribution statement: © Natural England copyright. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right [year].

Survey name: 2015 Natural England drop down video survey of Fal and Helford SAC seagrass beds This is a collation of surveys to gather data and evidence from a variety of marine environments. The survey purposes vary and include recommended Marine Conservation Zone (rMCZ) Phase I or II verification surveys, condition assessments, surveys of features of Natura 2000 sites (Special Area of Conservation, Special Protection Area), Intertidal surveys, Benthic grab surveys and others. All surveys are carried out to specified standards and follow established methodologies. Attribution statement: © Natural England copyright. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right [year]. Attribution statement: © Natural England copyright. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right [year].

This map comes from a report which describes the results from an interdisciplinary field survey aimed at identifying the location, extent and condition of Annex I habitat features in the Isles of Scilly Special Area of Conservation (SAC). One of the qualifying marine features for SAC designation is the Annex 1 reef habitat, and this report describes results a field survey (combining new acoustic sidescan and multibeam data together with ground-truthing video and stills) to determine the presence, extent and quality of Annex 1 reef.

Survey name: 2015 Natural England Subtidal condition assessment and NTZ benthic monitoring survey of Lundy SAC This is a collation of surveys to gather data and evidence from a variety of marine environments. The survey purposes vary and include recommended Marine Conservation Zone (rMCZ) Phase I or II verification surveys, condition assessments, surveys of features of Natura 2000 sites (Special Area of Conservation, Special Protection Area), Intertidal surveys, Benthic grab surveys and others. All surveys are carried out to specified standards and follow established methodologies. Attribution statement: © Natural England copyright. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right [year].

Emu Limited was commissioned by Natural England to carry out an acoustic and ecological survey of the subtidal zone (areas below the Mean Low Water mark) within the Solent Maritime Special Area of Conservation (SAC). The remit of the survey was to produce data and maps characterising the overall subtidal seabed surface topography, surface sediment composition and the main subtidal biotopes which fall within the Solent Maritime SAC's designated boundaries using rapid field assessment techniques with the minimal environmental impact.

Survey name: 2011 Natural England/Cefas Isles of Scilly SAC offshore video survey This is a collation of surveys to gather data and evidence from a variety of marine environments. The survey purposes vary and include recommended Marine Conservation Zone (rMCZ) Phase I or II verification surveys, condition assessments, surveys of features of Natura 2000 sites (Special Area of Conservation, Special Protection Area), Intertidal surveys, Benthic grab surveys and others. All surveys are carried out to specified standards and follow established methodologies. Attribution statement: © Natural England copyright. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right [year]. Attribution statement: © Natural England copyright. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right [year].

These are possible SAC site boundaries. Please note that as a result of the consultation there may be minor changes to the final boundary of the site once designated. A Special Area of Conservation (SAC) is the land designated under Directive 92/43/EEC on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora. Data supplied has the status of "Possible". Boundaries are mapped against Ordnance Survey MasterMap. Attribution statement: Attribution statement: © Natural England copyright. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right [year].

The aim of this survey was to survey, classify and map the distribution of intertidal reef habitat found along the coastline between Freshwater Bay and St Catherine's Point on the south coast of the Wight OS Grid Ref: SZ 343855 to SZ 507755 from mean high water springs to mean low water springs. The survey was undertaken in July-August 2002.