Suffolk Coast and Heaths
Stour and Orwell Estuary Draft Management Plan Consultation
Your Opportunity to Comment on the New Draft of the Stour and Orwell Estuary Management Strategy
Consultation Period
The Stour and Orwell Management Strategy consultation period began on the June the 26th 2009 and will close on the 14th of August. The Final Document will be Launched in early October.
The Stour and Orwell Management Strategy will seek to ensure that the estuaries retain their landscape and wildlife value while meeting the needs of recreation and industry
Purpose of this Management Strategy
This Management Strategy has been produced to:
- Provide a framework for delivery of actions outside of the Stour and Orwell Estuary Management Group’s statutory duties
- Help resolve and pre-empt issues that may have an impact on the integrity of the estuaries
- Identify key opportunities for managing the multifunctional aspects of the estuaries that can be realistically achieved using the group
- Provide a mechanism to take forward specific actions from the management scheme that adds benefit to statutory duties
- Provide a review process to meet the changing needs of the estuaries.
Management Framework
The Stour and Orwell is designated as a special protected area (SPA), a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and a Ramsar site (for wetland habitats). The Stour and Orwell EMG has both statutory and non statutory duties to protect the designated sites. The Stour and Orwell Management Strategy runs in parallel to the statutory scheme of management
Statutory Duties
The Department of the Environment, Fisheries and Rural Affairs (Defra) has decided that the Stour and Orwell should have a formal scheme of management. The scheme identifies the statutory duties of the Relevant Authorities to protect the SPA and provides a framework within which existing management of the area can be exercised. Full documentation of the Stour and Orwell Scheme of Management will be found this website in October.
Non-Statutory
The Stour and Orwell Estuary Management Strategy identifies the main areas of opportunity extra to statutory duties in the scheme to protect and enhance the Stour and Orwell estuaries and identifies key actions that will help reduce pressures. The strategy sets out a five year vision with action plans that allows the Stour and Orwell EMG to manage change.
How the scheme and the strategy work together
The Stour and Orwell EMG assists in the delivery, by the Relevant Authorities, of their duties under the Stour and Orwell Scheme of Management. The Scheme sets out the relevant authorities’ statutory duties in relation to their current and future operations.
The Stour and Orwell Estuary Management Strategy includes both non-statutory and statutory actions (taken from the scheme) and provides a vehicle for delivery. The Stour and Orwell EMG determines the need for agreed actions through the yearly action plan and review process in the strategy. This allows the Stour and Orwell EMG to respond to changing needs.
