Solway Firth Review
Solway Firth Review
Solway Firth
Partnership
Designed by The Graphics Team, Dumfries and Galloway Council
Photographs by Derek Carmichael, Geoff Keating, Anne Greiner, Stewart Carruthers, Patrick Sutherland, Brian Arneill, Sue Scott, Chris Martin, Allerdale Borough Council, Linda McVie and Alison McVie
Plate supplied by National Library of Scotland
Editorial by Nautilus Consultants
Solway Firth Partnership June 1996
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Solway Firth Review
Foreword
he publication of the Information Review is an important milestone in the
work of the Solway Firth Partnership. The Partnership is a unique
arrangement involving everyone interested in the Solway, its coast and its
people. To join this Partnership could not be easier, just join in the debate - contribute your thoughts and your ideas and you’ve joined the Partnership.
To help this process a Steering Group has been meeting regularly ever since Magnus Magnusson launched the Partnership in June 1994. The Group has been piecing together information on as many aspects of the Solway as possible. These have been distilled into the Solway Review - possibly the most comprehensive document on the environment and the economy of the Solway ever produced.
We’ve done this to highlight the quality of the area but also to highlight gaps in our knowledge. Gaps that we need to fill if we are to care for the Solway in the future.
The information review will act as a reference point in the coming years as we work to put in place a Management Strategy. Informed debate will be essential if we are to get the Management Strategy right. Informed debate will also be needed to gain the support that will be needed to make a voluntary approach to management and work.
To assist the debate we have produced a shorter Issues and Opportunities report. We are arranging seminars to discuss this and we would welcome your contribution.
The production of this report would not have been possible without the wholehearted support of the organisations represented on the Steering Group. Their staff have taken the time to make their contribution often by dint of working into the wee small hours. Many other agencies, organisations and advisors have also contributed very generously. The task of putting it all together fell on the Project Officer, Roy Cameron and the graphics team of the Planning and Building Control Services of Dumfries and Galloway Council. We are also grateful for the financial assistance provided by many of the organisations and the EU 5(b) Dumfries and Galloway Partnership. Without all of this support, advice and knowledge this Review would not have been produced.
Gordon Mann, Chief Planning Officer
Chairman of the Solway Firth Partnership Steering Group
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Map A Administrative Boundaries for the Solway Firth Partnership Area
Note: As of 1 April 1996 the delivery of local government services in Dumfries and Galloway passed from the Dumfries and Galloway Regional Council and the four District Councils of Wigtown, Stewartry, Nithsdale and Annandale and Eskdale, to the new unitary authority Dumfries and Galloway Council. The four District Council boundaries remain on Map A because much of the social and economic information contained in this report has been collated and presented on this basis.
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Solway Firth Review
Introduction
he Solway Firth is a unique and special place. The impression it gives is of
a vast, undeveloped and remote landscape within which lies an outstanding
natural, cultural and economic heritage. The presence of the national
boundary is another unique feature of the Solway and one which has enormous
implications for the future management of the area.
Firths are usually planned and regulated by diverse agencies with no single body responsible for taking stock. As more and more demands are made on the Solway there has been a growing awareness that some activities may come into conflict with other interests. This creates a challenge for the whole population to manage the resources of the firth in a less fragmented, less piecemeal, more sustainable way. The Solway Firth Partnership represents a major step towards addressing this challenge through a process of co-operation, consensus and agreement.
The stated aim of the Partnership is to:
“develop in partnership with others a management strategy which will encourage current and future users of the Firth to set a level of social, economic and ecological development for the region that is compatible with the principles of sustainable development”.
The Partnership is open to all statutory and non-statutory interest groups to become members and influence the shape of the management strategy. It is managed by a steering group which meets quarterly to review the progress and overall direction of the project. Represented on the Steering Group are all the statutory agencies with responsibilities in and around the Solway Firth Partnership area.
Solway Firth Review
For the purpose of this report the Solway Firth Partnership area is defined seaward as the area between the Mull of Galloway and St Bees Head (Map A). The nominal landward boundary which qualifies to be called ‘coastal’ is taken to be 1 1cm from the mean high water mark. However for practical purposes it has proved necessary to include features and activities that lie beyond this boundary, based on the strength of their relationship with the Solway rather than on their geographical location. The visual influence of the Solway, for instance, ranges widely across the surrounding landscapes and seascapes.
The main purpose behind publishing this document is to make base-line information on the current state of resource use more accessible to all partners. The knock-on effect should be to improve the future planning, management and monitoring of all resources.
The bulk of the information contained in this document has been pulled together by ten specialist topic groups. Each was set up under the direction of the steering group, to prepare individual chapters for the Review. Topic Groups comprised up to 10 core members who met on a regular basis over a period of several months. Topic groups also consulted widely with other key users such as fishermen, wildfowlers, recreation and nature conservation groups.
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It is hoped that the Solway Firth Review will help the Partnership to identify the main development issues and opportunities in the firth, and increase our understanding of its complex and dynamic nature. And by bringing together information from both sides of the firth under a single cover, the Solway Firth Review should reinforce a picture of the wider Solway as a natural selfcontained geographical area. This in turn will require an integrated, strategic approach to manage all its component parts.
Boundary Changes and Government Re-Organisation
As of 1 April 1996 the delivery of local government services in Dumfries and Galloway passed from the Dumfries and Galloway Regional Council and the four District Councils of Wigtown, Stewartry, Nithsdale and Annandale and Eskdale, to the new unitary authority Dumfries and Galloway Council. The four District Council boundaries remain on Map A because much of the social and economic information contained in this report has been collated and presented on this basis.
In addition the role and function of the Solway River Purification Board (SRPB) and Her Majesty’s Industrial Pollution Inspectorate (HMIPI) passed to a new agency the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA). In England all the functions of the National Rivers Authority (NRA) and Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Pollution (HMIP) passed to the new Environment Agency (EA). Both new agencies have been established under the Environment Act 1995.
It is hoped that everyone with an interest in the Solway Firth will seize the opportunity of joining the Solway firth Partnership by helping to shape the management strategy and signing up to its specific aims and objectives. It will only succeed with the wholehearted co-operation of one and all.
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Solway Firth Review
Contents
Chapter 1 : Landscape and cultural heritage 7
The landscape 7
Landscape character types 8
Cultural heritage 9
The future 11
Landscape and cultural heritage designations 11
Research and information sources 13
Chapter 2 : Geology and geomorphology 27
Solid geology 28
Drift geology 31
Coastal geomorphology 34
Offshore geology 36
Protection and management of geological sites 36
Research and information sources 38
Chapter 3 : Marine environment 41
Climate 42
Hydrography 43
Research and information sources 49
Chapter 4 : Coastal and intertidal habitats 51
Estuaries 52
Saltmarsh 53
Sand & mud flats 58
Scars 62
Sand dunes 63
Vegetated shingle 65
Rocky shores 66
Maritime cliffs 69
Coastal grazing marsh and grassland 70
Research and information sources 71
Chapter 5 : Subtidal habitats and communities 75
Shallow subtidal habitats and species 76
Deeper open water habitats and species 78
Plankton 80
Research and information sources 81
Chapter 6 : Rare fish and marine mammals 83
Marine and freshwater fish 84
Marine mammals 86
Research and information sources 88
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Chapter 7 : Birds 91
Seabirds 93
Wintering & passage wading birds & wildfowl 94
Other use by birds 102
Research and information sources 103
Chapter 8 : Terrestrial animals 105
Terrestrial invertebrates of coastal habitats 106
Otters 109
Mink 111
Brown hares 112
Small mammals 113
Amphibians 113
Other amphibians 115
Research and information sources 115
Chapter 9 : Protection and management of wildlife and natural features 119
Nature conservation and planning legislation for safeguarding wildlife 120
Nature conservation site designations 123
Nature conservation outside designated sites 134
Research and information sources 136
Chapter 10 : Social and economic resources 137
Social Profile 138
Agriculture, hunting and forestry and fishing 142
Aggregrate and mineral extraction 144
Oil and gas 146
Energy generation and renewable energy 149
Manufacturing and services 151
Tourism 154
Transport and communications 155
Retail 156
Defence 156
Research and information sources 160
Chapter 11 : Land use and ownership 161
Agriculture 162
Forestry 164
Ministry of Defence interests 166
Land ownership 168
Research and information sources 170
Chapter 12 : Recreation and tourism 171
Tourism characteristics 172
Accommodation 174
Visitor attractions 174
Activity pursuits 176
Events 184
Information services 184
Information sources and management framework 184
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Solway Firth Review
Chapter 13 : Fisheries and taking of other living coastal resources 187
Commercial sea fishing and shellfishing 188
Cultivation of marine species 203
Sea angling and bait collection 203
Salmon and sea trout 204
Wildfowling 208
Turf cutting 212
Other minor exploitation 212
Research and information sources 213
Chapter 14 : Harbours, shipping and navigation 215
Distribution of harbours 216
Shipping and navigation 218
Research and information sources 222
Chapter 15 : Coast protection and sea defence 225
Legislation 226
Coastal defences 227
Research and information sources 230
Annex 231
Chapter 16 : Water quality and pollution prevention 235
Legislation 236
Point source discharges 236
Diffuse source discharges 239
Research and information sources 247
Chapter 17 : Coastal planning and management 249
Planning and management 250
The legal basis to coastal planning and management 250
Policy and planning 253
Statutory controls affecting land-based activities 254
Statutory controls affecting seaward activities 258
Research and information sources 265
Annex 17.1 266
Glossary and abbreviations 271
Abbreviations and Acronyms 273
Contact List 275
Index 285
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Chapter 1 : Landscape and Cultural Heritage
he landscapes of the Solway are on a vast scale. The wide seascapes and extensive mud flats of the Firth are bounded by distant shores where cliffs and rocky bays alternate with estuarine saltmarshes. Steep and rugged hills rise out of the coastal lowlands, piercing the wide and ever changing skies. The rural, pastoral landscape is generally sparsely populated, though scattered towns and villages have grown up around ports and harbours and the industrial tradition of West Cumbria is echoed in a denser settlement pattern. The cultural heritage of the area reflects a long and complex pattern of settlement and invasion and a turbulent history as a frontier between nations. Archaeological and historic sites abound, and the area has a rich legacy of folklore.
Together the landscapes and cultural heritage of the Solway have a high intrinsic value as a national and regional resource. This is apparent in the numerous designated areas and sites. These attributes combine to enhance the quality of life of local residents, and form the basis of the area’s tourist industry. However the wide open views across the estuary, the area’s strong local distinctiveness, and its predominantly traditional rural character make the landscapes and built heritage of the Solway very sensitive to change.
This chapter sets out to describe the setting of the Solway Firth in terms of its landscape and its history and recent measures to preserve these features through designations. Because the visual influence of the Solway extends widely across the surrounding landscapes and seascapes and cultural links reach inland along the main rivers, topics are included on the basis of the strength of their relationship with the Solway rather than their geographic location.
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Chapter 1 : Landscape and Cultural Heritage
The landscape
Landscape character derives from a combination of physical factors including geology, topography and soils, changing climates and native plant communities, plus cultural factors such as settlement patterns, building styles, land uses, and literary and artistic perceptions.
The two shores of the Solway differ broadly in character reflecting their differing geology, with older harder rocks on the Scottish side creating a more rugged coastline than the softer sandstone and coal measures of the southern shore (Chapter 2). In the north the contrasts between these harder rocks and younger weaker sandstone, plus the north/south drainage pattern, have created a series of peninsulas divided by estuaries, with granite intrusions creating rugged uplands rising directly from the coast. In the south, softer sediments have been eroded to form a wide coastal plain, backed by the more resistant rocks of the Lake District Fells. The lowlands on both coasts have been covered by glacial drift material, creating an undulating landscape of glacial deposition features. Changes in land and sea levels have left behind raised beaches and submerged forests, and coastal processes have created the sand spit peninsula at Grune Point, as well as extensive sand dunes and estuarine creeks and sand flats. Further south along the Cumbrian coast, the relatively more resistant sandstone is exposed to create St Bees Head.
Population densities are low (Chapter 10) and a series of small villages, hamlets and isolated dwellings are connected by lanes. Towns are fairly infrequent, and have developed either as ports or fishing communities at the heads of the main estuaries and inlets, or later as resorts along the coast itself. Landscapes are predominantly rural and pastoral, patterned with conifer forests on the upland and coastal mosses to the north of the Solway. However, between Maryport and Whitehaven on the West Cumbrian shore, the underlying coal measures have been explored and this coastline has a strong industrial character, with neighbouring industrial towns linked by main rail and road routes along the coast. The history of the Solway can be read in these land use and settlement patterns, and the landscape feels rooted in the past.