Waterfront development

The brief

Cumbria County Council commissioned restoration works on the middle slag bank adjacent to the Walney Channel. Thomson was to provide information to enable an Appropriate Assessment under the terms of the Council Directive 92/43/EEC on Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora (the ‘Habitats Directive’), to be carried out, on Duddon Estuary (SPA), to determine whether this development would have a significant impact on the interests for which the area is designated under the Habitats Regulations.

The proposed development was immediately adjacent to the northern part of the Walney Channel, which forms part of the Duddon Estuary, a large coastal area covered by several international and national nature conservation designations. The public right of way, of which the access track proposed for development is a part, leads directly into areas covered by these designations.

What we did

Thomson Ecology undertook an Appropriate Assessment in which a consultation and review of relevant data available was conducted involving Natural England, The National Trust, Local Groups, The Harbour Master, Farmers, Fisheries Group, Wildfowling Group and many other organisations.

The Appropriate Assessment assessed the impact during construction and the operational phase of the development and the “Effects on Site Integrity of Development In Combination with Other Developments Affecting the Natura 2000/Ramsar Sites”.