EIAs for marine aggregates licences

A number of long standing marine aggregate production licence areas have been operating under permissions issued through a non-statutory regulatory system called the Government View procedure.

These ‘Government View’ permissions expire at the end of 2013. The industry is therefore seeking to secure their renewal by applying for new 15 year licences under the statutory licensing regime which now exists as well as apply for new extraction area licences.

All of the licence applications will be supported by Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) and, as appropriate, Habitats Regulations Appraisals (HRAs) and Water Framework Directive (WFD) Assessments. It may also be necessary to carry out assessments of potential impacts to Marine Conservation Zones.

Dr Stephen Hull, ABPmer technical director said, “Our approach to this study takes account of the legal requirements of EIA and HRA processes and our experience of undertaking previous marine aggregate EIAs.

“The Anglian MAREA will provide the majority of the information to support preparation of the EIAs. A key element of the commission will be to use this material to maximum effect and streamline ES production to avoid repetition.

“We will work with Hanson and the regulator to generate comprehensive and concise reports that complement the MAREA. This approach was first applied for the West Wight EIAs and the regulators have accepted the sufficiency of the MAREA evidence base as a basis for undertaking site specific EIAs.”

ABPmer has also been awarded a coastal modelling study to support the Colwyn Bay Waterfront Project. The project will see major redevelopment of the town’s seafront into a well protected and attractive area for all users and visitors, so there is more for people to see and do.

The wider aims of the project are to improve the standard of coastal defence and the amenity value of the beaches at Colwyn Bay. Specifically, the objectives of the present study are to assess the feasibility of nourishing the beach at the western end of the frontage and to determine a suitable approach for maintaining beach levels over time, using a variety of coastal defence structures or other beach management options. The outputs from the study will inform the engineering design for Phase 2 of the Waterfront Project.

Councillor Mike Priestley, cabinet member for the environment at Conwy County Borough Council said, “This coastal modelling study is vital for us to understand how best to protect this section of the Colwyn Bay shoreline. I welcome ABPmer to the Waterfront team and very much look forward to seeing the results produced.”