We are delighted to announce that as from February 1st 2024 the North West Coastal Forum is now a registered charity (no. 1206825). This means some changes to the way we are managed as we are now a Charitable Incorporated Organisation with a Board of Trustees and an Expert Advisory Committee with voting rights to
About NW Coastal Forum
The 2023 North West Awards for Coastal Excellence Winners!
The North West Coastal Forum is pleased to announce the winners of the 2023 NW Awards for Coastal Excellence – an award scheme that recognises and celebrates outstanding achievement in and contribution to the long-term management of the North West’s coast and near-shore marine environment. Coastal Community Action: This award is made to a community
Call for Trustees for the North West Coastal Forum
Closing date Monday 1st May 2023 The North West Coastal Forum – established in May 2000 as a multi-sector non-profit partnership – is setting out on a new journey as a registered charity (Charitable Incorporated Organisation) (NB we are in the process of applying for CIO status but have not yet been registered). To help
Closed – Consultation on Introducing Highly Protected Marine Areas in Scotland
Consultation closes 20 March 2023 The Scottish Government is consulting on the introduction of Highly Protected Marine Areas (HPMAs) in Scottish waters. Through the Bute House Agreement the Scottish Government has to designate at least 10% of Scotland’s seas as HPMAs by 2026. The intention is that the HPMAs will provide high levels of protection for conservation
Closed – Review of consents for major energy infrastructure projects and Special Protection Areas, 2022
Consultation close 11:45 pm, 31 January 2023 The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) is carrying out a 4 week consultation seeking views on a draft report ‘Review of Consents for Major Infrastructure Projects and Special Protection Areas’. The review is required as a result of new or updated Special Protection Area designations.
3 New Offshore Wind Energy Schemes in the Irish Sea Announced
The Crown Estate has announced that Offshore Wind Leasing Round 4 Agreements for Lease signing concluded in January 2023. Three of the six leases agreed are in the Irish Sea (the others being in the North Sea). The combined capacity of the 6 is around 8 GW being produced by the end of the decade.
Research report on marine debris pathways for non-native species into UK waters
Scientists from CEFAS – the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science – have published pioneering research modelling how non-native species can be transported across the ocean on floating marine debris. They used a novel modelling approach, adapting a computer model originally designed to predict the distribution of oil following an oil spill, to uncover
Government to ban the supply of unnecessary single-use plastic items
In November 2021, Defra launched a consultation on proposals to ban the supply of single-use plastic plates, cutlery, and balloon sticks and expanded and extruded polystyrene food and drinks containers. The consultation took place as part of the 25 Year Environment Plan ambition to eliminate avoidable plastic waste by 2042. The responses have now been
2022 Bathing Water Results
Defra has announced the 2022 bathing water results. The results summarise the compliance of coastal and inland designated bathing waters for England in 2022. In summary 97.1% met at least the minimum Bathing Water standard, and 72.1% met the ‘excellent’ standard, however 2.9% did not meet the minimum standard for bathing and are classed as
Marine Strategy Part Two: UK updated monitoring programmes
The Government has published the Marine Strategy Part Two: Updated Monitoring Progammes. The strategy sets out how the UK will move towards Good Environmental Status (GES) in our seas over the next 6 years and covers, as well as the updated monitoring programmes, the progress made since 2014 when the last monitoring programme was published.