31 - Morecambe Coast and Lune Estuary : Summary and Headline Statements of Environmental Opportunity

Summary

The Morecambe Coast and Lune Estuary is a relatively small and low-lying National Character Area (NCA) bordering Morecambe Bay. It includes areas of high population in the towns of Heysham and Morecambe and the City of Lancaster, but also encompasses areas of high tranquillity, particularly around the Lune Estuary and westwards along the Pilling Coast. Its distinctive identity is strongly linked to the coastal environment along its margin with Morecambe Bay, and inland through the estuaries of the Lune and the Keer. These are nationally and internationally designated as Sites of Special Scientific Interest, Special Area of Conservation, Special Protection Area and Ramsar site for their coastal habitats and the wildlife that they support, including salt marshes, intertidal reefs, and wader and waterfowl populations. There is a longstanding cultural link to the coastal environment through fisheries, trade and tourism.

Away from the coast and urban areas, the landscape is mainly one of pastoral agriculture, including dairy, which varies in character from reclaimed grasslands bounded by wet ditches in the lowest-lying areas to a hedged landscape including frequent boundary trees as the land begins to rise. Towards the boundary with the adjacent upland NCAs, and where drumlins are present providing abundant field stone, stone walls start to predominate. To the north and west the NCA is framed by areas of higher ground, including the Lake District Fells and Bowland Fells.

The key opportunities reflect the importance of the coastal zone, both intrinsically and because of the diverse services that it supports through its coastal processes such as regulation of coastal flooding and erosion, climate regulation, biodiversity, sense of place and recreation. There are opportunities presented by the juxtaposition of areas of urban development with a coastal zone of exceptional quality, including recreation and tourism and environmental education for the urban populations, as well as for visitors. Future challenges include energy security and the impacts of climate change, particularly in the low-lying coastal zone.

Headline Statements of Environmental Opportunity (SEO)

See the Statements of Environmental Opportunity section for more details on the headlines listed below.

SEO 1

Maintain and enhance the historic and landscape character and the internationally significant habitats of the coastal environment, including the mudflats, salt marsh, sand dunes, vegetated shingle and the Lune Estuary, to support its key features, reflect the dynamic nature of the coastal systems, and ensure that the area remains able to regulate coastal flooding and sequester and store carbon, while providing access and recreation that is sensitive to the character of the coastal zone.

SEO 2

Enhance the mainly pastoral, rural landscape by supporting land managers to adopt long-term sustainable land management practices on both the organic soils of the coastal plain and reclaimed land from the Lune Estuary to Knott End-on-Sea, and the mineral soils of higher ground, seeking outcomes which deliver both economic and environmental benefits.

SEO 3

Working with land managers, seek opportunities to enhance the historic character of the rural landscape, including heritage assets, boundary features and habitats, to protect the character of the rural landscape and restore the ecological condition and connectivity of these features.

SEO 4

Promote the social, economic and cultural value of a healthy natural environment and embed wide understanding of sustainable management, building on the close proximity of areas of exceptional environmental value, particularly the coastal zone, to areas of high population density.