Roles and Responsibilities

Central Government

Coastal issues come within the remit of many central government departments, the most important of which is the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). Responsibilities are as follows:

Defra - marine environment, fisheries, biodiversity, access and recreation, water policy, coastal policy, ICZM
Ministry of Defence - military land and installations
Department for Business, Enterprise & Regulatory Reform - licensing exploration and regulating development of the UK's oil and gas resources
Department for Transport - ports and shipping, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency and the Marine Accident Investigation Branch
Department for Communities and Local Government

Regional Government

South East Economic Regional Assembly (SEERA)

The Assembly is the Regional Planning Body responsible for proposing strategic planning and transport policies to Government. It prepares and reviews the Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS) for South East England.

Within the SE Plan is a sub-regional strategy for South East Hampshire. This strategy is being driven by PUSH (Partnership for Urban South Hampshire).

South East Economic Development Agency (SEEDA)

SEEDA is the lead body at a regional level for co-ordinating inward investment, raising people's skills, improving the competitiveness of business, and encouraging social and physical regeneration. It also co-operates closely with SEERA in developing, amending and approving a Regional Economic Strategy. The strategy covers many elements of the regional economy and has major implications for infrastructure and development in the South East.

SEEDA has a current interest in the Solent Coast and is looking to develop a Waterfront Strategy for the area.

Government Office of the South East (GOSE)

Government Offices work with regional partners and local people to maximise competitiveness and prosperity in the regions, and to support integrated policies for an inclusive society. GOSE works to influence, contract and develop government programmes and initiatives at a regional and local level, by working in partnership with relevant organisations to meet local needs.

South East Climate Change Partnership (SECCP)

The mission of the SECCP is to investigate, inform and advise on the threats and opportunities arising from the impacts of climate change in South East England and to promote adaptive planning in the region.

Local Government

Local authorities such as district and county councils have many responsibilities on the coast both as managers and regulators and in many cases also as the landowner. For example, Hampshire County Council is a coastal landowner and the Harbour Authority for the River Hamble. Details of the Solent's local authorities can be found in our members directory.

Responsibilities include:

Planning: control of land use and development to low water mark.
Coast protection: works to protect parts of the coast from erosion by the sea.
Public facilities: access roads, public car parks, public conveniences and some
footpaths.
Recreation: licensing of some activities and encouraging coastal recreation
and tourism.
Moorings in council ownership.
Cleansing of beaches and coastal open spaces.
Food safety: supervision of shellfish cleaning.
Complaints about pollution.
Management of land owned or leased by the council.
Some local byelaws.

Environment Agency

The Environment Agency is the leading public body for protecting and improving the environment in England and Wales. It's job is to make sure that air, land and water are looked after by everyone in today's society. Its responsibilities include:

Issuing discharge consents
Warning people about the risk of flooding, and reducing the likelihood of flooding from rivers and the sea
Looking after conservation and ecology, especially along rivers and in wetlands
Issuing rod licences for anglers
Fisheries management
Monitoring bathing water quality
Maintaining and improving the quality of water in rivers, the sea and underground
Pollution prevention
Protection, improvement and promotion of recreation in or near water

Natural England

Natural England is a public body committed to conserving and enhancing the natural environment. Its role is to work for people, places and nature, to enhance biodiversity, landscapes and wildlife in rural, urban, coastal and marine areas; promote access, recreation and public well-being; and contribute to the way natural resources are managed so that they can be enjoyed now and in the future.

It is the government's statutory nature conservation adviser.

NGO's

Non-governmental organisations (NGO's) campaign to conserve and enhance the special attributes of an area. They range from the very small local groups to large national organisations such as the Wildlife Trusts and RSPB. Some are topic specific, such as the Hants and Wight Trust for Maritime Archaeology and others work cross-sectorally for example, the Solent Protection Society.

They play an important role in helping to raise issues and involve local communities in coastal matters. Details of NGO's in the Solent can be found in the Forum's Community Solent Directory.

Landowners

Landowners generally own the land down to the mean high water mark or mean low water mark; land below this and 50% of the foreshore is owned by the Crown Estate. Landowners can be either private individuals or companies, charitable bodies such as the National Trust or local and harbour authorities such as Hampshire County Council. Sometimes privately owned land is leased on to bodies such as local authorities, ports and harbours, conservation bodies or other statutory bodies.

Management or development of the land will require the permission of the landowner, the owner will also have responsibilities to take care of the land in a certain way when it is subject to protected area status or planning constraints. As well as landowners permission, many activities also require statutory consents from government. See our marine consents guide for further details.

Crown Estate

The Crown Estate owns virtually the entire seabed out to the 12 nautical mile territorial limit, including the rights to explore and utilise the natural resources of the UK continental shelf (excluding oil, gas and coal).

More recently the Energy Act, 2004 vested rights to The Crown Estate to license the generation of renewable energy on the continental shelf within the Renewable Energy Zone out to 200nm.

It also owns around 55% of the foreshore (the area between mean high and mean low water) and approximately half of the beds of estuaries and tidal rivers in the United Kingdom.

It does not own the water column or govern public rights such as navigation and marine fisheries.

Harbour Authorities

The rights and responsibilities of port and harbour authorities derive from the legislation that creates them and gives them powers. The authority can only operate within its powers. Most harbour authorities are governed by their own local legislation, which is specific to each authority and tailored to meet their individual needs. Under these local acts and regulations, the authority is responsible for administering the ports and coastal waters within its jurisdiction, for the main purposes of ensuring the navigation and safety of vessels using them. Ports and harbours have a legal responsibility over the marine environment as local lighthouse authorities under the Merchant Shipping 1894 Act.

The Department of Transport has responsibility for the safety of navigation within the Western Solent, as this currently lies outside the jurisdiction of any of the harbour authorities.

Details of the Solent's harbour authorities can be found in our members directory.

Trinity House

The safety of shipping, and the well being of seafarers, have been the prime concerns of Trinity House since it was granted a Charter by Henry VIII in 1514.

It has three distinct functions:

General Lighthouse Authority for England, Wales, the Channel Islands and Gibraltar, responsible for a range of general aids to navigation, 'signs of the sea', from lighthouses to radar beacons.
Charitable organisation dedicated to the safety, welfare and training of mariners.
Deep Sea Pilotage Authority providing expert navigators for ships trading in Northern European waters.

Resources