Save the Solent

Proposal to make the West Solent a Marine National Park

The West Solent, stretching from Lepe Beach to The Needles, is under ever-growing and conflicting pressures.

Popular with tourists, walkers, boating and watersport enthusiasts and fishermen, the Western Solent is also used by some commercial shipping, as well as the ferry service from Lymington to Yarmouth.

The Solent Protection Society is mounting a campaign to make the West Solent a Marine National Park, balancing its use for recreation with the conservation of its setting, its wildlife, fisheries and archaeological remains.

Professor Gerald Smart, representing the Society, says: “We have drawn up a report that looks at the problems, and how the multitude of interests might best be co-ordinated by a partnership of mainly local organisations, in line with Marine National Parks in other parts of the world. We hope that our ideas will get a lot of support”.

There is a huge growth of interest in conservation of sea areas, and the Society hope that the Government’s proposed Marine Bill may allow Marine National Parks to be officially designated and funded.

Solent Protection Society is consulting widely on the report, which can be viewed on their website www.solentprotection.org