Site Improvement Plans (SIPs) have been developed for each Natura 2000 site in England as part of the Improvement Programme for England’s Natura 2000 Sites (IPENS). Natura 2000 sites is the combined term for sites designated as Special Areas of Conservation (SAC) and Special Protected Areas (SPA). This work has been financially supported by LIFE, a financial instrument of the European Community.
The plan provides a high level overview of the issues (both current and predicted) affecting the condition of the Natura 2000 features on the sites and outlines the priority measures required to improve the condition of the features. It does not cover issues where remedial actions are already in place or ongoing management activities which are required for maintenance.
The SIP consists of three parts: Summary table, which sets out the priority Issues and Measures; detailed Actions table, which sets out who needs to do what, when and how much it will cost; and set of tables containing contextual information and links.
The SIPs are based on Natural England’s current evidence and knowledge. The SIPs are not legal documents, they are live documents that will be updated to reflect changes in our evidence/knowledge and as actions get underway.
This SIP includes the priorities and new measures required to achieve water-dependent Natura 2000 objectives under the Water Framework Directive. The actions in this SIP for the water dependent (excluding non-water dependent) habitats inform part of the River Basin Management Plan and its consultation.
This SIP covers the Natura 2000 sites: Benfleet and Southend Marshes SPA, Medway Estuary & Marshes SPA, Thames Estuary & Marshes SPA, The Swale SPA.