Marine Conservation Zones and Highly Protected Marine Areas in England
Updated 10d ago
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Description
Boundary polygons for Marine Conservation Zones and Highly Protected Marine Areas designated under the Marine and Coastal Access Act (2009) to protect nationally important marine wildlife, habitats, geology, and geomorphology. The data layer was developed by Natural England and JNCC through a process involving evidence gathering, site proposals, consultations, and boundary refinement. Inshore boundaries typically follow the Ordnance Survey Mastermap Mean High Water line.
Use Cases
Mapping marine protected area boundaries based on the provided geospatial polygons.
Analyzing the spatial distribution of biodiversity protection in English waters based on the site selection criteria described.
Assessing the implementation of the Benyon review (2022) recommendations for Highly Protected Marine Areas based on the dataset's inclusion of these zones.
Studying the relationship between conservation zones and shoreline features based on the use of OS Mastermap MHW for inshore boundaries.
Strengths
Boundaries are based on a multi-stage process of evidence gathering, assessment, and consultation led by authoritative bodies Natural England and JNCC.
The dataset includes two distinct types of protected areas: Marine Conservation Zones and the newer Highly Protected Marine Areas, following the 2022 Benyon review.
Limitations
Row count and dataset size are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment for large-scale analysis.
Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
Last updated 2026-07-13 13:03:06.940162; freshness should be verified as this is a future date.
Provenance
Source
Natural England and JNCC (Joint Nature Conservation Committee).
Collection Method
Boundaries developed through a process of evidence gathering, assessment, site proposals, consultations, and refinement before final designation.