Morecambe Bay Pavements is a multi-site

Special Area of Conservation A special area of conservation (SAC) is defined in the European Union's Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC), also known as the ''Directive on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora''. They are to protect the 220 habitats and ap ...

comprising

limestone pavement A limestone pavement is a natural karst landform consisting of a flat, incised surface of exposed limestone that resembles an artificial Sidewalk, pavement. The term is mainly used in the UK and Ireland, where many of these landforms have devel ...

s around

Morecambe Bay Morecambe Bay is an estuary in north-west England, just to the south of the Lake District National Park. It is the largest expanse of intertidal mudflats and sand in the United Kingdom, covering a total area of . In 1974, the second largest ga ...

in North-West England. It was designated in 2005 under the

Habitats Directive The Habitats Directive (more formally known as Council Directive 92/43/EEC on the Conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora) is a directive adopted by the European Community in 1992 as a response to the Berne Convention. The ...

. The SAC does not include any marine areas; Morecambe Bay itself is a separate SAC, which was designated the same year. The SAC is designated for its biological rather geological interest, but the areas protected, on the margins of Morecambe Bay, have in common that they feature faulted outcrops of Lower Carboniferous Limestone. The limestone tends to form hills as it is more resistant to erosion than other rocks in the area. There are separate WP articles describing the sites (which are in the counties of

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders the Scottish council areas of Dumfries and Galloway and Scottish Borders to the north, Northumberland and County Durham to the east, North Yorkshire to the south-east, Lancash ...

and Lancashire): * Cunswick Scar *

Hutton Roof Crags Hutton Roof Crags is a hill in southeastern Cumbria in northwest England, located near to the village of Hutton Roof. It has extensive areas of limestone pavement as well as grassland and woodland. The hill forms the Hutton Roof Crags Site of ...

Scout Scar Scout Scar, also called Underbarrow Scar, is a hill in the English Lake District, west of Kendal, Cumbria and above the village of Underbarrow. It reaches . Scout Scar is the subject of a chapter of Wainwright's book '' The Outlying Fells of ...

Whitbarrow Whitbarrow is a hill in Cumbria, England, designated a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest and national nature reserve, forming part of the Morecambe Bay Pavements Special Area of Conservation due to its supporting some of the best E ...

Other levels of protection

Parts of the SAC lies within the

Arnside and Silverdale Arnside and Silverdale National Landscape (legally and previously known as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty or AONB) in England, is on the border between Lancashire and Cumbria, adjoining Morecambe Bay. One of the smallest National Landsca ...

Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB; , AHNE) is one of 46 areas of countryside in England, Wales, or Northern Ireland that has been designated for conservation due to its significant landscape value. Since 2023, the areas in England an ...

(designated in 1972), and the Lake District National Park. Under the

Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (c. 69) is an act of Parliament in the United Kingdom implemented to comply with European Council Directive 79/409/EEC on the conservation of wild birds. In short, the act gives protection to native species ...

limestone pavement is subject to protection measures known as Limestone Pavement Orders. Morecambe Bay Limestones are also designated as a

National Character Area A National Character Area (NCA) is a natural subdivision of England based on a combination of landscape, biodiversity, geodiversity and economic activity. There are 159 National Character Areas and they follow natural, rather than administrative, b ...

(NCA). In 2012 it was announced that Morecambe Bay Limestones and Wetlands would be one of twelve

Nature Improvement Area Nature Improvement Areas (NIAs) are a network of large scale initiatives in the landscape of England to improve ecological connectivity and improve biodiversity. They were launched in 2012. At 2015, the NIAs covered 47,000 acres of England in tota ...

s, an initiative to promote ecological connectivity and improve

biodiversity Biodiversity is the variability of life, life on Earth. It can be measured on various levels. There is for example genetic variability, species diversity, ecosystem diversity and Phylogenetics, phylogenetic diversity. Diversity is not distribut ...

References

External links

{{coord missing, Lancashire Special Areas of Conservation in Cumbria Special Areas of Conservation in England Protected areas established in 2005