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Special Areas of Conservation

Benacre to Easton Bavents Lagoons

Designated Special Area of Conservation (SAC)
Country England
Unitary Authority East Anglia
Centroid* TM524830
Latitude 52.38638889
Longitude 1.710277778
SAC EU Code UK0013104
Status Designated Special Area of Conservation (SAC)
Area (ha) 326.7
* This is the approximate central point of the SAC. In the case of large, linear or composite sites, this may not represent the location where a feature occurs within the SAC.
Location of Benacre to Easton Bavents Lagoons SAC

General site character

  • Tidal rivers, Estuaries, Mud flats, Sand flats, Lagoons (including saltwork basins) (5%)
  • Coastal sand dunes, Sand beaches, Machair (5%)
  • Shingle, Sea cliffs, Islets (25%)
  • Bogs, Marshes, Water fringed vegetation, Fens (30%)
  • Heath, Scrub, Maquis and Garrigue, Phygrana (5%)
  • Mixed woodland (30%)

Download the Standard Data Form for this site (PDF <100kb)

Note When undertaking an appropriate assessment of impacts at a site, all features of European importance (both primary and non-primary) need to be considered.

Annex I habitats that are a primary reason for selection of this site

  • 1150 Coastal lagoons  * Priority feature

    Benacre to Easton Bavents Lagoons is a series of percolation lagoons on the east coast of England. The lagoons (the Denes, Benacre Broad, Covehithe Broad and Easton Broad) have formed behind shingle barriers and are a feature of a geomorphologically dynamic system. Sea water enters the lagoons by percolation through the barriers, or by overtopping them during storms and high spring tides. The lagoons show a wide range of salinities, from nearly fully saline in South Pool, the Denes, to extremely low salinity at Easton Broad. This range of salinity has resulted in a series of lagoonal vegetation types, including beds of narrow-leaved eelgrass Zostera angustifolia in fully saline or hypersaline conditions, beds of spiral tasselweed Ruppia cirrhosa in brackish water, and dense beds of common reed Phragmites australis in freshwater. The site supports a number of specialist lagoonal species.

Annex I habitats present as a qualifying feature, but not a primary reason for selection of this site

  • Not Applicable

Annex II species that are a primary reason for selection of this site

  • Not Applicable

Annex II species present as a qualifying feature, but not a primary reason for site selection

  • Not Applicable

Many designated sites are on private land: the listing of a site in these pages does not imply any right of public access.