dataset · England
Marine Conservation Zones (England)
These are the boundaries for Marine Conservation Zones, and Highly Protected Marine Areas, which are both designated under the Marine and Coastal Access Act (2009). They protect nationally important marine wildlife, habitats, geology and geomorphology. Sites were selected in English inshore and offshore waters to protect not just rare and threatened marine wildlife and habitats, but also the range of biodiversity across biogeographic regions. The Highly Protected Marine Areas project followed th
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Licence: ["There are no public access constraints to this data. Use of this data is subject to the licence identified.", "There are no public access constraints to this data. Use of this data is subject to the
Evidence quality: 42.5
Listed in data.gov.uk public catalogue API on 2026-10-16; relevance/value screened (haiku).
Metadata checked: 2026-10-14T13:20:00.000Z
What's in it
- Data offered docs-verified
- Marine Conservation Zone boundaries · Highly Protected Marine Areas boundaries
- Coverage docs-verified
- English inshore and offshore waters
- Update frequency docs-verified
- Not planned (no scheduled update frequency)
- Formats llm-inferred
- Shapefile · GeoPackage · GeoJSON · File Geodatabase · ArcGIS REST · OGC API - Features · WMS · WFS
- Access docs-verified
- Free and open under the Open Government Licence (OGL); no public access constraints; no auth listed in entry
Useful for
- Use cases llm-inferred
- Screen a marine or coastal project boundary for overlap with MCZ or HPMA designations · Map marine protected site constraints for coastal or offshore EIA and consent applications · Check outfall or coastal defence scheme locations against protected marine sites
- Audience llm-inferred
- environmental consultants · ecologists · marine planners · GIS analysts · coastal engineers
Limitations
- Constraints llm-inferred
- Boundary polygons only; this entry does not describe attribute or species/habitat content · No scheduled update frequency · Inshore boundaries usually follow OS MasterMap MHW, so they are not surveyed limits · Requires Natural England and Ordnance Survey attribution
Evidence
- https://environment.data.gov.uk/api/file/download?fileDataSetId=2f336047-6e44-42ed-ab42-906146678484&fileName=Data_Gov_UK_Metadata_Marine_Conservation_Zones.url
- https://www.data.gov.uk/dataset/80c075c3-1880-44a0-bffc-69e20f307c21/marine-conservation-zones-england2
Check upstream coverage, uncertainty and licence before use. Station observations are not forecasts or design levels.