River Avon Special Area of Conservation (SAC)

Please tell us what you think about our website, we welcome your feedback.

Customer notice

Due to essential maintenance some of our web services will be unavailable between these times 7pm Friday 25 May and 5pm Sunday 27 May 2012.

The River Avon rises in the Vale of Pewsey and flows through Wiltshire, Hampshire and Dorset to the sea at Christchurch. The River Avon and its tributaries form one of the most diverse chalk stream systems in the UK, with over 180 plant species, one of the most diverse fish populations, and a wide range of aquatic invertebrates. The importance of the River Avon and its tributaries has been recognised for several internationally rare or threatened species, such as sea and brook lamprey, bullhead, Atlantic salmon and Desmoulins' whorl snail. The river is largely dominated by water crowfoot (Ranunculus spp.) vegetation communities.

Much of the River Avon, its tributaries and some areas of adjacent wetland are designated as a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) due to the presence of these internationally important habitats and species. SACs are sites designated by the government under Article 3 of the Habitats Directive as transposed by the Habitats Regulations (1994). SACs are of European importance for nature conservation and receive the highest level of legal protection.

The River Avon SAC Conservation Strategy has been developed by a partnership of organisations involved with the river, including Wiltshire Council. It defines issues affecting the river, assesses the effectiveness of mechanisms already in place to address these issues, and identifies any further action required. It creates a framework for delivery of ‘favourable conservation status’ for the designated features. The strategy has been developed by key organisations and individuals involved in the management of the river, and will guide their work over the next 10 years.

More information on the River Avon SAC can be found at: Life in UK Rivers.

Last updated: 17 February 2011