As a responsible Harbour Authority, we apply best practice to ensure we minimise our impact on the environment and operate efficiently. We aim to mitigate potential environmental issues and ‘work with nature’ to deliver sustainable nature-based solutions to climate change impacts across some of our ports.
Peel Ports are progressive and proactive towards their marine environmental responsibilities. We achieve this through innovation, support, and the identification of cost-effective initiatives that deliver environmental improvements.
The Group Marine Team plays an integral role in allowing Peel Ports to fulfil their statutory responsibilities and comply with relevant marine environmental legislation to protect and maintain local marine environments across all of the Group’s Statutory Harbour Authorities.
Peel Ports are active members of the Environmental Groups coordinated by UK Major Ports Group and British Ports Association.
As part of our statutory duties and approach to responsible business, we work with a number of external stakeholders to deliver sustainable solutions and environmental benefits. Stakeholders include:
Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS)
Clyde Marine Planning Partnership
Environment Agency
Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authorities (IFCA)
Marine Management Organisation
Marine Scotland
Natural England
NatureScot
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB)
Scottish Environmental Protection Agency
The Angling Trust
The Crown Estate
At a national level, we participate in the development of regional Marine Plans in both England and Scotland regularly liaising with regulatory bodies to ensure that the final plan policies are proportional with regards to social, economic and environmental activities.
Our Group Marine team regularly investigates opportunities for beneficial re-use of dredge material and have established local Sediment Stakeholder Groups in Liverpool and Clyde to discuss and deliver sustainable solutions.
Our beneficial re-use projects have allowed us to work with a variety of regulatory bodies and external stakeholders to develop and deliver nature-based solutions for the disposal of our maintenance dredge material.
In 2018, our beneficial re-use project in Liverpool won an international PIANC Working with Nature Certificate in recognition for the success of the project using the ‘Working with Nature’ philosophy.
Following the successful implementation of our beneficial re-use program on the Mersey, Peel Ports have agreed on a site in Clydeport for a trial placement of dredge material and are working with Regulators to obtain a Marine License for the project, we are also discussing opportunities for beneficial re-use in Medway with RSPB.
In February 2021 Peel Ports participated in a joint SedNet-Navigating a Changing Climate virtual workshop to discuss the role of sediment management in meeting the climate change challenge. During the Workshop, Peel Ports’ Marine Team’s beneficial use of dredged material initiatives were presented. More information about the presentations at this workshop, as well as its conclusions regarding both opportunities and challenges of climate change, can be found in the workshop report.
During COP26 Peel Ports signed the SedNet Sediment management pledge to demonstrate our commitment to assessing sustainable long term solutions for sediment management across each of our ports.
Invasive Non-Native Species (INNS) pose a potential risk to the environment and our port operations. To help to minimise this risk and protect local environments from Invasive Non-Native Species, the Marine Team has developed several guidance documents to assist with the formulation of port-specific marine biosecurity plans.
Our Marine Team has held biosecurity workshops across our ports with external stakeholders to help understand the practical measures to control the spread of INNS within marine environments. We also risk assess internal projects to identify practical measures to reduce the risk of introducing INNS into our ports.
Peel Ports have collaborated with the Angling Trust to install ‘check-clean-dry’ signs around entrance and exit points across the Manchester Ship Canal to raise awareness of INNS presence amongst the Angling community and reduce their transfer during recreational activities.
Additional information on how we work to reduce biosecurity risks from marine activities in our ports:
Climate change is a growing business risk to the functionality of transport networks, including ports. The Marine Team are looking at possible climate change adaptation strategies in response to the latest climate change scenarios.
We regularly look for opportunities to reduce carbon emissions during our operational activities. Our Statutory Harbour Authority duty to maintain safe navigable depths means that we have a regular requirement for maintenance dredging.
Our beneficial re-use projects seek to reduce carbon emissions by reducing the distance dredged material is transported to licenced offshore disposal sites.
During COP26 Peel Ports hosted a joint workshop with British Ports Association, UK Major Ports Group and Maritime UK. The workshop discussed practical climate change adaptation challenges and good practice solutions for ports. If you would like to find out more, slides and recorded versions of the presentations can be viewed here
In response to an invitation from Defra to participate in the 3rd round of Climate Change Adaptation Reporting for the Ports of Liverpool and Sheerness, we submitted a Climate Change Adaptation Report to Defra for these ports in December 2021. The report can be downloaded here
SPECIES PROTECTION.
Peel Ports recognises the importance of operating sustainably whilst seeking to protect and enhance local habitats in our Ports.
Peel Ports have been working with RSPB in Medway to help protect one of the largest colonies of nesting Sandwich Terns on the East Coast of England at Burntwick Island.
During the 2020 summer lockdown, the island experienced an influx of visitors. Sandwich Terns are ground-nesting species and therefore are highly vulnerable to disturbance from human activity, which in some cases can cause adults to abandon their nests and leave their chicks and eggs behind.
During April 2021, Peel Ports worked with the RSPB to install signs on Burntwick Island to ask visitors not to land on the island to protect nesting birds. Reports in May 2021 show that the campaign has been hugely successful with 400 Sandwich Terns recorded at Burntwick Island so far.
Some recreational activities can also present a risk to protected species. Peel Ports have developed a posterand flyerthat can be downloaded for guidance on how to operate a jet ski responsibly to protect the local environment in Medway and The Swale.
Peel Ports have also collaborated with the Mersey Gateway Environmental Trust on their Orchid Management Project. You can read more about the project here.
Dredging
As a Statutory Harbour Authority we have a duty to maintain safe navigational access into our Ports, this is achieved through maintenance dredging.
We regularly assess our dredging activities to assess their impacts on locally designated sites and species as well as water quality and have developed Maintenance Dredge Protocol Documents (MDP) for the Port of Liverpool and the Port of Sheerness.
The MDP is a baseline document that collates all dredge activity in the port (both Peel Ports and third party) to assess any potential effects of maintenance dredging on the features of European sites.
Our up to date MDPs for the Port of Liverpool and the Port of Sheerness and their supporting Water Framework Directive (WFD) Assessments can be accessed below:
