Update
When DEFRA consulted on the three options for Lyme Bay, Devon and Dorset Wildlife Trusts made a strong case for Option C – the statutory protection of the whole of the Lyme Bay Reefs – 60 square miles, less than 10% of Lyme Bay.
We believe that this is the right decision not only on nature conservation grounds but because it will help secure the future of sustainable local uses of the reef’s natural resources, valued at twice that of scalloping.
Summary of consultation responses
E-petitions - Email returns to Devon Wildlife Trust (DWT) suggest that around 3,000 responses to the consultation were made through the e-petition.
Standard letters and postcards - The DEFRA summary reports the number of standard letters and postcards received as a result of the campaign. However, these figures are not included in the detailed analysis of results and the summary does not mention which option for the future protection of Lyme Bay Reefs they support.
The total number of standard letters received by DEFRA was 41, the total number of postcards was 7,751.
Unique responses - The DEFRA summary reports a total of 108 unique responses remaining once the standard letters and postcards are removed. The table below sets out DEFRA's results for the number and percentage of unique responses supporting each of the consultation options - where Option C provides for full protection of the Lyme Bay Reefs. Further analysis by DEFRA shows that the 80 responses in favour of Option C include responses from all sectors: academic, commercial, individual, NGO, public body and recreational users.
This shows that a significant majority of those responding to the consultation support Option C and the full protection of Lyme Bay Reefs. THANK YOU to those of you who took the time to support the campaign!
Option
|
Number supporting this option
|
Percentage of unique responses
|
A
|
24
|
22%
|
B
|
2
|
2%
|
C
|
80
|
73%
|
None
|
2
|
3%
|
TOTAL
|
108
|
100%
|
The Wildlife Trusts response to the consultation is available here.
For further information please also download our Lyme Bay Campaign leaflet.