Hurst & Keyhaven Coastal Nature Reserve Forum

The Hurst and Keyhaven area is one of the most highly protected coastal sites in the UK. It holds multiple designations including Special Area of Conservation (SAC), Special Protection Area (SPA), Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), and Ramsar Site - recognising its diverse habitats and internationally important wintering bird populations.

Yet despite these protections, there is little coordinated, on-the-ground management. Natural England oversees the SSSI, but no single body is responsible for the wider site’s day-to-day care.

In 2023, local conservationists joined the Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust for a site visit to Hurst Spit, to explore how best to protect the area’s precious ground-nesting birds during summer, and its internationally important wintering wildfowl populations. The visit focused on Hurst Spit, Mount Lake, and the surrounding coastal, farmland and marshland habitats extending to the Keyhaven River.

 This initial group whose focus was primarily on signage soon grew, and by April 2024, it had evolved into the Hurst & Keyhaven Coastal Nature Reserve Forum. 

The Forum brings together a range of stakeholders, with shared goals to support Local Nature Recovery, promote the area as a Nature Reserve, and realise the vision of a Bird Sanctuary for the future.

Since forming, the Hurst & Keyhaven Coastal Nature Reserve Forum has made real progress: