Regulation 8(4) of the Offshore Marine Conservation (Natural
Habitats, &c.) Regulations 2007 requires JNCC to compile a
report that describes the representations made about the proposals
to include offshore sites on the list of areas eligible for
selection as Sites of Community Importance under Council Directive
92/43/EEC ('the Habitats Directive'). The reports produced from
previous consultations are available.
From December 2007 - March 2008 JNCC held a consultation
on the first seven offshore SACs. Five of these sites were
submitted to the European Commission on 31st August 2008 and are
now
candidate SACs. Two of these sites were not
submitted to the European Commission in 2008 and remain
possible SACs. JNCC are currently working
with Defra to resolve issues that were raised during the
consultation. The seven sites consulted upon were: