Southampton Water
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Southampton Water is a stretch of the sea north of the Isle of Wight and the Solent, in England. The city of Southampton lies at its most northerly point. Along its western shores lie the New Forest villages of Hythe and "the waterside", Dibden Bay, and the Esso oil refinery at Fawley.
Together with the Solent, Southampton Water is world-renowned for yachting.
The rivers Test, Itchen and Hamble flow into Southampton Water.
Southampton's emergence as a major port, and particularly as a port handling very large vessels, depended partly on certain geographical features of Southampton Water. Its depth, even in its undeveloped state, was generous; this depth of water has been increased over the years with comparative ease since the soft silt of the river-bed allows for easy dredging. An additional factor is the phenomenon of the "double tide", which is caused by the slowing effect of the Isle of Wight on tides entering Southampton Water. This results in unusually prolonged periods of high water which greatly facilitates the movements of very large ships.
Southampton Water is an estuary with major potential for land use conflicts. An area of urban development (the Waterside) runs in the narrow band of land between Southampton Water and the New Forest National Park. Villages such as Marchwood, Hythe, Dibden Purlieu, Holbury and Fawley have all experienced significant growth. Between Hythe and Marchwood, an area of undeveloped land - Dibden Bay - was the site of a proposed port expansion by Associated British ports. This was argued to be essential for the continued economic development of the Port of Southampton but the development was vigorously opposed by conservation groups. The intertidal marshlands of Dibden Bay have international significance (Ramsar status).
The planning enquiry eventually rejected the application from Associated British Ports recommending that the environmental value of the site could not be over-ruled when there were alternative sites for port expansion in southern England which had not yet been fully explored. The government accepted the recommendations of the planning inspector in April 2005.
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