The Conservative MP for the Isle of Wight Bob Seely, put forward a written question in Parliament yesterday (Thursday) in relation to the Solent.
It’s not clear why he asked the question, perhaps is related to the classification of the cross-Solent ferries or government funding, he’d asked,
“Whether the Government classifies the Solent as (a) an estuary or (b) open water.
It’s a Strait – except when it isn’t
John Hayes, Minister of State (Department for Transport), replied,
“The body of water defined as The Solent is neither classified as an estuary nor as open-water. The Solent is a strait that separates the Isle of Wight from mainland England.
“For the purposes of safe navigation and equipment requirements for ships, the Solent is classified as Category D waters, defined as ‘tidal rivers and estuaries where the significant wave height could not be expected to exceed 2.0 metres at any time’.”
The Category D area of The Solent
Researching this story we found an official definition of where The Solent’s Category D area is, and as it’s quite fun, calling on church spires, we thought we’d share it with you.
“Inside the IOW within an area bounded by lines drawn between the church spire, West Wittering, to Trinity Church, Bembridge, to the eastward and the Needles and Hurst Point to the westward.”
From a document of the Solent & Southern Harbour Masters Association.
What’s behind the question?
We’ve asked Bob why he raised the question with the minister and will update here when we hear back.
Image: © Parliament TV
