Gower SOS Offshore dredging in the Bristol Channel from sand banks has removed over 100 Million tons of sand since the 1950's. The levels of sand on beaches is dropping, the fish stocks are getting less.
Is there a connection?
Does it affect me?
Can I do something about it?
Contribute here . . . . . . . Thanks to the WAG - more Gower beaches are now targeted to be destroyed - like Porthcawl and Port Eynon. Please write to your WAG rep or leader.
Wednesday, 22 August 2007
WAG decision - Dredge as usual - Politics first - Environment 2nd
Thanks to the WAG - more Gower beaches are now targeted to be destroyed - like Porthcawl and Port Eynon. Please write to Rhodri Morgan and Jane Davidson ( so called Environment Minister ) There will be an organised protest very soon.
6 comments:
Anonymous
said...
My mother who was brought up in Barry, 60 years ago, now tells me that she no longer goes to Barry island because mud is appearing on the beach. She has never known this in the past. Is there more money in sand revenues than tourism? Your legacy will not be forgotten. John Jones
""Goodbye Porthcawl, Barry next, then Gower." So the assembly/council have given the go-ahead for removing the Porthcawl theme park, and to allow the building of houses and shops along Porthcawl sea front, and to continue taking the sand from the beach by dredging the channel. Alluvial mud is already appearing on Porthcawl beach as the sand is drained away. Mud is also appearing on Barry beach, and houses are being built on its cliffs. And whatever happened to Lavernock? There's more money for the assembly in sand revenues and land deals than tourism. Goodbye Porthcawl. Goobye Barry. Goodbye beaches. Gower next. Building flats on Porthcawl beachfront will ensure that shoreline residents will not complain about the loss of tourism or notice the slow destruction of the beach, while the council will have plenty of new money in its coffers from land and sand deals. They expect few complaints. But what a catastrophy to permanently lose these natural assets, and to lose Porthcawl as an attraction. Never mind global warming, we cannot even look after our own back yard.
Jane Davidson My mother who was brought up in Barry and vists the beach says she will not go there anymore as there is mud appearing on the lower shore-line, spoiling the walk. She has never seen mud there before. These beaches have been here for hundreds of thousands of years. Where is the sand going? Why now and so quickly? Porthcawl is going muddy too. What are you doing to save the beaches? The sand will not come back you know.
Having just spent a fortnight with my grandchildren at my caravan in Port Eynon, I was very dismayed when I had to trudge 3 children, bags and baggage over to Horton to enable them to swim and paddle as there is now no sand at Port Eynon only stones, mud and peat. Am I correct in thinking that I should write to Rhodri Morgan to complain regarding the dredging which is taking place and therefore robbing us of our much loved sandy beaches
There`s no need to worry about the dissapearing sands at porteynon, horton, mewslade, fallbay, and other gower beaches that have been descimated by power wielding idiots of the so called welsh assembly. All they need to do is to replenish the sands over the coming winter months, ready for the 2008 season. If they can take it , then they can easily put it back. Problem is though, which one of them has got the common sense to do it?
Dear John Thank you for your request, do you have any ideas of what you would like to organise. There is no official membership and being in support of Gower SOS is a voluntry afair. We would like every one who supports the stopping of inshore dredging at Helwick bank Gower, to contact their MP AM & MEP and ask them to stop this action and demand a formal reply. Also ask them not to quote in there reply any research carried out by groups funded by the dredging industry as has been the case of recent enquiries at the NAW who granted a new licence on the basis of that research. If you would like to be more pro-active than this by organising an event of some kind, please let us know, and we will put the infomation up on the website.
Ms Jane Davidson Minister for the Environment Welsh Assembly Government Department for Environment Sustainability and Housing Cathays Park Cardiff CF10 3NQ
18th September 2007
Dear Ms Davidson
Application by Llanelli Sand dredging in Area 373
I am writing in response to the Government View and the report by the Inspector for the above application.
Mr Nield, was the Inspector who advised the Welsh Assembly Government on the Nobel Banks dredging application. He made assumptions based on evidence provided and paid for by the dredging company that the sand loss from Port Eynon was connected to the dunes and not to the Helwick sand bank. The evidence presented at the time I believe, was uncontested. The Gower SOS and other interested parties did not make representations at the Nobel inquiry as we believed that dredging further out to sea was preferable to the inshore dredging off Port Eynon point and if the Nobel licence was granted then there was no need to grant the Helwick licence. We did not expect the Inspector to prejudge the Helwick Bank Inquiry. The Inspector commented on and accepted the dredging company’s interpretation of the data for the Helwick bank for the Nobel Inquiry, by prejudging the Helwick Bank before its inquiry, Clive Nield could not be persuaded that this argument might be seriously flawed without looking wrong footed in his summation of the Helwick Public Inquiry.
It concerns me that the Inspector acknowledges that there is little evidence to show what relationship there is between the Helwick sand bank and the beach at Port Eynon (3.3.1). This lack of evidence, as he points out, is due to a lack of research. Because of this the inspector recognises the difficulty in anticipating the affects of increased rates of dredging, he is not confident that it would not effect sand levels on the beach, and therefore does not recommend an increase in the annual rate of dredging. The Inspector uses the lack of evidence and, the supposition by the dredging company with regard to the sand dunes, as a basis for allowing dredging to continue. (3.3.1) This appears to be a compromise of the interpretation of the phrase “lack of evidence”
A lack of evidence due to a lack of research is a decision based on ignorance. The research into the interaction of sand between Port Eynon Horton and the Helwick Bank and the role of the bank in coastal defence must be carried out by a company not associated with the dredging companies and paid for by the Welsh Assembly Government before dredging is allowed.
The Welsh Assembly Government have had several years to conduct their own research into the relationship between the bank and the beach. They have at their disposal a major University on their doorstep to involve in developing a research project. In their failure to initiate the independent research necessary they are guilty of a failure to protect one of their biggest natural asset.
The dredging company is part of a multi million pound conglomerate; they employed the best lawyer in the country at the Public Inquiry. If the monitoring conditions are not completely watertight the dredging company will yet again run rings around the CCW, Swansea Council and the Welsh Assembly and circumvent any unfavourable monitoring results. The Inspector has dismissed the advice of DEFRA in the monitoring conditions, the WAG would be wise not to take the Inspector’s advice on face value, but listen to the environmental specialists at their disposal.
The people of South Wales and their Government and Councils also need to decide where they want their sand on the beaches, or used in the construction of innumerable shopping centres and second home apartments.
6 comments:
My mother who was brought up in Barry, 60 years ago, now tells me that she no longer goes to Barry island because mud is appearing on the beach. She has never known this in the past. Is there more money in sand revenues than tourism? Your legacy will not be forgotten.
John Jones
""Goodbye Porthcawl, Barry next, then Gower."
So the assembly/council have given the go-ahead for removing the Porthcawl theme park, and to allow the building of houses and shops along Porthcawl sea front, and to continue taking the sand from the beach by dredging the channel. Alluvial mud is already appearing on Porthcawl beach as the sand is drained away. Mud is also appearing on Barry beach, and houses are being built on its cliffs. And whatever happened to Lavernock?
There's more money for the assembly in sand revenues and land deals than tourism. Goodbye Porthcawl. Goobye Barry. Goodbye beaches. Gower next.
Building flats on Porthcawl beachfront will ensure that shoreline residents will not complain about the loss of tourism or notice the slow destruction of the beach, while the council will have plenty of new money in its coffers from land and sand deals. They expect few complaints. But what a catastrophy to permanently lose these natural assets, and to lose Porthcawl as an attraction. Never mind global warming, we cannot even look after our own back yard.
Jane Davidson
My mother who was brought up in Barry and vists the beach says she will not go there anymore as there is mud appearing on the lower shore-line, spoiling the walk. She has never seen mud there before. These beaches have been here for hundreds of thousands of years. Where is the sand going? Why now and so quickly? Porthcawl is going muddy too. What are you doing to save the beaches? The sand will not come back you know.
John Jones
Having just spent a fortnight with my grandchildren at my caravan in Port Eynon, I was very dismayed when I had to trudge 3 children, bags and baggage over to Horton to enable them to swim and paddle as there is now no sand at Port Eynon only stones, mud and peat. Am I correct in thinking that I should write to Rhodri Morgan to complain regarding the dredging which is taking place and therefore robbing us of our much loved sandy beaches
There`s no need to worry about the dissapearing sands at porteynon, horton, mewslade, fallbay, and other gower beaches that have been descimated by power wielding idiots of the so called welsh assembly. All they need to do is to replenish the sands over the coming winter months, ready for the 2008 season. If they can take it , then they can easily put it back. Problem is though, which one of them has got the common sense to do it?
Dear John
Thank you for your request, do you have any ideas of what you would like to organise. There is no official membership and being in support of Gower SOS is a voluntry afair.
We would like every one who supports the stopping of inshore dredging at Helwick bank Gower, to contact their MP AM & MEP and ask them to stop this action and demand a formal reply. Also ask them not to quote in there reply any research carried out by groups funded by the dredging industry as has been the case of recent enquiries at the NAW who granted a new licence on the basis of that research.
If you would like to be more pro-active than this by organising an event of some kind, please let us know, and we will put the infomation up on the website.
Kind regards
www.gower-sos.com
Ms Jane Davidson
Minister for the Environment
Welsh Assembly Government
Department for Environment Sustainability and Housing
Cathays Park
Cardiff
CF10 3NQ
18th September 2007
Dear Ms Davidson
Application by Llanelli Sand dredging in Area 373
I am writing in response to the Government View and the report by the Inspector for the above application.
Mr Nield, was the Inspector who advised the Welsh Assembly Government on the Nobel Banks dredging application. He made assumptions based on evidence provided and paid for by the dredging company that the sand loss from Port Eynon was connected to the dunes and not to the Helwick sand bank. The evidence presented at the time I believe, was uncontested. The Gower SOS and other interested parties did not make representations at the Nobel inquiry as we believed that dredging further out to sea was preferable to the inshore dredging off Port Eynon point and if the Nobel licence was granted then there was no need to grant the Helwick licence. We did not expect the Inspector to prejudge the Helwick Bank Inquiry. The Inspector commented on and accepted the dredging company’s interpretation of the data for the Helwick bank for the Nobel Inquiry, by prejudging the Helwick Bank before its inquiry, Clive Nield could not be persuaded that this argument might be seriously flawed without looking wrong footed in his summation of the Helwick Public Inquiry.
It concerns me that the Inspector acknowledges that there is little evidence to show what relationship there is between the Helwick sand bank and the beach at Port Eynon (3.3.1). This lack of evidence, as he points out, is due to a lack of research. Because of this the inspector recognises the difficulty in anticipating the affects of increased rates of dredging, he is not confident that it would not effect sand levels on the beach, and therefore does not recommend an increase in the annual rate of dredging. The Inspector uses the lack of evidence and, the supposition by the dredging company with regard to the sand dunes, as a basis for allowing dredging to continue. (3.3.1) This appears to be a compromise of the interpretation of the phrase “lack of evidence”
A lack of evidence due to a lack of research is a decision based on ignorance.
The research into the interaction of sand between Port Eynon Horton and the Helwick Bank and the role of the bank in coastal defence must be carried out by a company not associated with the dredging companies and paid for by the Welsh Assembly Government before dredging is allowed.
The Welsh Assembly Government have had several years to conduct their own research into the relationship between the bank and the beach. They have at their disposal a major University on their doorstep to involve in developing a research project. In their failure to initiate the independent research necessary they are guilty of a failure to protect one of their biggest natural asset.
The dredging company is part of a multi million pound conglomerate; they employed the best lawyer in the country at the Public Inquiry. If the monitoring conditions are not completely watertight the dredging company will yet again run rings around the CCW, Swansea Council and the Welsh Assembly and circumvent any unfavourable monitoring results. The Inspector has dismissed the advice of DEFRA in the monitoring conditions, the WAG would be wise not to take the Inspector’s advice on face value, but listen to the environmental specialists at their disposal.
The people of South Wales and their Government and Councils also need to decide where they want their sand on the beaches, or used in the construction of innumerable shopping centres and second home apartments.
Yours Sincerely
Susan Kent
Gower SOS Co-ordinator
Cc Edwina Hart
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