News - Page 2 of 6 - Goodwin Sands SOS

13 Sep

Possible WWII bomber discovered on the Goodwin Sands

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These remains of what appears to be a WWII bomber were discovered on the Goodwin Sands at the end of August 2018. A radial engine lies close by. Despite being surveyed twice by Dover Harbour Board’s archaeological contractor, this site was not identified as an aircraft crash site but as a ‘seafloor disturbance’.

The area of the seabed where this aircraft lies is about to be dredged to use as landfill for Dover’s new dock development. Goodwin Sands SOS is very concerned that other aircraft crash sites lying undetected in the dredge and buffer zones will be affected by the dredging. Military aircraft crash sites are protected under law and should not be disturbed in any way.

If you share our concerns about these sensitive sites, please email the Secretary of State for Defence, at gavin@gavinwilliamson.org or contact the Prime Minister via https://email.number10.gov.uk

Please visit https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/goodwin-sands-sos-stop-the-dredge to sign our petition against the plans to dredge the Goodwin Sands.

Thank you! The Goodwin Sands SOS team.

29 Aug

Lewis Pugh completes the Long Swim to highlight marine protection

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Lewis Pugh completed his ‘Long Swim’ today, swimming a total of 330 miles, the length of the English Channel from Land’s End to Dover.

Lewis reaches the end of his mammoth swim. Photo by Andy Ashenhurst.

The reason behind the challenge was to raise awareness of the necessity of better marine protection and he continues to highlight the planned dredging of the Goodwin Sands as a prime example.

Pugh wants at least 30% of the world’s oceans to be protected by 2030. The current figure stands at around 4%.

Among those to welcome Lewis at Shakespeare Beach today was the Environment Secretary Michael Gove MP and members of Goodwin Sands SOS.

Lewis has called on Michael Gove to intervene in the Goodwin Sands issue.

Environment Secretary Michael Gove greets Lewis Pugh at Dover. Photo by Andy Ashenhurst

Goodwin Sands is a perfect example of what I’m fighting for. It has been recognised for its biodiversity, its been set aside by government as a marine conservation zone and what we have is a company allowed to dredge the seabed and destroy the biodiversity marine life depends on.
Why is it that the economy also seems to be more important than the environment?
I’ll be asking the government to review this decision. If we carry on there’ll be nothing left for our children and grandchildren.
It makes a mockery of marine conservation in the UK.
Lewis Pugh

He said the Goodwin Sands decision was only looking for short-term problems.

Campaigner Fiona Punter with Michael Gove. Photo by Andy Ashenhurst.

Campaigners Joanna Thomson and Fiona Punter were on hand in the rain to pass Michael Gove a letter asking him to review the decision to allow the dredging by Dover Harbour Board. They also were interviewed during the day by Sky News’ Anna Botting.

Joanna Thomson and Fiona Punter being interviewed live on Sky News

Sky News’ science correspondent Thomas Moore has been reporting from the swim and appears to have been struck by the message.

There are 300,000 square miles of sea around the UK, but just three square miles are fully protected.
No drilling, no fishing, no exploitation whatsoever.
The rest of the Marine Conservation Zones (MCZs) are paper parks.
They look great on a map. But they offer little protection to marine life.
Take Goodwin Sands in the English Channel.
It’s one of the MCZs announced by the government on World Oceans Day in June.
The shallow gravel bank is an important habitat for sand eels, blue mussels and the rare Thornback ray.
It’s also one of only two haul-out sites in the south east of England for seals.
Yet Dover Harbour Board will be allowed to dredge three million tonnes of aggregate from the area to expand the port, tearing up the seabed that supports such a complex web of life.
What kind of marine protection is that?
Sky News Correspondent, Thomas Moore, from https://news.sky.com/story/sky-views-come-diving-mr-gove-and-see-the-state-of-the-oceans-11479557

Thomas Moore made a special report on the Goodwin Sands, including Joanna Thomson which you can view here: https://news.sky.com/video/lewis-pugh-uk-must-protect-marine-habitats-11484442

There is a further interview with Lewis covering the Goodwin Sands on the video on the following link – watch from 1:15. http://www.itv.com/news/meridian/2018-08-29/record-breaking-lewis-pugh-tells-all-after-330-mile-swim-from-cornwall-to-dover/

28 Aug

Lewis Pugh calls on Michael Gove to intervene in Goodwin Sands decision

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By Thomas Moore, science correspondent, Sky News.

After more than 100 hours in the water Lewis Pugh will reach Dover on Wednesday, the finish line for his extraordinary swim up the length of the English Channel.

The UN’s Patron of the Oceans has just three miles to go to Shakespeare Beach, the traditional starting point for cross-Channel swims to France.

He will become the first person to swim the 350 miles from Land’s End, wearing only Speedos, goggles and a hat.

Lewis Gordon Pugh, by Tessa Graham. Creative Commons.

He’s taken half a million strokes, burned 98,000 calories and been stung by countless jellyfish.

Lewis said: “I’m mentally, physically and emotionally exhausted. I have never done anything so tough in my life.

“But we are also excited. We can see the white cliffs of Dover and we are going to get there.

“It has been incredibly tough, especially when we were trying to get around Dungeness and we couldn’t several times.”

Lewis has been campaigning for 30% of the world’s oceans to be protected from damaging exploitation such as industrial fishing, mining and drilling.

He is angry that waters set aside as conservation zones in the UK have little protection.

Goodwin Sands, near Dover, was given protected status by the government on World Oceans Day in June.

The shallow gravel bank is an important habitat for sand eels, blue mussels and the rare Thornback ray. It’s also one of only two haul-out sites in the south east of England for seals.

Yet, Dover Harbour Board will be allowed to dredge 3m tonnes of aggregate from the area to expand the port, tearing up the seabed that supports such a complex web of life.

Joanna Thomson, who runs the campaign group Goodwin Sands SOS, said: “If we don’t stop the dredging now there will be nothing left.

“All the creatures are in the sand and is you start taking the top two metres off the sand there will be a huge ecological impact on the rest of the area.

“I know we can’t see it and out of sight out of mind, but they are there.”

The Port of Dover said Goodwin Sands is the closest and most economic source of aggregate for construction work in the Western Docks, expansion which will increase trade and jobs.

The independent regulator, the Maritime Management Organisation, ruled that the dredging wouldn’t “hinder the conservation objectives” of the protected area and gave the port the go-ahead to start removing aggregate from September next year.

But Lewis called on Environment Secretary Michael Gove to intervene.

He said: “Goodwin Sands is a perfect example of what I’m fighting for. It has been recognised for its biodiversity, its been set aside by government as a marine conservation zone and what we have is a company allowed to dredge the seabed and destroy the biodiversity marine life depends on.

“Why is it that the economy also seems to be more important than the environment?

“I’ll be asking the government to review this decision. If we carry on there’ll be nothing left for our children and grandchildren.

“It makes a mockery of marine conservation in the UK.”

He said the Goodwin Sands decision was only looking for short-term problems.

“What I’ve realised in 50 days of swimming is the depth of feeling about our oceans,” he said.

“I’ve received thousands of messages about the oceans, how important they are, how much they are changing by plastic pollution and over fishing.”

Lewis will reach Shakespeare Beach in Dover at 1.30pm on Wednesday and has invited members of the public to join him.

https://news.sky.com/story/white-cliffs-of-dover-in-sight-as-lewis-pughs-long-swim-nears-end-11484349

25 Jul

New evidence reveals Goodwin Sands shipwreck’s secrets

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Crew members of a ship which sank off the Kent coast more than 275 years ago have been identified.

Researchers used archive documents to name 19 of the 237 shipmen who were on board the Dutch ship the Rooswijk.

Among them were a senior surgeon, a 19-year-old on his first voyage and a sailor who had previously survived a shipwreck.

The vessel, which was carrying coins and silver ingots, sank on Goodwin Sandsin January 1740.

More than a thousand vessels are known to have been wrecked on the notorious sandbanks, dubbed “the great ship swallower”.

10 Jul

Meeting with Ms Trudi Wakelin of the Marine Management Organisation (MMO)

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Local MPs, Dover Town Councillors and members of Goodwin Sands SOS recently met Ms Trudi Wakelin of the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) in London to hear Ms Wakelin’s account of her visit to the Port of Dover in July 2017.

Goodwin Sands SOS had raised concerns of possible bias last October with Ms Wakelin when she visited the Port unaccompanied, took no Minutes of the meeting and did not meet other stakeholders interested in the dredging licence application.

The meeting at the House of Commons was chaired by Sir Roger Gale and also attended by John Tuckett, CEO of the MMO, MPs Craig Mackinlay and Charlie Elphicke, Dover Town Councillors Callum Warriner and Peter Wallace and David Steed, Fiona Punter and Joanna Thomson of Goodwin Sands SOS.

Ms Wakelin told the meeting how, as the newly appointed Director of Marine Licensing, she was prompted to visit Dover Harbour Board, who have applied for a licence to dredge 3 million tonnes of aggregate from the Goodwin Sands, following a meeting with Tim Waggott, the then CEO of DHB at a conference earlier in 2017.

Ms Wakelin assured those present in London that the visit was an informal opportunity for her and Mr Waggott to gain a better mutual understanding and that there was no issue of bias towards Dover Harbour Board. She confirmed that she and Tim Waggott did not discuss the controversial dredging licence application during her visit although they did visit DWDR to see its progress.

Ms Wakelin also explained that she had been brought into the MMO to improve the MMO’s reputation, which hitherto had been considered remote, impersonal and a ‘black hole’ for applications and the marine licensing process as a whole. She outlined the procedure involved for each submission including the fee structure and risk level rating.

Applications such as Dover Harbour Board’s that involve Environmental Impact Assessments attract fees up to a maximum of £999,000 and are risk rated Red, with Black being a recently introduced innovation. GWS SOS has asked the MMO which ratings applies to Goodwin Sands and are currently awaiting a reply.

Ms Wakelin confirmed that following a licence decision a full report is published detailing how the MMO arrived at its decision and the application is handed over to the appropriate regional office. It is this office’s responsibility to ensure that any conditions attached to the licence are adhered to and they have the authority to impose any sanctions as necessary.

Decisions on licence applications are all based upon evidence-led information received from the applicant and on advice given by the MMO’s statutory consultees, which include Historic England, Natural England, the Environment Agency, Cefas and JNCC.

The full Minutes of the meeting can be read here

04 Jul

Notable Supporter: Dr Bill Moses, MBE, MA

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Sands of Time

Regarded with awe, apprehension and yet reverence by seafarers over centuries, the Goodwin Sands constitute a rich mixture of maritime history, natural science and marine ecology as well as being a graveyard for so many brave, and for the most part, unsuspecting seafarers. Thousands of merchant and naval sailors of differing nationalities are buried there along with the remains of the wooden, iron and steel ships which remaining undisturbed, mark their graves.

Today the Goodwin Sands are a breeding and feeding ground for so many species of fish, crustaceans and seals to the extent that – if ever there was one – this is surely the definition of a Marine Conservation Zone. Put another way, it would be sacrilege if the Goodwin Sands were to slip the MCZ net.

The Goodwin Sands SOS team have done an excellent job in highlighting the need for conservation of an area of the English Channel that has remained untouched for centuries. There can be no commercial justification in seeing this area desecrated. At high water the Goodwin Sands disappear from view but we must not allow our maritime history and ecological future to disappear from our consciousness in a similar way!

Dr Bill Moses, MBE, MA – July 2018

Biography of Dr Bill Moses, MBE, MA – July 2018
Heralded as a guru of the shipping industry, Dr Bill Moses has considerable experience running successful and high-profile passenger and freight shipping businesses at local, regional and international level. With a career spanning over 40 years Bill has operated a wide variety of conventional freight and passenger ships as well as fast ferries. He now offers personal and expert advice to the wider maritime industry.

In 2008, Bill was awarded with a Member of the British Empire medal (MBE) by Her Majesty the Queen, for Services to the Shipping Industry and Charitable work.

Bill has a Master of Arts degree in International Maritime Policy and graduated in 2011 as a Doctor of Philosophy based on his extensive research entitled The Commercial and Technical Evolution of the Ferry Industry 1948-1987.

03 Jul

Notable Supporter: Author William Horwood

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The Goodwin Sands are one of the last true wildernesses of Britain – and by extension, of Europe. They are loved as much for what they represent as for the physical place they are. I was raised opposite them. When night fishing for codling from Deal’s shingle foreshore I often heard the roar of the rising tides across the distant Goodwins. Walking the chalk cliff path to Dover and back I could sometimes see them out there in the Channel, all greys and yellows ringed with white water. I knew some of the fishermen who worked the rich waters around them; men whose other job was often to serve in the Walmer Lifeboat to save the live sailors marooned on them. When I left Deal and began travelling to research and write I headed mainly north: to the Lakes, Northumberland, the Western Isles, Norway and Iceland. I never saw, nor heard of, a place quite like the Goodwin Sands. Not once.

So if they’re more than a place what is it they ‘represent’? For one thing, they are somewhere humans cannot stand for longer than it takes for the tide to come in. That’s a very humbling thing for a species that has destroyed so much: it’s a reminder of our impermanence. For another they are a still-living history that connects us to a past and present too easily forgotten, which we should always protect. No greater evidence of that forgetting, that losing touch with what we daily need, is the idea that we can treat them as a physical resource. The economic arguments for such despoliation, based as they always are on flawed and partial research, are by definition specious and absurd. We do not any more cut down ancient oaks because the wood is useful; nor do we willingly despoil mountains and moorland, wetlands and heath. We let them be, we cherish them, we honour them.

By simply being what they are day-by-day, tide-by-tide, the Goodwin Sands remind us that one of the greatest arts of being civilized is leaving well alone.

Campaigns like ours must always be fought and fought hard. My mother was one of those who fought the planners in the 1950’s who wanted to demolish the ‘slums’ of North Deal and replace them with ‘improved’ housing. She and her fellow campaigners won that fight – and the so-called slums became the Conservation Area it now is, to be enjoyed for generations to come. We must win our fight for the Goodwins, a place we need never visit to measure its value. It is here already, in our hearts and minds and spirits and it is immeasurable. In respecting such wilderness we respect ourselves.

William Horwood, author, November 2017

Biography

William Horwood was raised on the East Kent coast, mainly in Deal and Walmer, right opposite the Goodwins. After studying Geography at Bristol University, he became a teacher, trade journalist and Fleet Street reporter until his first book, Duncton Wood, was published in 1980. The Dunction Chronicles and later books including The Stonor Eagles, Callanish, Skallagrigg and the Hyddenworld series are all international best sellers.

His memoir The Boy with No Shoes is set in Deal, re-named ‘Stoning’ in the book. It was shortlisted for the Mind Book of the Year in 2005 and is a deeply moving account of a heart breaking childhood as the illegitimate last child of five. It describes the austerity and harshness of existence along the Kent coast in the post war years; and life in the simple, unheated fishermen’s cottages along the seafront that faces the English Channel and the Goodwin Sands. The warmth and hospitality of those men and women, their love of the sea and respect for the elements and wild places has stayed with him all his life.

William’s mother was amongst those who campaigned to prevent Deal from being ‘modernised’ after WWII by means of ‘slum’ clearances. This conviction and foresight led to the creation of The Deal Society and ensured that the town retained the character and charm that exists today.

William Horwood still has family in Deal and many connections with East Kent, often returning for and writing retreats. He has become a staunch supporter of the campaign to protect the Goodwin Sands from destruction by dredging.

08 Feb

ThePipeline investigate visit by the MMO’s Director of Marine Licencing to the Port of Dover

Dover Harbour Board, In the media, News No Comments

The investigative digital news magazine, ThePipeline has looked into the visit by Trudi Wakelin, Head of Marine Licensing at the Marine Management Organisation (the organisation responsible for the decision whether to grant Port of Dover permission to dredge the Goodwin Sands) to the Port of Dover in July 2017.

It has been suggested that Ms Wakelin’s visit was ‘professionally inappropriate’ and ‘…could potentially form a ground for a Judicial Review of any decision by the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) to grant Port of Dover a licence to dredge the Goodwin Sands’. It is reported that the visit took place at the invitation by the Port of Dover.

Trudi Wakelin wrote in her blog (https://marinedevelopments.blog.gov.uk/2017/10/16/trudi-wakelin-my-first-6-months/):

‘So far, I have visited many coastal regions. It has been great to meet major stakeholders to help them understand more about our marine management activities and get a deeper understanding of how we can best work with them.

A good example of this was my very constructive meeting with the CEO of Dover Harbour Board (DHB). He wanted to make sure the MMO has a good understanding of his business and how important it is to the local community. I went to see his operations and it was fascinating to see the piling rigs at work and the wider context of how he manages his ferry and port operations.

As an engineer by trade, it’s always of interest to me to understand how things work but it was even more fascinating to see the all of the logistical elements that go into the successful running of a port. It also gave the CEO comfort and reassurance that we were ready and willing to listen and understand him.’

ThePipeline investigated Trudi Wakelin’s visit in the Summer of 2017, where it is claimed she did not visit the DWDR (Dover Western Docks Revival) and the photos she took were ‘…during her travelling time.’ During their questioning, an MMO spokesperson replied:

‘Trudi visited Dover Harbour Board and as part of her visit saw piling rigs in action.’

‘She did not visit the DWDR project. The photos she took were actually not part of any visit or meeting but during her travelling time.’

ThePipeline voices the obvious concerns by campaigners that such a visit could be considered an exercise in partiality given the sensitive nature of the campaign, especially when she has offered ‘…comfort and reassurance…’ to DHB.

Although a meeting with Trudi Wakelin has been offered to the Goodwin Sands SOS campaign group and other interested parties, the MMO have proposed that the meeting should take place in London instead of locally as it was for DHB. Obviously this would cause difficulties for parties that have full time jobs and are members of a voluntary campaign but the MMO remains unmoved. As yet, no date for this meeting has been set despite repeated requests by Goodwin Sands SOS.

You can read the full post at ThePipeline here: http://thepipeline.info/blog/2018/01/30/goodwin-sands-row-mmo-director-of-licensing-held-unminuted-meeting-with-port-of-dover-ceo/

22 Sep

Dover Town Council Vote to Object to Dredging Plans

Dover Harbour Board, In the media, News No Comments

Dover Town Council voted to write an objection as part of the current public consultation process after a vote on Wednesday 20th September.

Article from kentonline.com:

A town council has cast a majority vote against dredging the Goodwin Sands.

Dover members vote nine against three to formally object to the plans in the current public consultation.

It followed a motion by Cllr Callum Warriner who is anxious to protect war graves in the area.

He asked the council to write to the Marine Management Organisation before the end of the public consultation next week.

In a speech to colleagues on Wednesday Cllr Warriner said: ”Disturbance to this area, even if it could be managed and monitored, cannot guarantee that the natural action of sea and tide will not disrupt and disturb those resting souls consigned to sleep forever in our shadow.

“I wish Dover Harbour Board every success in their efforts to bring regeneration and prosperity to the town,

“But I for one cannot sanction the potential destruction of our maritime heritage or the graves of our brave airmen and seamen.

“We have a duty to the people of Dover and Deal, the citizens of Kent and the nation at large to protect this unique and sacred site from unnecessary damage and disturbance.”

The decision also came after councillors had heard presentations from both the port authority and leading dredging opponents Goodwin Sands SOS (Save Our Sands).

Cllr Warriner is a 20-year-old politics student at Canterbury University who was voted into the Castle ward in a by-election last October.

Dover Harbour Board is applying to the government’s MMO for a licence to dredge a section of the Sands off Deal for its Dover Western Docks Revival development.

Fiona Punter, co-ordinator for dredging opponents Goodwin Sands SOS (Save Our Sands) said after the meeting: “We are absolutely delighted by this outcome, it is far more than we expected.

“We are extremely grateful to Callum and to all the councillors who voted to support him.”

GSSOS Campaign co-ordinator Joanna Thomson added: “This decision sends a very strong and clear message to the MMO that whilst the people of Dover want to see the regeneration go ahead they are not prepared to sacrifice our marine environment and heritage to achieve it.”

A Port of Dover spokesman later: “We are deeply disappointed and bemused by this decision from Dover Town Council.

“Throughout the licence submission we have been fully compliant with due process and have responded to all the Marine Management Organisation’s requests.

“The decision should be based solely on the evidence and facts put before it.”

The harbour board argues that it is only dredging 0.22% of the sands and it is needed to help provide jobs and regeneration for Dover.

The third public consultation on this ends at midnight tomorrow .

You can have your say by going online via the MMO public register at gov.uk/check-marine-licence-register.

Or you can email marine.consents@marinemanagement.org.uk.

www.kentonline.co.uk/dover/news/council-stands-against-goodwins-dredging-132573/

19 Sep

Sir Roger Gale MP condemns “cheapskate” plans to dredge Goodwin Sands

Dover Harbour Board, In the media, News No Comments

An MP has condemned a “cheapskate approach” over the dredging of the Goodwin Sands to make way for a major port redevelopment.

Sir Roger Gale has written a letter of objection to Dover Harbour Board’s public consultation condemning its plans to dig the area to cut costs.

Article from: http://www.kentonline.co.uk/dover/news/cheapskate-attempt-to-dredge-sands-132339/

He says there could be 2,000 ships buried there and tens of thousands of people, many in war graves.

The North Thanet MP’s letter – sent to the Marine Management Organisation – has been sent in response to the third public consultation over Dover Harbour Board’s application for a licence to dredge the sands for its Dover Western Docks Revival development.

He said: “I am not opposed to the development of the Port of Dover but I do not believe that a cheapskate approach such as that proposed can be regarded as acceptable in the context of our maritime and aviation heritage.

“I trust that the application will be rejected.”

The public consultation ends on Thursday, September 28.

Sir Roger says that having discussed the issue with port bosses he remains convinced that the digging would have a harmful effect on a site of enormous maritime archaeological importance and a civilian and war grave location.

He wrote: “Notwithstanding undertakings that wrecks of ships and aircraft have been identified and that the removal of further sand in ‘small quantities’ and ‘from the periphery of the site’ it is inevitable, given the shifting nature of the sands, that any such extraction will lead to a compensatory infill and the likely exposure of buried remains.

He added: “It is believed that there are some 2,000 ships and tens of thousands of people that have found their final resting place in the sands in addition to many aircraft.

“It is not acceptable that these should be disturbed except under properly controlled, monitored and recorded archaeological conditions.

“The proposals as submitted seem to me to take a cavalier attitude towards what is in very real terms part of our national and international heritage and I can find no evidence of any protocols in place to pay other than lip-service to the likelihood of an unanticipated discovery.”

Sir Roger said he believed that the attempt to dredge the sands is “driven solely by cost,” yet there are alternative sites as close as the Thames Estuary.

The MP had previously spoken out against the dredging, in a KM column for his constituency, last month.

Possible WWII bomber discovered on the Goodwin Sands

Lewis Pugh completes the Long Swim to highlight marine protection

Lewis Pugh calls on Michael Gove to intervene in Goodwin Sands decision

New evidence reveals Goodwin Sands shipwreck’s secrets

Meeting with Ms Trudi Wakelin of the Marine Management Organisation (MMO)

Notable Supporter: Dr Bill Moses, MBE, MA

Notable Supporter: Author William Horwood

ThePipeline investigate visit by the MMO’s Director of Marine Licencing to the Port of Dover

Dover Town Council Vote to Object to Dredging Plans

Sir Roger Gale MP condemns “cheapskate” plans to dredge Goodwin Sands

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