Local MP Sheryll Murray has welcomed the news that a Committee has met under the Chairmanship of Rame Parish Councillor Edward Shaw.
The aim of the committee is to find solutions for the dredged spoil from Plymouth Harbour. It was recognised at the meeting that dredging is essential to the future viability of the harbour.
In a statement after the meeting Sheryll said, “I am pleased that the first meeting has now taken place and there is a reported willingness on all sides to work together to find solutions to this problem.”
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Notes to Editors
Below original press release.
For further information please contact Sheryll’s office on 01579 344428
Groups original Press Release
DUMPING OF SILT OFF RAME HEAD COMMITTEE GETS TO WORK
Friday the 24th of June the first meeting was held in Millbrook Village Hall by the newly formed committee that was set up last month to look at the practice of dumping dredged materials from the Plymouth harbours and Tamar estuary into Whitsand Bay, just off Rame Head. The agreed scope and aim of the committee will be ‘to explore realistic options and alternatives to the current practice of dumping in Whitsand Bay’.
The practice of dumping dredged silt in Whitsand Bay was temporary suspended after years of local campaigning and a well attended and much publicised beach protest last year. As a result of this the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) were asked to hold a review into the current practice. They concluded in March of this year that it was ‘compliant with law’ but realised that there remained ‘local concerns which need addressing’.
The formation of this committee is seen by all as a real step forward in trying to end the current stalemate situation as this is the first time that nearly all the stakeholders sat together at the same table. Present at the meeting, which was chaired by Rame Parish Councillor Edward Shaw, were two representatives of the relevant Plymouth Harbour Authorities, two members of Cornwall Council, representatives from the MMO, Cornwall Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authorities (IFCA), Natural England and two representative of the local community.
The committee will operate under Chatham House rules, which means ‘participants are free to use the information received, but neither the identity nor the affiliation of the speaker(s), nor that of any other participant, may be revealed’. It is hoped that this setup will allow for free and frank discussion.
All present at the meeting showed a genuine willingness to try to overcome the current perceived conflict of interests. They also committed themselves to finding real and realistic short-, medium- and long-term solutions to the outstanding issues and concerns. All agreed that the ongoing dredging of Plymouth harbour is essential. However, what to do with the waste material in a safe and sensible way for the environment and future generations to come will be discussed at length at follow-up meetings. The committee will meet bi-monthly for ‘as long as it takes’ and when necessary other relevant stakeholders (Environment Agency, Crown Estate, Plymouth Marine Science Partnership, etc.) will be asked to join the committee.