Letters which really give a clearer understanding of issues

This was an open letter written to the Editor of the Observer series of newspapers and printed on the 30th. March 2017. It was written by Angela McTavish, a concerned resident of Pagham and is reproduced here with her kind permission.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR -    BOGNOR OBSERVER, CHICHESTER OBSERVER,  MIDHURST & PETWORTH OBSERVER  PLEASE

POLLUTION OF PAGHAM HARBOUR

Dear Editor

Last Thursday (23.3.17) the Times carried an article by their Environment Editor headlined ‘Thames fined £20m after flooding river with sewage’; this item has also been carried on TV and radio news. Following the prosecution brought by the Environment Agency, the judge at Aylesbury Crown Court said that the punishment ‘has to get the message home’ that the water company must protect the environment.

How strange, then, that in West Sussex a smaller-scale case seems to follow quite different guidelines.  Residents of Pagham and those concerned about the environment both locally and nationally have been shocked to learn that Southern Water has released excess untreated or mashed sewage into Pagham Harbour via Pagham Rife 55 times since 2011. In this case these incidents have merely been recorded by the Environment Agency over a six year period. The implications are serious for Pagham Harbour, for the health and welfare of the local community and for visitors enjoying the amenities of the area, which include those normally provided by the adjacent beaches.

The importance of Pagham Harbour itself cannot be underestimated: it is an RSPB nature reserve, well-known to visitors throughout the country. It is also a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), and was given this award in its original application because ‘it is of national importance for wintering wildfowl and waders and also for breeding birds both within the Harbour and the surrounding grazing pasture.’ Furthermore it has recognition as a Ramsar site, a designation given to wetlands of international importance by a world-wide convention which first met in the Iranian resort in 1971.

The public would imagine the highest levels of care are being maintained by the agencies responsible and have generally been unaware until now that the sewerage system is unfit for purpose. It is obvious that the building of a projected 1,300+ new homes in Pagham, the majority adjacent to the Harbour and beaches, can only exacerbate the situation enormously. This plan is going ahead with only the bravest opposition. Before the first foundations are laid, I can only trust that many other voices as wise as the Aylesbury judge’s will be raised.

Angela MacTavish    

Pagham Road

BOGNOR REGIS               

It is interesting to now read on as ......

This was a letter of objection sent into ADC by Mr. R. M. Lord (copied to Jim Weston) who used to be Site Manager for the Pagham Harbour Local Nature Reserve working for WSCC. It is the perfect explanation for a subject area we probably all are quite vague on .. how to protect the birds and their environment.

Dear Sir/Madam

ARUN DISTRICT COUNCIL

PLANNING APPLICATION – P/140/16/OUT

I am writing to object to the proposals outlined in the above planning application.

Having been a resident of Selsey during the 1980s and working for West Sussex County Council as Site Manager for the Pagham Harbour Local Nature Reserve, I know the area very well and the importance of open fields to the north and east of the sea wall.

The area of land proposed for housing is part of the wider area away from the designated site boundaries which is used by waterfowl which breed, feed and roost in Pagham Harbour Local Nature Reserve.

The core area of tidal land, as well as areas surrounding this, is part of the Site of Special Scientific Interest, designated under the Wildlife and Countryside Act (1981) (as amended).  This is also regarded as a site of international importance, being also designated a Special Protection Area (under the EU Habitats Directive) and Wetland of International Importance (Ramsar Site) in March 1988.  I was present at the declaration in London (along with The Wash in Lincolnshire/Norfolk) at this time, feeling very proud that a site I had been part of, holding such a variety of wildlife, had been recognised internationally.  I believe these designations are now under threat.

What is also vitally important to wildlife (particularly migratory and over-wintering waterfowl) are “buffer-zones”.  These are areas of land (usually farmland which remain undisturbed for a large proportion of the year) immediately outside the “core areas”, which are vital for roosting and feeding when disturbance (human or otherwise eg pollution) threatens their well-being on the designated site.

Any housing development adjacent to, or within a few hundred meters of the area designated, will have a detrimental impact on the wildlife, for which the site is of International Importance.  Pagham Harbour and the surrounding farmland are regarded as part of a European Marine Site.  As such, Local Authorities need to exercise their functions so as not to compromise the favourable condition of interest features in the long-term.  Regulation 33 Advice from English Nature (now Natural England) in the past made special mention of disturbance to migratory birds.  Under the Habitats Regulations it states that the Environment Agency will be required to undertake an appropriate assessment if significant effects are likely from such disturbance, because of increases in pressure from the public.  This assessment is required to assess whether or not there is an adverse effect on the integrity of the site.

Grassland, which is a sub-feature of the designated site, and surrounding farmland “buffer-zones”, is necessary to support migratory bird populations.  These populations require a suitable area capable of supporting the intertidal habitats which they rely on for feeding and roosting.  The most important features are:

          1. Current extent of suitable feeding/roosting habitat, and

          2. Minimal levels of disturbance

Some species, for which the site is designated, are dependent on non-intertidal habitat and feed and roost in marshy grassland and adjacent cultivated land.  This is true of all estuaries around the country.  Relevant authorities need to have regard to such adjacent European interests as they may be affected (almost certainly in this case) by activities taking place (increased levels of disturbance from adjacent housing) within or adjacent to the European Marine Site.

Any development places a strain on the local services.  It is likely that without massive investment in water treatment facilities locally, there is a danger that the run-off from extra housing as well as higher volumes of effluent (treated or untreated through accidental spills etc), will impact on the water quality in the European Marine Site.

It is incumbent on the Local Planning Authority in exercising its functions, to ensure that its actions (ie giving the go-ahead to a development so near to a special site, which will have a detrimental effect on the wellbeing of internationally “protected” species) do not render the site and associated habitats in unfavourable condition.

Whilst I appreciate the requirement placed on Local Authorities by Government to build more houses, and maybe a “generous” landowner has offered what they may regard as land suitable for housing as opposed to productive agricultural land (and all its benefits to wildlife), just because it is available does not mean that it is suitable for development.  There are many brown-field sites within Arun District Council’s area of responsibility, as well as farmland away from rich wildlife habitats, far more suitable for development than land adjacent to the internationally designated Pagham Harbour Local Nature Reserve.

Yours faithfully

R M Lord