Letter: Vanishing Resource

Sir – i have further information for you about the subject of dredging (“Petition over Gower dredging plan”, Western Mail, August 14).

Dredging in the Bristol Channel has been going on in various guises since 1950 and sand is currently extracted from just the Nash Bank at a rate of one million tonnes a year. This sand is then sold, mostly to the construction industry as its quality is far superior to sand from other sources.

Although WAG sources deny it, this is having a serious environmental impact on our coastlines. Sandbanks provide natural sea defences and without them our beaches are subject to accelerated erosion. This means that we lose our beaches which not only has a dramatic and detrimental effect on the tourist industry but more worryingly, a detrimental effect on the food chain.

There is evidence that, of the remaining sand resource in the Inner and Central Bristol Channel, 11% to 12% may be extracted by the dredging industry by 2015. These resources are not replaceable as most of the sand was created by and deposited by glaciers in the last ice age and there is no other natural replenishment system in place despite WAG implying that it is replaced by river deposits.

One only needs to use common sense to see how harmful dredging is and with thousands of people uploading their personal experiences, observations and pictures to “Gower SOS” and other internet sites showing the sandy beaches of yesteryear compared with the scoured rocks of today, we see an obvious trend; you don’t need to be a rocket scientist to work this stuff out!

I surf kayaks from Southerndown beach and have recently completed a cross -channel sponsored event from the beach to Porlock Weir. Evidence of beach erosion is painfully obvious; sometimes quite literally, especially with my lack of skill. WAG tells us that the sand will return with the smaller tides of the summer but locals and lifeguards say that its return is becoming later and less each year.

In years to come I want to be able to say to my children that I did what I could to stop this senseless destruction of the beautiful golden wilderness in which they play. To which end I would like to be of any assistance to you in bringing this travesty to public knowledge.

CHRISTOPHER EVANS

Head of Drama, Rumney High School

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