Europe has now got us!!!

13 September 2005 

Dungeness has become an SAC!! Designation of Special Areas of Conservation or more fully Special Areas of Conservation (cSAC) under the EC Directive 92/43EEC on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora (Usually referred to as the Habitats Directive.  

All this became effective from 1st April 2005. This seems appropriate – April Fools Day. 

Do we really need all this waste of time and money? 

Talk is of all the indigenous plant life that exists here. Do they know what indigenous means? There was, apart from Sea Kale, no plant life here in the late ‘40’s and what growth has taken place has been largely due to the influx of new owners bringing with them there gardens and plants. The nuclear power stations built form the mid sixties formed an effective windbreak which assisted in the growth of plant life.  

‘Indigenous’ adj. occurring or living naturally in an area; not introduced; native!  

Where do they think the plant life came from in the last 50 to 60 years? It came from families creating there little gardens, bringing soil from Ashford with all the suburban plants. The soil then spread, Dickie birds dropped seed, the wind blew seed but without the soil brought to the barren beach very little plant life would have been given the chance to survive. 

Also severe fines are threatened if one dares to remove beach or indeed fill in sunken areas. This is considered spoiling the natural lines of the beach created over millions of years. Not strictly true as some of the erupted areas came about when 2nd world war shelters were blown up and in any event hundreds of thousands of tons of beach are extracted each year and transported to an area beyond the power stations. Does not this constitute damaging the natural evolutionary lines of Dungeness? Or doesn’t that count. In any event we would seem to be keeping over paid bureaucrats in gainful? employment both in the UK and Europe so it can’t be that bad. It would better preserve and serve Dungeness if some of their hard earned money were spent not on pontificating about the area but maintaining and cleaning the area regularly.  

And to top it all, locals in this and surrounding areas are having planning permission refused as the are is likely to flood in the next 250 years. If that is so then what are we spending so much money on preserving the wildlife or is it simply to preserve the pay packets of those on the ecological bandwagon? 

And whilst on the soap box re buildings and planning permission. If the likelihood of flooding is the only reason for not building then surely the decision to build is down to the owner and his bank balance. It is his money, why cannot he spend it and waste it if in 250 years time it will be washed away? And would it be still standing in 250 years time? Bureaucracy !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!