But now it was tourism that was vital to the area and it needed protection. He grew up in the area and his father was a herring fisherman for 40 years. “You cannot judge the scale of the millions of tonnes of sand that we have lost.” “It is definitely not improving the situation,” he said.
He also told the agency he wanted to be informed of any other aggregate dredging applications within the area.īorough councillor for Winterton, James Bensly, is also concerned about the application to carry on dredging. Mr Lewis asked for his objection to be properly considered and to be given a written response.
“Considering the seriousness of this concern, I therefore cannot support the continuation of an activity which could potentially add to the difficulties faced by vulnerable communities within my constituency.” In his letter to the MMO, Mr Lewis said: “Whilst I appreciate there is not a scientific consensus that dredging affects coastal erosion, there is considerable anecdotal evidence to suggest a relationship and I strongly believe that the continuing removal of material from sea, comparatively close to the coastline, could result in a disruption to the natural sediment flow, potentially creating further problems for coastal communities, either in Great Yarmouth or further along the coast. High tides and gales over recent winters have swept away tonnes of sand from the beach at Winterton, exposing old defences and taking chunks out of the dune cliff and there are concerns that it could have been made worse by the dredging just 9kms off the shore. If granted the licence will allow the company to take a maximum of 6,000,000 tonnes over that time. Tarmac Marine has applied to the Marine Management Organisation to carry on extracting gravel and sand from the sea bed for another 15 years when its current licence expires in September. GREAT Yarmouth MP Brandon Lewis has objected to an aggregate firm’s bid to continue dredging off the Winterton coast because of fears that it could be affecting coastal erosion in the area.
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