‘Healthy harbours by 2030’, group agrees

A shared vision for healthy harbours by 2030 in Sussex has been agreed at a meeting hosted by Southern Water.

Senior leaders from 18 national and local organisations agreed that putting Chichester and Pagham harbours – as well as Langstone Harbour in Hampshire – at the heart of decision making, investment and action was key to ensuring future generations can enjoy the health and wellbeing, environmental and economic benefits of vibrant harbours.

A newly formed steering group will ensure the commitment to collaborate turns into action.

A charter to spell out clearly what continuous and significant progress will achieve this vision is to be developed.

The commitment to improve water quality and protect the precious natural habitats of the three harbours builds on the wealth of action and investment agencies around the summit table are already delivering.

First brought together by Southern Water in May, the recent meeting, independently chaired by Professor Sir Dieter Helm, an international expert on the sustainable use of natural capital, established action already being taken by individual organisations.

Anassessmentofthecurrent ecologicalstatusoftheharbours and factors contributing to their environmental decline will be available later this year.

This will bring together evidence from a wide range of sources and provide a shared evidence base to inform decision making that supports projects providing the biggest benefit to arrest and reverse the decline in the harbours’ habitats.

Another meeting is due to be held before the end of the year. Professor Helm said: “This is an incredibly exciting project. We are all agreed the status quo is unsustainable.

“It is fantastic so many different parties are willing to come together to focus on the harbours and ensure they are better when we hand them on to the next generation than they were when we inherited them.

“We have heard how much is already happening.

“Now we need to work in co-operation, break out of our siloes and map out the priority projects so that the funding and action comes together to secure the best environmental outcomes for the harbours and the local residents of today and into the future.”

Sue Beale, Kent and Sussex manager for Natural England, added: “Through collaboration we can focus resources and expertise towards ensuring the protection and preservation of the natural habitats found in the Chichester, Langstone and Pagham harbours.”