I'm on my soap box. Why? Spare me five minutes of your time and I'll tell you, (but hurry, time is running out!)

The Helwick Bank is a sand bank running along the South Gower coast between Port Eynon and the Worms Head (Rhossili). At the Port Eynon end it is about 1km off shore and at the Worms Head it is about 4kms off shore. Sand has been dredged from the Bank since 1964. Between 1964 and 1993 approximately 750,000 tonnes of sand was removed, since 1993 about 100,000 tonnes of sand has been removed per year.

Local concern over sand loss has prompted a public inquiry and the issue that has been put to the Planning Inspectorate is whether to grant a 15 year licence to Llanelli Sand Dredging Ltd to dredge up to 300,000 tonnes of sand a year from the Helwick Bank.

Nobody can dispute that the South Gower beaches act as a magnet for tourists, surfers, water sports enthusiasts, family beach holidays, dog owners and walkers. Each year thousands of people come to Gower and with the decline in the farming industry, many of my neighbours and friends have had to diversify from farming, into tourism. In some cases they have had to stop farming altogether and they rely solely on tourism for their income.

The beaches of Horton and Port Eynon have been most severely affected. The once typical “bucket and spade” beaches are now much bereft of dry, golden sand and the ancient forest that lay preserved, beneath the sand in Port Eynon has broken up and washed away.

In 1992, John Major, who was then Prime Minister, signed up to the Precautionary Principle which basically is the idea that if the consequences of an action are unknown, but are judged to have some potential for major or irreversible negative consequences, then it is better to avoid that action. The principle can alternately be applied in an active sense, through the concept of "preventative anticipation", or a willingness to take action in advance of scientific proof of evidence of the need for the proposed action on the grounds that further delay will prove ultimately most costly to society and nature, and, in the longer term, selfish and unfair to future generations.

This precautionary principle has been interpreted in a number of different ways in terms of application, but what I say is this:
I know that tides and storms and seasons affect sand levels, but logic tells you that when hundreds of thousands of tonnes of sand is removed from somewhere, that sand disappears forever. It doesn’t just simply re-appear as if by magic overnight. If the Gower beaches are affected then tourism will be affected and not only will we lose a really beautiful place in the world, (the first Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in Britain, no less!) but real people, families that live and work on Gower will lose their livelihoods.

Incidentally, you may be interested to know that the current dredging company is Dutch owned. The Netherlands will not permit dredging within 25km of their coastline – so how stupid are we then, in the UK???

If this dredging is allowed to increase and Gower’s beaches become nothing but rock pools, how will we bring the sand back in 15 years time? I’m getting down from my soap box now, so you can take over – it’s your turn.

So what do I want you to do?
Unfortunately, the deadline for the submission of evidence has passed as the public inquiry has now taken place and we are waiting for the results. Some visitors to this web site chose to air their views online. These can be found below.

Related links:

Further information on dredging in the UK can be found by visiting this website http://www.marinet.org.uk/mad/brief2.html

Because the inquiry is probably the last opportunity for a generation to halt dredging from the Helwick Bank, the Gower Society has joined with SOS (Save Our Sands) and others, in a public appeal to help with the costs of mounting a proper case at the inquiry. Gower Society SOS Fighting Fund click here

The Gower Society's Save our Sands website http://gowersos.keyframe.net/