Monday 8 December 2008

Which Old Fossil Will Win the Day?

A judgement (http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2008/dec/06/law) has been obtained in favour of an elderly ex-Engineer home owner (Peter Boggis) living at the Warrens (on the cliffs near Southwold in East Anglia) against Natural England. Natural England had extended the boundaries of a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) to include the cliffs below his home and had suggested that Boggis was not allowed to create 'soft defences' against the erosion by the North Sea (the sea has apparently claimed more than 2 miles of coastline in this locality since 1640) by dumping rocks and soil on the beach and using JCBs to pile it high. The judge (Tony Blair's brother) ruled that Natural England were supposed to use SSSI's to conserve rare plants and animals or geological features whereas they apparently wanted the sea to wash out the fossils in this area. He did, however, rule that they were behaving lawfully in terms of letting the sea take its 'natural' course in areas away from the cliff-based housing. He also gave Natural England leave to appeal.

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