As we draw closer to the day the Planning Committee decide on the future of Spurn it has been interesting to note the points made in both the public comments section and then wider media and comments made at meetings about the Visitor a Centre, communications mast and associated parking arrangements,and the restrictions that go with it).
I have read every comment posted in the public comments section, and what has struck me is the amount of depth, detail care and passion that has gone into those offering their objection to the VC. Whether it be from residents, regular visitors, professionals and informed individuals it is clear that the case for not putting the VC in the preferred place is a strong one.
As a statement of fact (statements of fact by the way have been hard to find in the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust supporting documentation) those who oppose the centre far outweigh those who are in favour.
The Yorkshire Wildlife Trust wrote to all its 33,000 members on January 22nd.At the time of writing just 25 people have voiced their support, of which 15 of those were a copy and paste from an e-mail from Sir John Lawton YWT Chair and RSPB president in the last 2 days.
If this is not a clear and unequivocal message that YWT,'s own members do not even support the VC then I don't know what is.
Having read both the letter from YWT and the e-mail from Sir John, I can only conclude that both were a vain and desperate attempt to drum up some much needed support.
Fair play, however to the 15 people who took the time to copy and paste Sir John's cleverly worded letter of support- it must've taken at least 30 seconds.
One side that has not been strongly represented is that of sea anglers.for as many years as I can remember hoards of sea anglers have quite willingly contributed the access to the peninsula whether it be for bait digging or angling.There is a strong argument to say that sea anglers have made the biggest contribution than any other group over the years(and I say this as an avid sea angler who has fished at Spurn for the best part of 40 years).
I can also say that there was never any demonstrable sign of investment back in sea angling from the YWT.
Surprisingly, the new proposals do not cater for sea anglers in any shape or form.There will be a limit to numbers of parking places, a limit on opening hours and most importantly a restriction for disabled or less agile anglers imposing an extra walk all of which is tantamount to discrimination against the very body of people who have so faithfully supported the trust by monetary contribution over so many years.
The way that the YWT has gone about this whole process for me has been so disappointing. The very people who support the YWT whether it be anglers or people interested in nature have not been considered, indeed neither has Spurn itself a quote from Sir John in his desperate rallying call
"As many of you may know, Yorkshire Wildlife Trust have recently submitted a planning application to East Riding of Yorkshire Council for the construction of a new visitor centre at Spurn Point. For YWT, this is extremely important. "
Not Spurn
Not wildlife
Not local people
Not the very people who have supported the trust over the years.
Make your own decision the comments page is here https://newplanningaccess.eastriding.gov.uk/newplanningaccess/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=makeComment&keyVal=NZJYUBBJILC00
Filey Brigg
I was up early this morning and away to Filey Brigg and managed to get on the end before the sun was up!
I checked briefly for the scarce ducks that had been reported but I really wanted to get to the end for hopefully some good photo opportunities.
there were a few common gulls and waders on the way out but nothing caught my eye.
Once I got to the end, there was noticeable activity from gullimots, the odd gannet and red throated diver and more common gulls.
Cormorants and shag were passing by quite close and a solitary purple sandpiper flew to the very end on the rocks that had only just been exposed by the ebbing tide.
As the sun got higher I decided to walk bak, I figured that with the sun behind me there would be a better chance of picking out the ducks.
i had almost given up when I saw scoter like bird close to the rocks but it must have seen me as it was making a bee-line straight out.
On closer inspection, it was indeed the surf scoter.
Then as I looked to the right another close in duck this time the long tailed duck.
This initially swam out but after a while came back in close and at one point swam past only 20m away.
A very chilly and breezy morning but very worthwhile photographing one of my favorite ducks in good light and lively conditions.
Kumliens Gull
After last weeks unsuccessful attempt for the Kumliens Gull at Barmston, I had better luck yesterday.
The tide was on its way out and there were plenty of mussels to feed on.
At first there was no sign but I walked north for around 500 yards and then almost on cue it flew from the south and landed almost right in front of me.
For the next hour or so it performed nicely feeding with other gulls and a few common waders.
The near gale force wind and freezing temperatures just added to the fun!
