Spurn-Who Cares?

I have always said (and maintain) that I accepted the building of the New Visitor centre as it was decided by due process. My biggest concerns have more being associated with the disregard for adhering to promises and obligations under the Planning Conditions and other legislation.

Given the rather surprising decision to ban me and others from entering YWT land at Spurn it prompted me to do some further checking of the documentation submitted as part of the Planning Application for the New Visitor Centre at Spurn. I have extracted some of the content from the Planning Conditions, Shadow Habitats Assessment and Biodiversity Enhancement and Monitoring Plans. These are important as they go into quite some detail as to how the special qualities of the site should be protected.

Who cares that the mitigation measures outlined in the Shadow Habitats Regulations Assessment, SSSI Impact Assessment and Biodiversity and Monitoring Plan have been implemented?

Lets examine some facts.

A few questions before getting into the detail;

Why has a Wildlife Trust not fulfilled its obligations relating to Mitigation on a site with the highest designations to a site we can impose (SPA/SAC/Ramsar/SSSI)?

Why has the local authority not fulfilled its obligations as the 'Competent Authority' in ascertaining that all measures listed within the Shadow Habitats Regulations Assessment have been implemented and ascertained that the European Site has not been impacted upon as a result of the development?

Why hasn't Natural England ensured that the protected habitat at Spurn has not been impacted upon as a result of the development?

Who actually cares?

The reason for the decision said that the VC would give better control over people accessing the peninsula.

Does it?

Reports have never been so high on incidents of motorcycles, quad bikes, people using drones, people accessing sensitive areas and people accessing with dogs. How does a visitor centre set back 100 yards from the road on to Spurn give better access control than a perfectly placed cabin that everybody pretty much had to walk by as they went on to Spurn? Someone came up with the idea of Roving Rangers. This idea has failed to the point that there will be a re-submission of an amendment to condition 10 where RR,s are mentioned. Who has checked that the VC gives better control over access? Who is ensuring that the VC gives better control over access? Who cares that control over access is clearly worse than it was before the Visitor Centre was built?

The reason for decision also mentions the Habitats regulations. I'll cover that further in this blog post.

The artificial light is mentioned numerous times within the Shadow Habitats Regulations with the potential to cause harm to birds and bats. So much so a Planning Condition was imposed to ensure compliance. Who has checked the design? Who has assured themselves beyond all reasonable doubt that the design is compliant and will not impact on the European Site? Who cares?

An extract from the SSSI Safeguarding Plan is below.

It states 'as part of construction works'. Well construction works have finished. It states one of the scrapes has already been completed. No it hasn't it was filled in when they started to pile up the rubble. It states that the second scrape will be completed as works are completed around the visitor centre. The field is STILL full of builders rubble.

Who has checked that the works as described within the SSSI safeguarding Plan have been completed?

Who cares that Well Field still remains full of builders rubble when it should have been developed as mitigation?

Well Field Full of Spoil & Rubble

Further text from the SSSI safeguarding plan regarding lighting.

Is the lighting low-lux?

Who cares?

Planning Condition 10 was imposed to minimise disturbance on Spurn.

Has the monitoring plan been agreed? No.

Is the idea of Roving rangers Working? No.

Is habitat management for curlew and Whimbrel happening in the Triangle? Well Field (within the triangle) is still full of builders rubble. At the last RDMG meeting it was agreed that the spoil in Well Field would be moved in the first 2 weeks in August. Is it still there? Yes.

Who cares?

An extract of the Shadow Habitats Assessment is below.

Has the Local Authority (as the Competent Authority) ascertained beyond all reasonable doubt that there will not be an adverse effect on the integrity of the European Site? Well the Unimog impacts massively on the dune system (named within the designation) and only on the last set of big tides the Unimog displaced 6500 Dunlin (also named within the designation) when it crossed the breach.

Is the Unimog being operated as described within the Shadow Habitat Regulation Assessment? No.

Has the Unimog got consent for its use from Natural England? No?

Who cares?

Track cut through dunes for Unimog Access

The Site is also (on top of all the other designations) a National Nature Reserve which should have its own Management Plan (a document produced by the land owner and commented upon by stakeholders and approved by Natural England). The MP format states that all National Nature Reserves should be managed with 'exemplar standards'.

There is currently no Management Plan in place for Spurn.

Who cares?

Section 1.31  states 'YWT does need to ensure that visitors are informed about the highly sensitive nature of the site'. Remember not everyone will go through the visitor centre.

The photo above is the entrance to the reserve. Where does it mention that Spurn is a European Protected Site? That is a Special Protection Area, that it is a Special Area of Conservation, Ramsar Site, or SSSI?

Where does it say in plain English that you are entering a Nationally Important Site?

Exemplar Standards?

The small print does this get the message across that you are about to enter a Nationally Important site?

Major review? Who has ensured beyond all reasonable doubt that the 'major review' has taken place? The last time I was there, there was no change in how you access the breach. Has anybody ascertained that the 'major review' has actually taken place?

Given that the shifting dunes, fixed dunes and sea buckthorn are all potentially damaged by the Unimog, who has satisfied themselves that these protected systems are not being damaged?

Or that the excavation works carried out after the last big storms to enable the Unimog to access the breach didn't damage habitat named within the designation?

Who cares?

SPA and Ramsar listed species (Dunlin) were disturbed from their roost by the Unimog taking people to a ghost walk on the point. The Unimog passed 4 times over high tide in one night.

Who cares?

Further mention of habitat creation in Well Field.

The prediction that disturbance could take place once the facilities were in place was rather prophetic.Bold statements on how staff will be trained to control noisy or disturbing activities. Is it happening?

See previous regarding lighting. Is the statement about light intensities being as low as is permissible with safety a true reflection? Where are the baffles, hoods and louvres? Who cares?

A summary of the risks and proposed mitigation is in the table below.Who has satisfied themselves that all risks have been identified, adequately assessed and mitigated for?

Who cares?

Is all mitigation in place?

Well I conclude that it is not all in place and by definition the effects on site integrity for all of the international designations cannot be ruled out.

Who's checked?

Who cares?

The number of Unimog trips is listed above. Is this reflective of the time table?-there are 9 trips stated for September and a quick check on YWT website will tell you that there are 20 trips planned for September. This on a Unimog that does not have consent for its use, arguably damages protected features and is listed within the SHRA as only having 9 trips in September.

Who is doing the checks?

Who cares?

Extracts below are from the Biodiversity Enhancement Plan.

More bold statements about effective visitor management.

Is it happening?

Who cares?

Well Field is full of builders rubble. The newly created 'wetland' on Clubleys field are nothing more than bone dry hollows in the ground. Surely Wetland means Wetland?

'Wetland' on Clubleys Field

Who is checking?

Who cares?

Who has checked that blackout blinds are being used in the Visitor Centre?

Wetland areas?

Are they?

Who's checking?

Who cares?

Are the bat boxes fitted on the Visitor Centre?

Who's checking

Who cares?

North Eastern Elevation

South Western Elevation

North Western Elevation

Are the Swallow, House Sparrow and Tree Sparrow nests fitted?

Who's checking?

Who cares?

Is the large communal Swift nest fitted on the North Western Elevation?

Who's checking?

Who cares?

Has a barn owl box been installed?

Who's checking?

Who cares?

Has the reptile hibernacula, egg laying habitat and invertebtate tower been installed?

Who's checking?

Who cares?

It would appear that 10 out of the 13 enhancements as listed within the Biodiversity Enhancement and Management Plan have not yet been installed.

I find it quite incredible that people have made important decisions based on the content of these documents. Why hasn't anybody checked to ensure that all the commitments were fulfilled? Its a European Site with Internationally Protected Species we are not messing about here.

Who cares?

Everything stated in this blog post is factually correct to the best of my knowledge. Thanks for reading.

Spurn in Late August

I thought I would have a ride through to Spurn this morning to get a few hours in before the predicted rain came.

Starting at Kilnsea Wetlands a cracking short eared owl was on a post on the way round to the hide-what a great start. Not much doing on the wetlands so made my way around to Beacon Ponds. Quite a few waders flitting around as well as a mixed bag of terns in various plumages. Good opportunities for photographing birds into the sun. As the sun rose the light became less intense so I made my way back to the car-not before a peregrine falcon powered through scattering waders everywhere.

Next stop was canal banking a cracking fly through merlin was another good bird for the day then one of my favourite common migrants - whinchat  were perching up on the grass and ummbelifers in the ever increasing wind. A walk tp the breach produced another good bird-a hobby probably on the hunt for hirundines with an earlier kestrel it was nice to have a '4 falcon day'.

Given the weather forecast and the unfavourable winds I had yet another great morning out at the Uk's premier wildlife watching site.

Mixed terns on Beacon Ponds

Short-eared owl Kilnsea Wetlands

Little egret-Beacon Ponds

Little egret-Beacon Ponds

Redshank-Beacon Ponds

Whinchat-Canal Banking

Merlin-Canal Banking

Roe Deer- Canal Banking

Whinchat-Canal Banking

Whinchat-Canal Banking

Meadow pipit-Triangle

Whinchat-Triangle

Hobby over the breach

A Blueprint for Spurn...

Given all the recent publicity regarding Spurn I have been in discussion with a few other people and gleaned some thoughts on how all of this energy could be channelled in a more positive direction.

Firstly, there is something big at Spurn. It is special and it is unique in Europe, probably the World. People care dearly about the place and they want to be involved. They want to be a part of it. They feel that they have something positive to contribute for the betterment of this magical place.

Some of those people are experts in their field whether it be birds, biology local history whatever. All of that specialist resource is on the doorstep and surely it could be channelled such that those ‘experts’ could contribute in managing and promoting Spurn.

The biggest problem with Spurn at the moment (in my opinion) is the perception that the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust don’t care about the place.

It is easy to understand why people may think that way, for example;

YWT submitted a planning application for a new visitor centre that had a communications mast right in the middle of a migration flyway.

Then they pursued a Visitor Centre in a very sensitive location, where (arguably) other sites were available.

They admitted themselves that they got their engagement and communication wrong in the lead-up to the last planning submission.

YWT struggled with the implementation of measures to comply with  Planning Conditions.

They failed with statutory compliance regarding the sewage discharge.

There has been an apparent increase in dog walkers, motor cycles and people entering sensitive areas.

Thousands of metres of barbed wire remain in place despite assurances it would be removed.

Spurn Bird Observatory Trust has been banned from scientific study of birds (despite the fact they have been there for 70 years).

People have been banned for voicing the concerns on how things are being managed at Spurn.

There is no Management Plan in place (despite this being a specific requirement of Natural England) nor is there a timescale as to when it will be ready.

There is no consent in place for the use of the Unimog. This despite a requirement by Natural England to ensure that works or activities that may be detrimental to features within an SSSI should have a Consent Agreement. Only yesterday the Unimog went over the breach at high tide because (apparently) the YWT were hosting a Ghost Walk at the point.

Well Field remains full of builder’s rubble when it should have been developed and enhanced as mitigation for the land used by the New Visitor centre.

Quite frankly there is no wonder people are cheesed off with the YWT. The perception that the YWT don’t care about Spurn is reinforced by the points I have made above.

From a YWT perspective, they have a flagship reserve, a brand new building and they have a team of decent people down there who want to make it work and who care passionately about wildlife conservation.

At some point in time no doubt a line has to be drawn, let's suppose that the YWT have a change of heart. 

So what needs to be done?

How about a plan  for Spurn that (as a starter for 10) could pull together all the complex issues that are associated with such a magical place?

Here goes;

The first thing that needs to happen is that the YWT need to show some compassion. A complete change of heart that acknowledges how much people genuinely care about Spurn. Let’s harness their energy and passion instead of banning them. This was actually suggested in YWT’s latest correspondence to me, so I see this as a flicker of light at the end of the tunnel.

YWT NEED TO SEND OUT A MESSAGE TO THE  SPURN COMMUNITY AND THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THEY ACTUALLY CARE ABOUT SPURN.

Then (as hard as it might seem) there needs to be an agreement to forget what has happened in the past and a further agreement to commit to working for a much brighter future at Spurn. Without this nothing will happen.

For anyone who knows Spurn they will recognize that it is a complex site with lots of things to be considered for its effective management and as such requires detailed planning, good governance and effective communication.

So let’s start with a vision (for example);

At Spurn there is something big, something to be proud of. Something to get really excited about. To get people engaged and to work together people need to feel part of it not be excluded from it. Let’s get all those who care about Spurn working towards one vision.

So what needs to be done in order to achieve the vision?

There needs to be a Mission to deliver the Vision.

Re-build trust and relationships

Ensure statutory compliance

Establish priorities.

Management of the reserve

Partner organisations

Interest groups 

Local and wider Spurn Community

Governance

Communication and Education

Currently there are no positive messages coming out of Spurn only negative ones. The Yorkshire Wildlife Trust have suggested that all the good they are doing is being undermined by the massive amount of negativity. If they are doing some good they do need to tell us about it because currently I don’t know of any ‘good’ that is being done at Spurn.

The banning of 5 people who care passionately about Spurn is arguably the biggest communication and brand disaster so far. The first step to creating some kind of harmony down at Spurn is for the message to come out that the YWT actually CARE about Spurn-that they genuinely and wholeheartedly care about the place. This should be backed up by a robust plan that says WE CARE ABOUT SPURN AND HERE ARE THE REASONS WHY.

It appears to me that there is no mechanism for the different groups who visit Spurn to share ideas and work together. Everyone 'ploughs their own furrow' so to speak.

The way I see it, is that all of those groups of people who love going to Spurn (YWT included) form part of 'The Wider Spurn Community'. Its just at the moment it doesn't feel like a community. In order to create that sense of community, a key requirement is to bring all of those groups together 'under one roof' so to speak. Giving people a voice, listening to their views and acting upon them  could be the way to start forming some much needed productive relationships.

When I say relationships what I mean are solid, genuine relationships built on trust with people working towards a common vision. That in itself requires detailed planning and a lot of hard work. Relationships currently are at an all-time low and are still heading downwards.

Bringing people together for the greater good of Spurn is the first step to delivering The Spurn Vision. Clearly this would help spread awareness and go a long way to promoting and protecting some of the features that make Spurn so special.

Taking all of the needs for everyone (statutory compliance or otherwise) is clearly a complex matter that would require detailed management and strong leadership.

 Some of the wildlife protected under the SSSI is very specialist and clearly a well-structured and advised plan needs to be implemented so that all of the species listed within the SSSI have practical measures in place to ensure their full protection. The Plan can then be communicated to the management team and indeed to the wider Spurn Community. 'This is what we will do together for the greater good of Spurn'

The general management of the reserve is  the responsibility of the YWT, however there is a clear need to improve the control of dog walkers, motor cycles and walkers entering sensitive areas and it is important that the overarching priorities of managing a SSSI should take precedent.
There are plenty of stakeholders who can all bring a heightened level of expertise. With such a complex place with complicated issues, expertise is required.
I'd look at Spurn as an ongoing live project. That project should be managed by a senior leadership team-that brings all of the expertise together to deliver the Spurn Vision.
Once established, and again sticking with priorities there needs to be a major communication exercise. Communication of the Management Plan to the Spurn management team and the experts who will help nurture and maintain the fragile environment and its inhabitants, and also communication to the Spurn community.

From my experience at the Spurn Liaison Group meetings it appeared to me as though the YWT want to keep everybody at arms length. They didn't want to use the passion and the expertise that is there. Lets just drop the barriers and start talking, start listening and start acting!

But wait a minute-a format for this type of plan already exists.

Spurn is a National Nature Reserve (NNR). All NNR’s should have a Management Plan in place within 1 year of gaining its NNR status. An extract from the Natural England Standard is here

1:0 About this standard

Background
National Nature Reserves (NNRs) include some of the best examples of England's wildlife and geology. 
NNRs were established under the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949, which specified that they were for "preserving flora, fauna or geological or physiographical features of special interest in the area and/or for providing opportunities for the study of, and research into, those features". The Natural Environment & Rural Communities Act 2006 extended the role of NNRs to include the provision of opportunities for public enjoyment of nature and/or open-air recreation. The 'three pillars' of nature conservation, research and access are fundamental to NNRs. 
Ninety-five percent of the area covered by the NNRs comprises Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs). Natural England has important statutory duties and roles on SSSIs that are set out in its Strategic Standard for SSSIs. Natural England's statutory duties and roles in relation to NNRs

Section 35 Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981allows Natural England to approve other organisations (Approved Bodies) to manage NNRs. Natural England will use this standard to ensure that potential Approved Bodies understand and have the capabilities needed to meet the standard at a specific site. 
The Natural Environment White Paper (2011) and Biodiversity 2020 set out the policy context for managing NNRs. In particular, there is a need to: manage sites better; coordinate management across sites at a landscape scale; and strengthen the public's connections with the natural environment. 
Working with the NNR Partnership, Natural England promotes England's NNR series and helps facilitate the exchange of information across the series. This is done by agreeing shared standards across the series with other NNR managers, by facilitating the exchange of learning, and by promoting understanding and support for the NNR series amongst government and the public. Natural England provides a contact point for each NNR managed by Approved Bodies to support these functions.

The Standard is broken down into 9 sections and my comments against each which are as follows
1. The NNR series will seek to represent the best places for England's biodiversity and geodiversity. Its Spurn- unique in Europe. The most magical place on the planet.
2. A management plan for the NNR will be kept up-to-date and will reflect the requirements of this standard. Not done. The original MP has not been updated and there is no timescale for the first draft.
3. The management of designated features and the wider reserve is exemplary. Not happening. Unimog damages the dunes and birds are disturbed. How are other species and features protected?
4. The NNR contributes to safeguarding and restoring ecosystems beyond its boundaries. Arguably (for example) barbed wire on land managed by YWT outside the reserve could be reduced/removed in light of the recent deer incident.
5. The management of the NNR provides opportunities for public enjoyment, quiet recreation and engagement. It appears to me that barriers have been built not bridges. It’s time for those barriers to come down.
6. Research into the natural environment at an NNR is promoted and knowledge is shared. Bird monitoring and ringing has been stopped after 70 years.
7. Communities and stakeholders are involved in the management of the NNR. The purpose of this blog post is to suggest something to make this happen.
8. NNR managers will work collaboratively to promote the NNR series and wider goals.
9. NNRs will support opportunities to demonstrate exemplary conservation management to others. In order to make this happen. In my view the standards currently being achieved do not get any where near exemplary. The fact that no Management Plan is even in place is clear testimony to that.

It is very disappointing that currently there is no Management Plan in place and there is no timescale for the first draft to become available. It does bring in to a wider question Natural England's role in all of this. 

My thoughts on a solution are simple.

YWT need to start showing they care and to re-build relationships, and as a product of that there needs to be some trust.

They need to bring everyone who has an interest in Spurn together and at least give them an opportunity to have a say in how the reserve is managed.

There needs to be a plan in place (The Management Plan as required by Natural England would be a good place to start).

There needs to be monitoring of the Management Plan, governance, leadership and accountability.

This need to be wrapped up in an ongoing communication plan that keeps everybody informed.

Without something positive happening, the people who love Spurn (YWT included) will just keep going their own way and paths will only cross when there is something negative to shout about.

Spurn for me is the greatest place on the planet-the least we can do is start working together to protect and promote it.

So there you have it. A starter for 10 for a Blueprint for Spurn.

What are you, YWT and Natural England going to do about it?

Everything stated within this blog is factually correct to the best of my knowledge.