The meeting, held in Chichester Harbour, was attended by; the Chairs of the Environment Agency and OFWAT, the CEO of Southern Water, both the Leader and Chief Executive of Chichester District Council, representatives from Natural England, the CEO and Environment Manager of Chichester Harbour Conservancy and representatives of the Chichester Harbour Trust. John Nelson, the Chair of the Chichester Harbour Trust, chaired the meeting.
A comprehensive list of actions, in the immediate term, and then into the medium and longer term, have now been agreed, covering water quality, nitrates, habitat restoration and coastal management and much more. A follow up meeting has been arranged in December to give a progress update on these actions to ensure we keep up the momentum with this important work.
John Nelson, Chair of the Chichester Harbour Trust, said: “We arranged this meeting with a sense of urgency given the ongoing environmental deterioration that we are all seeing in the Harbour. We were very encouraged that all parties who attended approached the issues in a collaborative spirit and with a sense of renewed energy.”
Matt Briers, CEO of the Chichester Harbour Conservancy said: “Thanks to the detailed preparation ahead of the meeting we were able to agree a comprehensive list of actions on the day. These will help us to progress our collective aim of reversing the decline of our Harbour. The challenge is now to ensure these actions are delivered with vigour. We look forward to keeping our local communities up to date on the progress we are making.”
Thank you to all who took part for their commitment and enthusiasm in recognising the need to work together now to make the Harbour a healthier environment for wildlife and people to enjoy for the future.
Image credit: Paul Adams, Harbour Images
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