Protecting Beachy Head West: Why we challenged dredging in a marine conservation zone

 

ELF was contacted by Sussex Wildlife Trust who were deeply concerned about the grant of a licence which permitted maintenance dredging of Brighton Marina and disposal of the dredged material at Rottingdean disposal site.

This activity had historically been taking place for 45 years under previous licences. However, in 2013, the disposal site was recognised for its ecological significance and designated as part of the Beachy Head West Marine Conservation Zone (MCZ) under the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009. This designation was made (and later amended) in order to protect ten different types of habitats and their associated species and two species of conservation importance, being native oyster and short-snouted seahorse. The disposal site is also part of the Brighton to Newhaven Cliffs Site of Special Scientific Interest.

The Trust disagreed that disposal of dredged material should be allowed to occur within an MCZ, which is already facing pressure due to other factors such as pollution and climate change. Dumped sediment smothers marine life, creates further pollution and disrupts nutrient, light and space availability. They submitted several objections alongside other large marine conservation charities such as Surfers Against Sewage, Blue Marine Foundation and Sussex Underwater. The Trust had coordinated a campaign ‘Stop Dumping on Our Reef’ urging the Marine Management Organisation to reject the application.

Despite these concerns, the MMO granted the licence in May 2025.  The licence allowed 100,000 tonnes of sediment, dredged from Brighton Marina, to be dumped year on year in this site of extraordinary value to wildlife.

Sussex Wildlife Trust wished to challenge this decision in the Court so, with the help of Jessica Allen of No.5 Chambers, ELF sent a Pre-Action Protocol Letter challenging the legality of the decision on several grounds which challenged the MMO’s inadequate consideration of the ecological evidence. The case was then handed over to Rowan Smith and Lucia Perez at Leigh Day, who filed the claim.

Environmental designations serve no purpose if they do not prevent harm from taking place in the site they seek to protect. ELF will keep a close eye on the outcome of this case in hopes that the MMO will assess ecological evidence robustly and place sufficient weight on MCZ and SSSI designations when dealing with similar applications in the future.