P o w e r to
the
people?
PHOTOGRAPHS AND WORDS BY JADE JACKSON
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Dungeness is a large headland on the coast of Kent, formed largely of a shingle beach; sheltering the low-lying land of Romney Marsh. The area of land is one of the most important nature reserves in the United Kingdom, as well as being classed as the only desert. It is interesting to note that despite Dungeness being an important nature reserve, recognised and protected mostly through its conservation designations as a National Nature Reserve (NNR), a Special Protection Area (SPA), a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) and part
Residents of Dungeness then started to campaign against the proposals, they feared that the vehicles used to carry out the consturction would damage the precious eco-system that Dungeness is home to. As well as this, they were also concerned that by building this shingle sea defence, the area which had been growing as a popular tourist destination would decrease in popularity again. June Thomas comments for The Guardian; “You can’t expect anyone to come here when there are giant lorries constantly going up and down. It’s not safe.”
it is also home to two nuclear power stations. in operation. The site stopped generating at the end of 2006 with a lifetime output of 120 TWh and in July 2012 transitioned from the defuelling to the decommissioning phase. Dungeness B, is still in operation and has previously had its license extented until 2018; and with an output of 1040 MW. Dungeness B is capable of supplying over 1.5 million homes.
Despite all of this conteroversy, the proposal went ahead and the large shingle sea defence was built. I visited Dungeness recently and photographed the area including this sea defence. You can see the impact that the wall has on the landscape as it distracts alot from the surorunding landscape.
You may be thinking that the power stations would be a great concern to the locals of Dugneness and its visitors, however, recently there has been another pressing matter which has been a growing concern amongst the locals. The area of land is home to a large shingle beach which runs along the headland. , which was also seen as an eroding coastline. EDF and the Envrionment Agency proposed that a large sea defence would be built by recycling the shingle and piling it onto the eroding coastline in front of the power station. Previous to this, Anglers who come to Dungeness from surrounding areas for its cod petitions
over
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quarry
works
fencing,
1- The new sea defence barrier, Dungeness, Kent. 2-Fishermen along the shale beach, Dungeness, Kent. 3-Fishing boats line the shale beach, Dungeness, Kent. 4-Dungeness A & B behind the sea defence barrier, Dungeness, Kent. 5-A home in Dungeness, Kent. 6-Fishermans garden, Dungeness, Kent.
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