Chichester Harbour secures £250,000 from The National Lottery Heritage Fund to develop ambitious nature recovery plans
Chichester Harbour National Landscape has been awarded £250,000 from The National Lottery Heritage Fund to help develop plans to revive this treasured landscape.
Chichester Harbour, which borders both Hampshire and West Sussex, is the largest recreational boating harbour in Europe and internationally recognised for its array of birdlife and diversity of habitats. Yet the natural environment which makes it so special has been in severe decline for many years, due to poor water quality, overdevelopment of the shoreline and a lack of preparedness for sea level rise.
The project has been awarded funding through the Heritage Fund’s Landscape Connections initiative. Thanks to National Lottery players, it is investing £150 million over ten years to support long-term landscape-scale projects to boost nature recovery and connect more people to these treasured landscapes.
Chichester Harbour Conservancy and its partners have developed a long-term plan to address the ongoing environmental pressures within the landscape, and demonstrate coordinated action at scale to reverse the decline. The support for the Chichester Harbour Landscape Connections project will enable vital work to progress plans and apply for an additional larger grant to support delivery of a suite of restoration initiatives. Ultimately the project will re-naturalise Chichester Harbour, increase resilience to climate change and place the landscape on the road to recovery, benefiting both wildlife and people.
Stuart McLeod, Director of England - London & South at The National Lottery Heritage Fund, said: “Our landscapes are facing unprecedented challenges, from climate change to biodiversity loss, and meeting them requires people to work together across boundaries. It’s thanks to National Lottery players that through our Landscape Connections initiative, the Heritage Fund is helping foster new collaborations, bringing together landowners, farmers, communities and partners to restore nature and build resilience across some of the UK’s most treasured places.“
“The landscapes, habitats and natural environments we value are an important part of our shared heritage. The Chichester Harbour National Landscape project demonstrates the ambition, innovation and partnership needed to secure its future. This funding will lay the foundations for long-term, transformational change that will benefit both nature and people.”
Dr Richard Austin, Director of Conservation for Chichester Harbour Conservancy, said, “We are delighted to lead this inspiring project, which will deliver nature restoration at a landscape scale. We have ambitions to create new bird islands, new saltmarshes and to make better use of dredged sediment to support our nature recovery plans. At the same time, we want to adapt and protect our precious stretch of the King Charles III England Coast Path so it can be enjoyed by locals and visitors alike for generations to come.”
Cllr Iain Ballantyne, Chairman of Chichester Harbour Conservancy, said, “This is a landmark moment for us. Nature is fundamentally important to people, to health, to wellbeing. This award recognises the biodiversity crisis we are in, and the urgent need to reverse the direction of travel. There is no shortage of passion and commitment from Chichester Harbour Conservancy, its partners and from local people. This is an exciting opportunity to restore nature at a scale that is beyond our resources, reconnect people with the landscape they love and to create a lasting legacy for future generations.”
Chichester Harbour Conservancy are currently recruiting a Project Manager to help drive forward this wide-ranging programme of conservation work over the coming years. Please visit www.conservancy.co.uk for more information about the project.