THE SHEPPEY CLIFFS AND FORESHORE BETWEEN WARDEN BAY AND MINSTER, ROUND HILL IS DESIGNATED AS AN SSSI (SITE OF SPECIAL SCIENTIFIC INTEREST)

Fly tipping here is a disgrace. Everything that is possible should be done to ---

1. Put a stop to this incredibly selfish behaviour &
2. Persuade the local Council to clean up the area.

( I have tried repeatedly to contact the local council with only frustrating results.
Nobody seems to be able or willing to address the problem and do something about it.
I am ashamed to say that the local authorities are completely useless,
or are turning a blind eye to the problem.)

View English Nature's citation for the SSSI at Sheppey(PDF)

These two little plants are part of the reason that Sheppey 's North Coastal cliff section was awarded SSSI status, Both are nationally rare and endangered species. The other reasons are geological. Click on the link above to view the SSSi citation.

April 2006 and more rubbish has been tipped over the edge at Hens Brook. The yellow brick in the foreround overlie small fridges of the type found in caravans. There are mattresses and various other caravan related objects. It is obvious that these are the waste from a local camp site. I have seen huge waste bins full of the rubbish generated on a campsite where responsible owners get rid of rubbish legally. The people responsible for this are breaking the law openly and the local Council are not doing anything about it. They are responsible after all As part of the deal they signed up to when the site was designated as an SSSI. If they are not prepared to clean up the mess, they should make every effort to catch these criminals and make them clear it up, or pay for the cleaning.

Motorcycle dumped into the sea, just off the bottom of the beach at Hens Brook. Another right, abandoned on the cliff. Sept. 2005

 

Fly tipping is becoming a regular problem on the island, when confronted a fly tipper who was throwing a quantity of branches and other waste over the cliff at Eastchurch Gap he tried to persuade me that bio-degradable rubbish was not fly tipping. It seems that he, with his friend have now upped the stakes. This concrete was dumped very recently. The photograph was taken 06-02-05. At Royal Oak Point and at Paddies Point, fly tippers have dumped a considerable number of old cars and vans. These will progress slowly down the cliff until they reach the beach, where they will become a hazard to walkers and pets.
These photographs were taken by my friend Jim Craig on Sunday 11th November 1990. The composite picture above is of rubbish and rubble systematically tipped over the cliffs at the Old Coastguard Lookout near to Barrows Brook. The authorities seemed powerless to stop it for several years and this is now all descended to the beach and is disseminated across over 1 kilometre of beach. This has resulted in the defacing and irretrievable damage of a most important registered site of special scientific interest and is one of the best locations in the world for London Clay fossils. Visitors to our island who see this today are astonished that this was allowed to happen. It will take many decades before this site restores to anything resembling its previous state. Sadly as can be seen in the picture at top of page tipping can still be seen along the Sheppey "Heritage Coast"
 

This is just the beginning for this page - watch this space for updates.

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