Representation by Bumblebee Conservation Trust (Bumblebee Conservation Trust)
- Date submitted
- 12 March 2021
- Submitted by
- Non-statutory organisations
Swanscombe supports a nationally important Open mosaic habitat on previously developed land, coastal habitats, grasslands, scrub and wetlands that have developed as a result of the site’s complex human history. It is an inappropriate site for a theme park. The Bumblebee Conservation Trust was funded through our project Making a Buzz for the Coast https://www.bumblebeeconservation.org/making-a-buzz-for-the-coast/ has used public money to safeguard rare bee populations by creating and restoring habitat and linking isolated populations together through the creation of flower-rich ‘stepping stones’ and habitat along the north kent coast. Our rarest bee is still at risk of extinction. Natural England have recommended Swanscombe be declared a Site of Special Scientific Interest- we must protect our most important wildlife sites from being lost. All of the information submitted to date is based on a site free of any designation. The recent notification of the site as a SSSI changes the baseline considerably and it is essential that the application be re-submitted. Although the SSSI is now subject to consultation, there is a statutory duty for it to be considered as a SSSI until the end of this process in July. This site is vital as one of the stepping stones fro the Shrill carder bee - our rarest bumblebee. We have an opportunity here to build on the few positives that the covid pandemic has provided - that nature - not theme parks - is what provides all society with better mental health and well being. In addition pollinators play a vital role in our lives. they contribute over £700 million per annum to the UK economy and in doing so prop up £108 billion per year food and rink industry in Britain. Our pollinators are in such trouble that we are currently importing 70,000 commercially farmed bumblebees from Europe into this country every year to support our soft fruit industry. Without them our diets, our health and our lives are less rich - and our food scarce and expensive with much less variety. When I was growing up my parents used to play a Bob Dylan song called ‘Who killed Davey Moore’ about a boxer who dies in the ring when he was just 30 years old. Each verse begins with some party – the coach, the crowd, the manager, the gambling man, the boxing writer the other fighter – answering the titles question ‘Who killed Davey Moore’. They each respond Not I…and then explain that they were just doing what it is that they do – writing about it, throwing punches etc. We too are doing just that what it is that we do: ensuring the largest political donors support our political campaigns; maximising profits; ensuring a high share price; living a comfortable life style; avoiding change; lazily buying back into the conceit that we humans are special. But sometimes, just doing what it is we do is sufficient to kill, not just Davey Moore, but everything. Everyone can…and should… do something to not simply to save these astonishing creatures and nature for their own sake – a good enough reason from my perspective, but for the continued health and wellbeing of the planet, our food security and our own futures.