Representation by Bethany Burrage
- Date submitted
- 13 March 2021
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
Dear reader, I am making this submission to register as an interested party in this development and to express my opposition to what will be an ultimately disastrous project for the wildlife of Swanscombe Marshes. I am opposed to this development because of a number of aspects. The nature reserve is home to a wide diversity of wildlife and habitats, it supports over 250 invertebrate species, including the critical endangered distinguished jumping spider (Attulus distinguendus), which can only be found in one other site in the UK. It is also home to 15 species of red-listed birds of conservation concern. The wildlife across the UK and across the world is already in drastic decline and us as humans have been a huge driver in the decline, which is why myself and many people find it unbelievable that a theme park of all things has been proposed to be built on a site of special scientific interest. In addition, nature reserves have been proven to be a vital way for humans to interact with nature and as an important way for people to improve their mental well being. I would like to understand why anyone thinks this is a good idea. Why do we need a new theme park? and why does this need to be built upon a nature reserve? I think this appears to bottle down to the fact that the government's priority is and has always been economic growth above the environment. With the pandemic, it is understandable that restarting the economy is important, but this should not be at the expense of the environment. Regards, Bethany