Calls to stop dumping in Whitsand

Protesters fear for the future of Whitsand Bay

Legal action may be taken to stop dredged material being dumped in Whitsand Bay in Cornwall.

Campaigners claim the seabed is silting up with waste from the River Tamar, marine life is being killed and chunks of debris are being washed inshore.

Caradon Council is being asked to seek a court injunction to prevent the action from happening in the future.

However, a new report by a government agency concludes there is no apparent impact on the ecology of the area.

The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) commissioned the marine scientists at the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS) to investigate the site because of local concerns.

There's suffocation and throttling of the seabed Dave Peake, diver

The head of environmental management for CEFAS, Lindsay Murray, says there is some disturbance - or perturbation - of the seabed.

She said: "It's really what you expect on that site. So you do get some perturbation by putting dredged material on there but you're not killing off the area causing a huge adverse effect."

However, underwater photographer Dave Peake, who has dived in Whitsand Bay for 45 years, disagrees.

He said: "Towards the end of the summer we start seeing bacteria which grows where there is little or no oxygen, which I certainly believe is caused by the throttling of the seabed."

Legal challenge

Millbrook district councillor Sheryll Murray has helped organise a petition and a website dedicated to getting Defra to stop the dumping.

She said: "Apparently it is legally possible for Caradon Council to seek an injunction and, as far as I'm aware, the CEFAS report will have some bearing on whether this is taken forward."

South East Cornwall MP Colin Breed said: "What I think we need to do is to challenge Defra to say environment standards have risen and tourism is very important to Whitsand Bay and to the south east Cornwall area.

"Why do we have to continue to dump materials as we have done for decades? Why not dispose of it further out?"

In a statement, Defra said that it is reassured that the CEFAS report confirms that the required standards are being met, the marine environment is healthy and there are no threats to human health.