The Lincolnshire Bird Club

I heard on Calendar this evening that the RSPB and Natural England have reached agreement with the developers of the proposed wind turbine construction site at Killingholme over the impact of the development on birds and wildlife.

Does anybody have any knowledge about the practical impact of this and in particular will Dave Bradbeer get some kind of additional managed habitat out of it in the Grimsby area?

A report in todays Grimsby Evening Telegraph covers the story some more, but does not put much meat on the bones.
Mike Surr

Not seen any details Phil, i assume GPC will know more.

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Regards, DJB. http://bradderscleebirding.blogspot.co.uk/

I saw something on e-mail from the Lincs Wildlife Trust regarding a proposed managed realignment project for Donna Nook which was shelved last year (see below).

1. Donna Nook Managed Re-alignment Public Inquiry

Last year, Environment Agency plans for managed realignment at Donna Nook were rejected by East Lindsey District Council. The Agency has appealed and there will be a public inquiry later this year. Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust strongly supports the Humber Flood Risk Management Strategy - a package of measures which provide protection to people and property but not at the expense of wildlife. Coastal squeeze means that inter-tidal habitats along the estuary are shrinking as sea level rises and hard defences for Cleethorpes, Grimsby and Immingham are maintained. There may have been an increase in saltmarsh in recent years, but this has been at the expense of mud flats. If replacement of inter-tidal habitat within the southern part of the outer estuary does not happen soon there will be legal challenges under the European Habitats Directive. Donna Nook, being adjacent to a nature reserve, is a good site for realignment and has already been acquired by the Environment Agency. Seeking a new site would take a long time and would undoubtedly be more expensive. All representations sent to ELDC last year will be forwarded to the Secretary of State. However, if you did not respond at the time, or wish to reinforce your original position, there is an opportunity to comment directly to the Planning Inspectorate. This can be done on line via: http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/pcs * Click on "comment on an appeal" then "search for a case"* Insert case reference - 2143399* Click on "case reference" and then "comment on this case" Comments must be received by Tuesday 8 March 2011. There was considerable opposition to the original proposal so there is value in demonstrating that this view is not held by all. A simple comment on the website will show that there is local support for ensuring that the future of the internationally important wildlife of the outer Humber is not jeopardised. For background information about why the Wildlife Trust support the scheme see our press release from December 2009:http://lincstrust.org.uk/news/press-release.php?article=392

To answer my own question, having spoken to Terry Whalin last night it seems something very interesting is in the pipeline but it is not a done deal yet so we will have to wait for an announcement. The Donna Nook realignment proposal shows that the course of these proposals is not smooth. Lets hope Dave's dreams come true.