The Greater Brighton Economic Board has agreed to spend £10,000 towards the cost of renewing UNESCO biosphere status for the Living Coast.
The Living Coast Biosphere – which stretches from the River Adur in Shoreham to the River Ouse in Newhaven – was designated by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) in 2014.
Every 10 years, UNESCO requires those responsible for each biosphere to “take stock” and draw up a renewed strategy before applying for redesignation.
The Greater Brighton Economic Board – made up of council, business and education leaders – received a briefing about the biosphere, one of only seven in Britain, on Tuesday (18 July).
Living Coast chair Martin Harris told them how the project supported tourism, business and wildlife from the South Downs to the sea.
He spoke about the Changing Chalk project which includes the rewilding of Waterhall, in Brighton, and the Aquifer Partnership, which is spending almost £1.8 million on creating a “rainscape” at Moulsecoomb, to protect Brighton’s natural water supply.
Mr Harris, the former managing director of Brighton and Hove Buses, said: “We’ve had projects such as Changing Chalk which has, seen a whole range of activities from rewilding urban areas, bringing flora and fauna from the Downs back into towns and the urban environment.
“Critically important to us is water. We’ve been doing a lot of work with the Aquifer Partnership which was initiated through the UNESCO Living Coast process.
“We’ve attracted a lot of funding from UNESCO to the region to support our sustainable tourism strategy.”
Mr Harris said that the Living Coast was pulling together examples of businesses that have benefited from the biosphere reserve such as Slake Spirits, in Shoreham, and the Depot cinema, in Lewes.
He said: “The ability to support local businesses is key so we do encourage them to get on board with the UNESCO Living Coast Biosphere and tell their story through our media, our website and socials. We’d like to go further than that.”
Brighton and Hove City Council leader Bella Sankey praised the work carried out over the past 10 years and said: “Our Living Coast is one of the jewels in the crown of our city.
“We’re very keen to accelerate and rediscover our connection to the coast. Over the years, there’s been a separation – or not as much acknowledgment – of how important our coast is.
“We’re really pleased with the projects under way, like the kelp forest and others, and there is potentially more scope for sustainable eco-tourism in our region.”
Crawley Borough Council leader Michael Jones said that he was delighted to hear about the prospects that the board’s £10,000 could unlock for the region.
He asked if the reserve could be expanded further to reflect the board’s area, which extends west to Bognor. He mentioned the sand dunes at Climping, a site of special scientific interest (SSSI).
Mr Harris said that the review could include expanding the Living Coast beyond Shoreham to Worthing and the Arun district.
Adur and Worthing Business Partnership chair Andrew Swayne, a senior manager at the engineering business Ricardo, said that the £10,000 investment was a “no-brainer” for the board.
He said: “We have to support it. The return on this is massive in terms of tourism and employment.
“We would flex the boundary a bit. As a Worthing resident, we have great stuff, working next to one of the SSSIs at the River Adur. I think we should give it wholehearted support.”
Board members voted unanimously in favour of providing £10,000 towards the redesignation work and to work closely with the Living Coast to “maximise the collaboration opportunities where objectives and priorities align”.
Wah! £1.8m for a ‘rainscape’. Is this the same sort of thing as in Carden Avenue? That now looks like an overgrown dump.
File under virtue-signalling vanity project.
What an utter waste of time and money. Thought the virtue signaling would be over now Phelim and his Phonies were out of power.
What is the purpose of the Living Coast Biosphere, and what has it achieved quantitatively – how much has it increased biodiversity?
Living Coast and UNESCO biosphere has been a massive success for the city and helps to bring in more money from grants when applying for funding. Other cities are envious of our status. It stops our city from becoming a dump with no wildlife about. Definitely pays for itself.