21
RAINHAM MARSHES - A PERSONAL VIEW
The Rainham Marshes saga continues with
everyone awaiting the decision of M.C.A. in
America as to whether or not they will descend
on Rainham Marshes and destroy one of London's
largest S.S.S.I.s.
I can't help wondering how we can possibly be
in this position S.S.S.I.s are supposedly
Britain's most precious wildlife sites. They
have been defined as such by the Nature Con-
servancy Council, which is the government's own
appointed advisory body. Four thousand miles
away in America a handful of very rich men now
weigh up the pros and cons of their Rainham
development. They are not sitting there
discussing the Short—Eared Owls or the
Dragonflies. They are not discussing the
welfare of the people of Rainham. They are
talking dollars, maybe even E.C.U.s. What
will decide them will be whether or not there
is enough profit in the scheme or in their
terms will it be financially viable.
From my viewpoint as a conservationist, no
amount of profit for M.C.A. will compensate for
the loss of the marshes, the increase in
pollution and the horrendous increase in road
traffic that would ensue if they went ahead.
I believe that a long radical rethink needs to
be undertaken in Britain (one of the world's
most crowded countries) into all future
development and road building. I believe that
the countryside, the open spaces, the S.S.S.I.s
have all been grossly undervalued by poli-
ticians and planners ever since planners began