Desperately sad and sickened

On September 1 I thought I must have awoken from a terrible nightmare only to realise that Radio Sussex was on in the background and they were discussing the horrendous proposal of a marina at Rock-a-Nore and the fishing beach.

On realising it wasn’t a bad dream I instantly felt desperately sad and sickened that such an idea had been considered enough to hold further meetings.

We are so immensely lucky to have an area of such outstanding beauty on our doorsteps and I am disgusted that anyone would want to mutilate it.

This stretch of beach is an important fossil site and one of the only places outside the Isle of Wight that dinosaur bones can be found.

According to Natural England, Rock-a-Nore is also a site of special scientific interest, which means you can visit the site but hammering the bedrock is not permitted.

A feasibility study would have to be firstly carried out which could cost a huge amount of money.

The area is breathtaking an I am astounded that someone could be thinking what to do with it rather than seeing it as an asset in itself.

I noticed that the developer conveniently marked the beach from Rock-a-Nore to Ecclesbourne Glen as unusable, even though the only reason this part of the beach has no access signs is obviously due to health and safety.

It is an easy scramble down over the rocks to the beach, access it around the groyne and loads of people use it.

Throughout the year the beach can be packed with groups of like-minded people who flock there to swim. barbecue, take their boats out and generally socialise in a stunning setting.

The Motor Boat and yacht Club is a great place, where the average paid person can afford to keep their boat, instead of a marina full of luxury boats and expensive mooring fees.

Hoards of people flock to Hastings purely to visit the fishing beach and Rock-a-Nore and this area is photographed continuously due to how unique it is.

Using the fishing industry as one of the excuses to build this new development is purely sugar coating it to gain support.

The fishermen and their families have worked the beach for centuries and the amount of tourism and revenue they bring into the town is immense, so how about consulting with them on the matter first.

If they felt the extension of the harbour would assist them, surely it would be a good idea to get them involved in designing it.

Why would anyone believe that a modern marina, with housing and luxury boats, is going to protect them or attract more attention?

All it will do is rip the soul out of it and take away the very reason that people are so keen to visit.

I wonder how often Peter Chowney visits the Old Town, as there are days when you are continuously zig-zagging to get around the masses of people.

It also sadly appears that he has no appreciation of mother nature otherwise he wouldn’t event be contemplating the idea.

Sadly with rising parking costs from 7pm to 9pm and preposterous ideas like this awful development, many of us are losing faith in those who run our fabulous town.

Fortunately though, there are many of us who don’t want to see this piece of paradise destroyed for the future’s generations and who are absolutely heartbroken at the mere though of it.

Anyone with insight would realise you can’t enhance perfection, you can only scar it. So leave it alone!