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Worm turns on Portland marina planners
03 Jul 2007
A protected species known as Armandia Cirrhosa, or the Lagoon Sandworm, lives in seabed areas affected by proposals put up by both organisations.
The ODA has applied to build boat park and slipways, while Dean & Reddyhoff want to build a 650-berth marina. Both schemes involve reclamation works in Portland Harbour.
These works would involve some loss of seabed, which would affect the habitat of the worm. As a result, there have been lots of talks with such groups as Natural England and the Environment Agency (EA).
Both Natural England and the EA are now happy with both developments after helping to produce a legally binding series of nearly 50 agreements and conditions for one or both schemes. The agreements cover everything from the sandworm and its seabed habitat to avoiding disturbance to birds spending winter in the area.
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