Undercliff
Defence CommitteeUndercliff
Defence Committee
About the Undercliff Defence Committee
The
Undercliff Defence Committee is a not-for-profit organisation, funded by
charitable donations and subscriptions, active through the individual voluntary
work effort of its supporters, with the following purposes:
To
encourage an informed and active interest in the local environment in both
residents and visitors, and in particular the preservation of the Undercliff
area at Niton, St Lawrence and Ventnor in the Isle of Wight.
To
work for the protection and conservation of the Undercliff area, its
tranquillity, landscape and natural resources, including water sources,
flora and fauna.
To assist in the protection of buildings and other relevant features natural or man-made, and to co-operate with other local and national bodies with similar interests.
To
support and encourage a sustainable approach to transport recognising in
particular the ground instability of the Undercliff area, and so far as
practicable to encourage the use of appropriate restrictions on vehicular
traffic, particularly of heavy vehicles, in the Undercliff area.
To promote and encourage the sustainable use of the Undercliff for the enjoyment of local people and visitors alike, notably through carefully managed rambling, cycling and field study activities in a way that benefits both nearby communities and tourists, thus providing further incentive for these people to become involved in the protection of the Undercliff and its future.”
The Undercliff Defence Committee was formed in early 2005 by residents of the Undercliff, Niton, St Lawrence and Ventnor to protect landscape, nature and water resources of the Undercliff, and to protect properties from loss of amenity, excessive traffic noise and settlement damage through drainage. It believes in a sustainable approach to transport recognising both the instability of the area and its environmental sensitivity, and advocates continual reinstatement of the existing road with traffic restrictions for as long as practicable given rapid cliff recession, backed up by use of the Whitwell Road. The Undercliff Defence Committee is also a member of the Isle of Wight AONB (Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty) Partnership.
The Undercliff Defence Committee strongly opposes Isle of Wight Council's A3055 road realignment and drainage scheme, which would damage part of the famous cliffs, remove much of the wooded scenery, damage a key section of the Compton Chine to Steephill Cove SSSI by divorcing much of the Undercliff woods from the Undercliff itself, destroying substantial areas of woodland and mature roadside trees, including much of the woods near Old Park Hotel, drying out large areas of the SSSI, and threatening the maritime SAC. There are known to be large populations of badgers, several species of bats, Red Squirrels, together with many protected plant, bird and insect species within the area, which is a wildlife corridor.
As a result, the Committee has mounted a high-profile campaign to force a rethink of this damaging scheme, highlighting serious shortcomings through its failure to adequately consider alternatives, damage to landscape, protected priority habitats and species, threats to the important St Lawrence groundwater source and to properties along the Undercliff and western Ventnor that could suffer from settlement as pumping permanently dries out the subsoil. To date, it has been refused a Public Inquiry, with approval in principle for the scheme being granted by the IWC's Development Control Committee on February 15th 2005, subject to certain habitat loss mitigation agreements and other legal agreements with statutory bodies being concluded.
The Committee has since met with a refusal by the Council to discuss legitimate concerns of residents, resulting in a series of formal complaints over both the failure to discuss fully impacts of the scheme and the content of legal agreements with statutory bodies signed in our name, and over apparent procedural irregularities in the handling of the consultation process. These complaints are ongoing, and having taken extensive legal advice the Committee considered it had little choice but to formally notify the Council in May 2005 of its intent to seek Judicial Review proceedings in the High Court to challenge the Isle of Wight Council's damaging scheme on what it believes to be a wide range of serious failings.
Even so, while the Committee is now confident it will succeed in the ongoing legal process, it has frequently and publicly made it clear that it remains open to any genuine offer of a constructive and open commitment to discuss alternative solutions and serious concerns relating to the scheme with UDC in preference to legal confrontation. This remains the case.
We always welcome public support in our fight to save the natural beauty, wildlife and heritage of the Undercliff and in our efforts to sustainably promote its natural assets for educational and recreational purposes, whether through donations or as a volunteer.
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Contact UDC: +44(0)1983 730455; +44(0)1983 856688
Email: post@undercliff.org