At Rye Harbour Sailing Club on Tuesday May 14, Tor Lawrence, CEO of Sussex Wildlife Trust, hosted a drop-in event for anyone interested in asking questions about the Rye Harbour Discovery Centre project.
The Discovery Centre is a joint project between Sussex Wildlife Trust and the Friends of Rye Harbour Nature Reserve. It will transform people’s engagement with the special natural environment and wider heritage of the nature reserve and will be a fantastic resource for thousands of visitors.
Tor and a number of other key people involved with the project were available to welcome members of the public. The panel included some of the Baxall Construction team, Dr Barry Yates, Manager of Rye Harbour Nature Reserve, Project Manager Steve Gilbert, Alan Martin from the Friends of Rye Harbour Nature Reserve and Appeal Director Kim Deshayes.
A number of plans and images of what the centre will look like were available for viewing.
Sussex Wildlife Trust staff members included Tim Smart (Membership), Emma Chaplin (Communications Officer), Lucy Bowyer, Alexis Pym and James Duncan (Learning and Engagement), all of whom welcomed those who came, offering leaflets and information packs.
We were pleased to welcome Councillor Sally-Ann Hart, and volunteer Anne Yates provided excellent and much-appreciated refreshments.
A total of 56 people came to the event, some from Rye Harbour Village, a few from further afield (some were on holiday), and feedback included “We learnt a lot”, “We’re looking forward to seeing it”, “Sounds great, everyone explained things really well”.
Tor Lawrence said: “Overall, we feel it was a successful event and we’d like to thank everyone who took the time to attend. We were asked a variety of interesting and pertinent questions, and we also listened to some concerns. We appreciated Baxall Construction staff’s professionalism and detailed support with a range of building related questions.”
Anyone interested in learning more about the Discovery Centre can request a monthly newsletter to keep them posted about build news, sightings of some of the outstanding wildlife at the reserve, and ways to donate to the appeal.
Image Credits: Emma Chaplin .
As Rye Harbour village is already gridlocked by summer traffic, how on earth will it cope with the influx of extra visitors expected? No thought for the people who actually live in the village.
Exactly right. It’s going to turn a bit peaceful heaven into a hell on earth, not just for residents but for visitors. Why? What about air quality? Noise pollution? Parking when the public car park is full? Do Rye Harbour residents have a right to quiet enjoyment of life and property?