Newsletter No. 1

NEWSLETTER  No. 1 March 2008

Welcome to our first newsletter, which we hope to produce frequently. We would like to thank all of you who have shown interest in our organisation and especially those who have joined. Your membership is important to our cause and we hope that all of us together can bring about the changes needed in order to keep the Marsh safe.

Much has happened since the official  launch of DOC  back in January 2008. The most important news is the outcome of a  Stakeholders Liaison Meeting held on 13 February 2008 with the Environment Agency, in which it became clear that after years of putting pressure on various Government Agencies, with the help of our local Parish Councillors, the MOD , with the support from District and County Councillors and  our MP’s, it has now been announced that a ‘Hold the Line’ option for our stretch of coast is to be put forward for public consultation. This is a fantastic achievement and shows that past proposals for managed realignment along our  coast  can be overturned  with support from all of us. Your continued support will now become even more important during the Public Consultation of this scheme . The consultation is scheduled to start at the end of April or early May 2008 and will run for 3 months, during which time it is imperative that EVERYONE responds in writing to the proposal put forward.

Help us to enlist as many supporters as possible by spreading the word – it will be to everyone’s benefit. Too often people think that their voice doesn’t make a difference but it really does and by not taking part we all end up running the risk of not having a say in the  future for our  Marsh. Public awareness is vital and we shall continue to publish  any news in the local papers to keep people informed about progress.

The recent storms coupled with high tides have drawn much needed attention to the vulnerability of the present state of  sea defences here on the Marsh and with your help we can secure a proposal best suited for all  our  needs . Funding our ongoing campaign plays an important part  in this and we are grateful for any support, small or large, so please pass on any information about DOC to all your friends or neighbours.

DOC has not been idle in the meantime. Members of the DOC Committee have recently attended a conference at Kent County Council in Maidstone held by the Council for the Protection of Rural England and much needed contacts were made there to further our campaign. We also attended an All Party Parliamentary Group Meeting at Westminster where we had the opportunity to introduce our Association to various MP’s and draw attention to our aims and objectives for the Marsh and its associated sea defence issues. We are delighted to report that our concerns were much shared by other communities affected by  similar sea defence issues and all of it has helped to raise the profile of DOC.

For those members with electronic mail facilities, we aim to publish updates on our latest news and this will enable us to keep you more up to date on our activities, but those without email facilities will receive a copy by post.  E-mail will allow us to keep down expenses and we hope that you will all understand this decision . It  enables us to put the much needed finances to better use.

If there are any matters which you would like to discuss or to receive  information about us, please contact our PR/Press Officer, Brigitte Bass, Tel: 01797 225255 or email doc.romneymarsh@yahoo.co.uk.

For donations,  subscriptions or membership issues please contact David Donohoe (Treasury Secretary) Tel:  01797 320714 or email at  doc.members@hotmail.co.uk