SPS Website refresh

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The SPS website has been overdue for an update and this month we’re launching a new, simplified look, bringing the development back in house.  We have taken the decision to reduce our website management costs while at the same time we hope to make the site more responsive to topics of interest to our members.

Here are a few of the features of the new site.

New for Autumn 2019. We’ve changed the homepage so that it now shows a number of ’tiles’, small images which highlight particular pages and posts of interest. These provide a quick way of accessing some of the menu items, for example, the ‘Solent Live’, ‘Marine Licensing applications’ and ‘Membership’ pages and most recent articles of interest. To return to the home page at any time, simply click on or touch the SPS logo in the header.

Context sensitive Sidebar menus which appear on the right hand side of the page if you’re looking on a larger screen, or immediately below the page text if you’re using a mobile device.  In fact, it’s worth noting that this new incarnation of the site should react ‘responsively’ to the type of device you’re using.

The Recent Posts sidebar menu displays up to eight recent items, doubling the number previously visible.

At the foot of the home page, a Category Cloud menu gives an indication of the categories of content contained on the site.  Take a look, and select an item to see the relevant content.

On the right hand side of the page footer, a Tag list menu shows a list of ‘tags’ with which certain items of content are indexed.  Select a tag to view relevant content.

Solent Live – All the links to live information relating to harbour movements, shipping, weather and tides can be found at the ‘Solent Live’ option under the ‘The Solent’ menu.

News and Comment – Under ‘Solent Wide News’ you’ll find summaries of items of news from around the region.  For a more focused selection, take one of the options under ‘Regional news’.

Our focus areas – Also under ‘News and Comment’, you’ll find a subset of areas which are of particular interest to SPS. Here you will find, for example, specific notes and documents relating to ‘Planning’ matters, Conservation and ‘Marine licenses’.

Marine Licencing Applications – May 1st 2020

~ Bob C

The May 1st SPS summary of Marine Licensing activity applicable to the Solent area can be found by taking this link.

The update post displays a list of applications published by the Marine Management Organisation since the last SPS summary update issued, and project background for those applications open for public consultation.

Applications for burial of human remains at sea are not included.

If an application is of particular interest to you, take a note of the application number and enter it into the MMO Public Register to view the detail on the register.  For guidance on how to access and search the MMO Public Register, please follow this link.

Marine Licencing Applications – April 2nd 2020

~ Bob C

The April 2nd SPS summary of Marine Licensing activity applicable to the Solent area can be found by taking this link.

The update post displays a list of applications published by the Marine Management Organisation since the last SPS summary update issued, and project background for those applications open for public consultation.

Applications for burial of human remains at sea are not included.

If an application is of particular interest to you, take a note of the application number and enter it into the MMO Public Register to view the detail on the register.  For guidance on how to access and search the MMO Public Register, please follow this link.

March Speaker – Blue Marine Foundation

~ Bob C

Our lunchtime speaker in Southampton for March is Jacob Keen–Hammerson, UK Project Co-ordinator for the Blue Marine Foundation.

Blue Marine Foundation (BLUE) is a charity dedicated to restoring the ocean to health by addressing overfishing, one of the world’s biggest environmental problems. Globally, an estimated 85% of oyster beds and oyster reef habitats have been lost, making them among the most imperilled marine habitats in the world. BLUE is creating a model for restoration of this key habitat by relaying millions of oysters into the Solent, in cages hung in the water beneath pontoons, facilitating the release of millions of larvae. The cages have been shown to provide a refuge for other marine life, with 97 different species having been found living within the cages so far, including critically endangered European eels, juvenile spiny seahorse and sea bass.

For location details and joining instructions, please see our post on 2020 SPS Lunchtime Speakers by taking this link.

Marine Licencing Applications – February 28th 2020

~ SPS Admin

The February 28th SPS summary of Marine Licensing activity applicable to the Solent area can be found by taking this link.

The update post displays a list of applications published by the Marine Management Organisation since the last SPS summary update issued, and project background for those applications open for public consultation.

Applications for burial of human remains at sea are not included.

If an application is of particular interest to you, take a note of the application number and enter it into the MMO Public Register to view the detail on the register.  For guidance on how to access and search the MMO Public Register, please follow this link.

SPS Monthly Speakers

~ SPS Admin

Following each monthly Solent Protection Society Council meeting and starting at 12:00 noon, there will usually be a talk given to the Council on a topic which may prove to be of general interest to our members.

DateSpeaker and topic
4th FebruaryNaomi Ewald – Director of Research and Development
“An update on the work of the Freshwater Habitat Trust.”
3rd MarchJacob Keen-Hammerson
“An update on the work of the Blue Marine Foundation.”
Blue Marine Foundation (BLUE) is a charity dedicated to restoring the ocean to health by addressing overfishing, one of the world’s biggest environmental problems. Globally, an estimated 85% of oyster beds and oyster reef habitats have been lost, making them among the most imperilled marine habitats in the world. BLUE is creating a model for restoration of this key habitat by relaying millions of oysters into the Solent, in cages hung in the water beneath pontoons, facilitating the release of millions of larvae. The cages have been shown to provide a refuge for other marine life, with 97 different species having been found living within the cages so far, including critically endangered European eels, juvenile spiny seahorse and sea bass.
7th April(Date reserved for SPS Council Management Meeting)
5th MayProfessor John Williams School of Civil Engineering, Portsmouth University.
“My research mainly focuses on water quality in wastewater treatment and sustainable drainage, although I have also worked on a number of projects concerned with sustainability appraisal. My main focus has been on low impact technologies, particularly those based on natural processes and wetland plants. Ongoing projects include:
– Wastewater treatment technologies for small sites
– Use of constructed wetlands for wastewater treatment and runoff management
– Fate of micro-plastics in wastewater treatment and drainage systems
– Remediation of polluted sediments
– Removal of pesticides from runoff in Thailand”
2nd JunePeter Barfield Reader in Marine Zoology School of Biological Sciences Portsmouth University
July 7th Ryan Willergers of Lymington Harbour Commissioners and Colin Scott APBmer
“Marsh erosion and wider opportunities for beneficial use of sediments in the Solent, with particular focus on the protection of the harbour.”
September 1st(Speaker to be confirmed)
October 6th (Speaker to be confirmed)
November 3rd(Date reserved for SPS Council Management Meeting)

If members would like to join us, please confirm your attendance by email to the Society secretary by clicking this link.

If you’re not currently a member but would like to join us at the talk, please take this link.

The location for each of these talks will be the Holiday Inn, Herbert Walker Avenue, Southampton. Please click on the map below for directions.

Marine Licencing Applications – January 2nd 2020

~ SPS Admin

The January 2nd SPS summary of Marine Licensing activity applicable to the Solent area can be found by taking this link.

The update post displays a list of applications published by the Marine Management Organisation since the last SPS summary update issued, and project background for those applications open for public consultation.

Applications for burial of human remains at sea are not included.

If an application is of particular interest to you, take a note of the application number and enter it into the MMO Public Register to view the detail on the register.  For guidance on how to access and search the MMO Public Register, please follow this link.

Marine Licencing Applications – December 1st 2019

~ SPS Admin

The December 1st SPS summary of Marine Licensing activity applicable to the Solent area can be found by taking this link.

The update post displays a list of applications published by the Marine Management Organisation since the last SPS summary update issued, and project background for those applications open for public consultation.

Applications for burial of human remains at sea are not included.

If an application is of particular interest to you, take a note of the application number and enter it into the MMO Public Register to view the detail on the register.  For guidance on how to access and search the MMO Public Register, please follow this link.

Marine Licencing Applications – October 29th 2019

~ SPS Admin

The October 29th SPS summary of Marine Licensing activity applicable to the Solent area can be found by taking this link.

The update post displays a list of applications published by the Marine Management Organisation since the last SPS summary update issued, and project background for those applications open for public consultation.

Applications for burial of human remains at sea are not included.

If an application is of particular interest to you, take a note of the application number and enter it into the MMO Public Register to view the detail on the register.  For guidance on how to access and search the MMO Public Register, please follow this link.

Solent Protection Society ‘Away Day’ 2019

~ SPS Admin

This year our ‘Away Day’ to Eling Tide Mill took place on 7th October, a month later than usual in order to fit in with the availability of the Mill for a private visit.

Eling is in the centre of our region, close to Totton, at the head of Southampton Water. There has been a tide mill at Eling for over 900 years and the current Mill is over 200 years old, having been rebuilt c.1785 after storm damage in the 1770s. It is one of only two tide mills still operating in the UK. It was re-opened in 2018 as a fully operational flour mill after a restoration funded by a Heritage Lottery grant, to provide “The Eling Experience”. This includes the Mill itself, the visitor centre and a walk around Bartley Water (the mill pond). The Mill is a Grade II* listed building. The visitor centre includes a café and a museum. At the entrance to the Mill there is a small gift shop. Using the same method as millers from days gone by, freshly milled wholemeal flour is available for sale in the gift shop. The wheat, which is milled at Eling, comes from a local farm – Manor of Cadland – and carries the New Forest Marque.

The Mill is located on the seaward side of the causeway across Eling Creek. When the tide comes in, it pushes open one-way gates and fills up the millpond. When the tide turns and starts to ebb, it slowly uncovers the waterwheel, but the sea gates are closed, trapping the water in the millpond so the level in the millpond stays at the high tide level. When the tide has dropped to well below the waterwheel axle, the sluice gate can be raised. Water from the millpond strikes the lower blades of the waterwheel, spinning it round and allowing the milling to begin.

The photograph is an aerial view of Eling Creek facing East. In the centre is the artificial causeway which was once the main road from Southampton to Hythe and Beaulieu. The Mill is the red-roofed building on the causeway and the visitor centre is the white-roofed building to the left. The lake in the foreground is Bartley Water, the tidal pond which stores the water to drive the mill. In the distance, top right of photo is Goatee beach, which faces Southampton docks across the River Test.

For much of the mill’s life it was owned by Winchester College. A lease survives from the year 1418, when the College leased the mill to Thomas Mydlington, requiring him to maintain the mill and the causeway. The causeway was prone to collapse, for example it washed away in 1887. This problem continued up until 1940 when modern engineering calculations revealed the cause to be the design of the sluices. This was then corrected.

The tenancy of the mill included the right to collect tolls from vehicles using the causeway. Four-wheeled vehicles were charged 6d (2.5p) and two-wheeled vehicles 4d. These rates remained unchanged until 1970. In 1967, the toll collector was Tom Mackrell who had been one of the last people to operate the mill when it closed in 1946. Tom was toll collector and mill foreman, working for his brother Raymond, master miller of Eling Tide Mill. Having been out of action since then, the mill reopened in 1980.

This visit provided an opportunity to see two sides of your Society’s work – protection of ancient sites such as the Tide Mill, and mitigation of the effects of near-by large-scale industry such as the mountain of containers stored by Associated British Ports at the entrance to Eling Creek, top left of the photograph.

A blot on the landscape at Eling – ABP’s unsightly storage for empty shipping containers.

Marine Licencing Applications – September 25th 2019

~ SPS Admin

The September 25th SPS summary of Marine Licensing activity applicable to the Solent area can be found by taking this link.

The update post displays a list of applications published by the Marine Management Organisation since the last SPS summary update issued, and project background for those applications open for public consultation.

Applications for burial of human remains at sea are not included.

If an application is of particular interest to you, take a note of the application number and enter it into the MMO Public Register to view the detail on the register.  For guidance on how to access and search the MMO Public Register, please follow this link.