Fight goes on against visitor wildlife centre

Officers at East Riding Council are recommending approval of plans to build the £900,000 centre on Spurn Road, near Kilnsea, at a meeting on Thursday.

But residents insist the 6m high centre is in the “worst place possible”, following the tidal surge in 2013, which washed away the road to the point. They say the latest plans are “virtually identical” to those submitted last year.

East Riding councillors unanimously rejected the plans when they went before the eastern area planning sub-committee last July on the grounds of visual impact and flood risk.

Protestors gathered on Monday as councillors made a site visit. Kilnsea resident Dr Jan Crowther said the recent tidal surge had been “quite dramatic” with the sea coming over the flood bank near the Blue Bell. “We are lucky we got away with it this time. There have been three years between events, it will happen again, of course it will. Yorkshire Wildlife Trust (YWT) is encouraging more people to come to a potentially dangerous place.”

Dr Crowther said she was concerned there were no ward councillors on the main strategic committee who would be making the decision on Thursday: “If they make a decision which is different to the one that was made unanimously by the previous committee we would be asking questions why, since nothing has changed.”

The proposals include a two storey building, with an undercroft which can be flooded, on a site known as Triangle Field and a 76-space car park. There are just under 25,000 visitors a year to Spurn, and the new centre could attract 30,000 to 40,000, YWT estimates. There were 725 written objections and an online petition with over 1000 signatures, against 215 who wrote in support, plus petitions in favour with 471 signatures.

YWT declined to comment but on its website states that the centre “will bring benefits to the nature reserve’s wildlife and visitors alongside a boost to local communities and tourism economy.”

A report to councillors says the latest plans “seek to address the reasons for refusal” and the application site now covers eight hectares “due to a large area of land for habitat creation.” The Environment Agency is not objecting and Natural England says they do not consider it would “impact significantly” on the heritage coast. The RSPB is satisfied there will no “adverse impacts on the site of special scientific interest.”

On its website the trust has said the new site would close on an amber warning from the Environment Agency and if it flooded it would be operational again in days, not weeks. It added: “In their two-year planning process, the trust explored a number of locations for a potential centre. Crucial to this decision is the ability to naturally funnel visitors onto the site at its narrowest point, allowing key information around safety and wildlife considerations to be given. This is best achieved at the preferred site of Triangle Field.”