The actor Sir Mark Rylance has launched an emotional attack on plans to dredge a Kent sandbank, the final resting place of many Battle of Britain aircrew, by comparing the “disrespectful” and “insulting” proposals to dredging the sands of Dunkirk.
Dover Harbour Board (DHB), the port authority, wants to extract 2.5m cubic metres of sand and gravel from Goodwin Sands to use in its Western Docks development, and has applied for permission from the Marine Management Organisation.
Anti-dredging campaigners say the 10-mile sandbank, six miles off Deal in Kent, is the final resting place of at least 2,000 shipwrecks, thousands of drowned mariners and some 80 British and German aircrew from the second world war. It also acts as a natural sea defence against coastal erosion, and is a unique example of the UK’s underwater cultural heritage and marine environment, they say.
DHB said Rylance’s Dunkirk comparison was inappropriate, and that scrapping the dredging would halt much-needed regeneration.
Rylance, who plays a captain of one of Dunkirk’s “little ships” in the eponymous Hollywood film, intervened over the proposals, which are due to go to a third public consultation. Having filmed scenes just a few hundred yards from Dunkirk beach, where tens of thousands “fell to their resting places in the sand beneath our little boats”, Rylance said the sacrifice was almost palpable.
“I wondered what the outcry would be in England if it was announced that France was going to dredge the sands of Dunkirk to make concrete and other construction products,” said Rylance, whose great-grandfather captained cross-Channel ferries.
“Yet here we are, still fighting to defend the last resting place of many such brave young men who perished off the coast of Dover.
“I have to ask, what is the problem with us, that we are so disrespectful of these honourable souls who perished in the English Channel defending the rest of us from fascism?
“Who is responsible for this insulting ongoing inquiry? Let it conclude as soon as possible and let there be apologies from all involved for the poor behaviour towards our fallen youth.”
Goodwin Sands has been under consideration as a potential marine conservation zone for five years. It is an important site for both grey and common seals to mate and rest.
The Save Our Sands campaign, which has attracted 13,000 online signatories, is also backed by the Harry Potter actor Miriam Margolyes, who owns a house nearby.
DHB said postwar dredging of Goodwin had already occurred and that its proposal would leave 99.78% of the sands untouched.
It said that halting the plans would risk hundreds of jobs at the Western Docks project, which is Dover’s largest regeneration scheme for 70 years. The port authority applied for a dredging licence in May 2016, but objections have led to the need for a third public consultation.
A DHB spokesperson said: “The port is well aware of Dunkirk and played a crucial role in landing 180,982 evacuated troops in an area of the docks which [was] reclaimed from the sea. It is inappropriate to compare the Dunkirk evacuation with a small dredge of the Goodwin Sands, which have been dredged numerous times since the war.
“We also note that protesters made no complaint during the recent dredge of the sands while national power cabling was laid between the UK and Europe.
“The sad truth behind the delays to our small dredge, which will leave 99.78% of the sands untouched, is that Dover families … could be deprived of the regeneration they’ve wanted for more than 70 years.”
