Photo by Mark Bennis
Sussex Wildlife Trust has achieved a significant legal victory in its battle to protect the Beachy Head West Marine Conservation Zone (MCZ) from sediment dumping, after the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) conceded it had failed to properly assess the environmental impacts of a controversial 10-year dredging licence.
The High Court challenge, heard on Tuesday, resulted in the quashing of the licence that would have permitted Brighton Marina to dispose of one million tonnes of dredged material within the nationally protected site over the next decade. An MMO spokesperson said: “We accept that when making the decision, we concluded that any adverse impacts on marine protected areas were within acceptable limits but did not consider whether the proposal triggered the need to avoid, minimise or mitigate the adverse impacts and did not assess whether the application had avoided, minimised or mitigated those adverse impacts.”
Henri Brocklebank, the trust’s director of conservation, described the scale of the proposed disposal: “It’s 33,000 shipping containers worth of spoil – if that was on the South Downs everyone would lose it, but it’s at sea. It’s a really special, important, internationally rare habitat.”
Writing on the trust’s website, Brocklebank described the outcome as “a significant win for marine conservation and a proud moment for Sussex Wildlife Trust.” She added: “This achievement is more than a legal victory; it’s a testament to the passion, professionalism, and resilience of our team. Operating far outside our comfort zone, we coordinated across the organisation, harnessing every ounce of expertise and energy to respond to a call to action that demanded attention to detail, rapid responses and many layers of judgement and internal governance.”
The conservation charity had mounted four separate legal challenges against the MMO’s decision. Brocklebank explainedthat “the MMO conceded on one of our points, which was enough to quash the decision,” whilst the trust remained “confident that all four challenges could have stood up in court.”
The Beachy Head West MCZ, designated between 2013 and 2019, runs parallel to the coast from Brighton to Eastbourne. Government reports describe it as containing “some of the best examples of chalk habitat in the South East region.” The site protects sensitive chalk reef habitat, blue mussel beds, and species including the rare short-snouted seahorse.
When the MMO approved the licence in May 2025, it sparked immediate outrage despite over 1,500 public objections. Chris Ward MP for Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven was furious with the decision, saying it “flies in the face of the local community’s views” and “directly undermines the MMO’s own remit to protect and enhance our precious marine environment.”
The trust had argued the decision exposed “inadequate protection given to marine protected areas,” stating: “If 100,000 tonnes of dredged spoil can be dumped annually in a designated Marine Conservation Zone, it’s clear these areas are protected in name only.” The organisation had warned of fears that the sediment was smothering marine life such as blue mussel beds, native oysters and short-snouted seahorses.
When launching the judicial review in September, Brocklebank said: “Bold action is the only way to continue to fight for this protected area. Inaction will see the continued dumping of 100,000 tonnes of dredged sediment in our MCZ every year for the next 10 years – this is not acceptable.”
This represents the trust’s second successful judicial review defending marine designations. Brocklebank noted: “Marine protection in the UK has lagged behind terrestrial conservation by nearly a century. While land-based protections began in 1915 with Lord Rothschild’s list of 284 sites, our Sussex Marine Conservation Zones were only designated between 2013 and 2019.”
The trust’s legal team comprised the Environmental Law Foundation, Leigh Day Solicitors, and barrister Jessica Allen of Number 5 Chambers. Rowan Smith, senior associate solicitor at Leigh Day, said their legal team argued “significant harm to this protected area resulting from the disposal could not be lawfully ruled out, because the Marine Management Organisation had failed to properly assess the impact.”
Premier Marinas has maintained that dredging is essential for “safe navigation,” with dredged material regularly sampled“to confirm it is not harmful to the environment.” However, campaigners have reported the sediment creates “black, thick, slimy, petrochemically smelling sludge” in local rock pools.
A decision on where the spoil will now be dumped has yet to be made. Ms Brocklebank said: “The marina is still going to need to be clear for boat users, so we anticipate they will move at a reasonable pace but following a suitable process.”
Addressing the broader implications, she observed: “It’s disheartening that after securing these protections, we must fight to make them meaningful. The term ‘Paper Parks’ is often used to describe marine sites that exist in name only. We believe this must change. Designation should mean protection, surely?”
The case has potential implications for how all 91 Marine Conservation Zones around England are managed in future.