GEOSUFFOLK RIGS
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A NEW APPROACH TO EARTH HERITAGE CONSERVATION IN SUFFOLK – THE SUFFOLK GEODIVERSITY PROJECT TIM HOLT-WILSON In Britain we are lucky that national Planning Policy frameworks exist to confer an element of protection on valuable wildlife sites, landscapes and archaeological sites. However such a framework has been lacking for geodiversity, the abiotic aspects of nature – the rocks, fossils, minerals, soils and landforms – which underpin them. Until recently, geological and geomorphological sites have been the poor relations in the world of heritage conservation. Statutory protection is only afforded to earth heritage sites designated as Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) under the Geological Conservation Review (GCR). Here in Suffolk we have 42 citations under the GCR, representing 35 geological and geomorphological SSSIs. Otherwise there is no statutory protection for important geosites. Things are changing however. A measure of protection may be afforded to a second tier of significant geosites through the Regionally Important Geological and Geomorphological Sites (RIGS) scheme. RIGS status is a voluntary designation similar to that of a County Wildlife Site, and is recognised in the local planning system. It signals the regional and local importance of a site according to a range of criteria – scientific, educational, historical and aesthetic. Furthermore, today a new Local Geodiversity Action Plan (LGAP) process is gathering a self-generated momentum in Britain through the activities of local amateur groups, supported by English Nature and the UK-RIGS group (a national umbrella body). The LGAP process is gradually taking its place alongside Biodiversity Action Planning as a sister initiative. The lead organisation for this process in Suffolk is the GeoSuffolk group. GeoSuffolk is a voluntary group of professional and amateur geologists and geomorphologists. It has been in existence since 1993 as the Suffolk RIGS Group, and has been meeting regularly and publishing committee minutes since 2002. Its aims are to research, interpret and conserve the county’s heritage of geodiversity. In 2003 the Group secured a grant from English Nature to produce three leaflets promoting Suffolk geology (‘Beneath Your Feet’, ‘Geo Ipswich’ and ‘The Deben Estuary’). In 2004 the Group secured a DEFRA Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund grant through English Nature to further develop geodiversity work in the county. The present writer was appointed Geodiversity Project Officer in August 2004 on a short contract until March 2005. He was supported by a second Officer, Antonia Weston, on a two-month temporary contract. Both posts were hosted by Ipswich Borough Council Museum Service, which has the most important geological collection in the county, comprising some 31,000 specimens. Delays in securing funding and in recruitment had meant that the planned twelve-month contract had to be reduced to seven months, and the objectives of the Project were tailored accordingly.