Consultancy firm Royal HaskoningDHV was engaged in May 2015 by the Port of Dover to advise on the selection of aggregate sources for the Dover Western Dock Revival project.
After a year of studies, consultations and the production of an Environmental Statement running to over 1,500 pages – the preferred option is to extract aggregate from an area on the south west of the Goodwin Sands.
The proposed dredge area has been specifically selected to have the minimum environmental impact and avoids seal haul-out sites, protected and charted wrecks and sensitive seabed habitats.
HR Wallingford has estimated the total volume of the Goodwin Sands as 1,120,000,000m³. Therefore the absolute maximum of 2,500,000m³ aggregate required for the development equates to approximately 0.22% of the total volume.
The application for the licence to dredge was submitted in May to the Marine Management Organisation (MMO). The full detail of the application is publicly available via the MMO and Port of Dover websites.
The decision on the license application is expected in September 2016.