The Goodwin Sands, a treacherous sandbank off the coast of Kent known as the great 'ship swallower', has entombed over 2,000 shipwrecks and dozens of Second World War aircraft, making it a unique underwater heritage site. Campaigners are now urging King Charles to intervene to prevent destructive dredging for building sand and aggregate in the area, which also acts as a sea defence for the unstable coastline.
The Goodwin Sands Conservation Trust has written to the King, describing him as a 'committed conservationist, head of the armed forces and beneficiary of the crown estate’s commercial activities'. The trust has asked him to encourage the crown estate, which owns the seabed, to remove the sands from its list of potential marine aggregate extraction sites. A response from a palace aide referred the matter to the crown estate, which the trust found frustrating.
The crown estate stated: 'There are currently no plans for aggregate licences in the Goodwin Sands area. However, we are unable to provide blanket, permanent exemptions for any part of the seabed from this or other sectors, unless predicated by an organisation with regulatory or other relevant responsibility, or by a national designation such as a highly protected marine area.' Legal experts note that the crown estate can adopt a policy to decline licences in culturally sensitive areas, even without a formal designation.
Historian and TV presenter Dan Snow, who has dived on the Goodwins, said: 'There are some extraordinary wrecks down there. We are obviously all very worried and sad to think it could be just mined and a lot of that would be destroyed.' He added that every period of history over the last 2,000 years has left a rich, possibly unique legacy there.
While the Marine Management Organisation is consulting on banning bottom trawling in certain areas, including the Goodwin marine conservation area, aggregate extraction remains a separate concern. The trust remains determined to protect the sandbank, which has been a marine protected area since 2019.
