COULD MASSIVE DREDGING PLAN THREATEN HISTORIC PORTSMOUTH?
By David Prudames 25/06/2003 A massive development scheme at Portsmouth Naval Base, involving dredging and the possible creation of a new deep water channel could impinge upon the historic harbour’s accumulated layers of maritime history. Portsmouth has long been one of the UK’s most important harbour sites with a recorded history going back to the Romans and taking in the likes of the Mary Rose. With such a wealth of history in the area, local archaeology groups and experts may well be concerned about the impact of the scheme on the historic environment. The 150-200 million plan will make the Portsmouth Naval Base capable of accommodating what will be the Royal Navy’s largest ever vessels, two new aircraft carriers weighing between 60 and 70,000 tonnes each. As well as refurbishing the base’s jetties, the plan would involve the dredging of the main channel inside the harbour by another two metres. There are also plans to create a new approach channel 200 metres wide, which could be dr
