SYMPOSIUM THE OCEANS SEAS HASTINGS UNITED NATIONS ASSOCIATION UK

MARINE SYMPOSIUM - Gonzalo Alvarez and Sarah Ward chairing the ocean symposium on Saturday 22nd September 2018.

We must congratulate all those involved in organising what proved to be a very interesting event, that through the insights of the speakers that shared their experiences, was a real eye opener to the marine projects that are making a difference in and around the United Kingdom.

The event was opened by Councillor Nigel Colin Sinden, the Mayor of Hastings, who welcomed the delegates to the Hastings venue. The Mayor is an advocate of sustainable energy.

The speaker line up was impressive covering a wide range of topics with each contributor bringing their experiences to the table, so adding another dimension to the conference. Details of some of the speakers are below.

Exhibitors in the gallery above and crypt below the theatre included the SeaVax that was displayed on a slowly revolving stand made from recycled materials in the workshops of the Cleaner Ocean Foundation in Herstmonceux.

YOUR OCEAN NEEDS YOU!

Never before our Ocean has been under such threat: plastics, ocean acidification, ocean warming, polar ice melting, coral reefs and marine life in danger. Come and join us at this exciting community event: LOTS OF STALLS (Marine Exhibition) and a day of learning and networking.

Watch with us the BBC Earth short film about the Oceans, narrated by Sir David Attenborough, and listen to experts and about new projects in the fields of Marine Conservation, Global Oceans, Climate change, Marine Resources and Marine Wildlife. Tea and coffee provided by Organisers.

COUNCILLOR - The Mayor of Hastings, Councillor Nigel Sinden, visited the SeaVax stand, pictured here with SeaVax project director Chris Close and cleaner ocean student, Ryan Dusart, who at the age of 10 helped man the display for much of the day speaking about the project with dozens of the visiting public to the event. The Mayor opened the event by welcoming the delegates to Hastings. Councillor Sinden is a solar advocate in his capacity of Councillor for Hastings and Rye, taking quite a shine to the SeaVax solar array. Copyright Photograph © Cleaner Ocean Foundation 22 September 2018.

UNIVERSITY of GREENWICH - [LEFT] Organisers Gonzalo Alvarez and Sarah Ward at the Ocean Symposium. [RIGHT] Speaker, Dr Adriana Ford is a Coordinator of the Greenwich Maritime Centre, University of Greenwich. Adriana joined the University of Greenwich in February 2015. She is an interdisciplinary scientist working in the field of socio-ecological systems, biodiversity conservation, community development and sustainability. Her research at Greenwich has focused on relationships between responsible tourism and fishing in Europe and the Caribbean. She is now working on WetlandLIFE, a Valuing Nature project exploring health and wellbeing in wetlands in the context of mosquito management. Copyright Photograph © Cleaner Ocean Foundation 22 September 2018.

PANELISTS - The panelists included Dr Corina Ciocan, Dr Tim Ferrero, Dr Sean Ashworth and Percy Fisher. Copyright Photograph © Cleaner Ocean Foundation 22 September 2018.

There are two areas for stalls: the Crypt and the Balcony. The crypt is the area through which visitors will arrive and the balcony overlooks the main auditorium.

Crypt stalls are:

- Hastings Fishermen’s Protection Society
- Transition Town Hastings
- Guardians of the Deep
- Blue Growth / SeaVax
- University of Brighton students

Balcony stalls are:

- Plastic Free Pledge 0800
- Strandline Stories 0800
- Natural England 0800
- Marine Conservation Society 0810
- Southern Water 0810
- Rother Voluntary Action 0810
- Sussex Wildlife Trust 0820
- UNA Bexhill & Hastings 0820
- No Plastics Shop 0820
- Sussex IFCA 0830
- Surfers Against Sewage 0830
- Brighton Dolphin Project (awaiting confirmation)

PROGRAMME

9 : 30 Doors open. Registration.

10 : 00 Welcome by Co-Chairs of Symposium.

10 : 05 Official Opening

10 : 15 Welcome of Delegates by The Mayor of Hastings, Councillor Nigel Sinden

10 : 20 UN Ocean Conference Film, BBC Earth. Narrated by Sir David Attenborough

Natalie Samarasignhe

Dr. Nicholas Watts

Dr. Tim Ferrero

Dr. Sean Ashworth

Dr. Adriana Ford

Jeremy Percy

Nelson Kay

Morven Robertson

OCEANS AND GLOBAL ISSUES

10 : 25 “UN Global Sustainable Goals; implications for our communities” by Natalie Samarasinghe, Executive Director, United Nations Association, UK.

10 : 45 “Oceans, Marine Resources and Commonwealth Nations” by Dr Nicholas Watts, Institute of Commonwealth Studies, University of London.

11 : 05 Discussion (Chair: John Fowler, Chairman of the United Nations Association, Bexhill and Hastings). Panelists: Natalie Samarasinghe, Dr Nicholas Watts.

11 : 35 Coffee break - Marine Exhibition (stalls)

MARINE CONSERVATION

12 : 05 Wildlife Trust Video 1

12 : 10 “Ocean pollution, microplastics and effects of Climate change” Dr Tim Ferrero, Senior Specialist for Marine Advocacy, Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust.

12 : 20 “Marine Conservation Zones” Dr Sean Ashworth, Deputy Chief Fisheries and Conservation Officer, Sussex Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority.

12 : 30 Discussion (Chair: Tim Dapling, Chief Fisheries and Conservation Officer, Sussex Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority)

Panelists: Dr Tim Ferrero, Dr Sean Ashworth, Dr Corina Ciocan, Lecturer in Environmental Sciences and Marine Biology, University of Brighton, and Paul Linwood (Chairman of the Sussex Marine and Coastal Forum and Sewage Policy Manager, Southern Water)

PARKING - This is a map showing Pelham Place (A259) in Hastings. St Mary In The Castle is seen top centre, to the right of the Borough Council buildings. There is ample parking in front of the venue at the seafront car park - pay and display. It will cost you about £10 for the whole day.

FISHERIES AND REGIONAL MARINE PROJECTS

13: 50 “Blue Economy and fisheries” Dr Adriana Ford, Coordinator of the Greenwich Maritime Centre, University of Greenwich.

14: 10 Blue Marine Foundation – Morven Robertson – UK Project Manager

14: 30 Hastings Fisheries Local Action Group (FLAG) and LIFE - Jeremy Percy – Executive Director, Low Impact Fishers of Europe (LIFE)

14: 45 BREAK - Marine Exhibition

15: 00 Announcements (new projects, partnerships, policies and initiatives)

15: 10 Surfers against Sewage – Colin Darbyshire

15: 15 Cleaner Ocean Foundation (Blue Growth) – SeaVax innovation Project – Nelson Kay – Project Manager

15 : 20 Final Round Table (Chair: Dr Sean Ashworth)

Panelists: Dr Adriana Ford, Dr Nicholas Watts, Natalie Samarasinghe, Dr Tim Ferrero, Dr Corina Ciocan and Jeremy Percy.

15: 50 The Ocean Charter, Symposium Declaration, UN SDG Targets, and Future Strategy.

16: 00 Final Audio Visual presentation (including a short film about the Oceans)

16 : 20 Closing Words, John Fowler, Chairman of the United Nations Association, Bexhill and Hastings

OCEAN DUSTCART - SeaVax is seen here during open water floatation trials. Please note that this is a small (proof of concept) version of any ocean or river portable dustcart that we hope will be tested on the south coast of England as the project progresses. SeaVax is a selective filtration machine that will be configured to target solid plastics and particles. The machine could also be used in oil spill emergencies, or as a selective fishing vessel for harvesting of alternative marine produce. The platform could thus be useful in many ways, leaving traditional fishermen to catch their quotas in a move to more efficient use of our ocean resources.

SeaVax will be on display at The Ocean Symposium, Hastings on the 22nd September.

Natalie Samarasignhe Executive Director, United Nations Association UK. Natalie is has worked at the UNA since 2006 and is the first woman to hold this role. In this capacity, Natalie works closely with UNA-UK's Board of Trustees on the Association's strategy and policy positioning. She provides analysis on international relations and institutions, and leads the UNA-UK team in its campaigning, advocacy, outreach, fundraising and education activities. She speaks and writes regularly on UN issues, and has overall responsibility for UNA-UK's profile and impact.

Dr. Nicholas Watts Senior Research Fellow, Institute of Commonwealth Studies, University of London. Nicholas has actively been involved in international advocacy work tied to the Commonwealth Human Ecology Council and the bi-annual Commonwealth Heads of Government Meetings . His work as Education Adviser to the Commonwealth Human Ecology Council focuses on Education for Sustainable Development, leading the Council’s work on small-scale fisheries, sustainable livelihoods, and food security.

Dr. Tim Ferrero Senior Specialist for Marine Advocacy, Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust. Tim has a background in marine biology with a specialism in nematodes. At Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust, he is responsible for delivering ‘Living Seas’, The Wildlife Trusts’ vision for UK seas. This includes marine data collection and dissemination, education and engagement, and marine advocacy generally.

Dr. Sean Ashworth Deputy Chief Fisheries and Conservation Officer, Sussex Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority. Sean Ashworth is an environmental manager looking after marine fisheries and conservation in Sussex, UK. After completing his fisheries PhD at the University of Exeter he went on to work for Southern Water and the Environment Agency before joining the Sussex Inshore Fisheries & Conservation Authority (IFCA) in 2015. At Sussex IFCA Sean has helped bring in management that now protect four Marine Conservation Zones and helps create sustainable shellfisheries across the District. As a diver he has explored the amazing marine environments of the UK, the Great Barrier Reef, New Zealand, Fiji, Belize and the Falkland Islands first hand.

Jeremy Percy Executive Director, Low Impact Fishers of Europe (LIFE). In his forty year career Jeremy has worked across the whole spectrum of the fisheries sector. He has been a small scale, and not so small scale, fisherman, a fisheries manager and regulator, skipper of a fisheries protection vessel, and a fish processor and merchant. Closer to the shore, he has been Chairman of local fishermen associations, Chief Executive to the Welsh Federation of Fishermen’s Associations and Chief Executive of NUTFA, UK (New Under Ten Fishermen's Association) the only dedicated representative body for small-scale fishers in England and Wales. He was a founding member of LIFE which represents the interests of Europe's low impact fishermen and it's with that hat on that we sat down to hear his thoughts on Europe's small-scale fishermen.

Nelson Kay Volunteer Project Manager, SeaVax Project. Nelson is one of the key designers of the SeaVax and AmphiMax concept vehicles. His services in relation to conservation issues are provided to not-for-profit organizations on a free basis. This includes conception and development of strategies for sustainable use of planet earth, aiming for a truly circular economy. Nelson is a gifted metal fabricator, a skill that allows him to take ideas from his drawing board and bring them to life as fully working prototypes.

Morven Robertson UK Project Manager, BLUE Marine Foundation. Morven was born in Scotland but spent her childhood in Gabon, Malaysia and Singapore, where she first worked at a fish farm as a hatchery technician. She later worked to develop marine legislation for the Bermudian government during her Marine Environmental Management MSc at York. Prior to BLUE, Morven was the UK project lead for the global eco-label and fisheries certifier, Friend of the Sea. Morven has been responsible for the development and implementation of a number of inshore marine conservation and fisheries management projects in the UK.

Dr. Corina Ciocan Lecturer in Environmental Sciences and Marine Biology, University of Brighton

Paul Linwood Sewage Policy Manager, Southern Water Chairman, Sussex Marine & Coastal Forum

Sarah Ward - Living Seas Officer
Mobile: 07717 835 039
Direct line: 01273 497 572

THE OCEAN SYMPOSIUM STEERING GROUP

- Gonzalo J. Alvarez – Marine Biologist - United Nations Association (Co-Chair of the Ocean Symposium)

- Sarah Ward – Marine Biologist - Living Seas Officer, Sussex Wildlife Trust (Co-Chair of the Ocean Symposium)

- Martin Fisher – CEO Rother Voluntary Action

- Dr Tim Ferrero – Senior Specialist for Marine Advocacy, Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust.

- Jan Cutting – Active Communities Lead, Rother Voluntary Action

PARTNERS

United Nations Association Bexhill and Hastings
Sussex Wildlife Trust
Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust
Rother Voluntary Action
Hastings Voluntary Action

ST MARY HISTORY

In 1824 the Earl of Chichester, Thomas Pelham saw an opportunity for development of his land at the bottom of the West Hill to house the ‘discriminating population’ of Hastings. He engaged Joseph Kay as architect and work began, including the excavation of a large section of the cliff face. The development would include a crescent with grand town houses overlooking the seafront, and a neoclassical fronted church as its centrepiece; beneath the crescent a shopping arcade would complete the grand design. The arcade was opened in the same year with the church being completed four years later in 1828.

In 1951 St Mary in the Castle was made a grade II* listed building and was followed by a period of decline. St Mary in the Castle was deemed surplus to requirements as a Church of England place of worship in 1970 and by 1986 was close to being put on the dangerous buildings register. After a campaign by a group of locals to save the building, Hastings Borough Council acquired the freehold to St Mary in the Castle and number 7 Pelham Crescent.

In 1988 the Pelham Arcade was recognised as a grade II listed building and English Heritage, with the support of the Queen Mother, embarked on plans to restore St Mary in the Castle. After extensive restoration works the building reopened as an arts centre in 1998.

In 2012 Hastings Borough Council put the lease out to tender and the proposal from Buckswood School in Guestling was approved by the council in December of that year. A charitable trust was established in 2013 and in June 2015 a ten year lease was signed by them to safeguard the future of the building as a centre for the arts.

HASTINGS - St Mary in the Castle is a Grade II* listed building in Hastings. St Mary in the Castle is a grade II* listed former Church built in the Neo-Classical style. It was converted into an arts centre in 1998 after substantial refurbishment by Hastings Borough Council and English Heritage. St Mary in the Castle has played host to numerous high profile exhibitions. The building sits as the centre piece of the delightful Pelham Crescent above the regency Pelham Arcade on Hastings Seafront. The arcade is currently undergoing works to restore it to its original form and now houses the St Mary in the Castle Restaurant. With its restored lantern roof the restaurant is a bright and welcoming space.

ST MARY IN THE CASTLE CHARITABLE TRUST
7 Pelham Crescent
Hastings
East Sussex
TN34 3AF

Tel: 01424 715880
Email: enquiries@stmaryinthecastle.co.uk
Web: http://stmaryinthecastle.co.uk/

ST MARY CONSTRUCTION

MATERIALS: Stone and brick, cement-rendered, and lined as ashlar, stone dressings.

PLAN: The church sits in a commanding position overlooking the sea, forming the centrepiece of Pelham Crescent, which is raised above Pelham Arcade and reached by a ramp at the western end of the composition. It is set on a shallow plinth of three stone steps and over a crypt which extends southwards to the rear of Pelham Arcade. The façade is laid out as a double-depth tetrastyle Ionic portico, flanked by single entrance bays, the double depth formed by rear columns set in antis; The church is semicircular on plan, the upper level projecting over the rock face at the rear so that it is constructed of two concentric stone walls, an inner one at lower level, and an outer wall at gallery level, built into the rock. The interior of the church is laid out with a horseshoe gallery to the north overlooking a shallow rectangular three-bay sanctuary which is flanked by single bays which break forward to enclose lobbies which give access to the portico and gallery. Stairs, either side of the church, descend to a crypt, T-shaped on plan, which protrudes into the rear of the Arcade.

EXTERIOR: The double-depth tetrastyle Ionic portico, achieved by rear columns set in antis, comprises columns set on tall bases, under a pediment, with a clock. It is flanked by single entrance bays which have paired external doors, each of three raised and fielded panels, in a moulded architrave beneath a simple moulded cornice. The church is also reached by entrances in the returns at the rear of the portico. The church is lit by tall round-headed windows, which are set above a rusticated basement under the portico, and recessed between pilasters in the flanking bays; the gallery is also lit by shallow segmental headed windows. Windows have small rectangular panes and a pronounced inner frame. The simply treated attic storey disguises the belfry and to some extent the roof, more in the manner of an extended blocking course than a true attic storey. The church is enclosed by a low wrought iron screen and gates with star-shaped panels and spear head finials.

INTERIOR: The interior of the church is laid out with a horseshoe gallery to the north overlooking a shallow rectangular three-bay sanctuary which is flanked by single bays which break forward to enclose lobbies which give access to the portico and gallery. Each lobby has a pair of doors beneath a recessed round-headed alcove which is now blind, but from late C19 photographs appears to have been open. Smaller single doors to each side give onto stone stairs with iron balusters and a moulded mahogany rail with a curtail supported on a slender columnar newel; the outer wall of the church is cut away in a moulded hemisphere to accommodate the curtail.

The lobby floor is stone-flagged. The gallery is supported on piers with corbels in the form of angels, while the gallery roof is visually supported on Corinthian columns, now marbled. The main ceiling is a complex structure, in the form of a coved horseshoe rather than a conventional dome. The ceiling is panelled and separated by heavy moulded ribs and brackets which support a rich entablature from which ribs again rise to form the framework of a partly glazed lantern. The pronounced anthemion cornice echoes the detail of the columns, while horseshoes, extant in the 1890s, are repeated in the mouldings of the frieze. The sanctuary has a separate coved panelled ceiling, while the gallery roof also has shallow moulded panels. The church has encaustic tile flooring. In the 1920s the room to the east of the main church was adapted as a baptistery, complete with a stone-lined immersion font, while the spring was converted to a grotto to commemorate the centenary of the building.

Most of the timber and plasterwork, which were suffering from rot, were removed during the 1990s refurbishment, with the exception of the panelled box pews in the upper gallery which appear to survive in their original configuration. The rear wall of the gallery is now exposed coursed stone. The sanctuary, which was restored in 1893, has a rich gilded marble reredos of round-arched and shaped panels inscribed with texts. Above it, the central window has later C19 stained glass.

Internal iron and steel stairs, original on the east and replaced to the west, descend on each side of the church to the crypt which is T-shaped on plan, and formed of dressed stone walls and brick groin-vaulted passage, similar to the arcade, with vaults to each side. Vaults to the west retain tiers of stone and lead-fronted boxes with inscribed panels. The crypt has been opened up and connected to café area by breaking through the rear of the arcade.

Grade: II*
Source: Historic England
Source ID: 1353209
English Heritage Legacy ID: 294035

CLIMATE CHANGE - There has been a Climate Conference every year since the founding assembly at which many important Agreements as to targets and issues were raised and resolved for a better world. A better world is a place that is sustainable for future generations.

* Rome 2009: "Integrated Maritime Policy and the contribution of maritime clusters"