Golfers should give way to birdies on Littlehampton links course, says leading ecologist

Prof Brian Morton makes what is likely to be a highly controversial proposal in his new book on the history and ecology of Littlehampton's beaches and river.

Relocating the course, with the possibility of attracting lottery funding and using a top designer to create a championship level facility, would be a bold step towards regenerating Littlehampton's west bank area, he says.

The restored saltmarsh and the many thousands of visiting birds it would attract would in turn bring large numbers of tourists and ornithologists to Littlehampton, creating jobs and boosting the economy, claims Prof Morton.

"It is more valuable to the people of Littlehampton as a nature reserve and educational centre. You would have perhaps 500 people a day going round the marsh to see the wildlife, rather than a few hundred members of the golf club.

Nature trail with historic fort

"It just needs imagination to see the potential."

On an aerial photo of the golf course in his book, he has even plotted a proposed educational path taking in the dunes, the saltmarsh and including the remains of the Napoleon II fort, the subject of much debate in recent years over its restoration and lack of access to the public.

Prof Morton, who lives directly across the river from the golf course, retired to Littlehampton four years ago after 30 years working at the University of Hong Kong, where he oversaw a similar scheme to recreate a marshland habitat.

"It didn't take long. Now it is visited by 25,000 people a year, providing employment for many people."

At this stage the golf club, which is more than 100 years old and has more than 600 members, declined to comment.

* For more on this story, and a two-page special feature on Prof Morton's book, "The historical ecology of the River Arun and its beaches at Littlehampton, West Sussex: 1,000 years of change", see this week's Littlehampton Gazette (April 17, 2008), on sale now.

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