17:00 Phil Wilson (Sedgefield) (Lab)

The Brightwater Project is important because it wants to manage the local environment and restore the Skerne to some of its past glory. There are plans to create fenland covering 50 acres, which would include the existing Bishop fen near Bishop Middleham and Hardwick Park, and the Woodham fen near Newton Aycliffe. The idea behind creating a managed fen is to spread biodiversity, mitigate climate change and attract tourism. There is also a potential plan to significantly increase the size of the fen to create a Great North fen. Since the end of the industrial revolution and the coal-mining era, the landscape has wanted to return to the way it once was, and that should be allowed to happen, but obviously in a managed way that has the support of landowners, Government agencies and local people. The project is not only about the past. It is about the present and revealing the natural environment and heritage for residents living in this part of south-east Durham, and it is about the future. It is about making south-east Durham a place to visit. There is so much to see and enjoy but, at present, so much remains hidden, with so many stories untold.

After decades of the industrial revolution, the landscape is starting to return to how it once was. Obviously, that process must be managed. However, the benefits of such a project speak for themselves: biodiversity, the mitigation of climate change, the potential for tourism, the preservation of our heritage, with benefits for the local area and the country and the coming together of our communities as Brightwater engages with them. The Skerne has perhaps been neglected for centuries, but it could now be about to tell its story again. I wish the Discover Brightwater project the best of luck in its endeavour.

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