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If your email is a request for information, it will be handled under the
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Dear Mr Byrne

Your information request (1231)

Thank you for your enquiry relating to Ramsgate Port mineral processing
capacity.

While we do not hold information which answers your questions directly, I
can explain why that is which I hope will be useful. We are not the
statutory (marine) licensing authority for the extraction of marine sand
gravel resources (in England that is the function of the Marine Management
Organisation or MMO), the ownership of offshore minerals is vested in The
Crown Estate and we provide commercial licenses for the extraction of
marine sand and gravel resources from the seabed.

As part of our management of marine sand and gravel extraction, we employ
an Electronic Monitoring System to record dredging vessel activities
associated with our mineral assets, helping to capture and assess dredging
intensity, and ensure that all vessels remain within their allocated
licensed area.

As a function of the marine licensing system, tonnage extraction limits
apply to the dredging licences themselves, but not to the wharves where
the aggregate is delivered – that is potentially a matter for the
terrestrial planning system or the relevant port authority. It is not
within our remit to define or classify wharves in terms of capacity, nor
do we attempt to do so.

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complaint directly to the Information Commissioner’s Office (or ICO,
contact details are available at: [1]www.ico.org.uk). As you know, the ICO
will usually expect you to have first exhausted our own complaints
procedure before raising any concerns with them.

Yours sincerely

Aimee Gasston   |   Freedom of Information Officer
T: +44 20 7851 5046
 
[2]The Crown Estate
 
1 St James's Market, London, SW1Y 4AH
[3]thecrownestate.co.uk
 
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From: Stephen Byrne <[7][FOI #696162 email]>
Sent: Sunday, October 4, 2020 5:36 PM
To: Enquiries <[8][email address]>
Subject: Freedom of Information request - Ramsgate Port mineral precessing
Capacity

Dear The Crown Estate,

I understand that you are the licensing authority for the extraction of
marine sand and gravel resources.
I also understand that you monitor extraction levels for comparison with
'permitted' extraction levels at individual Safeguarded Wharf level,
including Port Ramsgate.
I believe that you classify individual wharves in terms of capacity -
small (meaning up to 100 thousand tonnes per annum), medium and large.

Can you please tell me what capacity you have defined for Port Ramsgate
and:

- does this capacity set a limit on the extraction level for that port?
- can the capacity be increased, without planning approval, for any reason
and. if so, for what reason and by what statutory instrument and
authority?

Many thanks
Yours faithfully,

Stephen Byrne
Ramsgate resident

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