Something in the region of £40 million has been spent on capital projects that use in full, or in part, World Heritage as their justification, but none, other than the notable exception of the Museum of Jurassic Life in Kimmeridge are 100% about the Site. More importantly, what the Site really needs, and really has to offer is a facility to exhibit the truly astounding fossils from around Lyme Regis and Charmouth collected by local collectors over the last forty years or so. World Heritage has completely failed this interest. Can it be saved? The first part of the talk will explain what went wrong, and the second will look at what might be salvaged now, some 23 years after the site was first designated.
RICHARD EDMONDS studied Geology at the University of Hull, having first been introduced to fossils on Charmouth beach as a boy. After briefly working in the North Sea oil industry, he became a countryside interpretation volunteer with the National Trust for Scotland on the Isle of Arran. In 1986 he returned to Dorset as warden of the Charmouth Heritage Coast Centre. During the next 11 years he led countless numbers of people onto the local beaches of West Dorset in search of fossils. In 1997 Richard took up a new post as Jurassic Coast Project Officer with Dorset County Council, a role which has gradually evolved into Earth Science Manager with the dual task of monitoring, managing and protecting the core interests of the World Heritage Site along with inputting geological expertise into the work undertaken by the team as a whole.
The talk will be held in Hope United Reformed Church at 8 Trinity Street. Doors open at 2.00 pm and the talk will start at 2.30pm.
Tickets will be available on the door and are £2.00 for members of the Friends and £3.00 for visitors. (Exact change would be appreciated, if possible).
