A busy day. A short burst in the office and then to Cllr Malcolm Barnes's home to chat through a project which is worrying residents in Arne. The RSPB wishes to create a wetland habitat for birds on about 300 acres of their land near Arne. This, they claim, is to replace land being lost to climate change and rising sea water. They also say they have a duty to do so and the legal backing of the EU. I'm not sure residents in Arne quite see it like that. Anyway, after a quick conference, Cllr Barnes then went to meet representative from NE, EA and the RSPB. I had asked for a site visit and briefing in response to concerns from constituents. The brief was in two parts. For the first 45 minutes I was shown maps of the proposed area and told why it was needed. We then walked to a knoll nearby where we could look across the proposed site. Everyone was most helpful and instructive and Cllr Barnes and I listened carefully to all three organisations. The project would be a large one, costing some £10 million, alot of that money being spent on a long bund that would in effect help capture the rising sea water that the RSPB intends to let in. This on land that is already a designated a flood plain. We were told that the bund would have sluice gates in it and that a rare plant was one of the reasons the three representatives could guarantee, as far as they could, that land between the bund and Arne would not be allowed to flood. Cllr Barnes has attended public meetings and never before had he heard either of these two points being mentioned. The EA representative told us that drains and ditches in Arne would be cleaned out and working before completion of the works. I'm afraid Cllr Barnes and I came away not entirely convinced that this proposal was a good idea. With many acres of land around Poole Harbour already given to wildlife, I failed to see why this project was so essential, bearing in mind the new wetland habitat would be next to homes thereby increasing the risk of flooding. The proposal has some way to go before the green light is given and that will be done by PDC councillors, not me. However, I am sympathetic to residents' concerns and have written to the chairman of the EA about them. Then it was back to Association HQs to meet rod and line fisherman Alan Smith. A charming and most affable man, he explained why he and his colleagues were struggling to make ends meet. It's EU quota, naturally, that is the problem, not helped by the fact that large numbers of French boats fish illegally with nets catching vast tonnages. Rod and line by its very nature must be one of the most sustainable forms of fishing, yet they are not allowed to fish on a level playing field. Again, I sympathise with their plight and have written to the fishing minister. Of course, in March 2019, we leave the CFP and get control of our waters once again. What a relief that will be. Then it was the turn of Marc Reddy and Matthew Callow, the MD and Commercial Director of First Bus to explain why No 5 bus was being withdrawn. I was accompanied by two councillors, Nigel Bundy and Alan Thacker, and we had a most instructive meeting. At the end, it was agreed that the two councillors would see if the district would be prepared to fund the route. We wait and see. I then had some pressing Association matters to deal with, before returning to my office where I remained until 1900.