Nus Ghani, MP for Wealden, is working in partnership with the Environment Agency to save the deteriorating Michelham Priory moat and has welcomed progress that has been made on the case in the last few weeks.
After learning about issues surrounding the Michelham Priory moat - the longest continual medieval water-filled moat in Britain, Nus held an urgent debate in Parliament and urged the Minister to hold the Environment Agency to account regarding their duties of silt and water management of the moat.
Following the debate, Nus met with representatives from the Environment Agency (EA) and Sussex Archaeological Society, who run Michelham Priory, to discuss plans to fix the sluice gates, de-silt the moat, remove invasive plants and restore water supply.
At a follow-up meeting this week, Nus was pleased to learn that a great progress has been made. Evaluations of the spread of the pennywort are underway and de-silting works of low-risk areas of the moat can begin subsequently. Environment Agency is working with Michelham Priory to fix the lower sluice gate and surveys are being undertaken about the cost of repairs of the upper sluice gate, which is needed for restoring natural water flow to the moat.
Nus Ghani said: “The issues of Michelham Priory moat are a matter of great urgency. I am pleased that great progress has been made to begin the process of restoring this fantastic historical asset. Once the moat is desilted, larger volume of water can be stored in the moat, reversing the process of drying out of the listed buildings. I will be keeping a close eye on the case and continue to meet with the EA and the Priory management regularly to discuss further progress regarding the sluice gates and restoring waterflow to the moat.”
