ENVIRONMENTAL campaigners have described a request to continue to dredge and sell sand from Hayle harbour as "depressing".

Save Our Sands (SOS), a group set up to protect the beach, towans and estuary, is to lobby town councillors at a meeting tonight.

The protest was sparked by a renewal application submitted to Cornwall Council by Hayle Harbour Management Ltd (HHML).

The harbour company is seeking a new five-year licence which would see at least 38,000 tonnes each year removed from the navigational channel.

If successful, the agreement could be extended automatically, provided no further alterations were requested.

A spokesman for SOS said they hoped councillors would "do the right thing" and object to the renewal.

"The prospect of a five year dredging programme removing a further 190,000 tonnes from the St Ives Bay sand system is depressing to say the least," said Peter Jamieson.

"Without sluicing, a digger and dredger will never make and keep a straight channel.

"As HHML is wholly owned by ING, one of the world's biggest banks, it should fund its own safety responsibilities."

The current licence, issued by Penwith District Council and sanctioning a maximum of 53,000 tonnes, expires in May. The terms allow for 80% of the sand to be sold and requires that the remaining 20% be returned.

HHML has repeatedly insisted that the costly operation relies on the sale of sand to keep the harbour channel clear.

ING project director Hamish Calder recently hit out at critics of the dredging.

He said the removal of less than the agreed amount proved the company was not interested in mining sand for profit.

But without an additional FEPA (food and environment protection act) licence, which costs around £8,000, sand can only be used to replenish dunes and not returned to the beach.

HHML wants to reduce the £20,000 spent each year on dune replenishment by reducing the frequency of testing, claiming that results showed the majority of dredged material to be of good quality.

An extension to the designated area is also proposed to include the channel next to Dynamite Quay at Lelant.

The company recently switched the operation to the Lelant side of the channel after the harbour-master decided that mechanical digging from the Hayle side was not working. Approval is currently being sought to install a temporary ramp to allow access for digging equipment.

A spokesman for ING said: "Discussions with the harbour users and fishermen indicated that this could provide the necessary improvements vital to maintaining the safe navigation of the harbour."