Chichester Harbour Trust chairman reflects on successes as he approaches retirement

John took over from Sir Jeremy Thomas, who set up the trust in 2002 as a registered charity dedicated to the protection of Chichester Harbour Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

He said: "Having been with the trust for 14 years and chair for 11 – and having reached a great age! – it is time for me to hand over the reins.

"It has been an immense privilege to chair the trust. I do believe the trust has played a vital role, in its more than 20 years of existence, in preserving the landscape and beauty of the Harbour, its wildlife and its environment generally.

"We have worked closely with all of the stakeholders around the Harbour. I would single out the Chichester Conservancy and the local communities in particular. The depth of our collaboration is something I hope will very much continue.

"I have done it for a long time and it has been hard work but I have thoroughly enjoyed it. I am about to be 77 and the time is right. Jeremy Thomas did a remarkable job in setting it up and he was chairman for ten years, now I have been chairman for more than ten years. I have loved it and I am going to miss it.

"When I look back on when I started at the trust, the Harbour actually looked very similar to today. If you go back 20 years to when the trust was formed, it was the same, and that has been the most significant achievement. The Harbour has been kept the same, landscape wise and physically constant.

"If you walk around, or take a boat out, it is very similar, very beautiful and big, one of the biggest natural Harbours in the UK. The wonderful setting, with the view up to the South Downs, that is magic, and that has been maintained.

"When I became chairman, our purpose really was to protect, enhance and improve. We have acquired sensitive sites in the Harbour to protect them and many of them are community sites. We had nine or ten when I became chairman and we now have 15. That was the overall aim and it remains the absolute purpose of the trust."

It has by no means been plain sailing. Challenges over recent years have included overdevelopment affecting the environment and the impact on water quality, due to raw sewage being dumped 'in levels never seen before' and nitrates from agricultural land.

Five years ago, the trust launched a major campaign to highlight the existential crisis facing the whole Harbour, with the deterioration in water quality being a major concern.

John said: "I feel we have had some impact and there is no question that Southern Water are now much more responsive to the concerns we have had.

"Gradually, we have spent more time on advocacy for the Harbour than we have in the past and the good news is that other organisations around the Harbour have given it support, so there are plenty of people talking about it."

Summit meetings with various interested parties began two years ago and the action plan is updated every six months, as the Harbour faces the many challenges ahead, including demands for house building.

John said: "We all know the Harbour is currently facing immense environmental threats and challenges, the scale of which we have not seen before. It is vital that all the stakeholders around the Harbour really pull together to meet these challenges. I will be cheering on from the sidelines."

The trust is entirely a charity relying on philanthropic funds. John's successor will be Nick Backhouse, a prominent businessman who has been a trustee for three years and lives on the Harbour. The trust has asked John to remain as a patron.