If you have carried out, or know of, research carried out in Wicklesham Quarry - please email protectwicklesham@gmail.com with details. Please read on... Earth science SSSIs such as Wicklesham Quarry are NOT museum sites of 'old' geological forms and examples, as many people imagine - they are living laboratories for cutting edge scientific research- into the future of our planet as well as the past. Wicklesham Quarry is "one of Britain's richest palaeontological sites", where the "unique" Faringdon sponge gravels were laid down under highly unusual conditions. "Faringdon fossils" have been in museum collections since 1699 - but new discoveries continue to be made. "The past is a window on the future" In 1986 Mark Wilson discovered a new genus plus 3 new species of Foraminifera at Wicklesham quarry in Oxfordshire (Palaeontology 1986, 29 (4): 691-703). The fossils of this minute creature are now being studied in order to further our understanding of climate change. Asst. Professor Miriam Katz- quoted above - is a specialist in foraminifera. She writes that the material evidence from fossil foraminifera "can provide us with important information on how rapid changes in temperature can significantly impact ice volume, sea level, and the evolution of life on Earth". Wicklesham Quarry is under threat of being turned into a 20 acre industrial warehousing site. Exogenous materials would be introduced, roads would be created and the quarry base would be concreted over for permanent buildings. Only parts of the quarry walls would be preserved. Supporters of Wicklesham Quarry believe that such permanent changes will damage the SSSI site as a whole, reducing the ability of earth scientists to continue their crucial research into the future. The Guidelines for The Selection of SSSIs state: 'Special interest' does not remain static - what is of special interest in ten years’ time may be completely different from what seems important today. If SSSI sites are to retain their role and value for research science, their integrity must be recognized and preserved. Please send any information you have on research at Wicklesham Quarry (your own or others') to protectwicklesham@gmail.com - AS SOON AS POSSIBLE! Include a brief description, name(s) and any citations you know of. Thank you for your support! The submission deadline for the Planning Inspection on Faringdon Neighbourhood Plan is 11th JANUARY 2016. Send any comments on this proposal (Policy 4.5B of Faringdon Neighbourhood Plan) to planning.policy@whitehorsedc.gov.uk. (& copy to protectwicklesham@gmail.com please!) A further update on submission points will be coming to supporters this week... WATCH THIS SPACE!