This government is to rely much more upon the private sector for funding of scientific research.

Many companies will fund applied research, but who will fund the basic research?

Readers may be interested in how this subject links the reef at Boscombe and beleaguered politician Elliot Morley (recently resigned minister who had claimed expenses for a mortgage paid off two years previously). Some 14 or so years ago, I tried to promote research into the use of multi-purpose reefs for coastal protection. The matter was raised in parliament by ex-Treasury spokesman for the Liberal party Matthew Taylor.

The question was rebuffed by the MAFF minister, and I received a letter from Elliot Morley explaining that if offshore reefs were to have a leisure benefit, the research would need to be funded by the promoting local authority, an impractical idea.

My further prompting in the UK came to nought and so I approached Prof Kerry Black, and that is why his company, ASR of New Zealand, have designed, and are building the reef at Boscombe.


DAVID WEIGHT, Environment Secretary for Wessex Surf Club, address supplied