Fears for Barnstaple’s history as port will end
No decision will be made until water users are consulted
Plans to remove marine facilities from Barnstaple’s quays so boats can no longer dock there could be considered to avoid the cost of complying with safety legislation.
North Devon Council is facing costs of £500,000 to bring all the facilities at Castle Quay and Rolle Quay in Barnstaple together with Fremington Quay up to scratch to comply with the new Port Marine Safety Code.
The cheaper option – at around £75,000 – is to remove buoys, ladders and mooring rings and other items from the quays and decommission the sites.
But members of the council’s strategy and resources committee this week raised concerns about Barnstaple’s history as a port coming to an end.
They have asked for a full consultation with water users, including paddleboarders and the gig clubs, and structural surveys to be carried out on each quay before any decision is made.
Cllr Caroline Leaver (Lib Dem, Newport) feared there could be people living on boats at the quays and questioned what would happen to them if the sites were no longer classified as a ‘marine facility’.
Cllr Malcolm Prowse (Ind, Bratton Fleming) said Barnstaple was the second most important port after Bristol on the west coast in the 16th/17th century.
“If we go ahead with this we are saying Barnstaple is no longer a port and never will be again.”
He said it wasn’t very long ago that the MS Oldenburg was taking people out on trips to Lundy Island from Barnstaple.
“We have to decide whether in the future we are never going to need these facilities. It would mean that a replica sailing ship could never tie up again at Barnstaple.
“We need to go and talk to the town council and community before we make a final decision.
It maybe nostalgia but we need to thread carefully to get this right with the community.”
Council officers said it was likely that slipways could still be used by rowers and paddleboarders if the sites were no longer designated.
They said that Castle Quay currently had occasional usage by vessels but there was no known usage at Fremington or Rolle Quay. However, the council was not in touch with boatowners and did not manage the quays at present in the way that it did at Ilfracombe where there was a harbourmaster. This meant that the actual usage could be different.
A management plan would be needed if the sites were kept as marine facilities. Quay walls would need repairing in a short space of time and all “unauthorised” facilities replaced with ones which compiled with the code.
None of the quays were generating an income for the council at the present time, councillors were told.
Members agreed that £30,000 be spent on structural surveys and a full consultation take place with users.