The long-term future of Bembridge Harbour is uncertain following the announcement by the Bembridge Harbour Users Group (BHUG) that they have abandoned their project to repair the groyne which sits at the entrance to the Harbour.
Years of preparation have now gone to waste as a result of delays of 15 months following the harbour company’s ‘withholding of support’ for the project. The reinstatement of the groyne would have played a significant role in helping to reduce the level of siltation in the Harbour, says BHUG.
The project has been abandoned because it’s said that it is impossible to continue to put plans on hold as the team of volunteers at the heart of the project are no longer available.
The Users Group say that due to the forced delay, the prospects for the necessary fundraising of £250,000 now appear to be somewhat remote given the current financial climate and other essential preparatory work would need to be reworked.
The decision to abandon the project came after the committee concluded that the delay has had such a negative impact as to make the project unachievable.
Michael Toulmin the chair of BHUG said:
“It is a great pity that there can’t be cooperation between the owners of the Harbour and the local community who have invested hundreds of hours making preparation for the repair work.”.
Just a subtle way to get wealthy craft owners to fund this project, knowing they will be useless without such.
Don’t give in. The harbour company will ‘cave’ first.
There is no need to panic as the few sticks of wood still standing are hardly holding much back now, as they haven’t for years, so ride it out and see those with the ‘most to lose’ empty their unaccounted wallet content first.
All is needed is one of those rotten house boats to be scuttled broadside to the remaining poles and job done.
So they have abandoned a project they never had the funds to build in the first place. With the bad blood between these 2 parties there was never much chance of cooperation, but always a good press opportunity for the user group to blame the owners which is what outsiders looking in have come to expect.
As far as I’m aware the BHUG and also the Bembridge Harbour Trust are no more than self appointed local interest groups who twice failed to buy the harbour when it was available and now seek to dictate to the owners how it should be run.
The long term future of Bembridge harbour is hardly dependent on their unfunded ire at not getting their own way.
Big Ben is confusing the Bembridge Harbour Users Group with the Bembridge Harbour Trust. The Harbour owners have a problem with the BHT due to it seeking to ensure the statutory harbour authority(Bembridge Harbour Investlents Ltd) is not disadvantaged by the long term financial burdens that the owners apparently seek to impose on it for renting improved facilities that are subject to a current planning application. There is no bad blood between the harbour owners and BHUG other than the harbour owners asking BHUG to influence the actions of BHT which it is unable to do. The harbour owners cooperation is needed to progress the repair but they have declined to progress it until their planning application for an enabling development is fully approved including the legal arrangements of how the profits will be used to the benefit of BHIL. A very odd situation since the repair is intended to reduce the degree of silting in the harbour which, in turn, would reduce the costs to the owners of removing it
Perfect place for landfill just a thought