"Only tourism can save our bankrupt land" I read in the weekend press, the Greek Prime Minister has told his people. If the peripheries of Europe have worked this out why haven't we? I was lent some old photos of the marina plans which made me think isn't about time this idea was rekindled? 250 safe berths and 130 car spaces with a cafe culture were proposed. Surely this would stimulate our local economy?
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I agree , the amount of money we lose out on , especially in the summer when you see all those yachts and boats parked in the bay. Let's get this back on the agenda. Let's not make the same mistake again and turn it down.
The most amazing thing is that the housing development was passed three months PRIOR to these marina plans being exhibited. How could the planning authorities get it so badly wrong? You can build your fancy houses Mr Durrant, but don't bother with the Town's marina unless you really want to spend all that money.
I seem to remember that one of the biggest opposing arguments to the marina was how it would affect the sandy beach.
I don't know anything about these things, but it would still be a valid point to investigate.
Watchet in Somerset has had a lot of money pumped into it and now has a fantastic marina. However, they didn't have a beach (on Swanage's scale).
Traditional seaside holidays of one or two weeks are in the past - we have to look to the future and explore all possibilities.
Well the beach needed recharging anyway without a marina
That's very true - something to sway the argument.
Before the beach was recharged the level of sand on the north side of the banjo jetty had fallen and the level on the townward side had risen.You only needed to stand on it to see this. Sand is not static. It moves round the bay. If something impedes it it will pile up against the obstacle. That is what we have groynes for. A harbour wall on the south side of the bay could therefore be expected to do this. I would certainly like to see model based evidence that this is not the case from the deniers who were very vocal then the scheme was current.
Putting a harbour wall under the pier would have done nothing for the pier or its setting. Although there is a lot to be said for a marina this scheme had a number of snags like this that unfortunately could not be overcome.
Has anyone seen any recent work on the economic impact of marinas? I for one would like to see some evidence before supporting such a venture.
Some say the banjo jetty has done more to affect the sand to its north than anything else.
Recharging worked, and seeing as the longshore drift is south to north, the proposed marina may have little affect on it. An impact study should be required as part of the approval.
Swanage sorely needs a marina. The volume of boat traffic passing by would almost certainly justify a number of transient berths, which would feed trade to local shops and restaurants during the important summer and shoulder months. Residents would be able to keep their boats here and not Poole Harbour, Shell Bay or Weymouth. Locally there could be scope for a chandlery, boat/maintenance/repairs/sales business, boat storage, and other related businesses. There would probably be a slight bump in house prices, especially at the upper end, if some yachting folk choose Swanage/Studland instead of Lilliput or Sandbanks for their weekend home. The sailing club would benefit from the higher profile yachting would take in Swanage. If someone will invest in this, I cannot see much of a downside to an area of our bay that has already survived quite well the construction of the water/drain pumping station/sailing club/pier restoration. It isn't about whether it is done; it is about HOW it is done that matters. It must be done with care and sensitivity to fit in with its surroundings.
Do you think the planning dinosaurs at Purbeck could lurch out of their mud ponds and actually promote this? Or is it all too late because they were too terrified to include the idea in the last planning consultation process?
"It must be done with care and sensitivity to fit in with its surroundings."
what? it's a harbour wall with some rocks piled up against it -just get on with it!!!
Poole has moorings galore, yachts parked up everywhere. I can't see that it has done the place much good. Having a couple of hundred boats parked up for the winter is not going to transform Swanage into Cannes, its nonsense.
Probably not much in the winter I would agree, except the ability to walk the harbour wall and the probability of more fishing vessels, perhaps even processing. But in the Summer it could make Swanage a thriving yachting destination. Imagine Lymington or Cowes without yachtsmen?
Lymington and Cowes are very different from Swanage. Both had a geography conducive to supporting small boat activities and so developed the facilities as the number of boats grew. They started off with sheltered positions. Whether it is possible to graft the whole thing on to a resort with an entirely different orientation and history is a difficult question to answer.
I had a trawl (pardon the nautical pun) through what I could find on line on the impact of marinas last night. The experience seems to be that the vast majority of berths are let long term with visiting boats making up something in the region of 20% of users. Pretty much like a caravan site where the majority are static.
The odd thing about the Durrant scheme was that it involved the loss of a hotel while most incorporate a new hotel.
I looked at the show house when the Haven went up. The agents pitch was that they would be bought by wealthy people with a number of homes. Strange how encouraging second home ownership was not regarded as politically incorrect a couple of decades ago. You can imagine the reaction now if someone proposed building dozens of houses for this market with no affordable home provision included. Times have changed. The problems have changed. a quarter of a century ago it was what to do to regenerate a declining tourism offering. Marinas were a popular way of doing this.
why not look at it this way, if those "second homes" had not been built we would be left with a decaying hotel building. As Shore House too. Virtually every house in New Swanage and Durlston belongs to someone who was never born here.
Virtually every house in New Swanage and Durlston belongs to someone who was never born here.
So what is your point caller?
Looking at what people are willing to pay to stay in the more expensive b&bs the hotels would have been doing all right now if they had not been demolished.
So what is your point caller?
that second home owners should be welcomed
"Looking at what people are willing to pay to stay in the more expensive b&bs the hotels would have been doing all right now if they had not been demolished."
well no because they would have needed 100's of thousands spending on them. OK if you are the Savoy
I seem to recall that an Act of Parliament comes into play somewhere along the line, I also recall someone saying that the moorings in the bay had been sold so as to make it virtually impossible for anything along the lines of a marina to be carried out.
Who owns the part of the foreshore that will possibly be affected, is it Wessex Water?
I agree, why are second home owners regarded worse than people retiring down here? Bring them on I say. It's like saying a family with two cars is in some way depriving a family with none.
The foreshore is owned by the council as far as I know. The state sold off the beach to the council many years ago. I looked into this a while back for my powerkiting proposal on the beach.
There are other ways of promoting tourism than a marina which would seriously prejudice all that makes Swanage the unique place that it is. Poole and Weymouth do marinas big time and Swanage can only be second best and ruin the place to boot.The whole point of the marine experience here is that it is unique and hands-on.
Different sorts of tourism could be developed, using, for example, the Mowlem, and say, a good museum and the people visiting would spend real money in the town and the whole aspect would not be radically changed and spoiled.
Yes a lot to a marina in Swanage. As a yachtsman based in a Poole Club one learns only to put into Swanage once.
Not being able to go alongside one has to launch the tender or stay on board while riding to anchor. The problem is if you stay on board you are incenssantly buzzed by noisy Jet Bikes and invariably move onto Studland or Chapmans Pool.
SO PLEASE SWANAGE GET A MARINA.
"the whole aspect would not be radically changed and spoiled" -most people wouldn,t know it was there. And all these people visiting "the Mowlem, and say, a good museum" could arrive by sea.
Thing is there so many ideas I could think of to make Swanage a better and thriving place. Thou I could go on forever, but this subject is about a Marina which I reckon would finally put swanage on the map for yachts and boats to harbour up. Also I am sure the lifeboat would be in the water most of the time , so it could leave straight away on a call out. The fishermen could leave their boats in the Marina instead of pulling them out during eastly swells and the sailing club would benefits aswell I am sure:)
Upstairs inside Marine Villas on Swanage Pier is a model belonging to the sailing Club. The model shows how a marina in swanage might look - it's quite interesting and I think it would be nice to bring it downstairs and placed in the exhibition room for the public to look at. But until then if you want to have a look at it just ask the piermaster .
All very interesting but unless someone has a tame developer with ten million or so in the bank it is also completely pointless.
Hange on, don't be too negative, who put up £6M to renovate the pub up at Durlston Country Park? Where did the £3m come from for railway signalling or the beach rejeneration. This marina would be of major bebefit to the Town, not just placate a few hobbyists, let's get a PPI on it.
"The model shows how a marina in swanage might look" -can someone take a picture and post it up here?
Send it to Mike he'll do it I'm sure.
The sailing club have a model. Well why not promote it? The sailing club seems a bit of a closed shop to me. Gates locked. No place for the S.S. Rowing Club in their curtilage. Did they support the marina idea all those years ago? Anyway the advert in this weeks paper indicates they don't aspire to much: "Galley organiser required"-"catering experience not essential"...
Oh dear!
Marine villas NEXT TO the Pier, NOTHING to do with the Sailing Club, try, museum.
Are you lot silly, or not frum round yere?
Oh Dear indeed - You misunderstand - the model is owned by the sailing club but is currently housed upstairs inside Marine Villas on Swanage Pier because there wasn't enough room in the sailing club for it.
beg your pardon, I'd been told that they'd given it too the museum.
A marina would being huge economic benefits to Swanage and you would find that the new money wold really help turn the town around. the high street looks simply terrible with those awful yellow pavers. Swanage is in a fantastic location and could be one of the most exclusive places to live in the south of England. Without a marina you are attracting the shell suits from the north is that what the town really wants? The town is desperate for re-development. Just take a trip to Lymington and you can see what you are missing, you don't want to end up like Poole. Anyone who owns a house in Swanage would benefit from an uplift in the value of their properties.
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