Will Barnstaple lose its historic port status after almost a thousand years?

Barnstaple’s status as a port could be coming to an end after a millennium if North Devon Council pushes ahead with cost-cutting proposals to remove marine facilities from the town quays so boats can no longer dock.

The 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 at a strategy and resources committee yesterday (Monday, September 1), councillors raised concerns about Barnstaple’s history as a port coming to an end.

They have asked for a full consultation with water users, including paddle boarders and the gig clubs, as well as structural surveys to be carried out on each quay before any decision is made.

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Councillor Malcolm Prowse said Barnstaple was the second most important port after Bristol on the west coast in the 16th and 17th centuries.

He added: “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.

Cllr Prowse continued: “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 may be nostalgia but we need to thread carefully to get this right with the community.”

Cllr Caroline Leaver 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’.

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Council officers said it was likely that slipways could still be used by rowers and paddle boarders 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 boat owners 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.

Would this decision affect you as a boat owner or club? Tell us what you think – email newsdesk@northdevongazette.co.uk or join the debate on our Facebook page.