Kingsbridge was dredged in February. The dredger worked for two hours either side of the spring high tides and it all went well. The silt has been reduced to just above the gravel bed of the basin, which is as far as one can safely go. Our spring high tides are always around 6 or 7 o’clock, so the dredger sometimes had to work at night or early morning, but that was the only way to get the job done.
I can also dispel a rumour which has been running around – that the dredger was using chemicals to dissolve the mud. Not true: all it did was inject sea water into the mud to create a sludge which could then slip downhill out of the basin. No chemicals at all: indeed the whole operation has been getting full marks from Natural England because of the environmental safety of water-injection dredging. The harbour is setting a trend here.
The other good news is that SHDC has at last fixed the railings on Jubilee Pier. This, together with last year’s structural patching, should give a longer lease of life to the pier. The next stage is to look at the long-term prospects of the pier and fortunately there is now an opportunity for this. But first a short diversion into civics: there are two common types of harbour, municipal and trust. A trust harbour, like Dartmouth, is an independent public body which can run its own affairs. In a municipal harbour, like Salcombe, the local authority is the harbour authority and the Harbour Board is an SHDC advisory committee. It follows that there can be two kinds of SHDC asset around the harbour: assets which are the harbour authority’s (like pontoons, launches &c) and ordinary Council assets which, in Salcombe, mean the fish quay, the car parks (including Batson car/boat park), the industrial units in Island Street, Cliff House gardens, and Jubilee Pier – none of which come under the Harbour Board.
Well, SHDC has engaged Hyder Consulting to undertake a review of all Council assets in Salcombe. A main concern for SHDC is to obtain European Fisheries funding for the fish quay: but also included is the possible development of Council-owned land; making Whitestrand more pedestrian friendly (I think it’s a waste that it’s a car park); and better use of the Salcombe ice cream factory car park. All of which may be good stuff – and it allows the case to be made for the pier.
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