Plan to shake-up moorings to make room on the river

THE layout of moorings on Lymington River could be ripped up and revamped to reduce waiting lists as part a blueprint to develop the harbour over the next five years.

Speaking at the launch of a new strategic plan, which sets out ambitions for the river, harbour master Ryan Willegers said Lymington Harbour Commission would also focus on additional ways to reduce waste and be more environmentally aware.

Mr Willegers said: “A the moment we don’t have a shopping list of future projects – but we are currently working on a harbour development plan which will identify improvements which can be made.”

He added: “We have around 650 moorings on the river and for some mooring categories the waiting list could be anything up to 20-plus years.

“The commission is currently undertaking a review of all the moorings it provides on the river to ensure that, in future, we continue to align the types of moorings supplied with demand and also see what opportunities there are to reduce the current waiting list of around 600 people.

"This could involve lifting out existing moorings and laying alternatives.”

The new plan will be used to guide development and policies for the harbour up to 2025. It was subject to an eight-week public consultation and feedback from the Lymington Harbour Advisory Group which represents the interests of various harbour users, environmental groups and businesses.

Mr Willegers said: “The plan sets out our objectives for the next five years and provides a framework for how the harbour is run. A key initiative will be to minimise our environmental footprint.

“In the past we have had several environmental initiatives in the harbour such as reusing the mud which is dredged on the salt marshes, but going forward we will also be looking to lessen our environmental impact in other ways such as reducing our paper waste and looking at sustainable electricity.”

It has also emerged that a wave screen on the eastern entrance to the river, which reduces the impact of larger waves, is set to be replaced at a cost of around £400,000.

Mr Willegers said: “The new wave screen will be designed in such a way that we can add to the height of it in future years.”

Another future project could see the installation of a small, self-operated electric crane at Town Quay, which would be used by commercial fishermen to load and unload their equipment and catch.

However, the plan cautioned: “With respect to safety, the proposed location is near to a heavily used public space, and members of the public frequently ignore signage and stray onto this private commercial area.

It continued: “Very careful consideration will therefore need to be given to how a small crane can be operated safely in this environment.”

The harbour commission has also revealed a plan to investigate options to upgrade the public slipway at Bath Road in consultation with the main user groups such as the RNLI and the sailing clubs.

For more information or to read the strategic plan in full see www.lymingtonharbour.co.uk.