Although I am no longer in Purbeck, I lived and worked there for most of my life until 2001. In the late 1970s, my father John (91 today!) and the late Dr De Jersey, then both officers of Swanage Sailing Club, developed plans for a small harbour utilising the pier together with a new breakwater. This was to be very much a working harbour to accommodate the needs of all the local fisherman, the lifeboat and the sailing club, with provision for visiting yachts. In addition to the plans, a professional model was made at a cost of some £1500. Nothing came of this scheme, which seems very similar in scale and purpose to that being suggested again now. I seem to remember donating the very fine model to either Swanage Sailing Club or the Town Museum. It would perhaps be very interesting to track it down again; I will ask the sailing club unless anyone else knows where it is? As is now well known, David Durrant appeared on the scene in the mid 1980s and proposed the much larger and highly controversial 250 berth marina as part of the onshore housing development. For those who would like to know about what happened subsequently, much can be learned from the pages of Hansard from March 1987 when the Swanage Yacht Haven Bill received its second reading. I have pasted here the link to that most interesting document. Even though a sailor myself, I am dead against any idea of yet another huge parking lot for mostly disused white plastic yachts. Almost as bad as caravan sites! I still believe that the idea of a small working harbour with provision for visiting boats is sound if the scheme can be financed in some way. So good luck Nick! hansard.millbanksystems/lords/1987/mar/07/swanage-yacht-haven-bill-hl
Posted on: Fri, 19 Sep 2014 14:59:31 +0000
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