Brixham storm re-opens debate

Northern Arm would cost millions

Storms which lashed Brixham harbour over the weekend have re-opened the debate about a northern arm being added to its defences.

Over the years, Torbay Council has pledged its support on a number of occasions such an arm, which would be built out at right angles to the current breakwater.

It would protect the port from storms and create calmer waters in the outer harbour. Supporters say that would benefit the fishing industry as well as leisure users. But the mulit-million-pound cost means it remains a ‘long-term aspiration,’ according to council leader David Thomas (Con, Preston).

This weekend’s fierce north-westerly winds created rough conditions in the outer harbour where yachts and other vessels are moored.

In one dramatic rescue, the crew of a local pleasure boat defied gale-force winds and a heavy swell to retrieve a yacht which had partially broken free from its moorings on a pontoon in the harbour.

Footage on social media showed the crew of the We Ferry pleasure boat taking the yacht in tow to safety after it had been damaged by waves dashing it against the pontoon. One member of the We Ferry crew leapt from his vessel to the deck of the yacht to secure a line and cut the remaining mooring ropes.

Social media comments re-opened the northern arm debate. One said: “What better reason for a northern arm, not some puny extension to the mussel jetty either?

“There is so much potential in Brixham where the fishing industry and pleasure boating will benefit from a proper sheltered harbour.”

A northern nrm has been discussed for decades, and the council’s Marine Safety Management Plan says a ‘structural improvement plan’ is in hand for it.

But the sky-high cost of such a major scheme means it could be many years before it becomes a reality.

Long-serving Brixham independent councillors Mike Morey and Vic Ellery, who both stood down ahead of May’s local elections, both said their biggest regret was that they did not see work begin on the northern arm.

And Cllr Thomas said that while the project was still on the council’s ‘wish list’, it could be many years before it could be delivered.

“Of course it’s a long-term aim, but the reality is that we have got so much more to look at before that,” he said.

“If we suddenly had pots of money come along, then it would be in the wish list of things we want to do. But do I see it on our horizon in the next four years?

“No, and that’s simply because we have so many projects already that are there to be done.

“The cost would be astronomical. I would hate to even hazard a guess how much. But a northern arm for Brixham Harbour is still a long-term aspiration.”