ANGLING JETTY APPEAL |
FUNDRAISING EVENTS
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APPEAL FUND |
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ANGLING JETTY AT WEST BAY
Who is promoting it and who will use it?
Who is promoting it and who will use it?
The Angling Jetty is being promoted by the West Bay Sea Angling Club in partnership with Bridport Town Council. The Angling Club is a community of about 140 enthusiasts formed in 1951 who fish West Dorset’s beaches and the piers at West Bay. As well as the keen adult angler, the Club prides itself on its policy of introducing young people to the sport. It also caters specifically for disabled anglers. The Club holds out a welcome hand to ladies and girls who might like to try the sport or come along to support their men-folk.
In addition to regular and local anglers the Club, through its competitions and summer activities, acts as a host for visitors staying on holiday in the locality. In this way the Club and angling complement the "visitor offer" and are part of the attraction of West Bay and the West Dorset Coast as a holiday destination.
Maureen Jackson of the WBSAC said,
"I spoke to three teenagers last summer who were staying at
Parkdean and they said that after buying cheap rods and tackle in West Bay they had spent
the best ever holiday of their lives fishing off the West Pier"
Why is it needed?
The 17 mile length of Chesil Beach from Portland to West Bay is, even on the calmest days, a potentially dangerous environment for experienced anglers. The piers at West Bay have always provided a safe platform for the inexperienced, young and disabled to enjoy the sport.
The new pier currently under construction is part of a £14 million scheme undertaken specifically to protect West Bay from the awesome power of the sea and the flooding that can result from both the sea and the River Brit. Consequently boat access to and from the new harbour will be greatly improved and the number of moorings increased. This will help sea fishing from boats but the scheme will remove the whole of the West Pier.
The new Western harbour arm will have boat moorings on the harbour side and extensive and necessary protective rock armouring on the seaward side reaching out into the sea. The width and height of rock armouring and the resultant difficulties and dangers of casting and landing fish will mean that it will not be able to be used for angling purposes. Engineering works to the East Pier in the form of extra "rock armouring" will mean that the opportunity to fish safely from the piers will be completely lost. This means that the long tradition of sea angling from the piers at West Bay will die with the new harbour scheme.
Angling from the piers at West Bay has been established since they were built well over a century ago. Both local people and visitors have continued this tradition all year round for many years. It is true to say that fishing and angling, both commercial and for pleasure, are a fundamental part of the tradition and character of West Bay. It is very important to conserve and enhance this element of distinctive local activity. It is only if all the strands which together make up the essence of West Bay are nurtured, that the vitality of the harbour and the prosperity of the resort will be maintained.
What is it and what are the benefits?
| The solution is the provision of an Angling Jetty. This is a
platform of steel or concrete decking supported on piles driven down through the rock
armouring see sketch). It will have a bridge type access from the new Western harbour arm
and will be sufficiently close to the water’s edge to allow angling conditions which
replicate the old West Pier in order to permit beginners, juniors, and the disabled to
fish with ease and safety.
Angling Jetties are not uncommon in some parts of the world but provision of a purpose designed sea angling jetty at West Bay would be a first for the United Kingdom. The jetty will provide a "focus" and unique attraction for local and visiting anglers to the World Heritage Coast. |
Where will it be and when will it be built?
The Jetty will be located two thirds of the way down the western
harbour arm from the Esplanade on the seaward side (see plan), the same distance out and
at the same depth of water as the old West Pier. It will be able to accommodate many
anglers at any one time. It will provide ancillary facilities such as bait tables and
educational display boards to inform junior anglers and visitors of the likely species
that can be landed and the best bait and tackle with which they might be caught. The contractors of the main harbour works are slowly working their way out from the Esplanade with a heavy pile driver and crane to place the rock armouring. This equipment will be used to drive the eight piles for the Angling Jetty. On its return from the tip of the harbour arm the crane will also lay the pier decking. The best time to build the Angling Jetty deck would be as it returns past the jetty location in October later this year. |
Quote from Engineering Manager WDDC?
If the club and local community can raise the necessary funds and we can carry out detailed designs by October, that will be the best and most economical time to construct the Angling Jetty. I very much hope that this will be possible as it will be the "icing on the cake" of the whole scheme."
Who will pay for it?
West Dorset District Council, in response to local concerns about the loss of the piers for angling, has agreed to pay the £45,000 needed for the eight piles so that this could be done in the most economical way as part of the harbour works contract. The Council has also pledged the technical support of its Engineering Division and a further £10,000 for external technical work, including essential detailed design and structural work for the jetty decking. This is a great start. However, a further £185,000 is estimated to be needed to complete the works if it can be done by October when the crane comes back past the jetty location.
The Angling Club has very limited resources to replace the angling
facilities that have been an established right for many years. The Bridport Town Council
is firmly in support of the project and has agreed to lead the search for extra funding to
build the jetty. Sources of grant aid are being sought out and applications will be
submitted to secure money to meet the construction timetable. However, a demonstration
financial support from the local community is essential. The Angling Club is mounting a
fundraising campaign and pledges are welcome. If you would like to pledge please print out
form below and send it to:
West Bay Sea Angling Club appeal, c/o The Town Clerk, Bridport Town Council,
Mountfield, Bridport, Dorset. DT6 3JP.
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