Brightlingsea Harbour plan

Cobra

Cobra

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The trust port of Brightlingsea is possibly going to see some major changes in the coming years if the powers that be (Harbour Commissioners) have their way. Having had a good read through it would seem that there is a move afoot to turn Brightlingsea into a South Coast harbour.

Have a look at the plan here http://www.brightlingseaharbour.org/documents/BHCMasterPlan-Web.pdf

It is a detailed document, and certainly speaking with other locals is not very popular...so, what does the panel think?
 
A mixed bag.

Brightlingsea is unique around these parts. Not being attached to the land and not having electricity and water puts it somewhere between an anchorage and a marina. We like that. Providing service on the pontoon will mean we are charged more and if the charge is optional then we probably wouldn't pay. Many visitors only stay a night or two - my batteries can cope for that long and keep the beers cool.

Permanent berthholders may feel differently. Do they have a berth-holders association to represent their views?

The marina - well the only people I know who use it are dog owners. Not somewhere I'd ever go even it had some water in it!

I can see why they need to assess the opportunities and risks and hopefully this will help manage a lack of change in the basic feel and enjoyment of the place.
 
It's a very long term set of ideas, interesting and good to see that they have at least been thinking about it.
And Roger, the marina really is OK to use, at least in my experience.
 
As a resident and berth holder I don't want my mooring fees to go up to pay for provision and maintenance of power, water, showers and toilets that I don't need. I also don't want access to all the moorings above the existing pontoons to be seriously compromised by the replacement of the fore-and aft moorings with more pontoons. There is a feeling amongst berth holders that visitors seem to be more important than berth holders, which is reinforced by the difficulties caused for smack owners having visitors berthed alongside them even when they have asked not to be rafted alongside on a particular day.

I made my feelings on these issues known when the draft plan/report was circulated but it feels as though there is an inevitability about it. Although there is currently a waiting list for berths we are not immune from the effects of downturns in demand (which "optimised" fees will surely result in) and adding overheads for maintenance of new facilities is increasing the risk of exposure under these circumstances. Remember that this is a non-profit trust not a pure business enterprise. From outside the organisation it smells of empire building but that may be unfair.

From my PoV (and that of many berth holders and visitors) Brightlingsea's strength and charm is that it is reasonably priced and simple, not another marina-like facility with prices and vulnerabilities to suit.
 
All looks a bit ambitious to me. I note that the marina is silting at the rate of 0.5m per annum. That I would have thought would render the long term viability pretty dodgy
 
I would love a berth in Brightlingsea.... but there is a shortage of space... so I will support the idea..

Times move and people have to move with them or get washed away with the floatsome...
 
There is a public meeting of the harbour on Tuesday 23rd September at 1900 in the Sailing Club. Be good if lots attended to have their say.
 
Tomahawk said:
I would love a berth in Brightlingsea.... but there is a shortage of space... so I will support the idea..

Times move and people have to move with them or get washed away with the floatsome...
Click to expand...

You could be a floating pontoon mooring all on your own.....
 
I think Brightlingsea Harbour need to be careful to preserve what people like about the place. They currently have a waiting list for berths. The East Coast currently has lots of full service marinas, and the only one of those that is turning people away is Levington, as far as I know. What Brightlingsea offers is unique and I think that they need to preserve certain aspects of that.

Personally I'd be willing to pay more for certain improvements, but if they push it too far then they're competing in a different, more crowded, sector.
 
Supine

You raise a very emotive point, but it is fraught with dangers. Consider that back in the 70's the most common size of boat selling at the boat show was in the region of 30 ft. Now it is in the 45 ft range. In many respects that is natural and to be expected. People are getting more wealthy and can afford more expensive boats.


However during the same time, Brightlingsea has not changed with the boat market. Today there is not enough space for boats in the 45 ft range. This means that people buying newer boats cannot sail from Brightlingsea and and the harbour has to rely on smaller boats. Which effectively means the clientele is less wealthy. Yes the place is unique, but if it also turning away the more wealthy and attracting less wealthy people it also means the place is distilling the wealth out of the town.

You must ask yourself, is poor and rundown actually attractive?
 
You make some good points Tomahawk and, yes, the town of Brightlingsea certainly looks like it needs a substantial cash injection for its workforce. For the visiting yachtsman with lots of money to spend, there's not much in the way of posh eateries to lighten the burden of his pockets. But I'm not sure that implementing all the changes that have been suggested will add very much to Brightlingsea's prosperity.

Look at Burnham. It's a pretty town with a large yachtie community so the good handful of restaurants present in the town should be benefitting, but they all seem to be struggling. I rarely see any of the ones in town really buzzing. I was chatting to one of the shop-owners in town a couple of years ago who said that the car spares shop just closed down and disappeared overnight and that he himself was hanging on by his fingernails. My point is that we're not really a free-spending bunch, us yachties, despite the 'luxury' image of our pass-time.

It's a tough decision, and I'm glad it's not mine!
 
True..
There is still a deep recession going on. And all the time council jobsworths etc ad to the costs of running a business. I suspect that many leisure organisations such as golf clubs, squash clubs, riding stables, motor racing clubs are also feeling the squeeze.
 
Tomahawk said:
... Consider that back in the 70's the most common size of boat selling at the boat show was in the region of 30 ft. Now it is in the 45 ft range. ...
Click to expand...

To be sure, that is part of the equation. But you do not provide another part: how many 30 footers were sold in the 70's and how many 45 footers are sold now?

(I don't know, and it's a genuine question.)
 
I genuinely don't get the appeal of Brightlingsea

It's an OK place to go and (for us at least) the only all tide all weather alternative to Bradwell within the Blackwater Estuary but beyond that?

An OK for a pint pub, a decent curry, an alright Sailing Club and basic supplies on the plus side I grant you but...

No walk ashore access, no power or water on the pontoons, strong tides and a liklihood of being rafted at busier times

And when you add the cost of the water taxi to the cost of the mooring It's not much of a cost saving over, say, Bradwell anyway

Oh we'll do there from time to time just for the variety but rave about the place? I think not
 
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