New world's certainly not our oyster!
WITH reference to the Venture Hayling questionnaire, I would like to make the following points about the proposed scheme to build a breakwater east of Creek Road.
1) I would remind people of the oyster bed scheme, built at the north west corner of the Island. This too was heralded as a marvellous opportunity.
The bund walls did not stand the test of time and neither did the business venture. How much that venture cost the local council tax payers we shall never know.
2) The questionnaire mentions "more tourism opportunities." In the area proposed for the scheme what is there to develop? This is an area of dense housing.
Creek Road is no more a tourist trap, as Havant Borough Council allowed the redevelopment of the whole area for housing. The bars and restaurants for the boating fraternity do not exist in this area of the Island.
3) The question of investing public money into such a scheme must be totally out of the question. This is an area of naturally high erosion from the sea.
I would suggest that only a solid concrete structure would stand any chance of survival for any length of time.
What effect would such a structure have on the tide currents along the rest of the beach and adjoining areas? Who would investigate these effects and who would foot the significant bill?
If the proposed structure was found to increase erosion along the beach, who would foot the extra bill?
4) In my opinion, not only should no public money be invested in such a scheme but also reserves should be provisioned sufficient that if the scheme should fail, at any stage, appropriate remedial action could be taken without impacting local tax payers.
The provision of reserves should be in a form that would not alleviate the backers from their responsibilities even in the event of bankruptcy.
5) Yes, we would all like to see sand again on Hayling beach but not at the expense of a marina. The sandy beach sounds very attractive but have you visited North Hayling nature reserve lately and walked down to the entrance of the marina?
What you will find is a litter-ridden coastline with a regular oil slick. Does the sandy beach sound so attractive now?
This also answers the next question – no I don't think a small section of oily sand on the edge of a residential area will attract great numbers of visitors.
One other point - where will all these visitors and boat owners park their cars?
6) There seems little point in building a breakwater just for the sake of it. Without making it into a marina these local entrepreneurs will have little interest in the project. A marina and a sandy beach do not make happy bedfellows.
7) The question of other tourist/commercial facilities surely exposes the whole philosophy of this proposal. It is really a commercial development around a marina that is being sold as a sandy beach creating a tourism boom. Who's fooling whom here?
8) I would also invite people to consider Ocean Village, at Southampton. Built on a much larger scale than the Hayling proposal, but 15 to 20 years down the line, what is left – two restaurant/bars and lots and lots of flats.
9) The questionnaire then talks about regeneration of Creek Road. Have any of the proposers been to Creek Road recently: There's nothing left to develop. You're too late, the housebuilders got there before you!
I could go on but there seems little point, although I would like to raise one further issue.
The question of a dedicated pedestrian and cycle bridge from Langstone to Hayling; currently both the east and the west footpaths on the bridge have been designated as pedestrian/cycle paths.
This would seem more than adequate considering the number of people that cross the bridge on a daily basis.
If cyclists and walkers safety is a concern here, I would suggest there are far more dangerous situations on the Island that should be addressed first.
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Weather for Hayling
Friday 10 February 2012
Today
Light snow
Temperature: -4 C to 3 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
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