WATCHET Marina’s new owners have begun work in earnest to revitalise the run-down facility and have high hopes of making major improvements in time for the marina’s 20th anniversary in July.

Specialists from the Cardiff-based Marine Group – which runs four Welsh marinas and a major dredging company – are working alongside Watchet staff on a £400,000-plus improvement project planned to turn the harbour into a thriving tourist centre to benefit the town.

On the first day of the handover, townsfolk greeted the new owners with a welcoming banner and were rewarded with hospitality from Marine Group staff – including plates of traditional Welsh cakes.

A major task will be removing mud, in places more than ten feet deep, which has severely hampered the movement of boats, and dredging is set to start in the middle of May

Rob Freemantle, Marine Group director of operations, said: “We are very excited about taking over Watchet marina – I have always loved the place and was a visiting yachtsman even before the marina was built.

“It’s going to be a big job and I just hope everybody will be patient. We can’t rectify things overnight but I think people will be surprised just how quickly things will change."

For the full story, see this week’s West Somerset Free Press.