First the good news. The consultant made it very clear that the present scheme applied for by Dean and Dyball for three and four storey houses on the East Quay will not happen.
We have known for some time that the district council has been under considerable pressure to drop that particular idea. That pressure came partly from a belated realisation that it did not comply with the marina funders' requirements or the needs of potential berth-holders or the local community, but mainly as a result of the petition signed by 2000 Watchet residents and the many detailed objections they submitted to the planning department.
Well done, Watchet! It is high time our rulers stopped blustering and started listening!
Now the fairly good news. Although the consultant's plans for the East Quay were a bit woolly, he does appear to have understood the importance of using this precious space productively, ie for marina-related activities, for visitors and the community and as a focal point of the town.
We will have to wait until he unveils his detailed plans at the end of this month to see how he proposes to piece it all together.
As for the remainder of the town his watchword was "activity" and the guiding principle appears to be that if he can make Watchet a really attractive and pleasant place to live in, then we will collectively develop a sense of pride which will rub off on visitors to the benefit of all.
That is fine as far as it goes but the problem as usual is how to put a good idea into practice.
For myself, I am not too worried by talk of a 'greenhouse' on The Esplanade or of a row of houses on the rock armour behind the Clipper - those are part of the vision with a timescale of 30 to 40 years.
Of more immediate concern (apart from the East Quay) is what to do with Harbour Road, the problem of how to bring the two 'halves' of Watchet together, the need to extend the conservation area, how exactly to bring 'activity' to The Esplanade, visitor parking (we have to assume, surely, for long-term planning purposes that visitor numbers will steadily increase and that the marina will ultimately succeed in attracting the minimum 200 berth-holders needed for financial viability), how to encourage small businesses and create real year-round jobs and, as ever, affordable housing.
Hopefully, his plans will address all those points (and more), but I must admit to being concerned at the lack of real consultation so far. I am told, for example, that no-one has approached the WBOA (representing the boat owners and berth-holders) for their ideas on facilities required on the East Quay.
Finally, the not-so-good-news. Those of your readers who live in and around Watchet are renowned for many things - mostly good - but when it comes to making their views known they tend to rely on telepathy.
I therefore take this opportunity to urge everyone who cares about Watchet to look out for advertisements as to the time and place of the exhibition of the consultant's detailed proposals and to make the effort to go along and not only see them but make sure that your comments are recorded.
Peter Capper,
Mill Court,
Watchet.