Lymington Harbour has just announced that its scheme to upgrade and regenerate the Quay is completed and that the new facilities are officially open.
Lymington now offers visitor berth facilities that rival other leading destinations across the south coast and which modern boaters expect. This is good news for Lymington businesses and estimated to boost the local tourist economy by over £1.1m over the next ten years.
There are now 46 dedicated walk ashore pontoon berths (including 26 finger berths) for visiting craft, all with power and water, as well as 32 fore and aft visitor moorings.
Conveniently for visitors the finger berths will be available for advance booking, initially through the harbour office, and in the coming weeks, online.
Seen as the ‘gateway’ to the Solent, Lymington is as we know steeped in yachting history. With its proximity to the New Forest, it is also an attractive destination to visiting boats from other parts of Britain, and from Europe too.
As well as improving the visitor facilities, the new development also enlarges the commercial landing. This will allow larger boats and more frequent visits from the pleasure cruise craft which bring day trip tourists from destinations such as Yarmouth and Cowes.
Upgrades for local fishing and private boat owners too
The project has also relocated the commercial fishing boat berths which provides better segregation between commercial and leisure boat activities, and upgraded 24 moorings reserved for local residents to pontoon berths.
Lymington Harbour is a not for profit trust port. It sees the £620k investment as a crucial part of its wider sustainability and development programme Walk ashore berths at Lymington Quaythat is further supported by research from the British Marine Association - who highlight how the marine sector has created close to £6bn in sales from boating related tourism expenditure in 2018, a 65% growth since 2013. Travelling to and fro mainly by land as we do, most of us don't routinely consider these aspects of our economy!
Tourism without traffic plus a boost for local jobs and local spending
Crucially, at a time when various New Forest stakeholders are working to reduce vehicle related tourism, the new visitor facilities will deliver ‘tourism without traffic’ as well as boosting jobs and expenditure into the local community.
With WIFI, power and access to newly renovated facilities, Lymington will continue to be seen as a leading destination for boaters, something that excites Harbour Commissioner Ryan Willegers:
“We are delighted that this project which has been in the making for a number of years following wide spread support to an earlier public consultation is now complete. We now look forward to welcoming many new visitors to Lymington so that they can enjoy the wonderful facilities the town and harbour has to offer, while at the same time benefiting the local economy and employment”.
Lymington harbour logoWe'll be hearing more from Lymington Harbour!
With its vibrant weekly Saturday market, bustling high street home to award winning restaurants and independent shops along with a calendar of summer events including the annual Lymington Seafood Festival of which Lymington Harbour is also a main sponsor, the Harbour’s investment in the Quay is likely to open up even more opportunities for events and community based projects.
And this is an area the Town Council is keen to develop too. Councillor Anne Corbridge Mayor of Lymington said:
“We are really delighted with this investment in our sailing facilities. Which, along with the shore side improvements will certainly push Lymington to the forefront of sailing in the UK. Along with the redevelopment of the Quay later this year, this will really make our beautiful town the perfect destination for both sailors, visitors and locals, which will certainly boost the local economy."
For more information visit www.lymingtonharbour.co.uk.
No comments:
Post a Comment