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THE Shipping Minister Mike Penning has said that plans to reform the UK Coastguard Service, which have come in for strong criticism from the fishing industry, will go ahead. But in a Commons debate he hinted that there could be room for compromise, stating that no final decision had been made on the details of the reforms.
Some of the strongest opposition has come from the West Country where it is intended to downgrade the Falmouth Coastguard Centre from a 24-hour to a daylight hours only facility. Similar fears have been expressed in other key fishing areas, including the Yorkshire Coast, Northern Ireland and in some parts of Scotland.
Last year Falmouth handled more than 4,500 emergencies, many of them involving fishermen and many during the hours of darkness. The Commons debate was instigated by MPs from Devon and Cornwall. Sarah Newton Conservative MP for Falmouth, said the Falmouth station was the busiest in the UK and the "jewel in the crown" of the nation's maritime rescue efforts.
She told the Commons: "It simply does not make sense and is a waste of money to develop a new centre to recruit and train in Southampton to replicate what has already worked so well in Falmouth. If approved, the changes would mean the closure of Brixham and Portland in Dorset, meaning the nearest round-the-clock cover would be on the Solent." This is around 100 miles away.
The Shipping Minister said a consultation process was underway which would be completed on March 24th, but insisted that no final decision had been made. But he added that the service had to "dragged into the 21st century" and some changes would have to take place.
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