“Today the English Channel became a more dangerous place”, predicted Sheryll Murray MP following the announcement that Brixham, Portland, Solent and Yarmouth Coastguard coordination stations were to close along the South coast leaving only Falmouth and Dover at either end of the busiest shipping lane in the world. Sheryll added, “plans to reduce the Coastguard Stations from 19 to just 11 is a disaster for public safety for all sea users. This is clearly about cutting costs, there has hardly been a mention about improving safety and we desperately need a full risk assessment. The pairing of Coastguard stations was there for a reason. When Falmouth has gone down in the past, Brixham took over. Will they now coordinate rescues off the Cornish coast from Dover the next time the Falmouth station gets hit by lightning?”
The Member of Parliament for South East Cornwall continued, “Not only is this the busiest shipping land but it is also the busiest tourism coast. Millions of tourists will be flocking to the South Coast wondering if they will be safe if they venture on to our beaches, go for a swim or use a small leisure craft. This is completely the wrong message to be sending out when we should be encouraging people to holiday in our beautiful country not only to boost our economy but also to help cut the air miles which effect our environment.”
Sheryll Murray went on to call on Mike Penning MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, to keep to his word to re-open the consultation when he said last month in the House, “The Government will announce their conclusions before the summer recessas we have said all the way through, they are likely to be differentand then I will reopen the consultation.” Sheryll states, “This must be a full consultation and nothing should be ruled in or out. Mr Penning heralded the need for local knowledge in the review of the fire brigade control centres when in opposition and he should realise that coastguards need that local knowledge too. I certainly do not want to lose all the local knowledge they have in Brixham which covers my constituency.”
Sheryll concluded, “The Prime Minister has said the ability to listen and change policy is a sign of strength. We saw this when it came to saving forests. Let’s now see it when it comes to saving lives. Just after the last round of coastguard cuts, when look out posts were closed, we saw the death of two fishermen off the Cornish Coast. This led to the reopening of the lookout posts by the voluntary group the NCI but I fear that volunteers will not be able to pick up the gap this time. I lost my own husband earlier this year to the sea. I can assure him it is devastating and I will never give up in my campaign to ensure the safety of sea users comes first and foremost in my thinking.”
Ends
Notes to Editors
For further information please contact Sheryll’s office on 01579 344428.