Mussel Men Win Appeal Court Battle

by AT
(Anglesey)

Mussel and Oyster Fishermen on the Menai Straits off Anglesey, North Wales have won their fight at the Appeal Court in London over a controversial proposal to build a Marina near sensitive mussel beds.

Local boating firm Anglesey Boat Company (ABC) had made an application to build a 400-berth marina at Gallows Point, near Beaumaris, which was ruled illegal by a High Court judge last May.

The £14 million development on the land at Gallows Point was supported by the Anglesey County Council as it considered it to be an ideal opportunity to regenerate the local area, with the possibility of creating up to 150 jobs.

Following the latest decision at the Appeal Court, the local authority, which has already incurred fees of around £160,000 on behalf of the local council taxpayer, will decide whether or not to appeal further to the House of Lords.

It seems the Crown Estate and the local authority had based their argument on the fact that a Fishery Order, created in 1962 specifically in relation to the Menai Straits Oyster and Mussel beds, was no longer valid.

Away from the legalities of the case, one issue that never seems to go away is the huge infrastructural challenges of accommodating a marina of this size at Beaumaris.

The single arterial A545 between Menai Bridge and Beaumaris is a relatively narrow, winding road, flanked by dangerous hanging rocks on one side and a solid stone wall on the other.

This trunk road would need extensive upgrading and widening for it to take the inevitable increase in traffic, which would include more leisure craft towed on trailers.

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