Muddy Water Blues
James Garrett takes another look at Watchet Marina. What is going on here? Things seem to be changing fast but are Somerset Council keeping up?
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Muddy Water Blues
Just who - if anyone - is Somerset Council negotiating with over a lease for Watchet Marina, without which the mud-filled haven will continue to silt up, depriving the town's economy of a vital income stream? James Garrett peers through mud-covered goggles at what's going on.
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In the summer, Ceredigion County Council in west Wales rejected an application from a newly-formed company to take over the management of Aberystwyth harbour, citing concerns about the "undesirable characteristics" of a director of the company.
On the one hand, the harbour was in serious need of new management, given that The Marine & Property Group, parent company of the harbour operator, had collapsed into administration.
The Cardiff-based Marine & Property Group also ran the marinas at Burry Port and Port Dinorwic in Wales and at Watchet in West Somerset. The Marine & Property Group had crashed in April 2023 with total debts of £14 million and owing the taxman £1.4million.
Yet that newly formed company bidding to take over the lease in Aberystwyth had just one director, the very same Chris Odling-Smee, a Swiss-based Dane who had been boss of The Marine & Property Group. What did Ceredigion CC think of that?
"Following careful consideration, including appropriate due diligence," they decided on 27 June to refuse the application.
In a statement bordering on the coy - and, just possibly, written by a lawyer - the council explained, "This was on the grounds of objections relating to financial matters and undesirable characteristics pertaining to the proposed assignee."
Other than confirming that the council remained "fully committed to bringing about improvements to the harbour area and wider town, as part of its economic strategy," that was that.
Except it begs this question: If Ceredigion CC had reservations, why didn't Somerset Council? Instead, bosses at County Hall in Taunton continued to believe for many months they could negotiate over a 200-year lease on Watchet Marina with the same Odling-Smee.
Indeed, are they still doing so? If not, with whom is Somerset Council now negotiating? Confusingly, an alphabet soup has been concocted this past year of companies which sound like they are - or would like to be - negotiating with the council for the job of running Watchet Marina.
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