Demand for Dorset harbour spaces falling

It's hoped numbers could improve if the weather gets better

Author: Trevor Bevins, Local Democracy ReporterPublished 4th Mar 2024

Demand for boat spaces at both West Bay and Lyme Regis harbours has dropped year on year – although may pick up as the weather improves.

At both harbours, the number of people on the waiting list has dropped and both leisure and commercial mooring figures are down.

By contrast Weymouth’s figures have remained generally positive.

110 out of the 137 leisure moorings at West Bay are taken - that's the lowest figure at this time of year since the Covid period, while commercial moorings have more than halved – from 23 at this time last year, down to 12.

At Lyme Regis, there has also been a drop with leisure moorings at 158, compared to 191 at the same time last year.

There are currently 30 commercial moorings, compared to 34 a year ago.

Both harbours' figures are also down for single launches and boat lifts although both of these are often weather related with current dredging operations, due to be finished by Easter, possibly also having an impact.

At Weymouth, the harbour position is said to be better, although also following seasonal trends, with almost 100% of commercial berths let and non-resident fishing boat visits up by 16% on the same time last year.

Some of these have also been weather-related with vessels seeking the safety of the harbour during high winds.

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