Geoffrey Settle Posted July 22, 2011 Report Share Posted July 22, 2011 As some of you may know I lived in Crosby, Liverpool between 1966 and 1972 when I left for the Isle of Man for seasonal work in Ramsey followed by three years in Coventry before returning up t’north. There were no Gormley’s Men on the beach, no wind turbines in the channel, no Mannanan Cat that flys across the sea to Douglas or the New Coast Guard Station. Well the latter may be a relatively new coast guard station but it is now under threat of closure!! as are nearly half of the UK‘s coastguard stations has nothing to do with improving safety along Britain’s coastline but is a consequence of cutting which in the transport budget that I personally believe has not been properly thought out. When I teach 'OUR COMMUNITY' in local schools I show the coast guard station as part of the community by the sea where I used to live as well as the school in Wavertree, Dovedale where John, George and Geoff started their academic careers. no I wasn't the sixth Beatle, I'm not that old There is a now a call for ministers to carry out a full risk assessment of these closures and allow the further period of consultation to cover the revised plans as a whole, not just the revisions to the original plans. Liverpool Garston MP Maria Eagle said recently that a “risk assessment must also look at the decision to end funding for the Emergency Towing Vessels that were a clear recommendation of Lord Donaldson’s inquiry following the Braer disaster. In addition, it should take into account the botched cuts at the MoD which will leave the country without maritime surveillance capability from 2015, leaving a massive capability gap which can only compound the risks from the closure of coastguard stations." I’m no shipping expert but should we even be considering such closures and just leave Anthony Gormley’s men to stand guard on the shores of Crosby Beach? What do you think? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asperity Posted July 22, 2011 Report Share Posted July 22, 2011 I never thought that I would be agreeing with one of the Eagle sisters, but on the issue of the emergency tugs I have to. The reason they were put in place hasn't changed. There are millions of tons of oil carried around our coasts daily and it is very short sighted to remove the one thing that could avert a disaster. Ironically it was one of these emergency tugs that pulled one of our nuclear submarines (Astute) off a sandbank in the Firth of Clyde recently. Worryingly it seems that the closure of coastguard stations is part of the plan to incorporate our coastguard with the European Maritime Safety Agency. The EUSSR elephant in the room again!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
observer Posted July 22, 2011 Report Share Posted July 22, 2011 Sounds like another job for "the big society" - Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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