Lydney Harbour: Dismay as fencing blocks off historic piers

The green fence and gates were installed at the weekend

People living close to historic docks in the Forest of Dean are campaigning to have fencing blocking access to the two piers removed.

A barrier was erected at Lydney Docks by the Environment Agency over the weekend due to health and safety fears.

More than 1,6000 people have signed a petition calling for their removal.

The Environment Agency said the fencing was temporary but it had decided to close the piers to the public permanently due to safety concerns.

Maritime historian Prof Mark Horton is among those who wants the north and south piers reopened.

Speaking to BBC West, he said: "Lydney is one of the most atmospheric, historic harbours around the entire British coastline.

"It is well over 200 years old and just fabulous - it is that atmosphere and the survival of our industrial heritage."

Lydney Harbour has been a working dock for over 200 years

He continued: "But what is so special about it is that it is still used as a harbour and it is vital that we keep it going as a harbour and it is safe and easy to do so."

Fisherman Nigel Mott makes his living from the River Severn and said he has been using the pier to access the river for 55 years.

"All of a sudden I find it has been blocked off. Nobody said a word to us," he said.

"Fishermen have been using this access for hundreds of years, and now the Environment Agency without so much as a consultation have decided to block it off."

One local woman said: "This is a place that thousands of people come to for quietness and solitude, sit on the pier, look at the beauty of the sea and the sky and make big decisions in their lives."

"As far as this [fence] is concerned, it is breaching my wellbeing."

One local says the piers are a place of "quietness and solitude"

The Environment Agency is the landowner and the harbour authority at Lydney.

Restoration works are currently under way, and the piers have been closed for the past 12 months.

While the gates are temporary, the agency said the piers would remain closed.

It said efforts to boost tourism to the site, including a new cafe, toilets and artworks, mean there is a greater risk of a member of the public falling from the pier into deep, fast-flowing water.

The Environment Agency said any permanent fence and gate would be in keeping with the historic nature of the harbour.

One resident, who gave his name only as Steve, said: "I don't think Lydney is that busy that it needs this sort of thing."

He said that in 23 years of living near the harbour he had always felt "very, very safe".

"I think people are responsible, this is just health and safety gone mad."

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