THE Borough of Weymouth and Portland is beside the sea, and that has been the bedrock of the local economy for something like eight thousand years.

Yet this obvious fact is being ignored by decision-makers at Westminster and County Hall and even within the borough, who seem now to view the sea as offering nothing more than opportunities in tourism and leisure.

Look at the last fifty years or so.

The old Jersey boats are long departed, and more recently the other channel ferries have gone elsewhere; the torpedo works, the dockyard and AUWE have all closed; small boatbuilding has ended at Wyke, both at Tods and in the cottage-industry construction of lerrets and trows; the air-sea rescue service has left; seining has disappeared and other kinds of fishing, including angling, have become increasingly difficult in the face of harsh and sometimes misguided regulations.

And in Weymouth a harbour board some members of which seem hell-bent on getting rid of commercial boats; and despite clear evidence of rising sea levels, absolutely nothing has been done to improve our sea defences.

Yes, we have acquired a world-class Sailing Academy, many more marina berths and an upsurge in windsurfing and kitesurfing. But the economic value of these things is nowhere near the cumulative value of what we have lost. And those cumulative losses make it more and more difficult for local youngsters to find local jobs.

So what can we do? (It has to be “we” because nobody else is going to come forward to fix things for us).

We can demand government and local authority support for a replacement ferry service that as well as catering for passengers can bring in produce for the local market.

We can demand a government-funded study into the costs and benefits of establishing a marine “service station” for ships passing up and down the Channel – the busiest seaway in the world.

We can look for a way of benefiting, perhaps as an outsource, from the Lyme Regis Boatbuilding Academy.

We can make sure that the skills and experience that developed with the air-sea rescue service do not evaporate; we can provide improved facilities for fishermen, in line with our situation as the only significant fishing port on the south coast east of Brixham; and we can insist that funds be allocated and work begin on improving our sea defences. Perhaps we can tie this all together in a Coastal Enterprise Zone.

Of course this is easier said than done, butI firmly believe that we will make progress if we speak often enough and loudly enough – in parliament, to key government departments like DEFRA and Business, Innovation and Skills, to Richard Drax, to the county council (who need to see beyond the Dorchester ring road) and to the borough council. We pay for all these people; let’s get them earning their wages.

Michael Wheller

Wooland Gardens

Wyke Regis