THE future of a new Coastwatch lookout station for West Bay looks uncertain as objections were raised to the proposed site.

Plans for the new building for the National Coastwatch Institute at the end of the pier at West Bay went before Bridport Town Council planning committee last week and members who raised a number of objections including the height or the building, and the effect on the area.

Members of the committee said they supported the objectives of the coastal watch but felt that more consultation should be done with residents.

NCI station manager at Lyme Regis Clive Edwards, said he was disappointed by the decision.

He said the lookout would have only been raised by one-and-a-half metres off the ground to allow the RNLI beach lifeguards to store their beach buggy underneath. The RNLI would also have had a room in the building to use during the summer months.

He said he had been taken aback by some of the objections.

He added: “One of the things that disappoints me most is that over the last two years we have recruited volunteers and they have given huge amounts of their time for training and watches and the thanks that we now get is: ‘We don’t want you here’.”