Taw & Torridge Proposed Port Authority Update

Proposal

The Following is an update on the North Devon Yacht Clubs position in relation to the proposed Port Authority proposals by Bideford Town Council.  

First Briefing for NDYC

A meeting took place on the 15th November 2025 at the Clubhouse and a general discussion and briefing took place.

Preliminary discussions by some members of Bideford Town Council, North Devon Council, Torridge District Council, The Crown Estate and several other interested parties including North Devon Yacht Club have taken place. 

The proposal by Bideford Town Council is to have a new River Port Authority which would be able to organise certain factors of life on the river.  
Representatives from Torridge District Council, The Bideford Harbour Master and Pilot, Novartis (Shipyard), a local marine contractor and North Devon Yacht Club were present.
Sam Heaton (then Commodore) and Eric Evans (Club Manager) attended as representatives of NDYC.
The overall tone of helping commercial growth in the estuary and protecting the environment of our beautiful estuary including the removal of wrecks was considered and generally accepted.
Whilst being generally a positive meeting, we can confirm that no detailed information or costings of any matter was provided.

NDYC Initial Appraisal

Following this meeting, the NDYC General Committee plus other senior invited members of the Club were invited to a meeting on the 11th December at the club. The position and club response was discussed to plan how the club should respond to the proposals.

The ownership of much of the estuary including New Quay Bank belongs to the Crown Estate. Some parts of the estuary bed are owned by the Christie Estate and other third parties. Many members as well as many local people who are not members of NDYC have moorings on New Quay Bank. Certain parties assert rights of moorings to certain parts of the estuary.  

It was also noted that many people who are not members of NDYC have moorings in this area.  Some moorings have been in situ for many years.  
No detailed conclusions nor costings of the proposed Estuary Trusts management of moorings or the consequences for our members was provided.
Some parties dispute whether any changes are permissible or legal.  Certainly there was some skepticism as to how they could be practically implemented. 
Some parties are concerned as to how the plans would be funded.
Some parties want to know who will have the Duty of Care in relation to any moorings.
As the largest user of the estuary in terms of numbers of local people, it was felt that it was important that NDYC stayed included in any proposals and discussions. 

Following a detailed discussion raising many points of concern, it was decided that 5 senior members would work as a team to monitor the progress of the proposals and to communicate with the Council and connected parties on behalf of the club.  
The five members nominated are: 
Liam Bunclark (Commodore)
Sam Heaton (Immediate past Commodore)
Simon Fleet (HLM and Former Rear Commodore)
Peter Short (HLM and Instow Marine)
Eric Evans (Club Manager)

Next Steps

More meetings were scheduled for January and it is intended that 2 or more members of the above team will be attending.
As and when there is any further news, we will keep members posted here.
Liam Bunclark 
Date 15.12.2025

Last updated 2:39pm on 15 December 2025