Bear Grylls.
BORN Survivor Bear Grylls has pledged to help the trust trying to save Bembridge Harbour.
The TV survival expert, who grew up in Bembridge, offered to help the charitable trust that wants to buy the harbour, by serving on its advisory board, a public meeting heard.
The trust promised at last Friday’s meeting to set up a harbour commission modelled on Cowes to run it — if its bid was successful.
Trust chairman Michael MacInnes spoke to a packed public meeting in Bembridge Village Hall.
The first meeting will be followed by a series staged in St Helens, Brading, Nettlestone and Seaview to cement support for the bid, he said.
Among the audience were Island MP Andrew Turner, councillors, leading businessmen and representatives of local interest groups, societies and sailing clubs.
The trust’s aim, Mr MacInnes said, was to buy and manage the harbour on behalf of communities in perpetuity.
Once the backlog of restoration and maintenance had been tackled, the harbour would be run as a commercial enterprise with all profits retained to pay for on-going maintenance and to improve the harbour’s facilities.
He recently spoke to the harbour administrators, who said an outline sales document for the combined businesses and assets of the harbour companies would soon be published.
Mr MacInnes said until these documents were seen, the trust could only guess what would be for sale and at what price.
The trust was seeking to raise £1 million and would need to spend £500,000 on dredging and repairs.
The trust had individuals ready to support it on a charitable basis as well as a commercial consortium which, if no alternative was available, could purchase the properties surrounding the harbour and hold them, allowing the trust to re-purchase them on favourable terms.
Mr MacInnes thanked Bear Grylls and the Solent Protection Society for their support. The environmental protection society is a founder member of the trust.
Reporter: richardw@iwcpmail.co.uk