Planners Give Thumbs-Up to Fish Quay
Teignmouth artist, Kate Hawker, is managing DIY, an art exhibition in Exeter.
The town's fishermen are one step nearer to getting their new fish quay.
For an outright planning for the facility has been given the thumbs-up by district council planners.
As reported in July's Teignmothian magazine, a new fish quay is something the Teign Fishermen and Watermens' Association have been working t towards for more than four years.
They submitted an application for outline planning permission as July's Teignmo'thian magazine went to press, more than a year after landing almost £1 million in European funding for the facility.
Last summer they were still having talks with the district council and other agencies about how the money would be spent.
The fishermen said that initially their plans for a new fish quay were delayed by the commissioning of a feasibility study, which some of them knew nothing about.
The study consulted other groups who could use the quay and the fishermen were even unsure if South West Water would rebuild around the quay after demolishing the old buildings rejoining it.
They sought meetings with the district council as they struggled to find out where they stood and at the same time fought to keep their heads above water against spiralling fuel costs and ever-increasing quotas.
Despite the acquisition of £1 million in European funding, the fishermen are still unable to use the existing quay for anything heavy due to the wear and tear it has had over the years.
They cannot risk damaging the South West Water tanks underneath it.
At the time the funding was announced, fisherman Dave Wilson said that the new quay was "not only for us". "It is for future generations of Teignmouth fishermen.
Those future generations included the then 17-year old Steve Gale who was following in his uncle Buster Boyne's footsteps into the industry from school.
He was working on Girl Rhona and had just left Teignmouth Community College when he said: "My grandad was a fisherman.
"I used to go salmon fishing with my grandad when I was a nipper.
"I came down here one night and saw Buster landing fish.
"I did my safety certificates and became a fisherman.
" The teenager was undeterred by the rough seas the industry was in at the time and had high hopes for a bright future.
It seems that his high hopes may have been justified
. The quota system that has been crippling the fishermen may well be in its last throes.
The Fisheries Reform of the EU's disastrous Common Fisheries Policy has been the subject of major debates in the European Parliament which has full legislative powers under the Lisbon Treaty on EU Fisheries Policies.
Member states could now be allowed to set their own regulations as the regional setting of fishing quotas is something MEPs have been pushing for.
Added to this, new boats are using Teignmouth's existing fishing quay despite the difficulties of not being able to carry anything heavy over the quay. For more about the planning application, CLICK HERE
Teignmouth artist, Kate Hawker, is managing DIY, an art exhibition in Exeter.
And the 27-year old has hand-picked other artists to help her transform a derelict warehouse into vibrancy to encourage the public to question artist led activities in a time of financial instability and constraint.
The exhibition, which runs from September 18 to October 16, at Water Lane, near Exeter Quay, begs the question if this way of creating new, independent opportunities is now becoming essential.
Kate, who runs not-for-profit Surface Arts, is working in partnership with Book Cycle and Exeter Visual Arts to present the exhibition, DIY.
Surface Arts provides opportunities for artists to extend their reach to wider audiences through the use of disused sites and everyday places.
A former Teignmouth Community College student, Kate has a degree in Fine Art, Sculpture, from Brighton University and is doing an MA in Arts Management.
She is a practising artist who exhibits widely and set up Surface Arts in order to support and create a platform for "participatory and site specific arts".
She has worked within arts organisations at the Royal Albert Memorial Museum, Public Catalogue Foundation, The National Gallery and Art and Power and has also had experience in the thrteatre and TV industries as a freelance prop maker.
Kate began setting up DIY last week and the exhibition will be open to the public Thursdays to Saturdays from 10am to 6pm and on Sundays from 11am to 4pm from September 18.
Other artists involved are Adam Garrett, Chiara Gill, Hanna Downing, James Burgess, Jessica Mautner, Jo Willoughby, Julie McCalden, Mark Houghton, Megan Hoggins, Michele Louise Schicchet and Sarah Farmer.
Further information about the exhibition can be obtained from Kate's Surface Arts website at http://www.surfacearts.co.uk.
