Having read the Gazette and looked at the proposed plans for the town square and quay areas, I’m disappointed: they lack imagination and, despite all the spin and gloss put on them by South Hams Council, fail to address either the real needs of the town itself or provide any of the promised benefits.

The square and quay belong to Kingsbridge. They are part of what makes Kingsbridge Kingsbridge. South Hams District Council, however, seems to be treating these areas as a bit of prime real estate ripe for development, with a few sops to the town to appease the inevitable opposition and which once developed will be lost to the town forever.

Instead these areas need to be managed in a way that enhances the town from the perspective of residents and visitors. The ­proposed plans do none of this, other than for the handful of wealthy people who will be able to afford what will inevitably become very expensive houses or flats alongside the harbour.

All around our coast our ports and harbours have seen a monumental decline due to the collapse of shipping in the 1900s, but elsewhere some places are seeing these areas rejuvenated by sympathetic and imaginative redevelopment, often as amenity areas. So what can be done in Kingsbridge?

Among Kingsbridge’s needs are a solution to the occasional flooding in the downtown area; more recreational space for all, young and old, resident and ­visitor alike; an enhancement to the attractiveness of the town for summer visitors to draw them in and keep them in the town and in the existing shops and cafes, of which we don’t need yet more; and, with regard to the square and quay areas, to link them into the rest of the town.

Of the above, the risk of flooding, acknowledged by SHDC but otherwise wholly ignored in its scheme, is the most pressing. The logical ­solution here is a tidal barrier across the estuary, just ­downstream of the Crabshell Inn, that could be closed when extra high tides are forecast. Such a scheme opens up all sorts of exciting possibilities and is perhaps key to meeting all the other needs too.

At high tide the harbour is exceedingly attractive, but at low tide it is a dreary sea of mud and overall it is only accessible to small boats except when the water is in. But with a barrier to maintain the water level and a half-tide lock to allow access for boats, the whole marine environment that is so attractive to visitors and locals alike would be enhanced enormously.

The harbour area now becomes a magnet for paddleboarders, canoeists, visitors by boat, tourists, children to play, and those with time on their hands who simply want to sit and enjoy the view. One only has to go a handful of miles to Stoke Gabriel to begin to get an idea of what this could be like.

With the harbour now a ­thoroughly attractive space, it would be wonderful to grass over the quay car park and use it for recreation, but that would entail an unacceptable loss of parking. A slight widening of the strip of grass alongside the quayside, however, would result in a delightful waterside walk and provide a place for seats and for children to run around, a whole new recreational area for the town, and all with the loss of only a handful of parking spaces. And the end of the quay area, near the boat ramp, would be the ideal spot to have a few swings and roundabouts etc for children, with the skate park open permanently instead of shamefully locking it up in total contempt for the needs of our young people.

Such a scheme would be a strong attraction for the ­yachting fraternity, and the tidal barrier could then provide somewhere for a boatbuilder or two to cater for what would become a whole new marine industry in the town, providing year-round employment and putting Kingsbridge on the map for yachtsmen and their needs. The marine market is one of the real growth industries all along the south coast.

How to link all this together to benefit Fore Street and the rest of the town? Here we need to rethink the area at the bottom of Fore Street, where the current road layout is something of a traffic bottleneck and an obstacle to pedestrians going from the car park to the shops.

A straightforward solution would be to increase the size of the roundabout considerably and make the road circulate around the tourist information centre and a revamped bus and taxi stop area.

The toilet block at the head of the quay also needs to be moved into this area, putting the toilets where they are more needed and improving the waterfront environment in the process.

With the road now in effect a one-way system round this whole block, the traffic would flow more easily and the road itself be easier to cross for those on foot, again reducing the ­traffic hold-ups. Overall this all helps move the pedestrian area of the square nearer to the town. At the same time, it breaks up the barrier that ­currently exists between the square and the town and improves the flow of traffic through this bottleneck area.

And what about linking everything together in a fun and imaginative way? People love little railways, as is already evidenced by those waiting to ride the short stretch of line recently installed on the Embankment Road side of the harbour. How about extending this all the way down past the Crabshell to the new tidal barrier, and in the opposite direction round the head of the harbour and down the other side of the quay? A little whimsical, perhaps, but can you imagine what an attraction this would be?

Talking of attractions, what about opening up the old Primrose Line as a sea-to-moor cycle route? Anyone who has been on the Plym Valley Line, or the Tarka or Camel trails, will know how extraordinarily effective they are in answering the needs of so many for a day out.

Kingsbridge has real possibilities and we need something far more exciting and imaginative than the dreary little plan now proposed by SHDC, meaning a quick profit for it and nothing substantive to enhance the town itself. Come on Kingsbridge, we have a real opportunity for real improvement for everyone, young and old, visitor and ­resident alike.

Let’s make the best of it instead of yielding to some half-baked scheme for a handful of expensive new houses, selling off our heritage for a mess of pottage and a long-term loss to the town itself.

Rolf Burnie

Langdon

Thurleston