Victorian slipway could close as council diverts cash to reverse 'wiggly lines' road scheme from long hair mermaids Watch Video

⏲ Duration: 1:43
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✓ Published: 25-Mar-2024

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Sailors, rowers and swimmers in a pretty Victorian seaside resort face being left high and dry in a bizarre legal dispute over who owns an ancient slipway.<br/><br/>For more than a century boats have been launched off the 500ft-long slipway at Clevedon, North Somerset, and into the waters of the Bristol Channel.<br/><br/>But the sight of sailboats and racing gig boats could become a thing of the past as the 140-year-old slipway risks being washed away unless vital repairs are made.<br/><br/>The local council will not accept ownership, which has passed through several now-defunct authorities since it was built for Victorian pleasure boaters in 1884.<br/> <br/>North Somerset Council (NSC) insisted it 'only owned a few' feet of it when first approached about repair work in 2016.<br/><br/>Eight years on there is still no solution and local groups including Clevedon Sailing Club (CSC) are becoming increasingly concerned about its state of disrepair. <br/><br/>The top surface is already pitted with potholes and CSC want the NSC to accept ownership and fund repairs which could cost up to £200,000.<br/><br/>This week NSC is set to divert cash earmarked for repairs to pay for work to 'row back' Clevedon's controversial £1.3m 'wobbly lanes' road scheme which hit the headlines last year.<br/><br/>CSC commodore Mark Elliott is concerned that sections of the ageing slipway could be soon be washed away in storms and be lost to the community forever.<br/><br/>His concerns have been backed by local MP Sir Liam Fox.<br/><br/>Mr Elliott said: \