Wembury Point and the Great Mewstone out at sea. Courtesy The National Trust.
The National Trust is appealing for the public’s help as it tries to raise the £350,000 it needs to buy what it considers to be one of the most important stretches of the south Devon coast.
Wembury Point, to the east of Plymouth Sound in the heart of the south Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, looks out over Wembury Bay and includes Great Mewstone island, an important site for nesting seabirds.
Currently owned by the Ministry of Defence, the site is now up for sale and the National Trust is keen to keep it undeveloped.
Launching the appeal at the organisation’s annual media briefing, National Trust Director General, Fiona Reynolds described the site as "hugely vulnerable to the pressures of Plymouth’s expansion," and outlined plans to open it to the public.
A haven for nature conservation, Wembury is partly designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest. Photo: Marc Hill. Courtesy The National Trust.
"Under our care," she said, "people will be able to visit this haven for wildlife for the first time in 60 years."
The 56-hectare coastal estate has been in the hands of the Ministry of Defence since 1940 and therefore off limits to members of the public. Of strategic importance, located as it is close to the Royal Navy base at Plymouth, for many years it has been the site of the naval gunnery training school, HMS Cambridge.
Now decommissioned, Wembury Point was recently put on sale, raising concerns that it could be sold for commercial development. As a Site of Special Scientific Interest, English Nature stepped in to invoke rarely used powers to request that the MoD offer it to a conservation organisation before putting it on the open market.
Following extensive consultation the National Trust was identified as the most suitable body to protect the site. It is thought that in all, the organisation will need £1.3 million, £350,000 of which needs to be raised through donations.
The Royal Navy base at Plymouth is just round the corner. Photo: Marc Hill. Courtesy The National Trust.
"We don’t have long to raise the funds we need for the acquisition," explained Mark Harold, Regional Director for the National Trust. "But we have already received huge local support and hope that with the public’s help we can ensure this beautiful stretch of the coast continues to be protected and enjoyed for years to come."
The appeal comes as the trust celebrates the 40th anniversary of the launch of its Neptune Coastline Campaign. In 1965, the organisation set itself the target of acquiring 900 miles of undeveloped and outstanding coastline. Since then £45 million has been raised and 704 miles of coastline purchased.
Including such iconic sites at Lundy Island, Kynance Cove, the Lizard and Orford Ness, much of Neptune’s legacy is open for full public access. But, as Fiona Reynolds explained, the celebration of the past is a chance to think about the future.
Any celebration of Neptune’s achievements or indeed of the UK’s maritime heritage as part of Sea Britain 2005, she said, "must also recognise the enormous challenges" the coastline faces.
Photo: Marc Hill. Courtesy The National Trust.
"It’s vital to revive the debate about the future of the coast and the ever changing pressures that it is under," added Fiona, who sees the National Trust as a natural leader of that debate.
With 704 miles of UK coastline under its ownership, the organisation considers itself to be in a unique position to monitor the shifting shape of these islands, rising sea levels and the impact of climate change.
"We are the nation’s canary," said Fiona, "the first to feel the impact of change." As such the trust will, over the next few years, be working alongside the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to monitor and investigate the effects of climate change.
Donations to the appeal to save Wembury Point and the Great Mewstone can be made by phone on 0870 458 4000, online at www.nationaltrust.org.uk/donations or by post to Amber Oliver, Donor Development Manager, Wembury & The Great Mewstone Appeal, The National Trust, Killerton House, Broadclyst, Exeter EX5 3LE.
