Town councillors have this week supported a new project that could see several of Burnham-On-Sea beach’s historic Mulberry Harbour concrete blocks moved to a new exhibition.
Over 30 of the Burnham-On-Sea beach Mulberry Harbour blocks are located near the town’s low lighthouse, partially buried in the sand. The large concrete blocks were once part of the crucial man-made Mulberry Harbours used to land troops and machinery in France during World War II.
As Burnham-On-Sea.com first reported here last week, local resident Chris Howlett has asked Burnham and Highbridge Town Council for approval to remove three of them and display them possibly at the Imperial War Museum at Duxford.
Town councillors considered the plans at a meeting this week and were supportive, but raised concerns about erosion.
Cllr Phil Harvey said the blocks had been put in place as sea defences and he expressed concern about possible erosion to the sand dunes near the lighthouse if any were to be removed. Some work needs to be done on the posible impact, he said.
Cllr Michael Clarke responded that he can’t see the removal of three of the blocks leading to the flooding of the whole of Burnham.
But Cllr Martin Cox agreed that a “full impact assessment” should be undertaken and he also recommended the involvement of the local history group.
Councillors also requested that ownership of the blocks be more fully investigated and then permission sought to remove them accordingly.
Councillors agreed to support the project, pending further investigations.
