A new National Coastwatch Station has been proposed for Burnham-On-Sea to further boost safety along our stretch of coastline.
National Coastwatch is a national charity with self-funded local stations that are run by volunteer watchkeepers, fundraisers and helpers.
The charity says the stations are passive ‘Eyes Along The Coast’, and use eyes, optical instruments, ship identification software and CCTV cameras to monitor beaches, coastal paths, sand bars, tide and weather.
“Stations report directly to HM Coastguard if any incidents are spotted, or if activities along the coast could possibly escalate to an incident,” says Iain Sherring, Local Project Lead on behalf of the National Coastwatch Institution.
“A new National Coastwatch Station for Burnham-On-Sea is supported by HM Coastguard, Somerset Council and the beachwardens.”
“National Coastwatch develops new stations where they and HM Coastguard see evidence of the requirement from previous incident analysis, local support and relevant locations being available.”
“Watchkeepers are on watch during daylight hours, and when a station is established and operational, operates 365 days of the year.”
“National Coastwatch would supplement and support the fantastic service the Beach Wardens offer in the summer season, but would also continue Watches when the Beach Wardens and the RNLI Beach Lifeguards close for the winter.”
“Our brilliant RNLI and BARB are mainly reactive search and rescue assets, where National Coastwatch is proactive in the passive watching of the coastline and reporting potential incidents and ongoing incidents to HM Coastguard; who would then initiate a rescue response from the HMCG Rescue Teams, RNLI, BARB, police etc.”
He adds: “The exact location of a new station is yet to be decided, but Somerset Council support a station along the seafront in the general area of the slipway by the beachwarden’s office and the seasonal RNLI Beach Lifeguards.”
Watchkeeper volunteers need not have maritime or uniform service experience as all training will be given.
Potential Watchkeepers can find out more information on the National Coastwatch Institution website at www.nci.org.uk/join.
