Baltic Wharf, Totnes – maintaining waterfront assets in the context of potential future opportunities – discussion paper
Note: For all references and foot notes like [^n] see the end of the page.
The Baltic Wharf has been a site for boat moorings for many centuries and also traditionally been one of the main employment sites in Totnes. It has specific characteristics which are not necessarily found elsewhere on the River Dart, including good road connectivity which allows larger vessels to be brought in by road to allow access to the river and 400 metres of quayside ( Totnes - Ports and Harbours open_in_new ).
It continues to play an important economic role. Firstly, as a site for continued economic activity and employment. It is estimated that it directly supports c31 FTE jobs and the businesses located on site directly contribute c£1.1m-£1.8m in Gross Value Added to the local economy per year. However, this does not reflect the wider supply chain linkages that those businesses have. Taking into account these wider impacts could mean that it directly and indirectly supports c46 FTE jobs and £1.5m- £2.2m GVA in the local economy.
However, perhaps the biggest role that it plays is as one of the assets that underpins the continued importance of marine leisure/boating tourism to the whole wider South Hams economy. The presence of local and accessible boat repair and renovation and dry storage facilities will act as a key influence for boat owners and visitors to continue to use the River Dart as their mooring location. As is well known, tourism continues to play a fundamental role in the South Hams economy. The latest available evidence (noting that this was pre-Covid) was that tourism expenditure equated to c£260m per year, equivalent to c£160m GVA. The role of marine leisure/boating tourism in the overall visitor economy is highly significant. Other evidence suggests that boat owners (either visiting or domestic moorings) tend to spend more in the local economy than general visitors.
Whilst difficult to identify the specific component of the overall South Hams visitor economy to this marine leisure/boating tourism activity, even based on relatively conservative scenarios the economic benefits are considerable. For example, this paper adopts three scenarios (15%, 25%, 35%) for the role that marine leisure/boating tourism plays in visitor spend and this would represent c£33m-£77m in annual visitor spend, equivalent to c£25m-£56m GVA. Whilst this does not represent the specific influencing role of Baltic Wharf, it is part of a portfolio of assets that underpin the attractiveness of the River Dart for boat owners.
The marine industry, including recreational marine activities, faces a changing environment. Not least there is a growing emphasis on decarbonisation of marine activities – now included as a legislative target. The push for ‘clean marine’ is expected to result in significant demand for retrofitting existing vessels, including smaller vessels that can be accommodated at smaller facilities. There are other wider moves towards autonomous marine, smart technologies etc. The local area is at the forefront of much of this activity, with Plymouth a particular location for leading marine technologies. Added to this are the highly significant opportunities that will be associated with Floating Offshore Wind (FLOW) in the Celtic Sea. Whilst much of this will need to be accommodated in much larger ports, there may be opportunities in smaller ports and quays. One of the constraining factors identified – in terms of retaining a proportion of the economic opportunities that will arise from FLOW in the regional economy – is a shortage of port and quay space. Quay frontage is seen as an important part of the regional offer.
This short paper sets out at a high-level the importance of maintaining waterfront assets such as those at Baltic Wharf Totnes. This relates not just to the ongoing importance of the economic activity that is currently hosted at the wharf i.e. businesses and jobs, but its role in the highly important marine leisure economy across South Hams and South Devon, as well preserving the asset for potential use in response to evolving and developing marine related opportunities. This discussion and evidence paper sets out each of these in turn.
The consideration of these roles is set in the context of current local planning policy, and a description of the characteristics of Baltic Wharf.
The below sets out the planning policy context as contained in the Plymouth and South West Devon Joint Local Plan – with the relevant planning policies highlighted:
Land at Baltic Wharf is allocated for a mixed-use redevelopment, including residential, marine/ employment and commercial uses. Provision is made for in the order of 190 new homes and 3,300m2 employment floorspace (Use Class B1 and B2). Development should provide for the following:
The Joint Local Plan outlines that Baltic Wharf is an important brownfield regeneration site in a prominent location alongside the River Dart. It was allocated for development in previous plans and has been granted consent for a mixed-use scheme which is now being implemented. Phase one of the housing is largely complete, with the other elements of the scheme, including employment provision and further housing, to be commenced. In addition to the benefits of redeveloping the site for Totnes and the local economy more widely, the appearance of the site and its visual impact on the River Dart can be greatly enhanced.
A flexible supply of employment land and premises will be maintained to support investment and expansion of existing businesses as well as for the inward investment of high-value businesses, particularly but not exclusively those involved in the marine sector, advanced manufacturing and knowledge-based industries. The following provisions will apply:
The following categories of site will be specifically protected:
Clearly, both planning policies highlighted above indicate an intention to preserve any sites with access to wharves and/or deep-water facilities for employment purposes. Specifically in relation to Baltic Wharf, Planning Policy TTV21 in the Joint Local Plan outlines the intention for the ‘retention of boatyard and associated facilities.
The Draft Dart Harbour Strategy 2022 (for consultation) includes some relevant references. It recognises that “the vast majority of river users are drawn to the port as a consequence of its inherent beauty and the health of the environment in its broadest sense. There might be a strong argument for denying any further developments on the river or new commercial endeavours, as they would almost certainly have an adverse effect on the environment in one form or another. However, the interests of the local communities might best be served with just such new developments that offer increased employment opportunities and bring more wealth to the region.”
It outlines several short and longer-term aspirations. In terms of stewardship it outlines the aspiration to “manage our moorings mix in a sustainable way, keeping a broadly constant number of residential yacht berths.” It also has the aspiration that it will “consider the visual impact of our moorings on the environment, for example reducing mooring numbers in some quieter areas, to help them to return to a more natural state or avoiding development where it would impact iconic views.”
In terms of stakeholders the Draft Strategy has the long-term aspiration which has particular relevance:
“Provision of improved facilities up river, including all-tide access at Stoke Gabriel and improved moorings at Totnes.”
Baltic Wharf is at the Southerly end of Totnes at the head of the navigable River Dart. Its location has many advantages:
The area of the river bank now occupied by Baltic Wharf has been used for mooring purposes – initially fishing vessels – since the 10th Century and has had a long and varied history and usage thereafter. In the 20th Century it became the main employment site through timber activity – with 600 people employed on the site.
Baltic Wharf is the only boatyard on the river that can receive boats up to 50ft long by road transport dependent on weight. This road connectivity is seen as a key asset. The yard is fully services with mains water standpipes and electricity supplies. The crane and hoist equipment on site allows flexible lifting and re-launching. The concrete and hard-standing boatyard area is a legacy of its previous life as a timber yard. It provides 400 metres of quayside.
According to the data that has been provided Baltic Wharf 9 businesses – all of which have some connection to marine-related activities. Most of the businesses would be considered as small or medium enterprises. Based on the information provided they employ 26 full-time roles and a further 6 part-time jobs. Based on typical part-time/full-time ratio (reflecting typical hours worked in the local economy) this would be equivalent to c31 FTE jobs.
In terms of the role of those businesses in the local economy, we have estimated the scale Gross Value Added (GVA) through two different methods:
Based on these two approaches we estimate that the hosted businesses directly contribute c£1.1mn-£1.8mn in Gross Value Added into the local economy each year.
However, this does not reflect the wider impact in terms of the supply chain linkages and indirect impact that the businesses will support in the local economy. We have modelled this wider indirect impact using a multiplier effect6. We have used typical multipliers for the sectors in which the hosted businesses operate7 – and this encapsulates the indirect (type I) and total (type II) impact. For this work we have used an assumption (multiplier effect) of 1.5 to reflect the wider impact. Based on that assumption we estimate that in total 46 FTE jobs are supported across the wider local economy, representing a GVA range of between £1.53mn-£2.68mn per year.
However, it is important to note that the multiplier we have used here is based on the understanding that most businesses hosted at the Wharf are involved in activities such as building, repair and maintenance of ships, specialised design activities etc. Other work that focuses on the value of the marine leisure8 industry estimates that the industry has much stronger indirect supply chain linkages. This results in a stronger multiplier effect in the local economy due to the supply chain linkages that the industry has9. If we assumed that the hosted businesses could equally form part of this wider industry definition (and several of the businesses hosted at the wharf do service the marine leisure industry – as discussed below) then the above estimates may underplay the total wider impact.
Based on these wider and stronger linkages, the wider direct and indirect impact of activities hosted at the wharf could equate to c68 FTE jobs and between £2.6mn-£4.6mn GVA per year. It is important to note that these estimates necessarily have some uncertainty, particularly in the absence of empirical information from the businesses themselves.
However, they do indicate that on an aggregated basis – albeit based on relatively small business operations – the hosted businesses do play an important role in the local economy – both as direct employers, but also through their supply chain linkages and the wage spend of those direct and indirect employees.
Clearly the tourism industry is an important part of the South Hams economy, and that with the presence of Dartmouth, Salcombe and other locations marine leisure constitutes an important part of the overall attractiveness of the area to visitors.
According to the latest available data10, the estimated value of tourism to the South Hams economy was £260m in terms of visitor spend[^4]. When expressed in Gross Value Added terms this is equivalent to c£161mn per year.
This helped to directly support approximately 4,200 jobs in the local economy, with a further c940 indirectly supported through supply chain and wage spend in the wider economy. When represented in FTE terms, this is equivalent to c2,900 FTE jobs. This represents c13% of all jobs in the South Hams economy.
The total size of the South Hams economy is estimated to be c1.9bn in GVA terms (2020)[^5].
Again, further useful context is provided by recently released ONS experimental statistics – estimating GVA in Travel-To-Work-Areas (TTWA)[^6]. This dataset estimates that total GVA in the Kingsbridge and Dartmouth TTWA (which includes Totnes) equated to c£528mn in 2019.
The difficulty in fully quantifying the specific role that marine leisure plays in underpinning this wider visitor economy is that the ‘influences’ of people choosing to visit the South Hams can be quite wide ranging. However, for many the ability to visit by boat is highly important. To illustrate the potential role of marine leisure and boating tourism on the local tourism economy, we set out three scenarios (low, medium, high) and combine these with the above estimates of the size of the visitor economy:
Again, it is important to note that these scenarios are purely illustrative. However, given the role that locations such as Dartmouth and Salcombe play in the local visitor economy (and the presence of marinas at locations along the Dart and Salcombe-Kingsbridge estuary), it could be argued that these scenarios may understate the role that marine leisure plays in underpinning the overall visitor
10 2019 – relating to pre-Covid. Given the disruption of Covid to the visitor economy, more up-to-date statistics are not available. It could be argued that 2022 represented the first year where things may have returned back to normal. However, data is not yet available.
economy. Nevertheless, even based on these conservative scenarios the below table illustrates that marine leisure provides a highly significant role in the wider South Hams visitor economy.
| Typical tourism spend-based estimates – 3x scenarios | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scenario | Total Value (tourism spend) | Gross Value Added | Employment (direct) | Employment (total) |
| Low (15%) | £22,800,000 | £14,115,000 | 366 | 448 |
| Medium (25%) | £38,000,000 | £23,525,000 | 610 | 747 |
| High (35%) | £53,200,000 | £33,000,000 | 854 | 1,046 |
Given that British Marine have estimated that typically marine leisure visitors tend to spend more in the local economy than other visitors14,15, then the high scenario may be an appropriate representation of the importance of marine leisure in the wider visitor (and whole) economy[^7].
For example, based on this higher typical spend of marine leisure visitors – and assuming that they typically visit the area for an average similar amount of days than seen in the wider visitor economy
These estimates have been informed by a Watersports Expenditure survey undertaken by British Marine. The most relevant results are shown below.
| . | Average Number of people per party | Average Number of Nights |
|---|---|---|
| Small sailboat racing | 2.7 | 3.4 |
| Small sailboat activities | 4.6 | 5.0 |
| Yacht racing | 5.9 | 7.3 |
| Yacht cruising | 3.2 | 9.5 |
| Using personal watercraft | 3.2 | 5.2 |
| . | Spend per night per person (£) |
|---|---|
| Small sailboat racing | £61.40 |
| Small sailboat activities | £71.60 |
| Yacht racing | £60.20 |
| Yacht cruising | £63.50 |
| Using personal watercraft | £111.40 |
Many boat owners will visit their boat without ‘participating’ in boating activities. Common purposes for these visits include undertaking maintenance work on vessels and people simply using their boats as a base from which to visit and explore the local area. British Marine estimates that c47% of
14 British Marine estimated that in 2019 the average boating tourism spend on a per night visit was £94.50 per night. In comparison, the GB Tourism Survey estimates that per night spend in the period 2017-2019 was c£64.50 – although it should be noted these two sources are not directly comparable
15 A survey was undertaken to inform the estimates of tourism expenditures associated with participation in boating tourism. The survey ran in October-November 2018 and was targeted at UK-based participants of boating and watersports activities. The survey received a total of 1,500 responses.
boat owners kept their boat outside of the place where they live and 90% of these owners visited their boat without leaving the berth or mooring. On average a boat owner may typically undertake 8.9 day visits and 8.8 overnight trips per annum without taking their boat out. Again, there will be some associated visitor spend – although this tends to be lower than if accessing their boats.
Using these typically higher levels of spend for marine leisure/boat tourism (noting the methodological differences) illustrates that the role of marine leisure/boat tourism could be greater than estimated in the above table. Effectively, this combines estimated latest (pre Covid) volumes across South Hams with a typically higher level of value.
| Higher marine tourism spend-based estimates – 3x scenarios | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scenario | Total Value (tourism spend) | Gross Value Added | Employment (direct) | Employment (total) |
| Low (15%) | £33,411,000 | £24,165,000 | 626 | 767 |
| Medium (25%) | £55,684,125 | £40,275,250 | 1,044 | 1,279 |
| High (35%) | £77,957,775 | £56,385,350 | 1,462 | 1,790 |
It is important to reiterate that these estimates should only be treated as illustrative – given that we do not have more information regarding the proportion of the South Hams visitor market which is represented by marine leisure/boat tourism sector. However, what these estimates do show is that even if we assume a small proportion (c15%) of the overall visitor market is represented/influenced by marine leisure/boat tourism then it still represents significant visitor spend and associated employment. Given the characteristics of South Hams, and the presence of marinas at locations such as Dartmouth, Kingswear, Noss on Dart and Salcombe.
As referenced throughout this paper report, the presence of marinas plays a fundamental role in attracting marine leisure visitors to the area. Equally, the presence of boat repair and maintenance facilities such as those at Baltic Wharf also help those boat owners to remain at the marinas located in the South Hams. The nearby proximity of repairs and maintenance facilities is an influencing factor for many in terms of berthing locations.
If facilities for repair and renovation of boats are not availably locally, it is likely that over time the attractiveness of marinas and moorings in a given locality will deteriorate over the longer-term. The anecdotal feedback received as part of this work outlined that the close proximity of such facilities is an influencing factor for many boat owners, particularly for those who do not live that close.
The UK’s boating tourism market is composed of all companies involved in the operation and support of boating-related tourist services, including hire, charter and watersports training and rental businesses (including peer-to-peer operators providing shared boat ownership), passenger boat operators, and marinas and moorings providers. It also includes the wider spending of boating and watersports participants on tourism services when engaged in boating or watersports activities. In total, the latest estimates by British Marine [Ref(https://www.britishmarine.co.uk/tourism#:~:text=In%20total%2C%20this%20latest%20study,indirect%20(supply%20chain)%20spending|ref)] values the sector at supporting more than 150,000 fulltime equivalents and generating approximately £6.0bn in GVA through both direct and indirect (supply chain) spending.
Across the South West it was estimated that boating tourism spend equated to c£551mn per year – noting that it was a pre-Covid period, supporting c17,200 jobs.
Specifically, the marinas and moorings sector in the South West supported £32.3mn turnover, £22.3mn per year (GVA) and directly supported 610 FTE jobs. This was related to 68 marinas across the South West (both coastal/tidal and inland marinas), with an estimated (at the time) c12,200 berths.
Utilising these estimates, further estimates can be derived on a per marina and/or per berth basis. Obviously, the typical values across the marina population will be highly skewed, with many relatively small operations and others at the upper end of the scale. Again, useful to illustrate that the presence of marinas and berths directly drive economic activity within the local economy.
| South West based estimates – value of marinas and moorings | |
|---|---|
| Average (mean) turnover per marina | £475,000 |
| Average (mean) turnover per berth | £2,664 |
| Average (mean) GVA per marina | £327,940 |
| Average (mean) GVA per berth | £1,839 |
| Average (mean) number of jobs directly supported per marina (rounded) | 9 |
| Average (mean) number of jobs directly supported per berth (rounded) | 0.05 |
In addition to this, the operation of marinas and moorings will also create further indirect impacts. British Marine estimates that for every £1 of output generated by the marinas and moorings sector, a further £0.6 of output will be generated in the rest of the economy, and every job created in marinas and moorings sector will result in an additional 0.6 jobs in the rest of the economy.
It is also important to note that these facilities will also support wider indirect impacts such as facilitating visitor spend – as discussed previously.
The presence of marinas and moorings (themselves underpinned by the presence of local boat repair facilities) can be summarised as:
1) Direct operational impact (i.e. operation of facilities, direct jobs supported) 1) Indirect operational impact (i.e. supply chain and wage spend impacts flowing from operation) 1) Indirect visitor spend impact (i.e. presence of facilities attracts visitors and associated spend to an area)
The evidence from the sector suggests that demand for berths at marinas has rebounded strongly in a post-Covid environment[^9]. Research at the end of 2020 (recognising this was soon after the initial lockdowns) showed that occupancy rates were high (>80% at the start of the low season) and yields per berth were increasing – largely due to an increase in demand and rising inflation after lockdown. With berthing supply constrained, approximately 50% of coastal marinas were looking to expand, with a focus on expansion of dry stack facilities and pontoon berths. The post-Covid environment has been characterised by an increase in demand for second-hand sales and berths, particularly from first-time buyers.
Again, we reiterate the point that the presence of marinas will be underpinned by the proximity of nearby facilities where boat owners can repair and renovate their craft. Baltic Wharf provides that opportunity for many boat owners who are moored using nearby marinas and moorings.
In 2018 the UK Government published Maritime 2050, to chart a course for the UK’s maritime sector in the long term. The strategy sets out strategic objectives – including those more relevant in this context of this work:
As part of the Maritime 2050, the Government committed to creating a UK legislative framework for autonomous vessels and to lead efforts to establish an international regulatory framework. It also set out its intentions for ‘Smart Ports’, and a ‘Maritime Innovation Hub’ that will trial new smart technologies within a port environment.
Alongside the Maritime 2050 Plan, Government produced the Clean Maritime Plan which provides the environmental route-map for Maritime 2050 and outline’s the UK’s pathway to zero emissions shipping. Consultation and research to underpin the strategy found that low or zero emission fuels and propulsion technologies will be necessary to achieve significant reduction in greenhouse gases and air quality pollutants. In Maritime 2050, the Government set out its vision for the future of zero emission shipping:
“In 2050, zero emission ships are commonplace globally. The UK has taken a proactive role in driving the transition to zero emission shipping in UK waters and is seen globally as a role model in this field, moving faster than other countries and faster than international standards. As a result, the UK has successfully captured a significant share of the economic, environmental and health benefits associated with this transition.”
Building on this emphasis for marine and maritime related activities to reduce its environmental impact, the UK Government has recently confirmed that the UK will now include its share of international shipping and aviation emissions in its sixth Carbon Budget – an important part of the UK Government’s decarbonisation efforts that will allow for these emissions to be accounted for consistently. As announced in April 2020, the UK Government will set the world’s most ambitious climate change target into law to reduce emissions by 78% by 2035 compared to 1990 levels. The legal inclusion of international shipping in the sixth Carbon Budget means that the UK government will have to work to develop policies, measures and schemes that will ensure that ships using the country’s ports generate fewer emissions. Shipping accounts for about 3% of UK greenhouse gas emissions in 2018, 21% below 1990 levels.
The ‘Course to Zero’ intermediary decarbonisation targets which will be published in the refreshed Clean Maritime Plan in 2023, will be indicative, rather than statutory legal targets. However, the Course to Zero targets may inform, and subsequently be complemented by regulatory measures which include setting statutory targets. Options include targets for the overall level of GHG emissions from the UK domestic maritime sector that are compatible with the government’s Net Zero 2050 target. Options also include targets for the technological and operational changes that are required for the sector to meet net zero GHG emissions, such as around the uptake of low and zero emission fuels, vessels, and technologies. Targets may be set on an annual basis, or for 5-year intervals, mapping on to the existing timetable of carbon budgets, or they may follow an alternative rhythm which may better capture and cater to cycles of change within the maritime sector.
The UK government has also recently held a consultation which explores expanding the existing UK Emissions Trading Scheme (UK ETS) to include UK domestic maritime emissions.
Within the Transport Decarbonisation Plan, the UK Government had committed to consult upon the potential for a planned phase out date for the sale of new non-zero emission domestic vessels. Recreational boating is included within the definition of domestic maritime vessels. This consultation is intended to explore the potential for long term decarbonisation to be accelerated through measures to phase out the sale of new, non-zero emission domestic vessels. This is intended to build on the experiences of the steps being undertaken today in other modes of transport. This work will focus on vessel types where near-term technical solutions are becoming available (for example electrification) as well as considering the longer-term deployment of low carbon fuels such as ammonia and hydrogen.
The Heart of the South West area (encompassing Devon, Somerset, Plymouth and Torbay) has approximately twice as many businesses involved in marine manufacturing in density terms when compared to the national average. In terms of employment, the Location Quotient (which is a proxy for relative density) increases to c5.5 i.e. in proportional terms there are >5x as many people employed in marine manufacturing across the local area when set against national average.
Future changes in technology will change the way in which the marine – including leisure marine and the recreational sector - will operate.
The National Shipbuilding Strategy, first published in 2017 and refreshed in 2022, sets out a commitment from government to develop the foundations for a modern and efficient sector, capable of meeting the country’s future defence and security needs, while making the UK shipbuilding sector more competitive and increasing industry resilience.
Included in the 2022 refresh is a continued focus on several factors, including of relevance:
Within the national shipbuilding strategy it identified the South West as leading in autonomy, refit and the leisure sector.
In 2020, the UK Government commissioned a roadmap to drive decarbonisation in recreational craft
The national shipbuilding strategy references the roadmap for decarbonisation for recreational vessels – produced by the Carbon Trust. In terms of the growth drivers and challenges of recreational and marine leisure sector, this work notes that technology advancements are expected to increase the popularity of engaging in recreational craft activities. Manufacturers are increasingly integrating advanced technologies into boats to increase function (e.g. improving steering) but also to improve safety and security (e.g. integrating sensors).
One of the major challenges to the future of the recreational craft industry is its environmental impacts and associated carbon footprint. The environmental impacts incorporate not only carbon emissions, but physical impacts due to anchoring and mooring, groundings and abandonments, collisions, disturbances, propeller wash and vessel wake. The general trend for boat ownership age has continued to rise and alternative ownership models are becoming more appealing to younger generations. These include co-ownership or rental with an interest in newer models rather than second hand boats. While in the mid to long-term this will likely create opportunities for new technologies and low emission vessels, many of the existing fleet are nearing end-of-life, creating problems linked to their disposal.
Boatbuilders across the industry are expected to face increased pressure from both regulators and customers with regards to the environmental credentials of boats being designed and manufactured.
Marine technologies or ‘blue tech’ are growing in importance. This encompasses a wide range of devices and systems that are used to ensure safe use, protection and development of the marine environment. Blue tech is now incorporated within the majority of supply chain elements – environmental monitoring, development of materials, installation and operation of components, data collection and storage etc.
In March 2021, the Crown Estate announced that it is commencing work to design and deliver a new leasing opportunity for early commercial-scale floating wind projects in the Celtic Sea.
The leasing process will focus on projects of circa 300MW in scale - up to 3 times larger than any rights previously awarded to floating wind in the UK - a new frontier for the sector and an important step towards the Government’s ambition to deliver 1 GW of floating wind by 2030.
Feedback included:
to continue to build market confidence; and
This leasing process builds on The Crown Estate’s work to support the development of floating wind technology through its test and demonstration opportunity. For example, awarding rights to demonstration projects in the Celtic Sea.
The Crown Estate – alongside local activity such as Celtic Sea Power - is also exploring ways in which it can promote more collaboration across the sector to accelerate development and
maximise its economic and social value – through supply chain and other benefits, especially to those communities local to projects.
As part of this, The Crown Estate is considering what other enabling actions it could take to facilitate the sector, shared infrastructure that will be vital for supporting a sector that can be a critical part of the UK’s net zero economy.
The Offshore Wind Sector Deal, between the government and the sector, agreed in March 2019 sets a target of achieving 60% UK content by 2030, including an emphasis on increasing the UK share of capital expenditure (“capex”) beyond 29%. This kind of supply chain development, which the South West region is seeking to encourage will be critical to the sector delivering on its commitments. It should/may also be a major driver for localised activity.
[A recent report by the Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult open_in_new provides a detailed supply chain assessment for each of the potential cost areas.
Currently the South West region does not have sufficient port/quay capacity to fulfil the requirements of the proposed FLOW developments – potentially by a significant amount. Demand for quayside infrastructure in the South West is likely to be very strong and potentially exceed the available existing facilities - demand for quayside access will probably far outstrip the available supply. Quayside facilities in the South West and South Wales have been lost to alternative uses over several years.
Overall, in terms of competitive position of the South West:
Whilst most opportunities are expected to need to be satisfied by larger ports (much of which will be outside the region) – with their larger laydown space. However, given the constraints on (lack of) waterfront quay access, it is expected that small facilities could still play an important role. For example, smaller ports/quays are expected to play into O&M market. As many as 1,400 new vessels will be required for FLOW O&M up until 2050, including over 300 Service Operation Vehicles.
The lifetime of a FLOW farm is anticipated to be between 20-25 years, based on current fixed offshore structures, allowing local organisations to play a key role in O&M services and providing the change for long-term employment. This provides a significant investment opportunity for the region, with the Crown Estate estimating that c£75mn per GW is spent on offshore wind O&M activities annually.
Supply chain elements such as continuous monitoring systems, autonomous vessels and experienced personnel can provide the HotSW companies with long-term investment and employment opportunities.
As stated above, the Crown Estate identifies the UK’s port capacity as a key challenge and opportunity presented by FLOW. There are constraints in terms of land space, quaysides, water depths or tidal restrictions. Therefore, it is likely that the development of FLOW in the Celtic Sea will require a multi-port solution. Quayside access remains crucial. An increasing fleet of Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) support vessels requiring maintenance and repair could present an opportunity for the wharf.
The following outlines a range of activities that highlight the scale of RD&I activity across the region:
Whilst many of these RD&I activities are focused on already established marine areas, there may be some demand for quay/launch space for test equipment, particularly for those activities that are not necessarily time critical/urgent i.e. can be scheduled with tides and water depth.
In terms of local policy focus, the HotSW’s Build Back Better Plan identifies the objective to develop a smart marine sector focused on autonomy and clean propulsion. It aims to build a high-tech marine and maritime supercluster focused on autonomous and digital systems, clean propulsion and cyber-secure smart ports. It recognises that marine autonomy is a growing, disruptive technology that has the potential to transform the marine sector, replacing traditional ship-based alternatives for marine monitoring operations and harnessing an integrated and powerful digital infrastructure to realise huge benefits.
In its blueprint for clean growth the local policy focus is on pioneering clean maritime by developing innovative pilot demonstrators that build a broad ecosystem, incorporating electrification and hydrogen and exploiting regional specific assets such as offshore energy. The region’s maritime sector is well positioned to lend its expertise in marine science and innovation to this particular challenge, which forms part of Ocean Futures.
This policy focus has led to considerable (public and private) investment and support for several of the initiatives outlined above, notably Smart Sound Plymouth and the marine specialism in place across the Plymouth and Exeter research institutes.
This short paper sets out arguments for the protection and preservation of waterfront and quay assets such as those provided at Baltic Wharf, Totnes. There are five broad arguments underpinning the review of evidence as set out.
Our illustrative estimates have indicated that marine leisure – even on a conservative basis in terms of the underpinning role it plays as part of the overall South Hams visitor economy
important that it remains available for potential usage. If quayside access is deteriorated further across the region, there is a risk that the huge scale of benefits that will arise from FLOW development in the Celtic Sea will simply not be retained in the region – a lost opportunity.
October 2022 – Moor Economics Limited
We have sourced these from the self-declared Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) held on Companies House for each business
This has been taken from ONS’ UK Annual Business Survey – which allows a sector-specific estimate of turnover: GVA ratio. For this work we have utilised a 3-year average (2018-2020)
We have accessed this data from the HotSW Regional (AMORE) Economic Model – with the permission of the HotSW Local Enterprise Partnership
5 This data relates to 2019. We have uplifted this to 2022 prices using published GDP deflator data
It has not been possible to directly estimate using supply chain expenditure data directly provided by the businesses themselves.
Again, this has been taken from the HotSW Regional (AMORE) Economic Model
‘The economic contribution of the UK leisure marine industry’ – Cebr on behalf of Maritime UK (2019)
We feel confident in the use of these larger multipliers based on evidence from elsewhere. For example, British Marine estimates of the indirect impact of marine leisure (which encompasses the type of activity fund at Baltic Wharf) estimates a Type II output multiplier of 2 and a Type II employment multiplier of c3.5
2019 – relating to pre-Covid. Given the disruption of Covid to the visitor economy, more up-to-date statistics are not available. It could be argued that 2022 represented the first year where things may have returned back to normal. However, data is not yet available.
Great Britain Tourism Survey – 2019. It is useful to note that this figure is derived for 2019. The GBTS figures are normally presented on a 3-year average – with annual spend over the 2017-2019 period lower than presented above (£178mn based on holiday spend)
British Marine estimated that in 2019 the average boating tourism spend on a per night visit was £94.50 per night. In comparison, the GB Tourism Survey estimates that per night spend in the period 2017-2019 was c£64.50 – although it should be noted these two sources are not directly comparable
A survey was undertaken to inform the estimates of tourism expenditures associated with participation in boating tourism. The survey ran in October-November 2018 and was targeted at UK-based participants of boating and watersports activities. The survey received a total of 1,500 responses.
It is useful to note that the average spend estimates do include additional spending on boating goods and services (such as boat hire, marina or tuition fees) to facilitate their participation. If these boating expenditures are excluded, the average day spend on wider tourism goods and services (such as food and drink, accommodation and travel) becomes more comparable to the Visit Britain tourism statistics
https://www.britishmarine.co.uk/tourism#:~:text=In%20total%2C%20this%20latest%20study,indirect%20(sup ply%20chain)%20spending.
The UK Marina & Moorings Market, 2019-20 – British Marine – April 2021