Plans for new car ferry service

A car ferry service could tie in with Ilfracombe harbour redevelopment

A detailed proposal has been put together for two car ferry services between south west England and Wales.

One would sail between Ilfracombe in Devon to Swansea and the other from Minehead in Somerset to Barry.

If the Ilfracombe proposal goes ahead it will tie in with existing plans to redevelop the town's harbour with a marina and breakwater.

The plan has been prepared by Chris Marrow, who has developed successful ferry routes in Scotland and Africa.

Mr Marrow said there was nowhere else in the world with similar geographical features and levels of population which did not have an active ferry service.

'New routes'

He said: "Ilfracombe is now going to be on a route with people passing through and spending money.

"In my experience - and I've seen it happen with other services I've started - a lot of business follows new routes."

Passenger ferry services already operate in the Bristol Channel during the summer, but authorities in north Devon and Wales would like to have an all-year car ferry service too.

Last September Devon County Council said the possibility of a passenger ferry link between Ilfracombe and Wales had been included in the county's 20-year draft regional plan.

It is likely to be a number of years before the service would become operational, as more detailed plans will have to be submitted and approved by various authorities in England and Wales.