The August 2013 edition of the Bawdsey Bulletin informed the Parish that Suffolk Coastal District Council had offered to transfer the ownership of the Amenity Area at Bawdsey Quay to the Parish at no cost. The Parish Council is keen to accept this offer and keep the Amenity Site open and in public ownership, to avoid the site being sold on the open market by SCDC.
The Parish Council set up a Working Group, which includes members of the Parish Council, to consider the feasibility of such a transfer because there are significant running costs that cannot be met from parish funds.
The proposed solution is to establish a small business, such as a visitor centre/café on the site, operated by a third party. This would generate rental income to maintain the site.
The Parish Council will invite expressions of interest from persons interested in helping with the financing, building and operating of such a business, by advertising in the East Anglia Daily Times on 3rd and 10th of March.
It must be stressed that although the Parish Council is keen to accept ownership of this site, its transfer is by no means certain. There are a number of significant problems that must be resolved first. For example, the granting of planning permission, the resolution of the sewage problem and the success of applications for grant aid.