DRAKE HOUSE SEASHORE CENTRE

Goodrington Sands, Torbay

Drake House occupies a prominent position in the beach-side tourist complex at Goodrington Sands in the heart of Torbay. It is the focus for a renaissance in the study, interpretation and protection of Torbay's outstanding marine life. The Victorian naturalists Philip Gosse and Amelia Griffiths made the Bay famous through their pioneering work on sea anemones and seaweeds. Now, over a century later, exciting work is being done on the survey and conservation of seagrass beds, the protection of rocky foreshore communities and habitats and the mobilisation of community and voluntary effort to raise awareness of marine conservation issues.

Tor Bay is one of 28 nationally important Sensitive Marine Areas in England. Its subtidal marine life is outstanding, based on a range of habitats which include tideswept limestone, fossil forests, seagrass beds, muddy sands and submarine caves. Intertidal areas are also of high value and almost the entire undeveloped coastline of Tor Bay is designated as either Site of Special Scientific Interest or County Wildlife Site.

In 1994/5 the Devon Wildlife Trust undertook a survey of The Great West Bay (which includes Tor Bay) and assessed the main habitats and the threats to them. Their conclusions for Tor Bay reinforced the importance of the area ("for marine wildlife Torbay is the jewel in South Devon's crown") but also identified a wide range of threats, the majority of which are linked to the high level of pressure on the habitats from the tourist industry.

Trampling, disturbance through collecting and rock-pooling, angling, water sports, beach cleaning and beach replenishment are all detailed as tourist-related threats with the first two being highlighted as having the greatest impacts on inter-tidal habitats close to the main resort areas. At the same time these impacts are the most readily controlled by the introduction of interpretation and education programmes.

The coast and shore-line between Goodrington Sands and Broadsands comprises a series of coves backed by cliffs. The area, known overall as Saltern Cove, is a Site of Special Scientific Interest and a Local Nature Reserve. Uniquely in Britain, the LNR extends underwater to a point 376 metres below low water mark, because of the high nature conservation value of the sublittoral zone.

Goodrington Sands and Broadsands are two of Torbay's most popular beaches, attracting in the region of 900,000 visitors per year. Saltern Cove is the nearest extensive area of rocky foreshore to these beaches and inevitably it is used by a large proportion of these visitors for rock-pooling. In addition, within 1 kilometre of Saltern Cove there are several thousand caravan and chalet bed spaces in four large holiday camps.

When the LNR was designated in 1973 a survey of the site's marine life was undertaken. Even then the surveyors, Les Jackman and Dr. Michael Proctor, warned of the problems being caused by the high levels of public use of the rocky foreshore. These levels have not diminished because, although the high point of visitor numbers to Torbay in the mid-1970's has been passed, tourism trends mean that the pressure is extended over a longer period and people's interest in wildlife fuels ever more intense rock-pooling activity. Current surveys indicate that species diversity on the rocky foreshore of Saltern Cove has diminished over the last 25 years.

Drake House Seashore Centre

Drake House is owned by Torbay Council and is the base for the Council's Coastal Zone Manager. This post was established in 1995 to improve the management of Torbay's coastal areas and to date, with limited resources, a great deal has been achieved. A single room in Drake House has been converted to a marine interpretation area (with assistance from the European LIFE fund) and, although staffed only irregularly and mainly by volunteers it received over 12,000 visitors in 1997. Many schools use the building and the surrounding area and the project has proved that there is a high level of interest in marine issues amongst tourists, local residents and, increasingly, decision-makers in Torbay.

There are several inter-linked aims for Drake House Seashore Centre, including:

• to raise awareness amongst beach users of the fragility of the habitats to be found in the vicinity, especially at Saltern Cove

• to encourage individuals to take more care in the ways they explore those habitats

• to act as a focus for voluntary and community initiatives in Torbay related to the marine environment

• to act as a centre for educational visits by schools and colleges

• to be a high-profile and symbolic facility in Torbay which indicates the Council's commitment to maintaining its marine environment

• to act as a co-ordinating centre for a variety of integrated coastal zone management initiatives, including Biodiversity Action Plans.