Government Plans Major Redevelopment of Consett Bay Fishing Facility

Responding directly to the resident’s concerns, Bradshaw reassured the forum that community feedback would be a driving force behind the upcoming architectural designs.

Bradshaw, also the environment and national beautification minister, revealed that recent site visits with area MP Charles Griffith showed that the facility required a complete re-evaluation.

“When I visited the fish market, it struck me that we had a lot of more work to do than what I was even visiting at the time,” Bradshaw said. “Consett Bay to me lends itself to being developed as a space for recreation, for culture, for fisheries. The transformation that I see in that space for me is phenomenal.”

To achieve this, the ministry is looking to global leaders in fisheries management to secure the necessary infrastructure upgrades.

“I would have made an announcement a few days ago in relation to some conversations we’ve been having with the ambassador to Japan about being able to get some assistance from them in terms of technically to be able to look at the upgrades that are necessary,” the fisheries minister explained. “If you go and Google online you will see that Japan is gold standard in terms of fisheries, and for me coming to this ministry it has been about finding who is the best in class.”

Bradshaw confirmed that the partnership will specifically focus on replacing the ice machine and improving storage for fish when they are brought off the boats. Furthermore, a private company is currently drafting final designs for the jetty upgrades, which will be shared with the community once completed to ensure local stakeholder input is valued.

The government’s broader vision for Consett Bay also includes shifting vendor operations away from hidden ocean-side stalls where visitors cannot easily see them. Bradshaw noted that unless visitors already know where the vendors are, they simply turn around and leave, a design flaw the ministry intends to fix by changing the processing hall windows.

The restructuring will also focus on expanding accessibility to the site.

“There is also a need down there for a new entrance and exit because right now there is really one main road in and out,” Bradshaw said. “My view is that in terms of accessibility we have to make sure that we have another road… to ensure that we have a proper exit and entrance in two ways coming out of that particular facility.”

The National Conservation Commission has already entered the site to begin clearing and beautification efforts, and the government is hoping to acquire nearby land to expand parking.

Bradshaw emphasised that the environment is about the entire space and how people feel when they are in it, promising that the upgrades will introduce proper lighting and public bathroom facilities so that the general public can comfortably recreate and enjoy the reimagined space.

(RR)