Warship Management Ltd

HMS PLYMOUTH could be set to move to Hayle in Cornwall - or find a home near one of Devonport’s rival naval bases in Rosyth or Portsmouth.

The team working to find a new home for the last warship to be built in Plymouth revealed on the Herald’s online social networking pages iHerald that they are seriously exploring moving the ship to Cornwall.

The vessel could become a feature of a major redevelopment of the Cornish town’s waterfront location.

Campaigners fighting to save the ship have been unable to find a suitable berth for the Falklands War veteran in her home city, despite exhaustive searches, and are now looking at all options.

Until recently she was berthed in Liverpool, but now has to be found a new home.

The team also revealed that a Scottish MP is backing plans to move HMS Plymouth, launched 50 years ago this year, north of the border.

Revealing the Cornish plan on iHerald, Martin Slater, secretary of the HMS Plymouth Association, said: “The team has decided that we will fight on to find her a berth, and are looking at a number of options.

“We have been contacted by a gentleman in Hayle, where there are plans for a big regeneration of the area funded by ING Real Estate. He is excited about having her down there and has spoken to a number of people, including a representative of ING, who didn’t say no.”

“Portsmouth is another option, although this has been tried before. Liverpool and Rosyth are also being investigated, with a Scottish MP being most keen.”

A campaign has been created on iHerald in a bid to bring HMS Plymouth back to the city.

Read and join the discussion at iHerald and join the group, with pictures, at iHerald

Western Morning News - 4/12/08 

THE last warship to be built in the Westcountry could now be scrapped after a three-year campaign to bring her home was foiled.
It had been hoped that frigate HMS Plymouth - a veteran of the Falklands War - could return to the city as a living exhibit and tourist attraction.
But those hopes appeared to have been dashed yesterday after two proposals to bring the Rothesay-class frigate home failed.
Former Royal Navy officer Mike Critchley, chairman of Warship Management Ltd (WML), had been spearheading the project to bring the ship from its current berth in Birkenhead.
He said its future now looked bleak after options to secure either a commercial or Royal Navy berth had been scuppered.
“I am aware of two organisations overseas and one in the UK which have expressed an interest in hosting her in the past, but in recent times more enquiries have come to Merseyside to release her for scrap,” Mr Critchley said.
“The owners have always resisted this option in favour of seeing the ship return to her natural home - Plymouth. I see the possibility of a breaker’s yard looming - a fate from which she was saved in 1988.
“Surely this should not be the way that her story will end?”
The ship was launched from Devonport in 1959. It played a key role in the Falklands conflict before being decommissioned in 1988.
It features a unique chapel which was built into the ship as a memorial to all the UK seafarers lost in the South Atlantic in 1982. She is currently owned by the Mersey Docks and Harbour Company.
Plymouth City councillor Dr David Salter had backed the project and discussed its potential with owners of possible berths.
He said: “I believe this outcome is a local and national disgrace after enormous efforts by WML, the men of the HMS Plymouth Association and by well-wishers all over the country.
“It is outrageous that in her namesake city with a huge waterfront and international maritime reputation, no place at all can be found for this historic warship with a proven ability to attract tourists and educate youngsters.”
Commercial berths in Plymouth have been blocked by development and increasing costs. That resulted in an emergency meeting last week between former Plymouth MP Lord David Owen and Commodore Ian Jess, the current Commander of Devonport Naval Base.
“Commodore Jess, however, told Lord Owen that there was no room for the vessel,” Mr Critchley said.
“He also informed Lord Owen that the listed dry dock which the project might have hoped to use, Number 2 Dock, had its gates removed in the last three months and was now tidal, making it impracticable to berth HMS Plymouth without reinstating the gates at a cost of more than a million pounds.
“This has led to WML despairing of finding a berth for HMS Plymouth in the city, and the ship having to leave Merseyside soon. She may well be sent to the scrapyard.”
The news came as a blow to the HMS Plymouth Association, which has raised more than £30,000 towards her purchase.
Secretary Martin Slater, who served on the ship from 1971-73, said: “The association has been closely involved in a great many aspects of the negotiations in trying to obtain a suitable berth for the Falklands veteran.
“We appreciate the frustration which WML has endured when dealing with a city, who for the most part, appears to be totally indifferent to not only saving this iconic warship, but where some elements appear to be actively attempting to thwart those efforts.”
Dave Briody, group credit manager at owners Mersey Docks and Harbour Company, said they were “concerned” at the state of the vessel which had been “without proper tender loving care for three years”.
“Deadlines keep being changed which is a major concern,” Mr Briody said. “This is probably the third option in Plymouth that has caved in. Our main concern now is that the ship is in need of tender loving care and we really don’t want to spend any more money on it.
“We are not rushing to any scrapyard, but we have to consider the state of the ship and what is going to happen to it over what is probably going to be a difficult winter.
“We are very disappointed, but we have got to face reality now that Plymouth is not pulling out all the stops. We can’t believe that there’s nowhere for it - even if it is a short-term lay-up.
“A move to Plymouth was and is our preferred option and we are still hopeful that a solution can be found. In the meantime, we are going to reconvene to discuss the matter with WML and make a decision from there. Hopefully something can come out of this. We would still like to see the ship sail out of Liverpool on her way to Plymouth.”
A spokesman for the Royal Navy said no final decision on whether the base could host HMS Plymouth had been made. He stressed the ship was “no longer a Ministry of Defence asset” and that it had “no practical role” in finding a location.