The battle to bridge Dartmouth's Castle Cove gap and reopen the town's unique bathing platform has finally been sunk – scuppered by red tape and rising costs.

Campaigners who have been fighting for 11 years to replace the bridges to the bathing platform so that it can be used at all times of the tide have said they have been forced to call it a day.

And they have launched a stinging attack on South Hams Council over delays which saw costs rise and a £14,000 grant lost because the group ran out of time to use it.

A statement from the Castle Cove Campaign group declared: 'This project could have been completed some time ago if the district council had been more willing to accept its responsibilities and obligations to the community, businesses and tourism and less driven by a fear of litigation.

'Visitors and others will undoubtedly on occasions continue now to be cut off by an incoming tide with the potential for serious accidents, the responsibility for which will lie squarely with the South Hams Council.'

The battle over Castle Cove began 11 years ago when the cove and its bathing platform was closed after the footpath and bridges were damaged by storms.

The beach was finally opened four years ago following a major campaign which forced Devon County Council to replace the steps to the beach.

But the bridges to the rock bathing platform were never replaced.

A trust was formed and has been negotiating with the South Hams Council, owner of the cove, over how the bridge could be funded and maintained.

The trust won a grant towards the cost, was planning to fundraise to cover the remaining cost of the new bridge and even won planning permission for it. But that was two years ago and nothing has happened since then.

Now the campaign group has admitted that it has 'finally been obliged to call it a day'.

They pointed out that without the bridge bathers were at risk of being trapped on the platform by the tide and there had already been accidents as people attempted to climb the cliffs.

They said the group had won a grant but could not get an all important licence from South Hams Council to build it. The group said: 'After nearly two years of negotiations, with a council that has an excessive level of bureaucracy even for local government, we believe we are now no nearer obtaining that licence.'

The statement added: 'While we accept the council have a duty to ensure the public are not put at risk, the additional safety to the public using the platform has long since outweighed the risk, if any, in using the walkway.'

Campaign group member Wally Fleet added that over the years the cost had shot up from £19,000 to almost £40,000.

Dartmouth county councillor Jonathan Hawkins also blamed the collapse of the campaign on bureaucracy as he thanked everyone in the campaign group for the 'hard work and effort' they had put into it.

BREAKING NEWS:

South Hams Council leader John Tucker has said today that the project is just one report away from success. He added the £14,000 grant from the South Devon Coastal Action Group is still available and the council was in discussions to extend the deadline.

Read the full story in next week's Chronicle