The Wales International Coastal Centre development at Saundersfoot Harbour has been progressing despite delays due to COVID-19. The Marine Centre of Excellence was completed before Christmas 2020, and is now home to the Harbour Office, as well Outer Reef Water Sports Centre, which offers water sports activities such as kayaking, SUP, surfing, coasteering, powerboating, and sailing; Harbour Bites Café, which serves light bites and hot and cold drinks; the EV Marine Workshop, and the soon to open, Fairwinds Chandlery. Ocean Cabins, pod-style short term accommodation, is available on the first floor and are taking bookings through Stay Pembrokeshire from the middle of June.
The Ocean Square development around the old Coal Office building, or Barbecue, comprises of fifteen retail units surrounding an all year round covered events plaza. Harold O’Vinegars Seafood Deli was the first retail unit to open on Bank Holiday weekend, offering prawns, cockles, mussels and oysters, as well as lobster and crab. It will hopefully not be long before the plaza is fully open to the public, and the locals and visitors will be able to enjoy the covered meeting place, and the variety of products on offer, including food, clothing, homeware, jewellery, and beauty services.
Construction work is continuing on the Coal Office building, which will house additional Ocean Cabins, a large retail unit, and the Welcome & Heritage Centre, the first of three interpretation centres at the Harbour. The Welcome & Heritage Centre will take a look at Saundersfoot’s rich history and coal mining heritage, before moving over to the Coastal Schooner, a life size three-masted schooner currently undergoing construction on the National Events Deck over the sluice, next to the crabbing centre. Here visitors to Saundersfoot Harbour will learn about the history of the harbour, Pembrokeshire’s maritime heritage, and about local pirates, smugglers and life at sea. On board the Coastal Schooner will also be a small café, and a high ropes course. Finally, visitors will return to present day Saundersfoot in the Storm Centre, located in the Marine Centre of Excellence. Here we will be able to discover the geological significance of the area, find out about coastal erosion, climate change, weather, flooding, and the future of the village. The construction work on the Welcome & Heritage Centre and Coastal Schooner is estimated to be completed in the autumn, with the fitting out of the interpretation centres to follow.