Ambitious plans have been passed that have been described as a ‘tourism game changer’ for a small East Yorkshire Coastal village near Bridlington.
After a long consultation period, the owners of the Ship Inn at Sewerby, near Bridlington have been given the green light to change the pub into a welcome centre which will cater for cruise and pleasure craft docking in the Bay of Bridlington.
Charlie Kilburn from the Ship Inn, explained :”This has been a long-held ambition for us and will bring thousands of visitors into the village and beyond…it will be a game changer for the whole area.”
Sewerby Steps will now have a purpose built elevator to help passengers get up and down the cliffs, after they are brought ashore by tender boat from the passenger boats and ships.
To facilitate U.K. border and customs requirements, part of the Ship Inn will be used for passport control, with immigration officers stationed in the pub area.
To meet further government requirements, the village will now be named Port of Sewerby.
Charlie also hopes that the application to become a Freeport Gateway will be looked upon ‘favourably’ after several positive conversations with government mandarins who have been spotted in and around Sewerby with tape measures and clipboards.
The first ships will be due to dock this month, with a number of Miami based- cruise liners heading to the shores of East Yorkshire.
A spokeswoman for one of the U.S. based cruise companies Jo Kerrs, explained: “We are delighted to be working with Charlie at the Ship. He has a quaint English pub, which is just what our guests want to visit. Plus one of the advantages is that whilst passengers are awaiting border clearance they can have a glass of finest British beer.”
A villager from Sewerby, said: “It will be great for the village, I love Americans as I went to Florida and Disney once – and they were all so nice.
“I’m glad that there is elevator as I get out of breath going up the 147 steps from the beach, but they may have to limit the number of passengers in the lift as some of our friends from the USA do look like they enjoy a cake or two.”
Alterations for the arrivals hall inside the Ship Inn are almost complete with Charlie and his wife Lou highly delighted with how the project is going.
Changes will include a small duty free area selling perfumes to vistors.
“We want to keep the pub as traditional as possible, so the changes will be minimal. One major change will be moving our parrot to the reception area and trying to teach him to say ‘have a nice day.’
Charlie hit the headlines last year after winning a top culinary award with a sweet that he devised to add to his famous pudding ranges at the Ship.
He was presented the Chef de Pudding Award at the International Pudding Championships held in Paris by French TV personality and chef Raymond Blank.
Charlie’s Gooseberry Fool desert had judges raving.. with comments such as… ‘a seasonal hit that makes the taste buds chuckle’.
Locals are welcome to call in at Sewerby to greet the first vistors, today, April 1, with the first cruise liner scheduled in at around 7.30am.
Anyone with any ideas, objections or queries are asked to contact Charlie at the Ship Inn, Sewerby on 01262 672374 or http://WWW.SHIPINNSEWERBY.CO.UK
