The lord lieutenant of Essex, Jenny Tolhurst, will be helping us launch our first Maldon and Heybridge Heritage Harbour Association (M&3HA) plaque to the building Cook's Yard on Saturday 5 March from 11.30am to 12pm and we will be there until 1pm to discuss what we are trying to achieve.

Here is some background:

Cook's Yard was (and still is) a thriving boat building and repair yard - specifically for Thames sailing barges since 1894 and today for Topsail Charters.

Maldon and Heybridge has been designated as the first Heritage Harbour in Essex (registered as HH3) as part of a national joint initiative by the Maritime Heritage Trust (MHT) and National Historic Ships (NHS) Shipshape Network, with strong support from the European Maritime Heritage (EMH).

It proposes that historic ports and harbours in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland become officially recognised as Heritage Harbours.

The role of the Maldon and Heybridge Heritage Harbour Association (M&3HA) is to ensure the historic waterfront fabric, buildings, vessels and traditional nautical crafts are thriving for our future generations to come.

As well as supporting the fantastic work that businesses, charities and the council carry out here in Maldon and Heybridge, we also have the ambition that the Hythe at Maldon retains its status as a working quay for the Thames Sailing Barges - plus using the historic vessels and parts of the designated harbour to be a centre for sustainable cargoes.

This includes bringing back to Maldon a working traditional sail loft and more sailmakers - ADM Sails, based in Heybridge, has been carrying out modern and traditional sailmaking for the past 14 years.