Transfers are due to resume in Lyme Bay next March

The Department for Transport (DfT) has promised to look at concerns about ship-to-ship oil transfers, which are due to resume in Lyme Bay next March.

Earlier this year Devon County Council, Dorset County Council and environmental groups got together to ask the government to put an end to the transfers.

The type of crude oil transferred in Lyme Bay is similar to that of the tanker the Prestige, which caused widespread environmental damage when it foundered off the coast of Spain last year.

Government needs to provide world class regulation and contingency plans to protect it Councillor Stuart Hughes, Devon County Council

The bay provides a sheltered area where pollution could be minimised, but Devon County Council says the current set up is too risky.

At the latest meeting with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) and the DfT, the two county councils put forward their case for the need for better protection of the area, which is part of the Jurassic Coast - a World Heritage Site.

They were joined by representatives of other concerned district, borough and town councils, together with environmental and shipping industry representatives.

Devon County Council's Executive Member for Community Safety, Councillor Stuart Hughes, said the latest meeting was "positive" and "generally productive".

"Only time will tell if our concerns will be properly addressed through robust and early regulation," said Councillor Hughes.

"The coast of Devon and Dorset is one of the most beautiful and important in the world, government needs to provide world class regulation and contingency plans to protect it."

Formal consultation will begin in January with the MCA on the detail of the new regulations.