At river shored up
Two months’work costing £500k comes to an end
Work costing up to £500,000 on the repair of a collapsed section River Forth banking was completed last week.
The project to reinstate a 50-metre section of the banking at Old Harbour Park, Riverside, took around two months to finish.
Residents were able to walk through the park for the first time in more than 18 months. It had been fenced off due to the banking collapse and subsidence.
Stirling Council appointed Barrhead-based civil engineering contractor George Leslie Ltd to do the work.
They completed the project using baskets of stones placed on a base of stonework to shore up the banking.
Riverside Community Council secretary Ann Graham said they were pleased the park was now back in use and praised the contractors for the way they went about the job.
“We are going to put in a message to Stirling Council complementing the contractors on the speed with which the work was done and how diligent they were.
“It looks to have been nicely landscaped and even though it was obviously a very complicated operation, it appears that no-one was unduly inconvenienced by the work.”
Officers had been working on proposals for the park since January last year when a section of the River Forth’s banking there collapsed following a period of high water levels.
Since then, the park has been closed and more of the banking has fallen away into the river.
Residents feared the subsidence could effect Shore Road which runs alongside the park.
Repair work was due to take place over the autumn and winter last year, following the relocation of water pipes, removal of a redundant BT line and felling of a tree. The project should have been completed by this spring at the latest but the complexity of the job and worries about spiralling pushed back the timetable.
In August, following the start of work, the council confirmed £130,000 had already been spent on geo-technical investigation and design works prior to the start of the work proper.
Convener of the environment and housing Jim Thomson, said the harbour wall repair was only the first phase in the development of the Old Harbour area. Tenders had gone out for a contractor to design, supply and install a pontoon – part of City Region Deal plans to make more use of the river.
The project would be partly funded by a grant from the Coastal Communities Fund, which is funded by the Government with income from the Crown Estate’s marine assets and delivered by the Big Lottery Fund on behalf of the UK Government and devolved administrations.
Councillor Thomson added: “The pontoon will improve access to the river for waterbased activities, such as rowing and kayaking. Once the pontoon construction works are complete, new benches, picnic tables and litter bins will be installed. This project is linked to the larger City Region Deal, which contains plans for a further five pontoons that will create a water travel route linking key historic venues across Stirling.”