Fears grow for village’s historic pier as huge tides batter coast

Exceptionally high tides and wintry weather have sparked renewed fears a Fife fishing village’s pier could soon disappear – leaving coastal properties exposed to the elements.

Tides as high as 5.9 metres, coupled with a strong easterly wind, have seen Lower Largo’s coast and historic pier hammered in recent days, causing yet more parts of the breakwater to crumble into the sea.

Now concerned locals fear it is only a matter of time before the structure, believed to be one of Scotland’s last rubble piers, is gone for good.

A Save Largo Pier campaign was set up by residents several years ago to push for improvement work alongside the Crusoe Hotel and other properties in the area, although that fizzled out.

With the recent conditions bringing the situation back into focus there is likely to be a new drive to take it back

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The pier must be handed over to the community in order to obtain the funds required for a repair. DAN CASEY

into community ownership.

Local man Dan Casey watched in disbelief as another huge chunk of the pier collapsed into the sea over the weekend, leaving what is left exposed to further disintegration.

“It has been lying in a state of disrepair for a number of years now and frankly villagers are fuming that very little progress seems to have been made to have it fixed,” he said.

“Talks between the private owner of the pier and the local community have stalled in the past.

“The pier must be handed over to the community in order to obtain the funds required for a repair. However, for reasons I don’t know, this hasn’t happened yet.”

Local woman Louise Robb added: “Without much needed protection now, it can’t be long before it disappears, leaving the hotel and surrounding property exposed to the power of the sea.”

Some of the damage high tides and the recent appalling weather have inflicted on Lower Largo.