The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire)
Harbour repair works boost
Awater barricade has been constructed allowing for repair work to commence on a damaged north-east harbour.
The £1.3 million project to repair parts of Banff harbour began last month, nearly four years after parts of a wall crumbled into the sea.
Now with the completion of a V-shaped barricade that prevents entry to and from the dock, longawaited repairs can take that next step forward.
Having been appointed by Aberdeenshire Council to reinstate the railway jetty, workers from Lochshell Ltd in Wick hope to have the project finished by August.
Work undertaken by the firm will also strengthen the east pier as part of the deal.
Following freak storms back in June 2017, sections of the quayside collapsed into the sea.
Temporary repairs were carried out at the time but workers at the small port couldn’t help feeling that the incident was a disaster for their community.
Council bosses have since been looking to use repairs as a way of improving the port, and have called on expert advice as well as a number of studies to inform their planning process.
Chairman of the Banff harbour advisory committee, Councillor John Cox, was pleased with the progress made.
He said: “A significant amount of material has been taken down to the harbour to create the dam, which has allowed for all the yellow cones along the road to have been taken away – which just shows how much progress has been made.
“It has taken a while for this to come together but I’m pleased with the approach that has been taken to get the job done as quickly and smoothly as possible.”
In a bid to ensure the more lasting upgrades are delivered to the area as soon as possible, longer working days have been deemed a necessity by the firm.
Mr Cox added: “There has been an agreement to extend working hours so they can maximise the daylight to get the job done in as short a period as possible.”
Decisions to extend working periods have also been made to minimise disruption felt by residents.