Stornoway harbour development

It would take 200 years for Stornoway Port Authority (SPA) to afford the £40 million required to bring the harbour’s two main piers up to standard it has emerged.

Ships banging into the quayside and the corrosive salt laden environment eating away the infrastructure means a never-ending round of extremely expensive repairs to maintain Number One and Two piers.

For the past nine years the harbour body put £200,000 - about two thirds of this year’s profits - aside annually towards its contribution if external funding ever becomes available to replace the structures. Thanks to its prudent approach, the pot currently stands at £1.8 million.

With Scottish Government grant funding effectively dried up, at that rate it would take two centuries to upgrade the piers using its own resources.

Neither, in its 150-year existence, has the harbour board ever received a penny back from its high rentals to the Crown Estate. It is exasperated the Crown body is now offering a wide range of outside non-maritime bodies a cut of its marine profits under a new coastal communities fund.

Another major hurdle is that repairing No 2 pier is excluded from life-line grants which do not cover supplying fuel to the islands. The freight pier at No 1 will similarly lose out when the MR Muirneag disappears as Cal Mac introduces a new single larger vessel.

On the new Coastal Communities Fund, Jane Maciver, SPA chief executive, said: "As one of the biggest contributors to the Crown Estate in the Outer Hebrides it is frustrating to have to bid for such funds against other organisations that may never have had to pay anything to the Crown Estate.”

She highlighted: “A much more cost-effective method of providing funding to assist coastal communities would be to exempt Trust Ports from Crown Estate control.”

Ms Maciver pointed out: “In an island area such as the Outer Hebrides, harbours are critical to the economic wellbeing of the community.

“Trust Ports are constituted as not-for-profit bodies. They sit at the heart of coastal communities and are therefore ideal vehicles through which a vibrant coastal community can be developed.

“Removing the burden of Crown Estate payments from Trust Ports and from municipal harbours would be a more positive statement of support to coastal communities.”

Depending on funding, the harbour board’s ten year “wish list” plan aims to boost the Western Isles economy by developing the port and attract more marine business like cruise liners.

It hopes to create a base for super yachts with overwintering facilities and servicing centre.

In addition, Newton Basin may be developed as a marina for small boats. A helicopter landing pad or hard standing laydown area for out-of-water boat maintenance and storage could be built by Stornoway Coastguard station at the Battery.

The port wants to remove laid-up vessels and get rid of wrecks from the harbour as well as tackle bilge pumping which causes pollution and create new harbour headquarters.

The harbour board also aspires to build a swing bridge over the inner harbour which would allow pedestrians easier access to the Lews Castle. It aims to create a recreational area at Bayhead and install berthing pontoons on both foreshores.

A variety of large vessels sail in and out of the Stornoway port about 1,000 times annually while nearly 20,000 passengers use its facilities every year.

Stornoway harbour hampered in development plans 27/7/11

Port chief Jane Maciver is frustrated the Crown Estate took their money but never invested in Stornoway harbour.