Subscribe to our newsletterNewsletter March 2008 |
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Chairman's MessageSpring is round the corner and soon the harbour will be the bustling centre of the town once again. Dunbar Harbour Trust anticipates another busy year as we seek ways to develop the harbour to the benefit of its users and the wider community. High on our agenda is a long term vision of creating a harbour that is a safe haven in all tides and all weathers protected from the Northerly surge. In the shorter term we are relieved to have a commitment from East Lothian Council that our long missed bridge will be fully operational by May 19. MCARTHUR’S STORE
Work is now well underway on this most exciting of projects and as at the start of March work was beginning to slate the roof of what is believed to be Scotland’s oldest working fishermen’s store.
DHT is grateful to the fishermen who spent many hours cleaning out decade’s worth of debris to allow the contractors to move on site at the turn of the year. This project is going well and we hope it will be completed by the end of the year giving the fishermen a safe and secure working environment and the trust and the town a meeting room to be used by ourselves and local bodies. MAINTENANCE HARD STANDINGThis hard standing is now in use and is a great benefit to people needing to carryout work below the waterline of their vessels. DHT is shortly introducing a booking and charging system for the standing to make sure its use is maximised. Vessels should only use it under the direction of the harbour master or his assistant and a charge of £10 per day will be levied. Until we are able to provide a berth side supply of water and electricity this charge will be waved. NEW BLOODVacancies have arisen for directors of the Harbour Trust to be appointed. The posts are being advertised and interviews will be held sometime in March if all goes to plan. The trust is seeking to bolster its ranks with three individuals who have the welfare of the harbour and its environs at heart and would like to make a contribution to its future development. Ideally the candidates would have complimentary skills to offer to the running of the harbour but these could be based in a wide area not directly connected to the running of a maritime facility. THE BRIDGEAfter much frustration and delay East Lothian Council has given the DHT a completion date of May 19, 2008 for the installation of lifting equipment at the bridge and handing over the refurbished structure to the trust. The directors of the trust are acutely aware of the inconvenience the lengthy closure of this bridge has caused and can only apologise. The project has been solely the council’s and the DHT have been as frustrated as everyone else. INTERPRETATIVE BOARDS Visitors to the harbour will notice the appearance of new interpretative panels which we hope will provide information of interest to both regular visitors and newcomers alike. The quality of these panels is of the highest standards and the Trust hopes to be able to site further similar high quality interpretative panels elsewhere around the harbour perimeter which will provide information about the Battery and the kittiwakes in due course. TOILETS AND SHOWERSPreliminary funding is now in place and the Trust has engaged a firm of architects to take this project to the stage of obtaining detailed planning consent. It is hoped that a new toilet and shower block can be built at the harbour which will be a major benefit to all harbour users. An earlier proposal to include an air compressor for divers has been dropped. HARBOUR STUDYLong term proposals are at an early stage of consideration that may eventually result in Dunbar’s All Weather Lifeboat returning to the harbour and once more being at the centre of things. The boat was moved to Torness Power Station’s deep water berth some years ago because the increased draft of the modern lifeboat meant it could not use the harbour at low tide and also the unsuitability of permanent berthing in the Victoria Harbour which is subject to severe swells in Northerly winds. The trust and the RNLI believe it is desirable in the long term to have the boat back in Dunbar not least because of the time taking in transporting the crew by road to Torness on a ‘shout’. These are early days but over the coming months discussions will be held with partner agencies aimed at seeing what can be done to improve the harbour to allow the lifeboat to return. HARBOURMASTER'S OFFICEFunding is now in place from Scottish Community Foundation, East Lothian Council & Historic Scotland to carry out an external refurbishment which will include a new roof, re-pointing in lime mortar & replacement windows. This building is of interest in that it once housed an Ordnance Survey tidal gauge, one of only three in Great Britain. LADDERSWork installing new ladders in both the old and new harbours has been delayed because of various technical problems. These have now been overcome and the project is back on track. BROADHAVEN SLIPWAY
DOG WARDENEast Lothian Council have instructed the dog warden to operate in the harbour area. Two fixed penalty notices have already been issued and patrols are now being made on a regular basis. Dog owners are urged to obey the law and clear up after their pets or run the risk of being fined. WEBSITEYou will find more information about the activities and projects of the Trust and its Harbour Management Committee on our website. If you think you can help or would like to contact us then use the feedback form on our website. |
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The project to upgrade and extend the slipway was undertaken by the Royal Engineers (39 Engineer Regiment) under the Military Aid to the Civilian Community programme. The slipway is a credit to their skills and DHT and all users are grateful for their efforts. Many of the soldiers involved in the construction are now on active service in Afghanistan, Iraq and North Africa.