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Newsletter June 2008
Chairman's Message
Summer is here and the harbour is back into full swing. Once more the entire harbour is available to the public following the long delayed completion of the bridge refurbishment. I and the other volunteer directors of the harbour trust are always anxious to discover the views and needs of harbour users and work with them on improvements to the facility. The term harbour users should be used in the widest possible context to include not only the fishermen and pleasure craft owners but all who use the harbour. This would include people using the slipway to launch boats for a day trip and the many townsfolk and visitors who like to walk the piers and sit a while to watch the world go by. To improve communication it is the intention of the DHT to establish a Harbour Users Forum which will meet regularly to hear the views of all harbour users. We anticipate this will become an important conduit for the future development of the harbour and the services offered by the DHT. A date and venue of the first meeting will be advertised shortly on the harbour notice board and the DHT website.
Colin McWhannell, June 2008
McARTHURS STORE – Work on the refurbishment of this historic building is going well and, as you can see from the photographs, the interior is being transformed. The frankly dark, cold and dangerous working spaces, endured by our fishermen for many years, are being replaced with light and airy rooms that will work much better for them, and indeed future generations, for years to come.
The work is on schedule and if all keeps going well; the stores will be ready for occupation by the end of October. Until then we apologise for the rather untidy look of the harbour due to lack of storage facilities for the tools of the fishermen's trade.
Once the fishermen have moved in to their new accommodation, every effort will be made to remove any unnecessary mess and restore the harbour to its former glory.
As part of the refurbishment, there will be a small room on the ground floor which will be available to members of the public to use for meetings. Booking will be required and details of how to book and how much it will cost will be published in a future newsletter and on the DHT website.
LANDSCAPING – The DHT is to seek funding to improve the landscaping of the area around the propeller and to install new benches to enhance people’s enjoyment of the harbour.
BRIDGE – At long last the bridge refurbishment is complete and once again Dunbar Harbour has a fully operational link to the North side. It is a matter of regret that this work has taken very nearly two years during which the “other side” has been cut off. The work was carried out by East Lothian Council and has been beyond the control of the trust. These difficulties are behind us now and it will be good to see the whole harbour back in use during the height of the summer season. The bridge has been fitted with a brand new electrically operated hydraulic lifting mechanism which means there's no more back breaking physical effort to raise and lower the bridge. It's now all done at the push of a button. During the summer months it's our intention to leave the bridge down as much as possible in order to allow free access to and from the north quay and, should you need the bridge to be lifted for any reason, the person to contact is the harbour master who will be pleased to help.
HARBOUR DEVELOPMENT PLAN – The loss of Dunbar’s All Weather Lifeboat at Torness in March served as a painful reminder of what a major boost to all harbour users and passing craft it would be to be able to turn our harbour into a safe port of refuge and permanent home for the lifeboat. The DHT has ordered the first part of the necessary survey work to establish the potential of the harbour prior to entering detailed talks with the RNLI. The lifeboat charity shares our view of the need to have the boat back in the harbour and available for rescue at all states of the tide and in all weather conditions. We are committed to working with them to see how this aim can be best achieved. It is still early days for this project but never the less it is an exciting prospect and one all sides believe could be achieved. Affordability will no doubt be the key to success of this plan.
NEW DIRECTORS – Two new directors have been appointed to the board of DHT. They are Iain Fleming, who lives in Dunbar, and David Ainsley, who lives in Northumberland. The board is confident that they will be able to offer a lot of expertise in the years ahead and look forward to working with them. There remains a vacancy for one director.
LADDERS – Work installing new ladders in the Cromwell Harbour has gone well.
The conservation bodies refused to allow the Trust to cut the new ladders into the walls of the old harbour and so they have been installed with large wooden battens on either side to allow for safe mooring of vessels alongside.
INTERPRETATIVE BOARDS - The boards which have been installed at the harbour have proved to be very popular and there are plans to install two more boards, one providing information about the kittiwakes (courtesy of the Seabird Centre) and a second providing more information about Lamer Island and the Castle.
LAMER ISLAND - With access to Lamer Island and the battery being restricted due to the bridge repairs, future development plans have been on hold. Now that access has been restored, discussions about possible options for the development of Lamer Island have started once more. It is recognised that the potential for development of the battery is considerable and a number of possibilities are being explored.
As there will inevitably be a lot of local interest in any development proposals, the Trust would welcome any input from the public on how they think Lamer Island and the battery could be improved and/or developed and a facility for this input has been introduced on the DHT website.
WEBSITE - You 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.