Guernsey Ports said it is starting the multi-million programme of investment in the QEII Marina, with work focusing on D and E pontoons initially.
Boat owners with berths on those pontoons have been written to, with construction work due to start early in the new year and into the Spring. That part of the work should be finished in time for those boat owners to get their vessels back in the water for the main summer months.
Pictured: No major damage was reported at the QEII marina after Storm Ciaran but the impact of the wild weather was clear.
Most of the current infrastructure in the QEII dates back to when the marina was constructed in the 1980s. Significant elements need replacing in the next few years and
more than £10 million of essential investment has been identified.
This includes the replacement of the marina gates, which impound water within the marina so that the boats stay afloat when the tide is low, improvements to mooring pontoons, and other upgrades to facilities for boat owners.
In total, more than £20 million will be spent on the marinas over the next decade to address what Guernsey Ports calls its “ageing infrastructure”.
£1.4m will be spent on upgrading the D and E pontoons. It will then offer moorings for around 130 vessels.
Those two pontoons are at the entrance to the QEII marina are said to be “the most exposed to wave conditions” and are showing some of the more severe wear and tear across the harbour. Guernsey Ports said they are now “at the end of their operational life and will be replaced in the coming months with modern, heavy-duty pontoons and significantly strengthened supporting piles”.
Pictured: The first planned phase of work at the harbour will be followed by further multi-million pound investments.
Guernsey Ports Civil Engineer Jenny Giles will be among those leading the work.
“While the D&E pontoons have been well maintained, they date back to the construction of the marina in the 1980s and were designed for smaller boats than are currently moored there. They have long since reached the end of their design life and need replacing.
“These new, industry standard pontoons will significantly upgrade the current berths and allow us to optimise the configuration of moorings for some of the largest vessels in the QEII.”
Kieran Higgs, Assistant Harbour Master (Leisure) agreed that the work will offer improvements for many people.
“This will create better and more secure berthing for the vessels on D&E pontoons. It will also reduce our ongoing maintenance costs on pontoons that are no longer fit for purpose.”
Pictured: There have been numerous calls for investment in Guernsey’s ports over recent years.
Ports maintenance teams will be cleaning, repainting and strengthening the piles that support D&E pontoons prior to installing the new ones, which have heavy-duty, galvanised steel frames supported by fibre-reinforced concrete floats.
“There will be some initial disruption over the coming months while we clean and strengthen the piles and then install the new pontoons,” said Mrs Giles.
“We are working closely with our supplier, contractors and operational teams to phase these works to mitigate disruption as much as possible.”
Mr Higgs added: “We want to thank these boat owners for their co-operation while we undertake a programme of much-needed investment in facilities for our mooring holders.
“We hope to be able to share details of some further improvements in the coming months.”
Pictured: Some boat owners have criticised planned increases in their fees even if some facilities are improved.
This work is included in a projected spend of around £64m planned for capital investment and maintenance across St Peter Port Harbour over the next decade.
In all, that work is aimed at addressing ageing facilities and infrastructure.
Paying for it has caused controversy already with Guernsey Ports proposing above RPI increases to current fees and charges for 2024, saying that will help fund additional investments in work to upgrade Ports’ infrastructure.
Passenger, freight, and landing fees, hydrocarbon imports and mooring fees are all proposed to go up to bring in more revenue too.
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