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Pontoon Project Goes to Tender

TENDERS went out this week for a key Stranraer waterfront redevelopment project.

Scottish Enterprise Dumfries and Galloway together with the council want to build two sets of marina pontoons off the breastwork and the West Pier to kick start redevelopment.

Now plans have been put out to contractors to build poontons berthing up to 50 yachts.

Tony Fitzpatrick, head of economic regeneration at the Dumfries and Galloway Council, said installing pontoons would attract outside investment into a marina in Stranraer Harbour, and in turn stimulate further harbour side developments.

He said: “This is very much a pump primer which we hope will wet the appetite of the private sector.

“There will 50 berths initially, but the design will allow for expansion.

“The vision we are working with is the port town becoming a marine leisure destination.”

Mr Fitzpatrick said the tendering process would determine how much the pontoons would cost.

He added that further tenders would be going out for quayside facilities. The plan is for two pontoons, the first off the Breastwork comprising ten berths taking boats up to 7.5 metres long.

The second will be the main 40-berth pontoon, which can accommodate boats up to nine metres in length and accessed by a link span bridge off the West Pier, which will float with the tide.

The West Pier will also have a new strengthened surface.

With the £1.3 million breakwater complete, which protects the harbour from the force of waves, Mr Fitzpatrick said the pontoons plan could go out to tender, signalling that the waterfront was moving into its implementation stage.

“I think this is one of the most exciting projects in the South of Scotland,” Mr Fitzpatrick said.

Scottish Enterprise and the council hope the waterfront project will help Stranraer develop into a marine and leisure destination in the wake of Stena Line moving to the new Port of Cairnryan early 2009.