Posted on March 25, 2021
Howth Harbour near Dublin is undergoing a transformation with the re-development of the Middle Pier plus proposals for dredging the harbour and the creation of a reclaimed area of land.
At the Middle Pier, which divides the harbour into fishing and leisure areas, work on the construction of a 134m-long quay wall on the western face of the pier and associated deck area, road access, hard standing and parking is already underway. Contractor John Sisk & Sons is undertaking the construction of a rock armour revetment at the eastern side of the Middle Pier plus land reclamation at the eastern side.
Included in the contract is dredging works at the proposed quay wall face and the treatment and re-use of the dredge spoil within the structure/reclamation area. The job will be finished with the installation of new ancillary services and mooring furniture.
Over the rest of the harbour The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) and the harbour authority for Howth Harbor Fishery Centre are proposing to dredge seabed material from within the harbour. The main goal of these works is to provide better water access to the fishing, leisure, and RNLI craft using the harbour, the Government of Ireland’s DAFM said.
It is proposed to reuse the material to create an area for what is called ‘public realm’ on the west side of the West Pier which will effectively create a new area of land for development outside the harbour but with access from the West Pier. The volume of material to be removed is approximately 240,000 m3, and the reclaimed area that will be created will extend to approximately 4.8ha.
Enhancement of water depths within the harbour area is now required to maintain safe access during any state of tide. This is necessary because of increased fishing vessel sizes, siltation, and a desire to improve the usable water area. Lack of sufficient water depths due to siltation in the vicinity of the public and RNLI slipways is also resulting in restricted access to the water for the public and RNLI rescue craft at low tide.
To this end DAFM is preparing a planning application, for the proposed dredging and reclamation project.
By Dag Pike
