Emergency works to be carried out at historic Portsoy Harbour

Emergency works are to be carried out at the historic Portsoy Harbour more than a week after part of its wall collapsed.

A section of the A-listed Old Harbour’s north wall was breached on New Year’s Day after it was battered by heavy storm seas.

Aberdeenshire Council was aware the structure needed some work, but the bad weather struck before anything could be done.

Over the next five weeks, a temporary work platform of concrete blocks will be put in place to bridge the gap between rocks at the end of the West Quay and the outer harbour wall.

A semi-circular wall of one-tonne cement bags will be placed outside the breached wall to reduce the chance of further damage and offer some protection.

A row of concrete blocks will then be installed along the foundation stones which will form the base of a new concrete core to the fallen wall section.

But looking ahead, Historic Environment Scotland will need to give the go-ahead to any long-term repairs.

A recent survey revealed that an unstable section of the wall with loose masonry would need rebuilt using grouting.

Council chiefs had spoken to Historic Environment Scotland to find out what information they needed for planning purposes.

Any repair or rebuild proposal would need a grout specification to be developed and submitted as part of the process.

No formal consultation or Listed Building Consent application had been submitted at that point.

But while this was all going on in the background, the stormy weather hit and the damage was done.

Councillor John Cox, who heads up the harbours sub-committee, said it was “disappointing” that the works hadn’t started.

“That’s no criticism, it has to go through a process.

“We all know that once a slight bit of damage occurs then there’s very little that can be done to stop further damage to the wall.”

But despite the collapse, he stated there would be no impact on the rest of the harbour.

Members of the public will still be able to visit the port, just not the pier that is damaged.

“There’s been no consequences in terms of the normal access around the old and the new harbour where people walk and drive around, so that’s a positive,” he said.

“But looking at what has happened, thankfully there was the inner wall below and the basin of the harbour has stood the test of the storm.”

The Banff councillor also believes the popular Portsoy Traditional Boat Festival should still be able to go ahead despite the damage.

He explained that the collapsed wall would have “no impact” as the event doesn’t use that particular pier.

“The damage is to the outer wall, I don’t think it’ll have any impact at all and I would hope by then that there’ll be some repairs done.

“It’ll all depend on seeking approval or obtaining approval from Historic Environment Scotland what can be done to rebuild it.

“I would hope that in recognition of its historic importance that Historic Environment Scotland will have some contribution to make towards its repair.”

Aberdeenshire Council revealed that future restoration of the wall would depend on funding and approval from HES.

Harbours principal officer Simon Jessel said: “Our initial focus is on getting these emergency repairs undertaken as quickly as possible to secure the wider integrity of the harbour wall.

“As it is a listed structure, we will hold early discussions with Historic Scotland to discuss any future rebuilding of the breached section.”

Meanwhile, a Historic Environment Scotland spokeswoman said the public body was happy to offer advice on any planned works.

She added: “We would anticipate a formal consultation from the local planning authority should an application come forward.”