Urgent bid for funding to prevent Wick harbour wall 'catastrophe'

Efforts are under way to secure funding for urgent repairs to a storm-damaged harbour wall at Wick amid warnings that a collapse would be a "catastrophe" for the town and its economy.

A multi-agency emergency meeting was held in the town on Monday after the scale of the problem became apparent at the north pier harbour entrance.

The harbour took a pummelling during Storm Babet in October and conditions have been almost unrelenting since then, with powerful waves driven by easterly gales. Wind speeds exceeding 70 knots and wave heights of more than 10m were observed at the peak of the storm and gale-force winds continued for almost two weeks.

Wick Harbour Authority (WHA) says "emergency stabilisation" is required but has given an assurance that contingency plans are in place to ensure the port remains open should any further damage occur.

Harbour master Ian Cormack said: "At the end of the day it's nearly a 200-year-old structure. We've had two weeks of it now and it's probably the most incessant battering that the quays have ever had.

"We've had consistently high wave heights and swells.

"There is the potential for a partial collapse. How big that is it's impossible to say.

"But we do have a contingency in place to keep the harbour open."

Wick is the operations and maintenance base for the Beatrice offshore wind farm and is well used by fishing vessels and leisure boats.

Mr Cormack added: "We are working with agencies. Everybody is coming together to try to find a solution.

"There are up to 200 jobs involved around the harbour which have got to be preserved."

Provost Jan McEwan, who represents Wick and East Caithness on Highland Council, said: "The ramifications if the wall collapses will be devastating to Wick.

"In my opinion it really is that bad – and it's not a matter of if it goes but when it goes. I'm worried about other storms coming because this is storm season.

"The cracks are moving about 20mm a day. It will be totally critical to Wick's economy if that goes."

Councillor McEwan understands that work could begin quickly once a funding package is secured and would take an estimated 18 weeks to complete.

A repair bill of £850,000 has been mentioned, but Mr Cormack insisted it was impossible to give a specific figure. "There are ongoing inspections to ascertain a cost," he said. "At this stage we do not know what the cost is. It could be more, it could be less."

Monday's emergency meeting was called by WHA with Marine Scotland, and was held in the Beatrice conference room. It was attended by representatives of SSE Renewables, which operates the wind farm on behalf of a joint venture partnership, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, Highland Council, Focus North, Siemens Gamesa, Dounreay, Aurora Energy Services, the RNLI, Subsea 7, Crown Estate Scotland, Scottish Renewables and Caithness Chamber of Commerce, along with local MP Jamie Stone.

The harbour board provided a detailed damage appraisal together with a proposed engineering solution and outline costs. WHA has already obtained tenders for emergency remedial works that will protect the outer harbour.

Public and private sector stakeholders agreed to collaborate to secure emergency investment to protect the port.

Mr Stone, the Liberal Democrat MP for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, said afterwards: "I was greatly shocked to see the damage caused by Storm Babet. Worse still, it seems that the damage is becoming greater with each day that passes.

"I believe that the plans to stabilise the situation and safeguard the harbour are sound, and I pay tribute to those who put them in place. But the fact is we need to take action as a matter of urgency.

"The sea defences at Wick are already weakened and another storm could make the situation far, far worse.

"At the meeting, we heard that users of the harbour – including the operators of the Beatrice wind farm and the RNLI – would have to consider relocating if the harbour was further damaged. This would be a catastrophe for the local economy.

"I also pay tribute to the local councillors who were present at the meeting and, indeed, the enterprise agency who are now working hard to put the necessary funding package in place.

"For my own part, I feel that this is very much a levelling-up issue that the UK government should consider funding. I will be saying all of this in a speech during the debate that will follow the State Opening of Parliament next week.

"In the meantime, I asked all the participants at the meeting to consider emailing me with suggestions as to what I should say in the speech."

In a statement, WHA said: “Wick Harbour Authority would like to express our thanks to the 40-plus stakeholders, businesses and agencies who attended an emergency meeting on Monday. We are confident that a solution can be found to make good the damage caused by Storm Babet and in the meantime the harbour remains open for business.”