Talks are being held about the future of Helensburgh pier as the survey report which led to its closure is made public for the first time.
Described as ‘a political hot potato’ by an Argyll and Bute Council official, the pier was closed by a notice to mariners when a report on its condition was received in October.
Last month Helensburgh Seafront Development Project (HSDP) organised a packed public meeting which heard emotional arguments for the importance of the Waverley to the town and supported a joint venture with the council to save the pier.
And this week the council said it was holding talks with HSDP and Waverley Excursions about the future of the pier.
The 147-year-old timber pier was closed on advice by consultants Arch Henderson, who recommended that a detailed structural analysis be carried out to confirm its structural integrity.
The Arch Henderson report was not made available for last month’s meeting and the council initially refused a Freedom of Information request from this website for the document, but reversed that decision following a review request.
The report states that the timber area of the pier is ‘deteriorating’, adding:
As there is no record documents or drawings to confirm the original construction of the timber pier there may be eccentric loading put into the piles due to missing timbers and coupled with the erosion of the timber structure within the tidal zone, it is recommended that a detailed structural analysis is carried out to confirm the structural integrity of the pier.
This should include an intrusive investigation to confirm the limiting residual sections of the structural members, a check of the connections and testing to confirm the condition of the residual timber.
It is further recommended that a restriction should be put in place to prevent any vessels from berthing at the pier until the above analysis is carried out.
The report is dated March 10, but the council says that was the date of the survey, and the report was not received until October.
Emails released under FOI show Arch Henderson apologising for ‘not delivering the documents in a timely manner’, while council officials say the report is light on detail and that they are being chased for action, adding: “Helensburgh pier is a bit of a proverbial hot potato at the moment.”
This week the council said that specialist contractor Evova BM TRADA were currently testing the timber section of the pier.
Once this is complete, the council will used the Arch Henderson inspection and the Evova timber analysis report to carry out a structural analysis to ascertain the load-bearing capacity of the pier.
This is expected to be completed by February and will also consider what work is needed to repair the timber pier.
Roddy McCuish, policy lead for roads and amenity services, said: “While the technical work is carried out we are talking with those other groups with an interest in the pier.
“Officers have already met with Waverley Excursions to look at next year’s itinerary.
“The overall condition of the pier, and whether we can re-open the berth face, will be known before the timetable goes to print in late March. Obviously, the ability to allow the Waverley to berth next season will depend on the cost of any works required and the likely timescale for completing them.
“We are also liaising with HSDP to keep them up to date with what is going on.
“The council fully appreciates the economic potential that a fully operational pier could offer Helensburgh. The good news is that the original masonry pier is in good condition as is the outer facing of the rock armouring.”
Inspection reports from 2015, 2016 and 2018 have been released following FOI requests and can be downloaded here as PDF files – two of the files are large.
I wrote about this elsewhere. The wooden part of the pier is never going to be repaired; there is little point in going through the motions discussing that type of repair, it will not happen.
Cut to the chase and look at alternatives. The report rightly states that the stone part is sound and that should be the basis for the way forward. Either remove the wooden structure and dredge that bit back to allow the stone part to become the end of the pier, or drive a caisson into the bed around the existing pier and fill it with rock to make a robust replacement.
In the way of these things we will probably do nothing. Goodbye Helensburgh pier.