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THE NEWLYN SMALL BOATS PONTOONS

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Date	Description	File Size	Download
February 2006	Plan of proposed earthworks	393KB	click here to download
February 2006	Small boat pontoons simplified layout	281KB	click here to download

What is it?
The ‘Newlyn Small Boats Pontoon’ project will involve the installation of a series of pontoons intended to create new dedicated berthing for the small fishing boats fleet that currently operates in and around Newlyn Harbour.

It is a ‘stand alone’ project; however, it is hopefully the first of a series of projects that will see the improvement of the harbour facilities for the fishing fleet in Newlyn Harbour to help it survive into the 21st Century

It will comprise of 40 berths for vessels shorter than 10m in length plus another 40 berths for boats less than 15m in length.

The existing RNLI Lifeboat berthing pontoon will be relocated into the new pontoon layout.
It will include a single separate berth intended for tenders coming in from liners that visit Mounts Bay.

The berths are dedicated to fishing boats and not recreational vessels. Occasional recreational vessels may berth on the pontoons but only if space allows (fishing boats will take priority).

Most of the finance is coming from the European Union with the remainder coming from The Newlyn Pier and Harbour Commissioners. The commissioners will run and manage the new pontoons.

Why is it needed?
Currently the ‘small boats’ berth next to other larger fishing vessels. This poses of a risk of damaging the boats. Having a separated berthing area for the small boats greatly reduces this risk.

The small boats often have to berth up stacked next to each other. When this happens crew members have to climb over a number of boats before they can reach a pier. This makes berthing difficult, the moving of materials arduous and increase the risk of accidents to crewmembers. With the pontoons in place the boat will pull up next to an individual berth and the crew can simply walk off without having to climb over other boats or up ladders, this will greatly increase their safety.

The existing berths are insecure. The new pontoons will have a security gate on the bridge connecting them to the land and a CCTV system to keep guard on the vessels. Although this can never prevent theft, it will help to deter criminals.

What will be happening during the construction works?
The works can be split into a number of phases, these are:-

Dredging
The area where the pontoons will be placed will be dredged to allow boats access. The area for the boats smaller than 10m in length will be dredged to 0m Chart Datum (which will result in them occasionally bottoming out) and the area for the boats smaller than 15m in length the area will be dredged to –2m Chart Datum.

Treating the dredged material
The dredged material contains contaminants that have come from the past industrial usage of the harbour. For this reason the dredged material cannot be tipped at sea. Instead it will be taken to Sandy Cove where it will be treated to make it harmless to the environment using a process that has been agreed with the ENVIRONMENT AGENCY. The material will then be placed on Sandy Cove to lift the ground and graded to improve drainage. In the future the Sandy Cove area is planned to be further improved by the construction of Engineering Workshops on it (this is not part of this particular project). When this occurs then the material placed can be reused be used to help with this improvement.

The material will be taken by dumper trucks from the pontoon area to Sandy Cove- they will not be allowed onto the main road through Newlyn.

During the works access by the public to Sandy Cove will be reduced. However once complete public access will be restored.

Along the landward side of Sandy Cove there will be a temporary pile of material that will have to stay in place for 2 or 3 years. This will eventually be used to fill an area at the base of the existing slope. We cannot place this fill immediately due to the presence of Japanese Knotweed- this is an invasive plant that we have to eradicate first and this unfortunately takes a number of years.

Piling
The new pontoons will be held in place by piles. These will be drilled into the ground and not driven by a hammer. The type of piles used and their method of installation will be almost identical to those installed a couple of years ago for the RNLI Lifeboat pontoon.

The Pontoons
Once the piles are all in place the pontoons will themselves be floated in and connected and brought into use.

How long will the work take?
The Works should be complete by the end of June 2006

Who are the companies involved with the Project?
THE CLIENT NEWLYN PIER AND HARBOUR COMMISSIONERS
THE CONTRACTOR MAY GURNEY
THE CONTRACTORS DESIGNERS SCOTT WILSON
THE CONSULTANT HYDER CONSULTING
VALUE OF THE CONTRACT £1,800,000

Who should I contact if there is a problem?
The May Gurneys Site Agent is Andy Haley who can be contacted during working hours on 07740 394704

also see introduction>> reports>>