Work starts on pontoon
Bid to make more of waterfront
Work started this week on the further development of Stirling’s Old Harbour Park.
Contractor Gareloch Support Services (GSS) are building a 35-metre river pontoon at the Riverside site.
It is hoped that this and other planned pontoons will provide berthing facilities for tourist boats and water taxis and help the city make more of its waterfront.
Stirling Council believe the £270,000 development will boost visitor numbers and add to the tourism economy.
The pontoon landing stage will be 30 metres long, with an additional five metre section for rowing boats and kayaks. It will rise and fall with the tide and is designed to be wheelchair compliant.
Work at the park costing £500,000 to shore up at 50-metre section of harbour wall – which collapsed in January, 2016, following months of heavy rain and swollen river levels – was completed in October last year.
Environment and housing committee convenor Jim Thomson and vice convenor Danny Gibson visited the site on Monday as work began on the project.
Councillor Thomson said the new work at Old Harbour Park was a pilot project and an important step in bringing about the rejuvenation of the River Forth and integrating it into the city again as a key asset.
“Up until the 1940s, ships were a common sight tied to the docks along Shore Road, but the river has been an untapped resource, until now,” he added.
“We want to show that Stirling is far more than just our historic castle and this development will make it a massive draw for residents and tourists by offering river trips and it will create an alternative gateway into the city for leisure vessels visiting us by river. A Lowland Market Research study estimates an extra £10million will be generated for the local economy by turning our river into an attraction for potentially an additional 250,000 visitors a year.”
Cllr Gibson said: “This will hugely enhance tourists’ experience of Stirling by providing a new way to enjoy the wealth of historical sites and natural beauty of the area from the river.
“Stirling Council has long term City Deal aspirations for a number of pontoons along the River Forth with a view to offering tourist boats in the future to help generate jobs.
“So this is just the start of us transforming the river and making the most of our waterfront.”
This latest project is costing £270,000 with £153,000 awarded through the Coastal Community Fund and the remainder from the council capital allocation.
Stirling North Tory councillor Ross Oxburgh welcomed the move but cautioned: “We should be very careful about making such ambitious claims for the extra visitors at this stage. Most of the money for this initial project comes from an external source and that makes it easier to justify but I would expect the council to be very cautious about spending too much of our money in the future unless there is a clear case to do so, especially when there are so many basic services, like our roads, that need every penny we can find.”