Latest news with #harbour
Irish Times
2 days ago
- Business
- Irish Times
Redevelopment of Dún Laoghaire protected structure approved, ending long-running planning saga
The restoration of Dun Leary House and the construction of almost 90 apartments in its grounds has been approved by An Coimisiún Pleanála, bringing to an end one the most contentious and long-running planning sagas in the Dún Laoghaire area. A distinctive yellow-brick Victorian building, Dun Leary House sits on an elevated corner site on Dun Leary Hill overlooking Dún Laoghaire harbour close to the West Pier. County councillors voted in 2021 to add the house to the Record of Protected Structures and agreed to include a specific provision in the 2022-2028 county development plan for its 'rehabilitation and suitable reuse'. The house dates from the 1870s and was built for the original owner of the adjoining coal yard, which has been earmarked for redevelopment for more than 20 years. In 2003 permission was granted for a scheme of offices, shops, a leisure centre and apartment complex in the Tedcastles Coal Yard, which included the demolition of Dun Leary House. However, the scheme never went ahead. In November 2021 Ted Living Ltd applied for a strategic housing development (SHD) of 146 build-to-rent apartments surrounding, and on top of, Dun Leary House. The plans involved the removal of the roof of the house and the construction of three additional storeys of apartments, retaining the rest of the house below. READ MORE Under the SHD system, which was discontinued at the end of 2021, applications for large-scale residential developments were made directly to An Bord Pleanála, the coimisiún's predecessor, bypassing the local authority planning system with the aim of accelerating the delivery of housing. The board had a statutory mandate to issue decisions within 16 weeks. In the end it took 138 weeks for it to refuse permission, making it the longest-running SHD case ever determined by the board. [ Longest running Dublin strategic housing development case refused permission Opens in new window ] The new scheme, granted permission in recent days, permits the construction of 87 apartments in two blocks up to eight storeys high, and the refurbishment of Dun Leary House as a four-bedroom home. Planning consultants for the developer Brock McClure said Dun Leary House was the 'focal point and main consideration within the overall scheme'. The new blocks would be detached and set back from Dun Leary House. 'This is a significant departure from and improvement on the previous application,' the consultants said. Independent Senator Victor Boyhan, who had campaigned for the protection of the house, said he welcomed the decision. 'It was a long campaign with many setbacks and delays – the house has been saved and will be central to the development of the site.' The new scheme would ensure 'an appropriate level of new homes' would be built on the site, he said.
BBC News
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Piano artwork for passersby to play now at harbour terminal
A piano that passersby can play is on display at Guernsey's harbour Arts' Piano Project is now at the terminal, with artwork designed by Tiffany Anna also on display in the departures Ports said visitors were welcome to play the piano, regardless of whether they were are an established musician or not, to leave travellers with a "smile".David Buddery, commercial development project manager, said Guernsey Ports was working with local artists and organisations in a bid to bring its "terminals to life". He said: "Our ports are fantastic opportunities to showcase Guernsey talent to local travellers and visitors. "In turn, it helps to modernise our facilities and create positive impressions at the start and end of people's journeys."The Piano Project began in 2019 as an opportunity for local artists to put forward their artwork for a piano, which would take centre stage in a public space. The piano has previously been located at Guernsey Airport and the Performing Arts Buddery said Tiffany Anna's artwork, displayed adjacent to the duty-free shop, was a "bright and eye-catching" addition to the departures Anna said: "This was such a fun project to bring to life. I'm grateful to Guernsey Ports for the opportunity - and I hope the artwork makes people smile and brings a bit of happiness to their day."
The Sun
3 days ago
- General
- The Sun
One of UK's most tranquil seaside spots at risk of losing golden sands after huge blowhole emerges
A HARBOUR in a popular seaside town is facing a major issue after a huge blowhole has formed. The South Devon beach has seen the effects of erosion caused by decades of battering waves. 3 3 Now Hope Cove harbour is doing everything it can to save their breakwater afte a blowhole formed in the middle. Built 98 years ago by fisherman, the harbour wall was last repaired in 1983. Since then, there have been no funds available to refurbish it any further. Shocking discovery During construction, fishermen would work with the tide, building a section with each tide change. Between these periods, debris, rocks, and stones would be thrown in the middle and left there while the next section was built. Over the years, cracks have appeared and high water can be seen blowing the debris through the sea wall. Sean Hassall is the joint harbour master on Hope Cove Harbour and explained that the force of the waves has given the breakwater a significant battering. 'We had the breakwater X-rayed a few years ago and to our horror, there's loads of voids between our breakwater,' said Sean. This has caused a blowhole to form in the middle of the wall, which Sean says will be detrimental to the harbour and surrounding area in time. 'The kids think the blowhole is great, but it's only a matter of time before the breakwater goes," he explained. "If it goes we lose all the sand off the beach." Hope Cove relies massively on this golden sand beach for tourism, meaning the town will suffer a financial blow. Further problems On top of that as, cliffs and a mains sewage pipe also sit close by, and could potentially be affected. 'It will erode the cliff where the pathways go over to Inner Hope and Outer Hope, and along that path, there is a mains South West Water sewage pipe so that will obviously impact on the sewage system and South West Water,' the expert said. The harbour masters have considered various options for recovery of the breakwater, ranging from £1 million to £5 million. 'We're going for the just over £1 million option, it's an easier option for us,' explained Sean. And due to the carcinogenic nature of concrete, the harbour are unable to use it. Instead, they plan to bring in big boulders to reinforce the wall and repair what is already there. And since the harbour is completely independent and not funded by the South Hams District Council, all the money will have to be raised by the harbour and Friends of Hope Cove, a charity designed to protect the cove. "We have the Friends of Hope Cove Harbour, which are a brilliant group, they're the driving force to try and raise the money to rebuild our harbour wall,' said Sean. The harbour is planning a public meeting on Wednesday, August 6 to discuss their plans and when they will go ahead. 'There's lots of indications that there might be money there, but we first need to know how much it's going to cost, when we're going to do it, who's going to do it," said Sean. "Once we know that detail, we can then go out to the wider public and say look, we need the money who's going to help us'. 'Its getting the word out to people, a lot of people are very passionate about our village, it is a special place'. The Sun has reached out to the local council for comment. More on seaside towns The best and worst seaside towns in the UK have been officially named. Plus, a popular seaside town ranked among the country's best where you can spot dolphins swimming from the shore. Another seaside town is located just 90 minutes outside of London, and you can even find Banksy art there. And a Welsh seaside town that visitors say looks like it was plucked from the Italian coastline. Plus, the up-and-coming seaside town that hosts a viral Kate Bush event. 3
BBC News
17-07-2025
- Business
- BBC News
£1.8m budget for Scarborough West Pier wall repairs approved
A £1.8m budget for repairs to the harbour wall of Scarborough's West Pier "to extend its lifespan" has been approved by North Yorkshire Council (NYC).Contractor Neom Engineering Limited will complete the work, which includes repairing and strengthening the steel sheet-piled wall along the harbour-facing section of the Mark Crane acknowledged that while the cost was "significant", the work would last for another 10 years."Frankly, if we don't do this, then we face a problem with the harbour and how long it would withstand the pressure of the water," he said. The estimated cost of the works is £1.2m and any additional project costs, such as those beyond the contractors' control, would be covered by a contingency budget of £546, is also a £15,000 budget for internal staffing costs associated with the project, but any costs arising above this contingency would be an additional cost to the council, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Scarborough Harbour has "limited ability to generate income" if costs were to rise above the overall budget for the project, the ring-fenced account "will therefore effectively be overdrawn," a report presented to the executive noted."The project will be technically underwritten by NYC's other reserves and the borrowing from the council's reserves will be repayable to the council when there are sufficient funds available within the Scarborough Harbour account," it report added that charging interest on the overdrawn balance for the account was not being proposed but that the council reserved the right to revisit this interest assumption "should there be a significant increase in harbour revenues in the future".After completion of the works, the ongoing maintenance costs would be funded from the existing harbour maintenance budget as and when required, the report Liz Colling, the chair of the Scarborough and Whitby Area Committee said it was a "much needed" project and noted that the funding was "really welcomed". Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
RNZ News
07-07-2025
- Science
- RNZ News
Our Changing World: Tauranga's living sea wall
Sea pods at Tauranga waterfront. Photo: Tauranga City Council Follow Our Changing World on Apple , Spotify , iHeartRadio or wherever you listen to your podcasts Coastal critters have new habitat options along the Tauranga waterfront , thanks to the installation of 100 'sea pods' or 'living boulders' in May 2024. Weighing up to 1.2 tonnes each, the sea pods are indented with holes and crevices that mimic rocky tide pools, providing space for tiny organisms from shrimp to anemones to find a home. One year on, researchers are monitoring the manmade rockpools to find out what species have moved in. Marine scientist David Culliford and students Tiff Cooper and Taylor Rabbitt are monitoring the marine life found in the sea pods over time. Photo: Justine Murray / RNZ Constructed as part of Tauranga City Council's long-term strategy to redevelop the harbour, the sea pods aim to bring back biodiversity often lost in urban coastal areas. David Culliford, marine scientist at Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology, says urban modification over time has impacted marine life. "There's a tapas bar over there and if you look next to that there's some old piles which were part of the original harbour structure, and they're probably about 150 metres back from where we are right now," he says. The 'sea pods' are designed to encourage marine life back into highly modified urban shorelines. Photo: Tauranga City Council Tauranga Harbour, like many other city harbours, sits on reclaimed land. Rockpools and other coastal microhabitats have been covered up to make way for manmade constructions like sea walls or wharves. A 'living sea wall' provides ideal real estate for many shoreline-dwelling species, encouraging biodiversity to recolonise the urban waterfront. The idea of a living sea wall was developed in Sydney, Australia, through 30 years of research. The approach combines engineering and ecological concepts to create designs for pilings, panels and other modules that meet both human construction requirements, and wildlife habitat needs. Specially designed panels were installed on a North Sydney sea wall in 2018. Monitoring the biodiversity over time, researchers found a 36 percent increase in the number of different species living on the sea wall, compared to a sea wall with no modifications. "So we're re-introducing habitat, we're re-introducing habitat variety and so we can increase biodiveristy," says Dr Aria Lee, marine ecologist at Living Seawalls, a programme of the Sydney Institute of Marine Science. A living sea wall in Tauranga comprising artificial rockpools called 'sea pods'. Photo: Tauranga City Council There are now 20 Living Seawall installations across Sydney Harbour, and around 1000 around the world in the UK, USA, Europe, Asia, Peru and, of course, Tauranga. Tauranga's 'sea pods' were designed by Living Seawalls in Sydney. But rather than ship tonnes of concrete across the ocean, silicone moulds were cast and sent to New Zealand for local manufacturing with concrete and recycled materials. Ongoing monitoring is tracking the changing biodiversity as the seasons, weather and tides shift. Monitoring work of the seapods along the Tauranga harbour. Photo: Tauranga City Council Tiff Cooper and Taylor Rabbitt, marine science students from Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology, conduct surveys to record the abundance of different organisms and measure algae cover and growth. Together with David and collaborators from the University of Waikato, they have documented branching algae, colourful sea slugs, and dancing flatworms, as well as "heaps of shrimp", says David. "They seem to be like little shrimp hotels, we find loads of them in here." They even found possible signs of the harbour's unique sneezing sponge colonising the sea pods. This blue 'sneezing sponge' is thought to be unique to Tauranga Harbour. Pictured here with two nudibranchs (sea slugs). Photo: Sam McCormack / iNaturalist NZ (CC BY-NC 4.0) David plans to install GoPro cameras to see what marine organisms take up refuge in the sea pods when they're covered with water at high tide. Plus, the eye-catching structures often elicit questions from curious members of the public. "We always get lots of enthusiasm while we're down here, it's cool," says David. Sign up to the Our Changing World monthly newsletter for episode backstories, science analysis and more.
