By Julie Waters
THERE have been fresh calls for urgent action to protect Donaghadee’s historic harbour after the town’s sea wall suffered further damage in recent storms.
The iconic harbour, which celebrated its 200th anniversary in 2021, is at the heart of the coastal community and the seawall recently suffered a partial collapse following the ferocious weather.
Central to the harbour protection debate is the demand for an offshore breakwater which would provide shelter for the harbour and shorefront in the face of increasingly violent storms.
Local Assemblyman Peter Martin has expressed fears that unless action is taken the harbour and promenade could be ‘lost for future generations’.
Acknowledging that the cost of the coastal infrastructure would be ‘expensive’, the DUP politician said he would work with Ards and North Down Council in a bid to ‘leverage external funding’ to help cover the costs.
Mr Martin’s call for action came as he held a meeting with senior Belfast Harbour officials as well as Donaghadee Sailing Club representatives to discuss long-term solutions to the threat of rising sea levels and storm surges due to climate change.
Following the meeting, representatives from Donaghadee Sailing Club backed a ‘multi- agency and council’ approach to protect the picturesque seaside town and its harbour.
Leading the latest call for action, Mr Martin said there is significant local concern about the impact of storms on the harbour itself and Shore Street.
“I have been working with councillor James Cochrane, the Sailing Club, and others on how to better protect the harbour for some time now and it is clear that the only effective way to do that is through some type of offshore breakwater,” he said.
“It is clear to me now that this is completely technically possible but also expensive. This is however commonplace throughout the United Kingdom as a way of protecting a harbour from both damage and erosion.
“I am very thankful to Michael Robinson and Eugene McBride, from Belfast Harbour, for coming down to Donaghadee and providing us with both their advice and expertise.
“I intend now to engage with Ards and North Down Council and work with them to see if together we can leverage external funding from other sources to help protect the harbour for future generations.”
However Mr Martin warned: “If we don’t do something now the harbour wall will continue to deteriorate and something that has stood for 200 years we will lose.”
Tony Skeats and Noel Johnson from Donaghadee Sailing Club said following Storm Chandra, the following easterly gales and the partial collapse of the seawall protecting the town at the seafront, it was particularly opportune to have a visit from the professionals from Belfast Harbour senior management team.
In a joint statement the men said it is 45 years since engineers from Queen’s University provided a solution to the rough conditions within the harbour during easterly gales.
“Subsequent work more recently by RPS Consultants have confirmed that solution and have quantified the problem of wave overtopping which threatens the harbour, promenade and services along the A2.
“Elsewhere around the UK coast and islands, solutions have been put in place with much of the infrastructure needed being manufactured here in Northern Ireland.
“It is hoped with a multi-agency and council approach Donaghadee can be protected and the harbour improved.”
