This project was part financed by the Scottish Government and the European Community Highland LEADER 2007-2013 Programme COIGACH COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMPANY BADENTARBET & OLD DORNIE PIERS & HARBOURS COMMUNITY OWNERSHIP – APPRAISAL OF OPTIONS REPORT ON APPRAISAL Coigach Community Development Company Wallace Stone Coigach Community Hall Royal Bank Buildings Achiltibuie Dingwall Ullapool Ross-shire IV26 2YG IV15 9HA Tel: (01854) 622379 Tel: (01349) 866775 Fax: (01349) 863197 November 2013 (Rev A) This document was prepared as follows:- Name Signature Prepared By J Porteous Checked By T Rea Approved By J Porteous and revised as follows: - REVISION STATUS INDICATOR Page Date Revision Description of Change Initial No ECON 09.12.13 A Amended page numbers in Econ Report JP Project No: 1520/D/Rev A COIGACH COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMPANY BADENTARBET & OLD DORNIE PIERS & HARBOURS COMMUNITY OWNERSHIP – APPRAISAL OF OPTIONS REPORT ON APPRAISAL Contents 1. Introduction 1 2. Background 2 3. Condition of Structures 4 4. Repairs to Structures 7 5. Use of Piers and Slipways 8 6. Potential Improvements 10 7. Economic, Business & Legal Considerations 20 8. Conclusions 21 9. Recommendations 23 Appendix A: Economic and Business Report Appendix B: Photographs Appendix C: Questionnaire Summary Appendix D: Drawings Project No: 1520/D/Rev A COIGACH COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMPANY BADENTARBET & OLD DORNIE PIERS & HARBOURS COMMUNITY OWNERSHIP – APPRAISAL OF OPTIONS REPORT ON APPRAISAL 1. INTRODUCTION The Piers and facilities at Badentarbet and Old Dornie are currently owned by The Highland Council and operated by their Piers and Harbours Division. The option of community ownership of part or all of these assets is under consideration, with financial responsibility for maintenance, upgrading, and compliance with legislation representing a substantial and uncertain burden on the Community Company. The means for covering that responsibility are equally uncertain. Wallace Stone were engaged by the Community Company to undertake a detailed investigation of the condition of the existing structures, an assessment of the cost of essential repairs and the potential for improvements. The remit also included consideration of the likely operating and maintenance costs, the level of income currently available, and opportunities to generate further income. In addition to advice on the risks and opportunities in taking ownership of any of the existing infrastructure, recommendations were required on the options for development, methods of obtaining funding, and meeting the ongoing maintenance and operating costs, should community ownership be recommended. This report presents the details and the findings of the Appraisal. 1 Project No: 1520/D/Rev A 2. BACKGROUND Achiltibuie lies on the west coast of Coigach in Wester Ross, adjacent to the Summer Isles. Vehicle access is by a 15 mile single track road from the Ullapool to Lochinver road, and, before the development of modern roads, sea access was a vital transport link, with the pier at Badentarbet serving Achiltibuie and the adjacent townships. Over the years, the function of the pier at Badentarbet has changed, with less relevance to serving the community directly, as road access now predominates. Use of the pier as the landfall for the lifeline passenger ferry to Tanera Mor, the largest of the Summer Isles, has remained to this day. The pier is also used by the local fish farm for loading feed and equipment, and, occasionally by small boats for landing at the steps on the inner face. The pier is exposed to wave action from the south. It was known, from a detailed inspection in 2007 that the pier is suffering from severe deterioration, with chloride attack on deck members, heavy erosion of underwater concrete members, and undermining of foundations. The storage and parking area behind the pier is small and heavily congested, with stored equipment and materials. The area around the pier is owned by The Highland Council (road) and Badentarbet Estate (surrounding land). Old Dornie lies along the coast, 4km or so to the north-west of Badentarbet, and is sheltered from most directions by the adjacent Isle Ristol. The raised slipway at Old Dornie was also built in the 19 th century, and has been used since then by fishing boats and other small vessels for loading and unloading. The slipway is tidal and cannot be used at low spring tides. A launching slipway lies to the west of the structure, and it is also tidal, with use only possible over the upper half of the tide. 2 Project No: 1520/D/Rev A In the 1960s a new pier was constructed at old Dornie, a few hundred metres to the south- west of the old slipway, and it is capable of serving larger fishing vessels. Like the old slipway, its use is restricted, by the sloping top surface, to loading and unloading only. Like the old slipway, it is tidal, and cannot be used on low spring tides. The ‘new pier’ is currently used by fishing boats, pleasure cruise vessels, and by the local fish farm for landing feed on to transport craft when tidal conditions allow. A small amount of informal space behind the old slipways is used for equipment storage and parking. At the new pier a fuel tank and dispensing system allow loading of fuel, and there is extensive space for parking and storage, also on an informal basis. Road access to Old Dornie involves the negotiation of a tight bend on the single track road, which limits the size of vehicles that can access the slipways and pier. In recent years, demand has grown for facilities in the Coigach area, which is a popular holiday destination, to serve visiting yachts, sailing dinghies and kayaks. Pressure has also grown for all-tidal launching and recovery of small boats and RIBs used by divers and others. Neither Badentarbet nor Old Dornie provides properly for this demand. 3 Project No: 1520/D/Rev A 3. CONDITION OF STRUCTURES 3.1 Badentarbet Pier 3.1.1 History The original pier at Badentarbet, built in the 19 th Century, was an open piled timber pier, with an approach normal to the shore and a hammerhead parallel to the shore. The depth at the outer berth is around 3 metres at lowest tide (Chart Datum). The pier was built to serve steamers offloading goods and passengers. In the 1930s the pier was rebuilt with a reinforced concrete deck slab and a framework of beams, columns and braces down to mean low water level, the columns supported on mass concrete buttresses and foundation blocks founded on the sea bed. The buttresses were cast around the remains of the original timber piles. Steel access steps were added at the inner face of the pier, to allow small vessels to land passengers at all but the lowest tides. As described in Section 2 above, with the increased convenience of access by vehicles, steamers no longer use the pier, and it is used predominantly as the landing point for residents of Tanera Mor, and by the local fish farm for landing feed on to transport craft. This latter use is hampered by a severe loading restriction imposed on the pier deck. 3.1.2 Condition Badentarbet Pier was inspected in detail above and below water on 22 nd March 2012, the inspection team including two Chartered Engineers. 4 Project No: 1520/D/Rev A The condition of the pier had deteriorated markedly since the previous inspection in 2007. The deck, beams, columns and bracings are affected throughout with chloride attack, caused by the penetration of salts through the concrete to the steel reinforcement, which corrodes and expands, breaking off sections of concrete. In many areas the attack is well advanced and the damage severe (see photos). The concrete buttresses supporting the framed structure and deck are mostly underwater, and are of a different form of concrete, with no reinforcement, and large aggregate. Deterioration and erosion have removed large sections of the buttresses, leaving many areas without any foundation. The situation is exacerbated by the loss of some loose sea bed material (see photos). The loss of concrete is especially concentrated at the outer edges of the buttresses, perhaps due to exposure to currents, but there are large areas of section loss at random locations along each buttress (see photos). As referred to above, the buttresses were cast around the timber bearing piles of the original pier, and, in many places, the loss of concrete has exposed the timber piles, themselves heavily deteriorated. In some areas, it appears that the timber piles are all that remains by way of support to the buttresses (see photos). The steel staircase on the inner face of the west leg of the hammerhead has been replaced recently, and is in good condition. 5 Project No: 1520/D/Rev A 3.2 Old Dornie Pier 3.2.1 ‘Old’ Pier The original raised slipway at Old Dornie, constructed in stonework, is in good condition. Pressure grouting, concrete repairs and the installation of timber careening stanchions in the late 1990s have provided extended life and increased utility. There is a small area of missing stonework and lost infill immediately below the deck slab on the east face of the structure (see photos). The adjacent concrete launching slipway, repaired and extended in the 1990s, is also in good condition. 3.2.2 ‘New’ Pier The new pier at Old Dornie, constructed in the 1970s, using precast wall facing panels, rock infill and concrete deck, is in good condition, with no visible deterioration or damage. The fuel dispensing system, installed in the 1990s, appears in serviceable condition although its function was not tested. 6 Project No: 1520/D/Rev A 4. REPAIRS TO STRUCTURES 4.1 Badentarbet Pier Repairs to restore the original function of Badentarbet Pier would involve restoration of the missing sections and foundation of the buttresses, repairs to or replacement of the damaged reinforced concrete framework and deck, and measures to prevent deterioration of further members already saturated with chlorides, but not yet displaying corrosion or cracking.