News and views on Greystones harbour and marina [SEE MODERATOR WARNING POST 1187]

pixbyjohn

Greystones Marina works 12-03-2013. by pixbyjohn, on Flickr

pixbyjohn

Untitled by pixbyjohn, on Flickr

pixbyjohn

Greystones Marina works 12-03-2013. by pixbyjohn, on Flickr

The Durutti Column

I guess BJ Marinas know what they are doing. A small boat of five metres will cost over €2,000 per year minimum at these prices if you can't pay a lump sum. Sounds like Celtic Tiger pricing, but we'll see... I wish him well, the bloody harbour monstrosity could do with some improvement and a bit of marine life apart from the fish...

loyatemu

The Durutti Column wrote: »

I guess BJ Marinas know what they are doing. A small boat of five metres will cost over €2,000 per year minimum at these prices if you can't pay a lump sum. Sounds like Celtic Tiger pricing, but we'll see... I wish him well, the bloody harbour monstrosity could do with some improvement and a bit of marine life apart from the fish...

cheaper than Dun Laoghaire and Malahide, but those marinas aren't located in a building site wasteland, and appear to have decent facilities.

thecommander

loyatemu wrote: »

cheaper than Dun Laoghaire and Malahide, but those marinas aren't located in a building site wasteland, and appear to have decent facilities.

Both Dun Laoghaire & Malahide marinas were both building sites at one stage. They didn't air drop them in.

The Durutti Column

thecommander wrote: »

Both Dun Laoghaire & Malahide marinas were both building sites at one stage. They didn't air drop them in.

No, but they didn't build just seawalls and pontoons and then feck off, either. They finished the job.

Cerco

The Durutti Column wrote: »

No, but they didn't build just seawalls and pontoons and then feck off, either. They finished the job.

To illustrate a point we need to ask, what percentage of the population of Greystones are mariners? I do not begrudge anybody enjoying the marina but the vast majority of the population would benefit from an accessible seafront suitable for old and young instead of a nice marina alone to benefit the few.
The building site should now be converted into grassland and walks so all can enjoy the harbour and seafront ,including the marina users.

The Durutti Column

Cerco wrote: »

To illustrate a point we need to ask, what percentage of the population of Greystones are mariners? I do not begrudge anybody enjoying the marina but the vast majority of the population would benefit from an accessible seafront suitable for old and young instead of a nice marina alone to benefit the few.
The building site should now be converted into grassland and walks so all can enjoy the harbour and seafront ,including the marina users.

Cerco, thanks for bringing us back to the big picture, as you are totally right on this.

Boaters would be about 5% of the population locally. Some leisure boaters are already catered for with slipways, however badly designed, and pens. The exceptions are the people who held the 15 or so moorings in the old harbour, evicted without any arrangement for their return; and the 20 to 30 who kept boats onshore above the tideline, bringing a nice element of colour to the area.

Instead of these local residents being catered for, Sisk and WCC have laid off the risk onto a commercial entity, BJ Marinas, which is investing in the marina and naturally expects to make a return on that investment.

BJ Marinas is not a philanthropic organisation, so we cannot blame it for Sisk and WCC's failure to restore the facilities which the 30 to 45 excluded boaters enjoyed before, and which constituted a central element in the attractiveness of the harbour.

Apart from these local boaters, the excluded mariners include the local commercial fishers, some of whom no longer fish and some of whom operate with great difficulty from Dun Laoghaire and elsewhere, travelling from there to fish the area and back to port afterwards.

As you can see on GUBOH's Facebook page, these latter are extremely angry after five years of being deprived of a harbour, especially as the marine works have been finished for almost three of those five years and no sign of them being "allowed" back in.

So, welcome though the marina may be, it will cater for a small number of locals, less than 70, who have so far merely "expressed an interest", and maybe a larger number of well-off boat owners from beyond the area.

To return to your point, what about the 95% who don't boat?

Sorry, Cerco, but Wicklow County Council, in the persons of Co Manager Eddie Sheehy and Director of Services Sean Quirke, just don't care about that. Landscaping costs money, and they won't spend it, even though WCC received a lump sum payment of €3 million from Sispar on award of contract.

And even though Sisk has manifestly failed to deliver on the contract and has breached many planning conditions — the whole thing, including clubhouses, commercial space, public square, and housing was due to finish in March 2012 — WCC will not invoke its right to terminate the contract and cash in the bond of €5m or €10m which it holds against non-completion.

This sum would be more than enough to create the public park beside Darcy's Field, the public square to the standards set out in the plans, and to landscape the housing area to a satisfactory standard in the interim. If the full bond of €10m is still in place, this would also cover the clubhouses and provision of full harbour services including fuelling, watering, wet rooms, and chandlery.

Sispar, which is now just Sisk, promised a Primary Care Centre, and has given seven or eight starting dates which have all passed, the last one being January 2013. The Sisk group has now divested itself of its healthcare subsidiary, Meret, which was to operate this PCC, so we can kiss goodbye to that promise too.

Not a pretty picture — in fact just as ugly as the mess at the harbour. Let's see what GUBOH comes up with as the Spring campaigning season opens and local elections loom next year.

recedite

The Durutti Column wrote: »

The exceptions are the people who held the 15 or so moorings in the old harbour, evicted without any arrangement for their return; and the 20 to 30 who kept boats onshore above the tideline, bringing a nice element of colour to the area.

Is there any reason why the Greystones trawlers cannot moor alongside the sea wall in the new harbour, just as they used to in the old one?

I also agree that the brightly painted small boats hauled up on the beach added character to the old harbour, and they were also a great place to let small kids climb in and see/feel what a real boat is like.

Any kind of boat at all in the harbour would improve the look of the place. The boat pens may be secure, but they are not scenic.

Taltos

recedite wrote: »

I also agree that the brightly painted small boats hauled up on the beach added character to the old harbour, and they were also a great place to let small kids climb in and see/feel what a real boat is like.

Our family used to keep a boat like you describe above. Until that is it was smashed up by said kids climbing in and out.

Just because the boats were stored in public view did not make them public property. Agree though, it did look much better than mesh pens.

loyatemu

recedite wrote: »

Is there any reason why the Greystones trawlers cannot moor alongside the sea wall in the new harbour, just as they used to in the old one?

I believe there was only one commercial boat still operating out of Greystones before the old harbour was closed - even if he was allowed back I'm not sure where he could tie-up (the inner harbour is reserved for the marina, the main harbour walls are mostly reserved for the proposed boat repair yard).

Jimjay

If they are commercial fishermen why shouldnt they pay the mooring fees?

The Durutti Column

loyatemu wrote: »

I believe there was only one commercial boat still operating out of Greystones before the old harbour was closed - even if he was allowed back I'm not sure where he could tie-up (the inner harbour is reserved for the marina, the main harbour walls are mostly reserved for the proposed boat repair yard).

I think there were two, at least. Anyhow, whether it was one, two or more, they should have the right to return.

But what sort of harbour is it if it does not provide for commercial fishing and where the whole "inner harbour is reserved for the marina, the main harbour walls are mostly reserved for the proposed boat repair yard"?

Take a look at Howth, Dun Laoghaire and Wicklow, just to name the three closest. How do you think people would react if their local council tried to expel the fishers to benefit some speculative developer?

recedite

loyatemu wrote: »

...the main harbour walls are mostly reserved for the proposed boat repair yard).

Two or three trawlers could have moored along that wall for the past year or so, it was not being used for anything.
How many years do you think it will be before this "boat repair yard" is built?

recedite

Jimjay wrote: »

If they are commercial fishermen why shouldnt they pay the mooring fees?

I presume they would willingly pay fees, especially as someone said they are commuting from Bray or Dun Laoghaire to fish around Greystones, so it must be costing them a fair amount in diesel.

loyatemu

recedite wrote: »

How many years do you think it will be before this "boat repair yard" is built?

no idea, I'm not defending it, but the harbour has been built as a "leisure" facility and they don't seem to have made any provision for trawlers.

Maudi

loyatemu wrote: »

no idea, I'm not defending it, but the harbour has been built as a "leisure" facility and they don't seem to have made any provision for trawlers.

multiple millions wasted on a ugly badly designed concrete white elephant thats not fit for local fishermen to use..its actually the only village harbour i know of that works better as an art gallery and carpark than it does as a harbour.

pixbyjohn

Interesting reading here > http://www.independent.ie/regionals/braypeople/news/harbour-developments-are-cause-for-concern-29112513.html

recedite

The "marina" (that is the inner harbour) which is currently out of bounds to the public will be a facility for private leisure craft. My point is that there is, and has been for some time, enough space in the outer harbour for a couple of trawlers to operate out of. And I would see these working boats as representing a genuine part of Greystone's culture and heritage, and not something to be banished from the harbour.

Blanchflower

pixbyjohn wrote: »

Interesting reading here > http://www.independent.ie/regionals/braypeople/news/harbour-developments-are-cause-for-concern-29112513.html

I see that Sean Quirke is still spinning the yearn that the Primary Car Centre will be built on the harbour. The article states......

"Cllr. Tom Fortune however was far from happy. 'The report from Sean (Quirke) is not terribly clear, what's the position with the Primary Care Centre (PCC). We were certainly told it was going to be started in February and clearly that's not the case now. It says here (in the report) it's going to start in a couple of weeks but that could be a month. We need to firm up when it's going to start and finish.' "

Cllr Fortune is right to cast doubt on the very hollow promises made by Mr Quirke and anyone else representing Wicklow County Council. How many more broken promises do they expect the people of Greystones to swallow?

pixbyjohn

Marina works 19th March 2013 by pixbyjohn, on Flickr

Jimjay

The marina officially opens on monday. Does anyone know if they are having an opening event?

http://afloat.ie/port-news/greystones-harbour/item/21283-greystones-harbour-marina-opens-on-easter-monday

pixbyjohn

Jimjay wrote: »

The marina officially opens on monday. Does anyone know if they are having an opening event?

Sneak preview

Marina

pixbyjohn

Greystones Marina 30032013 by pixbyjohn, on Flickr

pixbyjohn

Greystones Marina 30032013 (2) by pixbyjohn, on Flickr

pixbyjohn

Marina 31st March 2013 by pixbyjohn, on Flickr

pixbyjohn

Jimjay wrote: »

The marina officially opens on monday. Does anyone know if they are having an opening event?

http://afloat.ie/port-news/greystones-harbour/item/21283-greystones-harbour-marina-opens-on-easter-monday

No official opening tomorrow but a lot of craft expected from early morning

Jimjay

pixbyjohn wrote: »

Greystones Marina 30032013 (2) by pixbyjohn, on Flickr

I hope those porta cabins are temporary They look very messy out there.

Annasopra

pixbyjohn wrote: »

No official opening tomorrow but a lot of craft expected from early morning

maybe it was all an April fool...