Harbour to re-open - at last!!!

GOOD TIDE-INGS

BO'NESS Harbour is poised to re-open - and it's hoped the facility will become a haven for recreational sailors.

Tenders for the work have been received by Falkirk Council and should be allocat ed within days.

Work has been pencilled in to start before the end of this month with a projected official re-opening of the harbour in June.

Councillors had hoped the harbour might re-open in time for last summer but a lack of cash saw the scheme postponed. Now Scottish Enterprise Forth Valley has come up with £85,000 to back the scheme.

Under the plans a footbridge will be installed to span the dock gates and mooring bollards and access ladders will be replaced.

Lighting
Footpaths in the area will be upgraded and new lighting will be installed. A hazard warning reflective beacon will be placed off the west pier to warn sailors of a concrete plinth covered at high tide.

Councillors hope the Falkirk Wheel and the Millennium Link will see a big increase in recreation al sailors using the Forth Estuary.

They say the close proximity of Bo'ness town centre to the harbour should result in an economic spin-off for local businesses.

Councillor John Constable, convener of the town centre regeneration working party, said: "Re-opening the harbour has been a pet project of mine for some time.

'Im sure Bo'ness could be the Mecca for sailors that it has become for steam railway enthusiasts."

He paid tribute to Scottish Enterprise Forth Valley for coming up with the cash - and to Councilor David Alexander for putting the harbour case to them.