New 10-year harbour strategy set for approval in North Yorkshire

​​Scarborough Harbour, Whitby Harbour, and Filey Coble Landing are the focus of North Yorkshire Council’s harbours strategy that aims to set out how they will develop from now until 2036.

​Council bosses are set to approve a plan that will promote safe, sustainable and economically viable harbours at a meeting next week.

​Challenges faced by the harbours include ageing infrastructure, a decline of the fishing industry, climate change, and funding gaps, while opportunities include the offshore wind supply chain, tourism, maritime training, and improved harbour facilities.

​The council’s executive member for open to business, Cllr Mark Crane, said: “The proposed strategy would secure the future of our harbours through investment, innovation, and collaboration.

​“While celebrating their rich maritime heritage, we will ensure that our harbours remain cherished and dynamic destinations for generations to come.

“We have listened to responses to the public consultation and taken the draft plans to committees, sharing with ward members, town councils, and harbour user groups to gather a breadth of expertise.”

​Whitby’s £11 million Maritime Hub is nearing completion and the council recently set out its updated proposals for the controversial £15m redevelopment of Scarborough’s West Pier.

​​The purpose of the strategy is to provide a “working framework to ensure harbour users, local communities and key stakeholders know what they can expect regarding development of the harbours over the next 10 years, and to generate a partnership approach to the development of the harbour”.

​Among the opportunities that the harbours strategy is looking to build on is the offshore wind industry.

​The strategy recognises that whilst there are a number of ambitious redevelopment proposals, these will be subject to securing external grant aid or additional council funding and will be subject to the usual financial governance process at the appropriate time,” it states.

Whitby Maritime Hub. NYC

​The Government has said that the UK is the second largest offshore wind market in the world. Major wind farms are located off the Yorkshire coast, including at Dogger Bank, and the county’s coastal towns have the potential to help support the industry.

​​The harbours in Scarborough, Whitby, and Filey have faced a period of decline due to structural issues, a lack of investment and strategy, environmental challenges, and the decline of the fishing industry, the council said.

​The aim of the strategy is for harbours to be resilient to future challenges, open and welcoming by offering accessible and engaging spaces for users, residents, visitors and businesses.