Work is underway to repair storm damage located to the western side of Princess Pier at Torquay harbour.

A specialist marine civil engineering company, Millennium Marine Contractors, has been working with Torbay Council and Tor Bay Harbour Authority to carry out underwater surveys to establish the nature of the structural defects.

These works form part of the Small Ports Recovery Fund package that was announced by the Department for Transport in August. The fund was aimed at helping repair small ports and harbours across England, damaged by the winter storms of 2013/14.

In total the enclosed harbours of Tor Bay received nearly £300,000 from this fund, with £246,000 being awarded to Torquay Harbour, which took the brunt of the storm damage.

Councillor Nicole Amil, Executive Lead for Harbours, Culture and the Arts, said:

“Our small ports and harbours are vital to the livelihoods of the communities they serve and either directly or indirectly they help to sustain our local economy. We are extremely grateful that the government has provided this level of funding to help reverse the damage caused by the extreme weather that we suffered last winter.

“However, further work is required to both Princess Pier and Haldon Pier and the council still needs to find £4.6m to complete all of the necessary repair work. To this end, we will continue to work with the Local Enterprise Partnership, government departments, the Environment Agency and others to source and secure the necessary funding.”

Damaged areas have been identified and Millennium Marine has begun works to insert steel bars around the peripheral sides of damaged parts of the structure. These bars are fitted to ensure a secure bond with the existing structure before formwork is built.

Once completed and cured, the area behind the formwork is being filled with a fine concrete mortar, injected in at high pressure. When the underwater works are complete, the focus will change to the stairwells. All loose and broken materials will be removed to allow a timber formwork to be erected and a mass concrete pour will fill the area covering the steps.

When fully cured the formwork will then be removed and the area will be coated with a method of spraying concrete to give a finish matching the surrounding area and pier surface.