Plan to upgrade harbour could create offshore jobs

West Pier at Scarborough Harbour does not currently have the capacity for large vessels servicing wind farms

Hundreds of jobs could be created in green energy under plans to upgrade harbours to accommodate vessels servicing wind farms.

North Yorkshire Council wants to attract offshore maintenance contractors to Scarborough and Whitby by installing "boat hoists" on their quaysides.

The machinery would be capable of lifting large vessels out of the sea and could put the two towns on the "frontline" of the renewables boom.

But a planning application to redevelop the harbour has divided Scarborough, where several residents said they wanted more investment in the town centre instead.

Plans for a boat lift to offshore wind farms could create hundreds of new jobs on the Yorkshire coast

There are large wind farms at Dogger Bank, Hornsea One and Hornsea Two off the Yorkshire coast, but the turbines are currently serviced by vessels based at operations depots at the Port of Tyne and Grimsby.

The council has earmarked £20,000 to explore the "opportunities' offered by the industry, including improvements to Scarborough West Pier.

Councillor Janet Jefferson said upgrading the dock facilities could draw large employers to the area and that funding for a hoist would form an additional part of the current planning application for the West Pier's redevelopment.

The scheme, which was allocated £11m of government "levelling up" money, will be debated by councillors later this month.

Documents already include provision for a hoist, but plans have been amended to include a larger "boat lift" that could accommodate the specialised offshore installation and maintenance vessels.

'Business opportunities'

Ms Jefferson said: "It is great news that £20,000 has been approved to work on this project. An officer has been appointed. It is to look at the feasibility of Scarborough and Whitby harbours.

"Thousands of turbines are being put into the North Sea, and they have to be maintained. This is something we really have to look at. Investment would bring in all different types of professions and skills.

"These are viable business opportunities. It would be good for our economy, the harbour and the town. It is very, very exciting."

Councillor Mark Crane added that offshore firms could bring "skilled and secure" employment to the area.

Contractors running crew transfer and supply ships to and from the offshore sites have also called for capacity at docks in Yorkshire, where workers would then be likely to spend money in hotels and restaurants while in transit.

Larger offshore vessels also require deeper harbours, which need dredging work to maintain.

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