Plans for new quay would see riverbed dredged

Able UK wants to build a quay at Port Clarence in Stockton

A port has revealed plans to dredge the River Tees so it can build a new quay.

Able UK said it had informed Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council of its plans at Port Clarence, which would need to be approved.

Once built, the company said the site would be used by about 100 vessels each year.

But building the quay would require two sections of the riverbed to be dredged, a practice which has proved controversial with environmental campaigners. Able UK has been approached for comment.

The first section would create a 35m-wide (114.8ft) berthing pocket next to the quay which would be dredged to a depth of 7.5m (24.6ft).

The second section would would involve increasing the depth of a 50m (164ft) section of the channel of the Tees to allow vessels to access the site. This would increase the depth of the river from 5.1m (16.7 ft) to 5.7m (18.7ft).

Environmental campaigners have blamed dredging of the riverbed for the deaths of thousands of crabs

Dredging the River Tees has proved controversial in recent years, with campaigners blaming it as a potential cause of thousands of shellfish deaths in the area.

The work was carried out as part of the development of the Teesside Freeport.

However, this was later dismissed in an independent report, which said a cause might never be found.

Details of the proposed quay were revealed in a scoping opinion request submitted to the Labour-led council.

Scoping opinions are used to find out what information should be included in environment statements submitted with planning applications.

In the scoping opinion request, Able said the facility would be used "for a range of projects including support for the offshore renewable energy sector".

The document showed the proposed quay would be 140m (459ft) long and include a storage area, offices and cranes.

It added construction would take about 15 months once a future planning application had been passed.