Public access to part of Greystones harbour in Co Wicklow has been closed by developers behind the recent €300 million harbour and marine village project.
In a statement this week, development company Sispar said the northern breakwater – which also serves as a popular promenade overlooking the Irish Sea on one side and a 250-berth marina on the other – was closed because of “unauthorised works” and “unauthorised activities” at the pier including the blocking of safety ladders in the marina.
The statement, which said the breakwater “has unfortunately had to be closed due to concerns for public safety”, did not detail what the unauthorised works and activities were.
However, the move followed a fresh round of hostilities between owners of commercial fishing boats and Sispar, which last week saw a 50-second video posted on the Save Greystones Fishing Fleet Facebook page, which appeared to show harbour fisherman Tim Storey sitting in his van on the pier as the harbour master padlocked the gates.
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Other videos from a subsequent public protest show crowds chanting “open the gates” as a lorry attempted to get access to the pier, and remonstrations between some members of Wicklow County Council and the gardaí.
Previous clashes have involved the gardaí on a number of occasions, while last summer fishing boats blockaded the harbour in protest at the lack of facilities for them.
Ivan Toole, one of the fishing boat owners affected by the closure of the north pier, said his family had been fishing from Greystones harbour for five generations. He said initial plans included provision for the fishing fleet, but when the new harbour opened the facilities were just not there.
Mr Toole said some assurances had been given that the commercial fishing boats could moor in the marina, but cleats for attaching ropes had been subsequently removed. The action was one of a number of potential solutions that had been put forward but then withdrawn, he said. The commercial fishers were just trying to earn their living, he added.
The row has also divided members of Wicklow County Council. Local councillor Derek Mitchell, a long-time supporter of the harbour development, told The Irish Times he was calling for the reopening of the northern breakwater to the public.
He said he believed the use of “HGVs and forklifts”, which he said were used to unload and transport catch, was incompatible with health and safety in a public place.
However, fellow councillor Tom Fortune said fishing boat owners were “being treated disgracefully”. He said the fishermen should be allowed to land their catch, as fishing boats had been doing in Greystones “since the 1800s”.
The Greystones harbour redevelopment scheme was advanced by Wicklow County Council, which provided 30 acres of foreshore to Sispar and, under the terms of the public-private partnership, the firm replaced the harbour walls with south and north piers, a 250-berth marina and space for five existing harbour clubs. More than 350 homes were constructed to underpin the finances.
Under a 30-year concession agreement dating from 2016, the public spaces – including a boardwalk, front square and breakwaters – are managed and operated by Sispar. Sispar was initially a joint venture between Sisk and housebuilders Park Developments, but in the economic crash the project was mothballed and Park developments pulled out, leaving Sisk in effective control.
