The major redevelopment project for the Royal Southern Yacht Club and the Royal Air Force Yacht Club on the River Hamble, has reached a major milestone, with club members’ vessels being welcomed on to the new pontoons in time for the 2015 Easter weekend.
The £2.6m project has been led throughout by UK based specialist Marina Consultancy, Marina Projects Limited, who initially acted for the Royal Southern Yacht Club in developing concept proposals to make better use of the water space, whilst at the same time addressing the requirements for the replacement of an aged and failing quay wall.
Mike Ward, Managing Director at Marina Projects Limited commented:
“An immediate challenge for us was dealing with the historical cross-over between the access and activities, on both land and water, of the Royal Southern Yacht Club and their near neighbour, the Royal Air Force Yacht Club, a situation which required that the two Clubs work together if meaningful solutions were to be found. As a result, what has developed is a true collaboration between the two Yacht Clubs that has unlocked the potential of this valuable piece of the River Hamble and that in turn maximises the benefit of the direct connection to the local village.”
Mark Inkster, past Commodore of the Royal Southern Yacht Club and project co-ordinator said “The development of the Prince Philip Yacht Haven has been a significant project for the Club and this could not have been achieved without the work of Marina Projects Ltd. Their professional approach and guidance through stakeholder consultation, planning, detailed design all the way through to project managing the construction has been outstanding, indeed it has recently been recognised by the regulators as exemplary.”
In delivering the project, a series of other significant challenges have been addressed by the Marina Projects Limited team including:
- Dealing with the complex and comprehensive requirements of the licensing regime with five separate approvals being required.
- A history of local objections to projects on the river.
- Complex navigational issues requiring a detailed navigation risk assessment to be undertaken which has been subject to extensive scrutiny.
- Identifying solutions that address the potential environmental impacts of the project, and in particular those brought about by an extensive capital dredge and resultant changes to tidal flows in the immediate area.
- Dealing with contaminated spoil as part of the dredging works.
- Considering the impact on neighbouring users.
- Replacing a quay wall within 5 metres of the existing Yacht Club building.
- Undertaking the works with both Clubs continuing to operate throughout the construction period.
The project works are now substantially complete with the final phases, including landscaping works due to conclude by the middle of May 2015.
The team of contractors and specialist suppliers engaged in the project under the direction of Marina Projects Limited include:
- Main Civils Contractor – Raymond Brown Civil Engineering Limited
- Pontoon Supplier – Walcon Marine Limited
- Dredging Contractor – ML (UK) Limited
- Pontoon Utilities – Maricer
- Engineering Consultants – Opus