Thanet council will spend £750,000 on urgent works to the Inner Basin dock gates and lifting bridge at Ramsgate Harbour.
The flap gate, mitre gates and lift bridge at the harbour are used twice a day, every day, which has started to put pressure on old and obsolete equipment.
The Inner Basin accommodates approximately 212 vessels on floating pontoons, at the Inner Marina. The water level in the Inner Basin is retained at high tide by the flap gate and the mitre gates.
These are both in a formed channel through the crosswall between the Inner and Outer Basins of Ramsgate Harbour which provides vessel access.
The lifting bridge provides pedestrian/vehicular access across the channel when the gates are closed and can then be raised clear when they are open to allow the passage of tall vessels through the channel.
This system of retaining water in the Inner Basin is unusual as it is not a traditional sea lock and must be operated four times a day – two hours before high tide and two hours after high tide, meaning the equipment is in constant use.
A Thanet council decision notice for the works states: “Maintaining the integrity of these systems ensures that there is always sufficient water within the Inner Basin where the majority of boats are moored permanently.
“A failure of any part of the system that resulted in a significant loss of water within the Inner Basin could cause damage to vessels giving rise to third party claims and potential loss of custom and future income.”