Repairs under way on flood defence gate at Lancaster port

Cranes, engineers and safety barriers can now be seen at Glasson Dock, where a hydraulic sea gate is broken.

Lancaster Port Commission is working with the Environment Agency on plans to permanently repair the gate, which has been in a lowered position for weeks, meaning the sea flows in and out of the inner dock.

The Environment Agency says high tides are expected at the end of August and beginning of September.

It and the port commission are working on plans for temporary work to the sea gate to manage the flood risk.

The plan is to ensure that the temporary fix gives the same level of flood protection as usually provided by the closed sea gate.

Economic, social, environmental and democratic issues have been raised this summer surrounding the commercial port.

Nearby is Glasson Marina and the Lancaster Canal, which connect to the dock but are under different ownership and management.

Lancaster Port Commission is a self-governing ‘trust port’ authority. It is currently seeking government permission to extend its powers to cover land, infrastructure, property, river and coastal areas of responsibility around Glasson Dock and the Lune estuary, and New Quay in Lancaster.

The draft 33-page order covers many topics including the port, shipping, river and sea dredging, land and property development, financial powers, charges and the ability to make bye-laws.

A public consultation process about the harbour order, launched by the national Marine Management Organisation in July, ends on September 6.

Members of the city council’s business committee will also decide on Thursday if they want to add to the public consultation.

Glasson Dock councillor Sally Maddocks is behind the request to the committee. Earlier this summer, she raised questions about Glasson Dock and the accountability of the port commission’s self-governing structure.

However, the port commission strongly defended its record.

In a separate reply, planning officers are offering a neutral response to the proposal, but they will make the Marine Management Organisation aware of an ongoing enforcement case regarding the planning status of a parcel of land behind homes at Railway Place in Glasson.