The steel tide-gate that shields Lower Quay from spring surges will stay out of service until at least March, according to notices posted along the seawall this week. The gate has not fully closed since a hinge sheared in late summer, and the temporary sandbag line put up in its place has already been overtopped once.
For the two dozen households below the flood line, the timing could hardly be worse. The stretch between the ferry slip and the old net sheds takes the brunt of any easterly blow, and the last serious flood there left ground floors under half a metre of water.
What residents are being told
The explanation offered so far is that a replacement hinge assembly has to be fabricated to order, and that the crew qualified to fit it is booked through the new year. Nobody has been willing to say on the record when the order was actually placed.
- The gate has been non-functional for roughly three months.
- Sandbags are being treated as the interim defence for Lower Quay.
- No temporary pumping has been arranged for the worst-affected lane.
We have asked for the maintenance log and the date the parts were ordered. Until those arrive, the honest answer to “who let this slide” is that we do not yet know, and neither, it seems, do the people living behind the gate.
Related: Harbour & Coast · earlier winter storms
Further reading: Tide gate
