IRVINE HARBOUR RESTORATION

Irvine, on the west coast of Scotland, was designated a new town in 1966. It is the only new town in the UK which is located by the sea and the coastline extends for 5 km within the designated area. Historically Irvine was once a thriving port, the third largest in Scotland, and its harbour is located at the confluence of the Rivers Garnock and Irvine. This paper briefly outlines the history of Irvine Harbour and describes its fluctuating fortunes over a few hundred years prior to Irvine becoming a new town. It examines the changing role of the harbour since the new town was designated and describes the means and methods of refurbishing the harbour to perform this changed role.