Scarborough Harbour Site Analysis
This is a collection of the Scarborough Harbour site analysis complied as part of our first semester investigation in to Scarborough. This analysis was carried out by Gaven Webb, Joe Bradley and Dan Calverley. Edited by Gaven Webb
Contents History Geology Transport Orientation Use and Amount Water Public and Private Tourism Precedents
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History
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1811 - East peir completed. At this time over 300 boats belonged to Scarborough. 1845 - The York to Scarborough trainline opened this allowed fish to be transported to major cities. 1875 - Steam trawlers using larger nets. Peak of Scarborough fishing industry. 1916 - 11 Trawlers sank by U-Boats. 1939 - Only 7 trawlers compare with Hull-191 and Grimsby - 381. 2012 - Small fishing fleets exsist and supply the local town Scottish boats land use the harbour to land their catch.
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1225- King Henry III grants 40 oaks from his woods to use in the harbour. 1251 - People of Scarborough began to construct the harbour with timber and stone to allow ships to enter safetly in all conditions. 1325 - West peir completed. 1564 - Queen Elizabeth I granted ÂŁ500 for 100 tons of timber and 6 tons of iron to rebuild and repair the harbour. 1732 - King George II passed act to enlarge the harbour. 1752 - Vincents peir completed.
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Designed by a surveyor by the name of Nixon, the light house was built on Vincents Pier, adjoining the Harbour and South Beach in 1806. There are no surviving plans or drawings but the building was of brick construction with a flat top and surrounded by railings. Originally a coal brazier, later re-placed by some six tallow candles, and within a few years boosted by the addition of a copper reflector behind the candles. Subsequently facilities were improved with the erection of an adjoining residence for the harbourmaster. Improvements were made to the lighthouse itself when the roof was leaded and the flag-floor replaced with boarding but, more significantly, some window frames were removed from the lantern-room window, giving a greater area of clear glass and thus improving light emissions.
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“The lighthouse is still in use as a navigation mark... In the nautical almanacs and charts the mark is indicated as ‘Iso.5s17m9M(tidal)’ which means equal on-off every 5 seconds, light 17m above sea level, range 9 miles. It operates at night when there is sufficient water to enter the harbour (3.7m tidal depth over datum)” Richard Lawson, Assistant Harbour Master (Leisure)
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These figures show the overall decline in UK fishing industry in the later part of the 1990’s and early 2000’s. Although somewhat dated now, it still tracks the steep decline. The main reasons for this decline are due to tighter Fishing legislation from the EU, which has reduced the fishing quotas, reduced the number of days at sea, and the rising costs of fuel. Specifically for Scarborough however, is the lack of good fishing grounds near by, which has reduced the number of boats that call in to Scarborough.
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Geology
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The geological composition of Scarborough is fairly consistent, with the majority of north yorkshire coast. The soils are composed of Reddish till, up through fine loamy, clayey soils. There is negligible water storage through these soils, yet offers moderate fertility rates. The top left diagram shows the physical make up of the land, with out any of the structures. The lower left diagram shows the changes caused to the area due to glaciation. The diagrams on the right show the soil composition.
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Transport
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Train The train runs straight into the middle of the town and is a short walk to the harbour. Cars The main road route into the harbour runs all the way round the penninsula straight into the harbour. Boats Boat access into the harbour is from south, this is dicated by the depths of the sea. The inner harbour can be accessed when the tide is out depending on the depth of the vessel, this allows access to the fishing quay. Bouys show the route into the harbour keeping the green (starboard) to the right and the red (port) to the left. This ensures boats do not hit rocks or any shallow areas. Boats leaving the harbour should give priority to those entering.
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The Outer Harbour Has moorings around all sides of the piers, Jetties that run run out to moor boats, Speed boat moorings on the north end, Pontoon births at the entrance to the south. The Inner Harbour The west pier is used as the fishing quay as it has access when the tide is out, pontoon births in the centre, moorings along the piers, the slipway to launch boats is on the north front. The road runs around the edge of the harbour meaning the sea front with a lot of potential for a beautiful area, is cluttered by cars. The public routes around the harbour means people can walk up and down the piers but never in a circular route this leaves the east pier quite.
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Orientation
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These were created using Ecotect, from custom generated data provided by the surrounding weather stations. It shows the minimum and maximum temperatures recorded last year in and around Scarborough, on a week by week basis. It also shows that the Prevailing Winds come from the South West, which is consistent with the UK average, however more North Easterly winds were expected. The sea breeze is also highlighted.
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Use and Amount
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Industrial This identifies the Industrial buildings in and around the harbour, which mainly concerns the fish markets and storage buildings. This ties in with the historical context of Scarborough as a fishing community.
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Permanent Leisure Facilities The main leisure facilities in and around the harbour are of course, those associated with the sea; being the yacht club situated in the old light house and the other privately owned boats. It also shows the make up of the “harbour� real; the moorings and pontoons used within the harbour facilities. This identifies the location of the Luna Park Fair, at the northern point of the new pier.
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Commercial Following on from the industrial centres, the commercial buildings occupy a prominent position along the harbour, traditionally as shops and skilled services. Today these have been replaced with tourist based shops and resturants.
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Residential The residential buildings around the harbour area, are representative of Scarborough’s small town past, where the homes of the inhabitants were close to the same places that they worked, along the harbours edge. These homes are still there today.
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Water
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When the tide is at its lowest access is restricted to the harbour. The fishing boats can still gain access to land there catch but only if their vessel is under the depth of the tide height. The leisure boats cannot access during low tide as the outer harbour is dry. When the tide is at its highest both harbours become filled, and are fully accessible to al sizes of vessels, however deep vessels will have to carefuly plan their route due to the restricted access.
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Public and Private
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Private spaces mainly consist of the following building typologies: •Private residences and gardens •Private office spaces •Private shops and amusements •Pubs / Bars and eateries
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Public roads consist of the main access road along the sea front, secondary roads leading to residential areas and public car parks.
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Public open spaces and routes cover a large proportion of the sea front with a high level of landscaping already being provided which enhances the public realm and creates routes through the building fabric.
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The majority of public green space within close proximity of the harbour is relatively unusable. Green spaces are used to in-fill the sharp gradients between the change of levels. In this occurance there is usually paths or stairs disecting the space.
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Tourism
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Over the past 30 years the UK residents travelling abroad has increased nearly four fold, but over the past 5 years it has started a rapid decrease. This has resulted in an increase of UK residents spending their holidays in the UK, with the seaside destination being the favourite, however, seaside and costal towns are struggling to compete with rural destinations and Cities/towns when it comes down to day visits.
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Artists and photographers can often be seen taking in the views to and from the harbour. Walking is the most common leisure activity with routes along the harbour front and walls. With sea fishing diminishing over recent years there has been various leisure boating services open, ranging from speed boats to “pirate” boat trips. Along the harbour fron there are various shops ranging from clothing outlets to toy and souvenir shops. Fishing has played a major role in the development of Scarborough. People were competition fishing for Giant Tunny Fish or Bluefin Tuna between the 1920’s and 1950’s, and still continues today.
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There has been a lighthouse in existance since 1801, the previous lighthouse being bombed during the First World War There are a number of traditional pubs and bars within the harbour area; the Newcastle Packet being the oldest. There are various cafes, tea rooms, fish and chip shops, and pubs serving food along the seafront. There is a small funfair, called Luna Park, which has various rides including Ferris Wheel, helter skelter and dodgems. There are multiple Amusement arcades dotted along the harbour front, and have been around since the 1930’s.
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Precedents
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Clarke Quay, Singapore Although not a seaside destination, this is still an interesting precedent. This redevelopment of the riverside community, specifically the fishermen’s housing in to a mixed use development of resturants, shops and a hotel has a strikingly similar narrative to that of Scarborough. A floating canopy was placed over the existing buildings to make the area usable all year round.
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Redcar Vertical Pier, Smeeden Foreman Architects The traditional pier is no longer conisdered a viable option as a tourist attraction, resulting in this reinterpretation using a “vertical pier�. While this is a novel and interesting approach, the final delivery of the building was rather poor; the concept drawings show a colourful mesh engulfing the the light weight smooth central core, however in actuality we have a bulky faceted core with some adornments.
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Exemplar Pier Design, Atomik Architecture Combining the Harbour and Pier in to one structure was the principle concept behind this design. Streatching away from the shoreline, the pier then diverges to create an enveloping harbour that houses resturants, bars, hotel and a series of steeped terraces to harbour level.
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St Petersberg Pier, USA Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) The concept here was that a building in the water should be of the water; creating a wave-like pavilion at the end of the pier; it is here that the pier takes on multiple uses, creating a hub for social activity and interaction; this includes viewing platforms, stage, boat moorings, markets, food court, exhibition spaces, beach and a spa.
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