Work will get start this autumn to create a boardwalk across the top of the small beach within Maryport Harbour.
Contractors have been appointed by Cumberland Council to build the Boardwalk – a new stretch of accessible pathway to link the town’s harbourside and Promenade.
It will cross the patch of sand on the small beach, following the route of a well-used informal path.
The council said the Boardwalk will become a new focal point of the seafront, drawing people from the harbourside to the Promenade and vice versa, and also improve connectivity with the town.
The new Boardwalk will incorporate a decking surface made of glass-reinforced plastic. The highly durable, non-slip surface has a honeycomb structure so rainwater and sea-spray won’t pool on it.
The Boardwalk will be above the mean high water mark but has been designed to cope with the impact of very high tides and storm surges.
Cowran Estates Services Ltd, based in Ulverston, has been appointed for the work and will use local subcontractors to complete the project.
It is anticipated that construction will take around 10 to 12 weeks.
During this time access to the small beach will not be allowed. Pedestrians and cyclists travelling between the Promenade and the harbour area will need to travel via Strand Street or King Street.
The Boardwalk is part of the transformation of Maryport’s public realm using money from the Government’s Future High Streets Fund. Elsewhere in the town, the old Maryport Maritime Museum building, an historic former pub, is currently being reinvented as Shipping Brow Gallery, which will open in summer 2023.
Leader of Cumberland Council Mark Fryer said: “I know how much fondness local people have for the beach and hope this new investment will make sure the area is open to even more people. It is great to see the many restoration projects in Maryport coming to fruition.”
A pop-up museum has just opened on Curzon Street and will be the temporary location for the Maritime Museum until Christ Church becomes its new home in 2024.
