We are thrilled to announce that the North Yorkshire Council’s Strategic Planning Committee has granted planning permission for the Whitby Maritime Hub, a community project designed to support and enhance the town’s maritime industry. Fairhurst is proud to have played a key role in securing a successful planning permission for this project, showcasing our commitment to engineering excellence and accommodating key stakeholder needs into the design.
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The £10 million Whitby Maritime Hub, funded through the government’s Town Fund, represents a significant investment in the future of maritime industries. The Hub will include fishing workshops, bespoke classroom spaces, new harbourmaster facilities, and an upgraded space for the Whitby Lobster Hatchery. The building is set to become a cornerstone of Whitby’s Endeavour Wharf, providing essential facilities and training spaces to bolster the region’s maritime capabilities.
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Fairhurst’s contribution to this project to date includes the RIBA Stage 4 structural design of the building, as well as the adjacent civil and drainage works. Additionally, we have been involved in extensive intrusive site investigation and coordination with our internal Ports and Harbours team concerning the existing quay walls at Endeavour Wharf.
The Newcastle office team has designed the structure to not only meet the functional needs of the riverside Hub, but also to withstand the harsh marine environment. The design process involved extensive collaboration with the design team, the Environment Agency, and other stakeholders to ensure that the building integrates with its surroundings while catering for sustainable fishing practices for generations to come.
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The hub has been approved to operate as a water compatible development, meaning that the ground floor has been designed to allow tidal flooding to pass into it, up to and including a 1 in 200 year event. Creating a viable solution that met the standards of the Environment Agency required perseverance, particularly due to the sensitive nature of the site with it being in Flood Zone 3B – in the River Esk’s floodplain. The flooding projection models that our engineers presented to the EA, included within a comprehensive Flood Risk Assessment, was sufficient in proving that the building would be safe to use by its future occupants during times of a flood event.
As we move forward, Fairhurst are delighted to continue our partnership with Willmott Dixon Construction and the team, progressing the design into RIBA Stage 5. We remain committed to supporting the delivery of an outstanding facility that will serve as a hub for innovation and growth in Whitby’s maritime sector for years to come.
For more information on our multidisciplinary services, please contact your local Fairhurst office.
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