Press Release

THE CROWN ESTATE HELPS FUND NEW AND IMPROVED MOORINGS AT PORTREE HARBOUR ON ISLE OF SKYE

25 October 2004

The Crown Estate has helped to fund new and improved moorings at Portree Harbour on the Isle of Skye through its Marine Stewardship Fund (MSF). The Crown Estate allocated a grant of £7,500 to the Portree Moorings Association (PMA) towards the total cost of £25,000 for the reorganisation of the moorings.

Representatives from The Crown Estate, as well as the project's other funders Highland Council and Skye and Lochalsh Economic Development Partnership, met with representatives from the Portree Moorings Association to officially open the new and reorganised moorings on Thursday last week (21 October 2004). Representatives from Panfish, who helped reorganise the moorings, and the RNLI were also in attendance.

Portree is the principal town on the Isle of Skye, with a busy harbour used by both commercial and private traffic. The reorganisation of the moorings has meant that the available space has been used more effectively. This has allowed the creation of six new visitor moorings close to the harbour, which will provide new capacity for boating tourists and generate new revenue for the Portree Moorings Association to reinvest in further, future improvements.

The Portree Moorings Association was established in 1989 to coordinate the reorganisation and maintenance of moorings in the Portree Harbour area of Loch Portree. Many of the old moorings were laid before the Association was formed, resulting in an unplanned system and scattered moorings, which in turn led to anchorage congestion and a restriction on space for new moorings.

Peter MacDonald, Secretary of the Portree Moorings Association, said: "Prior to the reorganisation, we were forced to turn down applications for moorings because the area had reached capacity. This reorganisation has meant we can welcome even more boats and visitors to Portree. We would like to thank The Crown Estate for its generous funding."

David Philip, Assistant Environmental Policy Manager at The Crown Estate, said: "We are delighted to have been able to help fund the realignment of the moorings at Portree harbour – a project funded and completed in partnership that will benefit the local community as well as visitors to the Isle of Skye."