Aberystwyth Marina on the west coast of Wales recently reported that its reconfiguration earlier this year has helped bring in new clients and increased visitor numbers. Walcon spent three weeks in the early spring on site in often challenging conditions, rebuilding the marina to a completely new design and in the process extending it so as to add new capacity.
The Marine Group purchased the marina in September 2015, and this was the final stage of their extensive refurbishment programme. Prior to the movement of the pontoons, the marina basin was dredged and the piles removed and re-driven in their new locations. The new layout has added 16 berths to take the total up to 165, and the additional pontoons allow yachts up to 18 metres in length to berth securely. It also allows the boats to lie more comfortably against the currents.
Rob Freemantle, Director of Operations at the Marine Group, commented at the time: “We are always looking at ways we can improve our service offering and facilities. The new pontoon layout has made a huge impact to improve the access at the marina. By re-arranging the pontoons it is easier to navigate and allowed for the creation of some much-needed larger berths. Walcon Marine has done a superb job in working with us to optimise the space available and to ensure the marina is more user-friendly for our berth holders.”
Since then he has reported that occupancy rates have been rising at a healthy rate and the visitor numbers so far in 2017 have been more than double those of 2016.