Fire-damaged historic harbour building set for restoration

Bruce Sinclair, Local Democracy Reporter

Plans to restore a historic harbour building damaged by fire earlier this year are being recommended for approval.

The Grade II-listed Pier Building in New Quay, now occupied by New Quay Yacht Club, suffered fire and smoke damage in January.

Ceredigion County Council’s development management committee will consider an application for listed building consent for the restoration on November 11.

The proposals would repair the former harbour warehouse on a like-for-like basis, introduce improved fire protection between floors and replace modern flooring with timber floorboards considered more appropriate to its historic character.

Built in the early 19th century as the harbour and maritime trade expanded, the building is described in a supporting statement as “an important surviving component of the town’s historic waterfront infrastructure”.

It has since undergone alterations to accommodate recreational and community activities.

An inspection following the fire found the building remained structurally intact overall and retained its principal historic form and character. Some modern finishes and later additions damaged by fire or smoke had already been removed.

The restoration would retain historic materials wherever reasonably practicable, with any necessary changes designed to respect the building’s significance.

The supporting statement says: “The building’s architectural interest derives not from ornamentation or refinement, but from its surviving industrial form, materials, functional expression and strong visual relationship with the pier and harbour setting.”

Among its notable features are enamel harbour tariff boards fixed to the southern wall.

Dating from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the signs set out dues and charges for goods landed at New Quay. The statement says both Cadw and Heneb identify them as rare and significant survivors.

The proposed fire protection measures would provide 60-minute fire compartmentation between floors, helping to limit the spread of a fire.

The supporting report acknowledges that reinstating fire- and moisture-resistant elements would involve a minor loss of historical evidence, but concludes this would be outweighed by the need to safeguard the building for continued use.

Planning officers recommend approval, saying the work would preserve historic materials wherever practicable, improve fire protection and introduce more sympathetic finishes to the affected interiors.

Their report says the proposals would leave the exterior unchanged while preserving the building’s architectural and historic interest and the character of New Quay Conservation Area.