Harbours
Harbours
Harbours were essential to enable sea and river trade, particularly when water transport was faster and more reliable than travel overland. Many of the earliest burghs developed beside rivers, estuaries or the sea and constructed harbours to facilitate trade. Burghs usually received rights to control their harbour as part of their founding charter or by subsequent grants. The earliest records of harbour maintenance and improvements in Scotland’s burghs are generally found in the main series of burgh minutes. Outwith the burghs, harbours tended to be owned and controlled by local landowners.
During the 18th and 19th century many burghs obtained local acts of parliament to appoint trustees or commissioners to maintain and improve their harbours. These included Bo’ness in 1744, Port Glasgow and Ayr, both in 1772, Aberdeen in 1810, Dundee in 1815, and Perth in 1830.[1] Both Dundee and Aberdeen’s harbour commissions were initially fully controlled by their town councils and subsequent legislation reduced or removed this control.[2]
In the 19th and early 20th centuries, canal and railway companies obtained private acts to acquire harbours from trusts or burghs as well as purchasing harbours from individual landowners. For example, Gourock Harbour Company was sold to the Caledonian Railway Co in 1866 and Alloa Harbour Trust was transferred to the North British Railway Co in 1891.[3] The harbours owned by railway and canal companies were nationalised in 1948 and transferred to the British Transport Commission.[4] In 1962, when the British Transport Commission was replaced by five transport boards, the nationalised harbours were divided up amongst the Railway Board, the Dock Board and British Waterways Board.[5] The Harbours Act 1964 set up a National Ports Council to oversee the developments of ports and harbours and the act also enabled harbour re-organisation schemes.[6] This resulted in the newly constituted Forth Ports Authority and the Clyde Port Authority taking over various ports, harbours and docks in their respective areas.[7]
Many harbours remained in the ownership of local authorities or trusts. In 1937 local authorities were empowered to acquire ferries (and other marine works) by transfer or compulsory purchase.[8] Under the 1973 Act, responsibilities for local authority piers and harbours transferred to the regional and islands councils who were permitted to acquire land by compulsory purchase for constructing or altering any harbour in poor repair and could also make loans to a harbour authority.[9] In 1982 district councils were also allowed to acquire harbours, piers, boatslips or jetties for sporting or recreational purposes only.[10] The Local Government etc (Scotland) Act 1994 transferred these powers and responsibilities to the unitary councils from 1996.[11]
Compiler: Elspeth Reid (2021)
Related Knowledge Base entries
Bibliography
Bell, James, and James Paton, ‘Clyde Navigation’ in Glasgow: Its Municipal Organization and Administration (J. MacLehose and Sons, 1896) pp. 304-17
Ferguson, Keith, An introduction to local government in Scotland (The Planning Exchange, 1984)
References
[1] Bo’ness Twopenny Act 1744 (15 Geo. II); Port Glasgow Harbour Act 1772 (12 Geo. III c.xvi); Ayr Harbour Act 1772 (57 Geo. III c.xx); Aberdeen Harbour Act 1810 (50 Geo. III c.lxx); Dundee Harbour Act 1815 (55 Geo. III c.cxcvii); Perth Harbour and Tay Navigation Act 1830 (11 Geo. IV & 1 Will. IV c.cxxi).
[2] Dundee Harbour Act 1830 (11 Geo. IV & 1 Will. IV c.cxix); Aberdeen Harbour Act 1829 (10 Geo. IV c.xxxiv); Aberdeen Harbour Improvement Act 1868 (31 & 32 Vict. c.cxxxviii).
[3] Caledonian Railway (Greenock and Gourock) Extensions Act 1866 (29 & 30 Vict. c.ccxlvi); North British Railway (General Powers) Act 1891 (54 & 55 Vict. c. cciii).
[4] Transport Act 1947 (10 & 11 Geo. VI c.49).
[5] Transport Act 1962 (10 & 11 Eliz II c.46).
[6] Harbours Act 1964 (c.40) s.18.
[7] Clyde Port Authority Order Confirmation Act 1966 (c.xlv); Forth Harbour Reorganisation Scheme Confirmation (Special Procedure) 1967 (c.xli).
[8] Harbours Piers and Ferries (Scotland) Act 1937 (1 Edw. VII & 1 Geo. VI c.28).
[9] Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 (c.65) s.154.
[10] Local Government and Planning (Scotland) Act 1982 (c.43) s.20.
[11] Local Government etc (Scotland) Act 1994 (c.39).