WORK will start on strengthening part of Weymouth’s harbour wall at the end of September and should be completed by Christmas.

The project was originally due to start this February, finishing by May, but it was not believed possible to achieve in time and was delayed until this autumn

A contract for the work at ferry steps, known as Wall D, has been awarded to Knights Brown Construction and will start on September 30th, although materials may be stored in the area before that date.

Hotels at nearby Georgian Devonshire and Poultney Buildings had expressed concerns about noise and vibrations from the work on the 76 metre long section of wall. Planning consent for the project was agreed in December and the council has £1.95 million in its current capital budget for harbour walls repair although it is has not been made public how much the current contract will cost.

The work, at the eastern end of Custom House Quay, will also see the demolition of an existing dilapidated ice cream kiosk and, once completed, a new flight of harbour steps will be put into place, similar to the stone steps built in the 1960s.

Weymouth and Portland Borough Council say the section of wall, almost 60 years old, is now badly corroded with some of the fill material having been washed into the harbour.

The work will include putting in a line of sheet steel piles driven into the harbour bed directly in front of the existing wall. Some of the work will be carried out using hydraulic rams but is also expected to involve the use of pneumatic devices to hammer the piles in.

The rowing boat ferry is expected to continue operating from the steps until September 22 and may be allowed to run on some days after that, depending on the progress of the works.

A specialist company will be employed to control traffic during the works which may involve complete, or partial, road closures at times.

The area was developed on land reclaimed during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries by constructing harbour walls and filling behind them to improve landing areas and railway access for cargo vessels and ferries which used to run to the Channel Islands.