FERRY services to and from Wemyss Bay have re-started following the completion of a £6 million pier upgrade.

CalMac sailings to Rothesay resumed yesterday morning at the village ferry terminal following a six-month closure to allow for repairs and improvements to be made.

During the work, services were temporarily diverted to Gourock but Wemyss Bay is open for travel again in time for the Easter weekend.

Port Glasgow-based Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited (CMAL) – owners of piers and harbours in the west of Scotland – have invested £6m to make the pier safer, more efficient and improve service reliability.

Brian Sydney, senior civil engineer at CMAL, said: “We are delighted to be reopening the pier so that ferry services can start again in time for the Easter weekend as planned.

“The project team has worked hard to make this happen.

“Our principal contractor, George Leslie Ltd, in particular has done extremely well in keeping the project running to programme, especially given the storms throughout the winter.”

The work includes the installation of new fendering in place of the old timber structure, a reconstructed concrete pier end, a refurbished link span and the addition of a corrosion protection system.The harbour has also been dredged.

The upgrades were undertaken and completed on time by George Leslie Ltd, who were awarded the contract in August 2015.

John McNaught, the company’s managing director, said: “Delivering the project on time is huge credit to the project team, who battled through the very worst of the winter weather, including the ten officially classified storms, to meet the critical Easter weekend re-opening deadline.

“Our determination to meet this key milestone reflects our continued drive to make a positive contribution in the communities where we work.”