Emergency works to repair a collapsed north-east pier were completed last night.
Banff Marina has been hampered by works to mend the crumbling Railway Jet for a month, restricting when pleasure boats have been able to enter and leave the port.
Nobody was injured when the masonry collapsed but public access has been restricted for safety reasons.
Now temporary repairs to the jetty have been completed but some restrictions will remain in place while sand is cleared from the site.
Last night a spokesman for Aberdeenshire Council said: “I am delighted to advise that the temporary repair to the Railway Jetty will be completed by the end of today, one day ahead of schedule.”
He said further work to blast a build-up of sand from the base of the pier using pressurised air will happen today and tomorrow. Divers will also inspect the condition of the whole harbour before leaving the area.
The spokesman added: “Unfortunately this means that we will need to restrict movements again to and from the harbour on Friday July 14 and Saturday July 15. Movements will be restricted to half an hour either side of high tide between 8am and 6pm with prior notice to the harbour master required.”
Sailors have been offered the chance to berth at Macduff or Portsoy in the meantime.
The crack on the wall of the Railway Jetty was spotted by users of the marina nearly three months ago and the local authority had already scheduled dive teams to inspect the damage before it gave way.
It is understood torrential rainfall in Banffshire worsened the damage unexpectedly.
One harbour user, who did not wish to be named, claimed the restrictions on access to the marina had left his fellow sailors “trapped” on the high seas.
“They are designed to stop you using the harbour. You would effectively be locked out for 12 hours between the high tides.”
But the council stressed the restrictions were only in place to ensure the safety of local people.
