Contact: Alan Inder, ext 6759

1. Summary

1.1 During the second half of the 20th century the number of boat moorings and berths in the River Hamble increased substantially, and now exceeds 3,000. This growth occurred in a relatively unplanned, ad hoc way, with the result that the lower part of the river, from the M27 bridge to Southampton Water, is characterised by an almost unbroken proliferation of moorings, to the detriment of navigation and the environment.

1.2 The County Council, as Harbour Authority, has been thinking for some years about rationalising the moorings on the river to achieve benefits to recreation, navigation and the environment. Indeed, the River Hamble Local Plan - First Alteration (adopted in 1992) contained the following policy:

"Policy 2 - The Harbour Authority and the Local Planning Authorities will seek to improve the navigation and appearance of the river by the removal and relocation of piled and buoyed moorings from the following areas:

(a) the mooring restriction areas;

(b) other areas which may be defined following further review by the authorities."

1.3 Until recently, little has been done to implement this policy. The Harbour Authority has now commenced work on a new Moorings Plan that aims to fulfil Policy 2 of the 1992 Plan. There will be extensive consultation on the Plan. The purposes of this report are to set out the principles on which the new Plan will be based and to explain the procedures that will be followed for consultation and obtaining the necessary consents.

2. Introduction

2.1 The provision of moorings and marina berths on the River Hamble developed over a considerable period of time, with a major increase in numbers during the early 1970s and 1980s. Over the last ten years, whilst there has been little change in overall numbers, the nature of the berths and moorings has changed considerably. The most notable change has been in the average size of craft; on the moorings the average boat was about 28 feet ten years ago, it is now about 36 feet. Depths have therefore become more significant, particularly for the marinas that face a continuing maintenance load. Of the 1,200 moorings owned by the Crown Estate, a much larger proportion (approximately two-thirds) are now on piles, and many of these have private pontoons.

2.2 Throughout this time of considerable change there has been little or no variation in the position of the moorings, and no overall plan for meeting requirements whilst protecting the environment and the needs of local people.

3. Aims and Principles of the Plan

3.1 The aim of the Plan is:

"To rationalise and reorganise all the moorings and berths on the River Hamble in order to achieve significant benefits to recreation, navigation and safety, and the environment."

3.2 The Plan is one of a portfolio of strategies and plans being prepared, which together will form a Management Plan for the River Hamble, and it will help to meet a number of the aspirations for the river that received wide support during the recent public consultation exercise (`Towards a Management Plan for the River Hamble').

3.3 This document seeks to find a way forward to ensure that, over time, the moorings provision is reconfigured to meet three main principles:

(i) Environmental:

- to maintain and enhance the environmental quality of the river;

- to comply with current and future environmental legislation, particularly the European Union (EU) Habitats Directive and EU Water Framework Directive; and

- to improve the visual aspect of the river from both shores;

(ii) Social:

- to take into full account the interests of the local community;

- to encourage users to enjoy the recreational opportunities offered by the River Hamble, whilst appreciating and safeguarding its environmental quality; and

- to increase the opportunities for safe recreational use of the river by dinghy and other small boat users; and

(iii) Economic:

- to work in partnership with marinas, boatyards and other commercial operators to maintain the national significance of the river in employment and economic terms;

- to coordinate local business initiatives for the benefit of the river and provide a basis for sustainable financial use of the river and its amenities; and

- to promote the river, not only as a departure point but as a destination for sailors, so as to increase the economic input of visitors without increasing demand on parking and land traffic.

4. Objectives of the Plan

4.1 Reconfiguring the moorings will achieve the objectives set out below.

(i) To clear existing and proposed mooring restriction areas and widen navigation channels, by the relocation of moorings to other areas.

This will create a more clearly defined and unobstructed fairway, reducing the risk of collision or mishap in the river, especially at its entrance. By reducing the number of mid-stream moorings, the need to use tenders and the risks associated with their use will be reduced (which will help to ensure compliance with the Port Marine Safety Code). By following this principle the Plan will create open areas for safe dinghy sailing, reduce the visual impact of moorings and open up views of and across the river, and provide benefits for nature conservation by reducing the impact of swinging moorings on the river bed, opening up flight paths for birds and reducing disturbance to wildlife and fisheries.

(ii) To establish concentrations of `walk ashore' public moorings around existing marinas, boatyards and sailing clubs, and where there is established public access.

This will provide secure berthing and safe and convenient access for all mooring holders. It will also make it more viable for facilities such as car parking, toilets, waste collection and recycling to be provided for the benefit of all and will give opportunities for more secure storage of tenders and dinghies. The Harbour Authority intends to work in partnership with established operators (marinas, boatyards, etc) to maximise the provision and use of facilities.

(iii) To offer a choice of mooring types, locations and charges, including lower-cost public moorings.

This will respond to the range of consumer preferences, and will address the current imbalance in mooring charges by making charging levels more consistent. Public moorings will be made available for smaller local craft, youth organisations and to encourage first-time `starter' boat purchase and use. Across the range of moorings available there will be greater emphasis on better security and safe and convenient access.

(iv) To balance access arrangements by combining appropriate car parking provision with a river bus service.

The intention is to provide a self-financing river bus service that will link river access points with mooring areas. The net effect of this will be to reduce the need for dedicated car parking for mooring holders and to reduce `fly-parking' and village congestion. It will also minimise the use of tenders and thus improve navigational safety.

(v) To minimise the requirements for dredging.

The reorganisation of moorings is to be achieved without any new, capital dredging of the river and, by removing moorings from shallow inter-tidal areas, it will reduce the ongoing requirement for maintenance dredging.

5. Outline Moorings Plan

5.1 By applying the above principles to the existing and potential moorings layout, an outline Plan begins to emerge which divides the lower river into zones and has the elements summarised below. The attached plan shows the existing and proposed mooring areas, together with the `mooring restriction areas' as defined in the River Hamble Local Plan - First Alteration.

(i) Zone 1 - Warsash and Hamble Point

Main channel: Relocation of moorings to Warsash and Hamble Point, and widening of the fairway to 60-70 metres.

Warsash: A concentration of moorings along the waterfront that would include a public visitors' marina (approximately 60 berths) and extra berths for Stone Pier Yard, Warsash Sailing Club and the School of Navigation.

Hamble Point Marina: Extension to provide a public marina (100 plus berths) and additional berths for Marina Developments Limited (MDL).

(ii) Zone 2 - Hamble Village to Port Hamble

Main channel: Relocation of moorings to Hamble village waterfront and Port Hamble Marina, and widening of the fairway to 60 metres. Phased removal of moorings from the east side of the river.

Hamble Village: A concentration of moorings along the waterfront that would include a public visitors' marina (approximately 50 berths) and extra berths for the Royal Southern and RAF Yacht Clubs.

Port Hamble Marina: Extension of the marina northwards to provide a public marina and extra berths for the Hamble Yacht Services and MDL.

(iii) Zone 3 - Mercury Marina to Satchell Marsh

Main channel: Relocation of moorings to Mercury Marina, and widening of fairway to 60 metres.

Mercury Marina: Extension of marina southwards alongside Satchell Marsh, together with the reorganisation of piled moorings south from Crableck beacon, adjacent to the Bunny Meadows footpath, to provide approximately 210 public berths and some additional berths for MDL.

(iv) Zone 4 - Universal Boatyard and Hacketts Marsh

Main channel: Relocation of moorings to Universal Boatyard or new mooring areas off Hacketts Marsh, and widening of channel to 55 metres.

Universal Boatyard: Rationalisation of existing layout, and provision of additional public berths towards Crableck.

Hacketts Marsh: Provision of public marina (approximately 150 berths) accessed via river bus or water taxi from local boatyards or Swanwick/Bursledon.

(v) Zone 5 - Bursledon and Swanwick

Main channel: Relocation of moorings to adjacent marinas and boatyards, and widening of channel to 50-55 metres. Consideration for a public landing to serve the community.

Elephant and Deacons Boatyard: Reorganisation of boatyard pontoon moorings.

(vi) Zone 6 - Mid Hamble

Reorganisation of moorings and the establishment of 'walk ashore' marinas at Riverside and Eastlands Boatyards.

6. Procedures

Permissions and Consents

6.1 In the course of implementing the Plan, once it is approved it will be necessary to obtain various permissions and consents for particular proposals from the following statutory authorities and agencies (`the competent authorities'), including Fareham and Eastleigh Borough Councils, the Environment Agency, English Nature, the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA)/the Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions (DTLR), the Crown Estate and Trinity House. It is therefore wise to consult these agencies at an early stage to make sure that their comments are taken into account in formulating the Plan.

6.2 This is likely to be a long process, particularly because the river is within a Special Protection Area (SPA), Ramsar Site and candidate Maritime Special Area of Conservation (cSAC), so the Habitats Regulations 1994 will apply. It is probable that the competent authorities will need to carry out an `appropriate assessment', ie an assessment of the implications of granting consent in view of the conservation objectives of the SPA and cSAC. It is also probable that an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) will be required under the EIA Regulations, and this will require the preparation of an Environmental Statement that covers all the potential effects that the Plan may have.

6.3 The first stage in the process of obtaining consents will be to carry out an informal consultation simultaneously with all the competent authorities, in order to:

(i) clarify those matters for which each competent authority is responsible;

(ii) identify issues and how they might be resolved;

(iii) obtain scoping and screening opinions (in connection with the EIA); and

(iv) clarify requirements for further information.

At this stage a lead competent authority needs to be identified.

6.4 Following this, gaps in information must be filled and the Plan refined to address any issues that have been identified, and then the appropriate assessment and EIA will be undertaken. The first public consultation will be carried out by the Harbour Authority (see below), the feedback from which will help to modify the Plan prior to formal submission.

6.5 The next main stage will be to submit formal applications simultaneously to all the competent authorities, for the various consents to be obtained. Depending on the complexity of the issues and the degree to which they have been addressed, this stage could take from three to nine months. During this stage formal consultation will be carried out by the competent authorities.

7. Consultation

7.1 The Harbour Authority recognises that the Moorings Plan must have wide support if it is to succeed. Consequently, extensive consultation is proposed, firstly on the outline Plan. The intention is to arrange meetings with those interests that are most likely to be affected, prior to displaying and discussing the Plan at the Southampton Boat Show and subsequently at venues around the Hamble River during a `road show'. A special edition of River Talk will be devoted to the outline Plan and issued to coincide with the Boat Show. The outcome of this consultation stage will be reported to the River Hamble Harbour Management Committee in December 2002 and will influence the Plan before it is submitted for formal consents.

7.2 When the applications for formal consents have been submitted, the competent authorities will undertake consultation with interested parties and the general public. The comments received during this stage will be taken into account when decisions about the consents are taken.

8. Timetable

8.1 The timetable for seeking consents, carrying out assessments and undertaking consultation is attached as an appendix.

Recommendation

That the report be considered and commented on prior to it being submitted to the River Hamble Harbour Management Committee.

7190/AI

APPENDIX

HAMBLE MOORINGS PLAN - TIMETABLE (April 2002 - February 2003)

EXPLANATORY NOTES

Plan Preparation and Approval

Although the Moorings Plan offers substantial benefits, it is inevitable that a great deal of preparation work will have to be done to ensure that all the necessary consents are obtained and the support of all stakeholders gained. As part of the process it is virtually certain that an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), Appropriate Assessment (AA), and Environmental Statement (ES) will all be required. Therefore, it would be wise to allow at least one year for the necessary consents to be obtained before implementation can begin. That timescale depends on adequate resources being available for the assessments to be carried out and the proposals to be prepared and refined in detail, and on issues that arise during consultation being satisfactorily resolved. The various stages are summarised below and shown diagrammatically in the attached timetable.

Stage 1: Prepare Draft Proposals

Richard Exley (RE) and Alan Inder (AI) to prepare draft proposals in sufficient detail for the consultation with statutory authorities, in particular for scoping and screening opinions to be obtained. The principles on which the proposals are to be based and the procedure for Plan preparation and approval will be explained to the River Hamble Harbour Advisory Committee (5 June) and the River Hamble Harbour Management Committee (21 June).

(NB: consultation with statutory authorities already underway.)

Stage 2: Consult Statutory Authorities

Informal consultation to be carried out on a confidential basis with all the statutory authorities and agencies: including Fareham and Eastleigh Borough Councils, the Environment Agency, English Nature, DEFRA/DTLR, the Crown Estate and Trinity House. Purposes: clarify those matters for which each competent authority is responsible; identify issues and how they might be resolved; obtain scoping and screening opinions; and clarify requirements for further information. Lead competent authority to be identified.

Stage 3: Refine Draft Proposals

RE/AI to obtain further information and refine detailed proposals in light of consultation, and prepare briefs for Stage 4.

Stage 4: Produce EIA/AA/ES

Consultants to be appointed to carry out Environmental Impact Assessment, Appropriate Assessment, and Environmental Statement.

Stage 5: Prepare Leaflet and Displays

RE/AI to prepare leaflet, displays and presentations to explain outline moorings plan in layman's terms; help required from Communications Teams.

Stage 6: Public Consultation

First public consultation to be carried out. Meeting(s) with main affected interests to be held early September. Publicity to be given at Southampton Boat Show (13-22 September) and through `road show' visiting communities around the Hamble Estuary. Special issue of River Talk to be distributed to coincide with Boat Show. Outcome of consultation to be reported to River Hamble Harbour Management Committee on 13 December.

Stage 7: Prepare Formal Applications

Formal applications for all the various consents to be prepared; one set of documents to serve all purposes.

Stage 8: Submit Formal Applications

Formal applications to be submitted to all the competent authorities. Likely to be at least three months before all consents obtained, assuming no significant issues are outstanding.

Implementation

It is to be hoped and expected that all the effort put into developing the proposals carefully and into obtaining support and all relevant consents will be rewarded when the time comes to implement the Moorings Plan. Theoretically it might be possible to implement the Plan within three to five years; however, it may be more realistic and prudent to implement it over a 10 year period. It will be important to prepare phasing proposals at an early stage.

HAMBLE MOORINGS PLAN - TIMETABLE (April 2002 - January 2003)