Item 1

AT A MEETING of the RIVER HAMBLE HARBOUR ADVISORY COMMITTEE held in the Wellington Room, The Castle, Winchester on Friday 29 November 2002.

PRESENT:

Hampshire County Council

Councillor K.B. Estlin (Chairman)

Fareham Borough Council

Councillor T.M. Cartwright (Warsash Ward)

Councillor D. Swanbrow (Sarisbury and Titchfield Common)

River Hamble Mooring Holders' Association

Mr R. Daw

River Hamble Berth Holders' Association

Mr H. Knight

River Hamble Boatyard and Marina Operators' Association

Mr C.E. Moody

The Crown Estate

Mr F.G. Parrish

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Trust for Maritime Archaeology

Ms J.S. Satchell

Association of River Hamble Yacht Clubs

Mr J.H.R. Selby

Environment Agency

Miss L.S. Sheffield

Royal Yachting Association

Mr L.M. Garner

Botley Parish Council

Councillor M. Clark

Curbridge Parish Council

Councillor R.A. Wright

Hamble-le-Rice Parish Council

Councillor Mr R. Elliston

Bursledon Parish Council

Councillor M.A. Bridges

Councillor Mrs J.B. Harckham

18. MINUTES

The Minutes of the meeting held on 5 June 2002 were agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

Arising thereon:

Minute 8 - Harbour Master's Report

The Director of Environment reported that the bid for Interreg funding had not been successful, but this would be re-submitted to the European Union.

Mr Daw sought information regarding the placing of advertisements in respect of planning applications. He wished to know which publications were used and whether these were based on a particular area. The Chairman signified that a written answer would be sent to Mr Daw.

Minute 10 - A Vision for the River Hamble

The Crown Estate reported that they would not be instituting a banding method of charging for River moorings. It was explained that the current rates plus 5% would be instituted for a three year period to give stability to the process. This would be subject to review.


Minute 11 - Port Marine Safety Code, Policies and Compliance

Mr Hugh Knight clarified his identification of risks appearing in the minutes of the last meeting. He had drawn attention to two sources of risk which he felt should have been included in the B.M.T. Reliability Consultants Ltd assessment of risks and they were as follows:-

(i) Co-ordination of Rescue and Emergency Services.


(ii) Fires in marinas.


Captain Capon confirmed that the matter would be addressed in the next audit to be
carried out in December. Mr Hugh Knight would explain his points to Captain Capon.

19. HARBOUR MASTER'S REPORT

The Committee considered the report of the Harbour Master (Item 2 in the Minute Book) summarising events and activities on the river from June 2002 until November 2002.

The Harbour staff had responded to a number of incidents throughout the period including personal dispute, attempted suicide and engine fires. The Harbour Master reported that aggression and disrespect displayed towards the staff had been evident in many of the incident reports submitted by Watch-keepers. Staff were being given anger management training so that they might respond positively to such behaviour on the part of persons with whom they came into contact on the River.

Questions were asked on several aspects of the Appendix from responses to incidents August 2001 through to July 2002. In particular these related to the circumstances of how and when cautions were issued. The Chairman asked that figures for July be included in the appendix when this was placed on the Internet.

Captain Capon reported on the successful prosecution under the Bye-laws. Recent cases included the imposition of a fine of £120 plus £2,000 costs to the Harbour authority and another where an alleged incident had led to a collision with a piled navigation mark and had not been reported. The alleged offender had been fined £100 together with £700 costs. In passing sentence, the Chairman of the Bench had commented that the River was a common resource for use by all and not just one person. These prosecutions had been given press coverage and it was hoped would act as a deterrent to those River users proceeding in contravention of the Bye-laws and not observing safety regulations and good practice. A request was made for further explanation in the appendix of responses to incidents relating to pontoons adrift. It was requested that the information should be sub-divided to indicate where pontoons were untied at one end or were totally adrift and additionally, whether it was the mooring holders' fault or the condition of the piles which had caused the incident. The Harbour Master's staff were also receiving training to enable them to carry out full investigations into incidents which would allow the gathering of evidence likely to lead to more successful prosecutions.

A question was asked relating to the oil spill contingency plan and when the oil boom was likely to be deployed. This had last been carried out two years ago, and members were reminded that the Harbour Authority would now be obliged to pay the cost of deployment which was estimated at £3,000 for each occasion. The Harbour Master responded to a question from Bursledon Parish Council seeking a dredging plan of the River, by reporting that such a plan had been initiated.

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.

20. ESTUARINE MANAGEMENT PLAN

The Committee considered the report of the Director of Environment (Item 3 in the Minute Book) on the public consultation on the Draft Estuarine Management Plan. Thanks were extended to the Harbour Master's staff who had worked to complete the Estuarine Management Plan and in particular to Mr Alan Williams. The Director of Environment reported that it would be necessary to produce a non-technical summary of the Estuarine Management Plan and that this be placed on a wide circulation. The Plan would be evaluated and monitored.

RESOLVED:

That the Estuarine Management Plan be endorsed.

21. RIVER HAMBLE MOORINGS CONSULTATION

The Committee considered the report of the Director of Environment (Item 4 in the Minute Book) on the River Hamble Moorings consultation.

The Director of Environment reported that there would be a need to replace the piles in the River over the next 15 years and that this process would cost in the region of £2m. The River Hamble Moorings Plan reflected various changes on the River including pressures from legislation, safety and navigation on the River.

It was stressed that the consultation process on the draft outline River Hamble Moorings Plan, which had been carried out between mid-September and early November 2002, dealt with the principles behind the proposals. The process should not be regarded as a `fait accompli', but a consultation on the principles. Thanks were extended to respondents for their effort in responding. These would be analysed and the strategy would change as a direct response to the replies.

The Harbour Authority and the Crown Estate would report the responses to the next meeting of the Advisory Committee in June 2003.

The Crown Estate expressed their regret that there remained suspicion of the proposals and that they, together with the Harbour Authority, were fully committed to the consultation process.

The Chairman stated that no decisions would be taken at this stage. Each of the recommendations were carefully explained to the meeting who broadly expressed their agreement and understanding of them.

RESOLVED:

(i) That the report summarising the consultation responses attached in draft as an appendix, would be made public when in the final form and included on the Harbour Authority's website.


(ii) That a meeting be held between representatives of the Authority's River users and specialist advisers to discuss technical issues including safety and hydrology.


(iii) That the Authority undertake a full appraisal of the consultation responses and report the results to the next cycle of the Advisory and Management Committee meetings; and


(iv) A Strategic Environmental Assessment be undertaken to address the issues raised.

22. GUIDE TO THE PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT OF THE RIVER HAMBLE

The Committee considered the report of the Director of Environment (Item 5 in the Minute Book) on progress on a guide to the planning and maintenance of the River Hamble. A guide to the planning and management of the River Hamble Estuarine was attached as an appendix to the report. The guide was divided as follows:-

Hamble plans; statutory plans; other plans and initiatives.

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.

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