Item 10

AT A MEETING of the RIVER HAMBLE HARBOUR ADVISORY COMMITTEE held in the Chute Room, Elizabeth II Court, The Castle, Winchester on Wednesday 8 December 2004.

PRESENT

Hampshire County Council

Councillor K.B. Estlin.

River Hamble Mooring Holder's Association

Mr. P.S. Middleton

River Hamble Berth Holders Association

Mr. H. Knight

Association of Hamble River Yacht Clubs

Mr. C. Hall

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Trust for Marine Archaeology

Miss J.S. Satchell

Royal Yachting Association

Mr. R Garner

Crown Estate

Mr. N Jacobson

Southern Sea Fisheries District Committee

Mr. P. Hill

Hamble-Le-Rice Parish Council

Councillor R Elliston

Curdridge Parish Council

Councillor J.F. Mitchell

Bursledon Parish Council

Councillor W.B Foulkes

Also in attendance : Mr. M. Denton Thompson (Environment Dept). Capt. M Capon (Designated Person ); Mr. D. Evans ( Marine Director ); Mr. T Clatworthy (Harbour Master ).

52 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

There were none.

53 MINUTES

The Minutes of the meeting held on 4 June 2004 were agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

Arising thereon :

Councillor Mitchell wished it minuted that he understood that ariel pictures were to be taken to assist in the process of boat counting on vessels resorting to the River Hamble.

The Chairman commented that ariel photography was expensive to commission and that this was still being investigated.

54 CHAIRMAN'S COMMUNICATIONS

There were none

55 DEPUTATIONS

There were none.

56 MARINE DIRECTOR'S REPORT

The Committee considered the report of the Marine Director ( Item 5 in the Minute Book ) presenting an overview of projects which it was proposed to undertake during the next two to three years.

The Marine Director reported that each project would entail full consultation as work progressed and that none required a decision at the present stage. The issues identified were :

Governance and Strategic Management of the River Hamble

The subject was to be discussed later on the agenda.


Relations with the Crown Estate

There were complex arrangements in place, and these would be reviewed. Issues included :

· Administration of the Mooring Licence Fees

· Collection of Visitor income.

· Harbour dues - there was an imbalance. Users of the river should pay for its upkeep and know what they were getting for their money.

· Cost effective collection of fees and dues.

Harbour Dues and Supervision Charges

· Colour-coding harbour dues stickers would be investigated and might make clearer when charges had been paid

· Control of the issuing of stickers might be a useful alternative approach for achieving an accurate boat count.

· The intention was to investigate the phasing out of supervision charges, if more appropriate ways could be found of maintaining income.

Visitors

· Develop a Visitor Strategy for the River

Byelaws

· The 1983 Byelaws required revision, and this should be undertaken in the next 12 - 24 months.

· Need to be easily understood - in clear English.

River Capacity and Boat Count

· There was a need to establish an undisputed and accurate boat count as a baseline for decision making in the future.

Environmental Funding

· Those who contribute to the degradation of the river environment, should contribute to its upkeep.

The Marine Director had gained a highly favourable impression of the Harbour Office since joining three months ago. The team were enthusiastic and competent . He welcomed advice from Members in his review of the issues described in his report.

RESOLVED :

That the report be noted.

57 HARBOUR MASTER'S REPORT

The Committee considered the report of the Harbour Master (Item 6 in the Minute Book ) summarising the activities on the river since 16 June 2004.

The Harbour Master reported that Mr. Harding had retired. The Hamble Week 2004 had proved successful and he suggested that Warsash which appeared to be left out of the festivities should be included in future years if possible.

A plan of action would be brought forward during 2005 to deal with speeding vessels after the close of the Harbour Office. Members supported action aimed at resolving the cases of verbal abuse suffered by staff in the Harbour Office. Action was being taken with the County Council in this regard. The combined river sailing clubs undertook to take action should it be brought to the attention that any of their members be involved at any time.

The details of a website - www.stolenboats.com and an email address were given, which could be used in tracing stolen vessels.

CCTV was well in hand, although recently problems of radio interference had been experienced with the transmitters at Bursledon Bend. Action was being taken to resolve this situation.

The Harbour Office had a good working relationship with the planners at the County Council, Eastleigh Borough Council and Fareham Borough Council.

The Oil Spill arrangements were currently to MCA requirements, with a deployment time of between 2.5 hours to 3 hours.

Mr. Middleton asked about the costs of disposing of the vessel

`Sunshine'` He was advised two assessors had been used according to the regulations and the price achieved was £4,500 as per their valuation. The sale had been handled by Deacons Boatyard.

RESOLVED :

That the report be noted.

58 RIVER HAMBLE REVISED BUDGET 2004/05, AND FORWARD BUDGET 2005/06 AND HARBOUR DUES CHARGE 2006

The Committee considered the joint report of the County Treasurer and Marine Director ( Item 7 in the Minute Book ) presenting the results of the review of the River Hamble Budget, which has been carried out by consultation between the Marine Director and the Devolved Finance Unit.

The Treasurer reported that with the Marine Director in post there was now a delegated approach to budget management being put in place. Local staff would be responsible for managing their budgets in line with their cash limits. The Environmental budgets were a good example of this.

The Treasurer's role had become more strategic and he would be working with the Marine Director on the issues raised in his previous report. The Marine director would seek detailed financial advice from the Treasurer, by whom the cost benefit analysis would need to be signed off.

The Principles of the revised budget were as follows :

(i) A further review of the zero based budget approach used last year building on last year's outturn


(ii) Enabling the Harbour Authority to operate within it's revenue earning capacity (RPI + 1%)


(iii) Expenditure would equate to Income


(iv) 3 year plan had been put into place to bring the Reserves back into credit. Unplanned under spends would be transferred into Reserves the plan would be reviewed annually.


Detail

2004/05

(i) 2.3 Salaries - part year costs pre and post of the Marine Director appointment, one off recruitment costs


(ii) 2.6 Office Expenses -


· Inclusion of a Catering allowance for meetings. These are not catering costs for staff


· Updated IT equipment in the Harbour Office leading to an additional ongoing charge


(iii) 2.11 Central Support Services - Legal costs are dependent on demand


(iv) 2.12 Other Services - No non-contract SMS Project work is anticipated for this year


(v) 2.13 Budget Pressures -


· Governance - Some costs had been met centrally. Cost charged relate to postage


· Harbour Management System which was budgeted for last year to replace Havenstar


· EU Directive for port food waste


· Uncommitted budget pressures for any issues arising between now and the end of the financial year subject, where appropriate, to a cost benefit analysis. If unused would be paid into reserves


(vi) 2.18 Dredging Plan reflects work to complete Phase 2.


(vii) 2.19 CCTV - the balance of costs for CCTV would be met from Crown Estate Receipts, but there had been an overspend of £6,000 due to unplanned installation works


(viii) 2.20 Miscellaneous Income - the increase related to towing, salvage and consent income


(ix) 2.21 Harbour Dues - the increase reflects the increase in meterage and the accounting adjustment which had matched income to the correct accounting period


(x) 2.22 Supervision Charges reflect an adjustment to the meterage, last year's invoices being sent out at the wrong rate, and the accounting adjustment described above


(xi) 2.23 Crown Estate - reduction related to the withdrawal of funding by Crown Estate for the Asst Harbour Masters (Environment) post


(xii) 2.24 Rates - reflect the actual charge for mid stream moorings collected on behalf of the Crown Estate. The initial estimate incorrectly included premises


2005/06

(xiii) 3.3 Salaries adjustments include:

· Establishment proposed by the Harbour Master

· Full yr cost of regradings and appointments

· Contract extension for the Assistant Office Manager

· Pay Awards


(xiv) 3.4 Premises - the main reduction related to the cessation of collecting rates for Crown Estate


(xv) 3.5 Transport - the main increase relates to a virement from the boat replacement fund


(xvi) 3.11 Budgetary Pressures -


· £21,800 had been included for uncommitted items. Cost Benefit Analysis would be used where appropriate for bids against this sum


· £38,000 had been included as the first instalment for repaying the deficit on the Reserve


(xvii) 3.12 Oil Pollution Response reflected the annual contract


(xviii) 3.13 Port Waste Management Plan reflected:

· Refuse Costs

· General Port Waste Management

· Non EU Port Food Waste Costs


(v) 3.16 Dredging Plan - an estimate for Phase 3 but sum was not committed yet


(vi) 3.17 CCTV - maintenance based on an estimate from the contractor


(vii) 3.18 Inflation 3.1% of non - staff costs (non management grade)


(viii) 3.20 Inflation of RPI +1% (4.1%) had been included for Harbour Dues and Supervision

Visitors Centre Partnership

It was a critical time for the Partnership. Since the Treasurer had been involved discussions had been held with Humberts and Crown Estate trying to resolve outstanding issues. These were the key issues:


There was no chance of reducing the deficit until the building was sublet which was an issue which had been ongoing for some time and was now our responsibility. What was unknown was the impact on Income once the building was sublet (assuming it was not used in it's present capacity)


The budget assumes visitors income was split 50/50 between the Harbour Authority and Crown Estate


Sub-let income came to the Harbour Authority


A Management fee of £25k was paid to the Harbour Authority by Crown Estate (This had not been agreed with Crown Estate)


Previous years deficits were still being negotiated ( the Marine Director and the Treasurer were meeting Crown Estate to attempt to finalise these negotiations )


The Partnership deficit was shown separately from the main Harbour account

2004/05 Revised

(1) 4.4 Salary costs were based on an allocation from the Harbour Office


(2) 4.5 The reduction on Premises related to Cleaning Costs


(3) 4.6 Transport - no more leased cars held at the Harbour Authority


(4) 4.9 School of Yachting - a one fee negotiated by PBRS for marketing fees

2005/06


(5) 5.3 Salary costs were based on an allocation from the Harbour Office

The Treasurer was congratulated on a clear and comprehensive explanation of the costs involved on the River.

RESOLVED :

That the report be noted.

59 ASSISTANT HARBOUR MASTER ( ENVIRONMENT ) REPORT

The Committee considered the report of the Director of Environment ( Item 8 in the Minute Book ) summarising the activities and events regarding the environment of the river from June 2004.

Surveys into the presence of pollution in sediments from sites in the Lower and Upper Hamble; and an analysis of the run-off from the M27 motorway bridge were in progress, and the reports when delivered would be available for inspection in the Harbour Office.

Discussion ensued on Regulation No 1774/2002 setting out conditions which control the disposal of catering waste from ships and aircraft operating internationally. Mr. Middleton queried whether costs could be minimised by accumulating the waste in a large sealed container for periodical collection. He was advised that the Harbour Authority was obligated to remove such waste within three weeks at a cost of £360 per trip to one of the only three licensed sites in Hampshire. The possibility of sending material to the Portsmouth Incinerator was to be investigated.

River Basin Management Plans needed to be published by 2009 for each River Basin District. The Harbour Authority would be monitoring its "at risk" status of not meeting good ecological standards.

The steering group working on the River Hamble Dredging Plan Phase 2 was to meet in January 2005 and once the draft Plan was endorsed it would become the `base line' document for use in processing maintenance dredging applications.

RESOLVED :

That the report be noted.

60 GOVERNANCE OF THE RIVER HAMBLE - UPDATE

The Committee considered the oral report of the Director of Environment on

progress towards governance of the River Hamble.

The Assistant Director Environment explained that the consultation exercise

on the future governance of the River Hamble had received a high number of

returns of high quality comments. He expressed his thanks for the effort and

energy put in by respondents.

It had not been possible to circulate a written report at this stage, although

preparations were at an advanced stage. The consultation process had been

extended so that a large number of well thought-out replies received around

the closing date, could be carefully analysed. The process had been useful in

eliciting advice on other aspects of the river.

Two members had not received consultation documents directly, although it was pointed out that all Members of the Advisory Committee had been informed of the process and would have had opportunities to respond independently. Bearing in mind the high level of returns (29%), the Chairman hoped that this was not a widespread problems and the Advisory Committee agreed that it was unlikely that any key individual on the Hamble was unaware of the consultation exercise.

The Governance Report would be available at the end of the week and would be sent to Advisory Committee members for their information.

61 OTHER MATTERS

Mr. Garner drew attention to the existence of a slipway by Deacons Boat Yard with a road leading to it.

8hM871204