Contact: Emma Beagley, tel 01489 576387 email: [email protected]

1. Summary

1.1 This report summarises the activities and events regarding the environment of the river from November 2004.

2. Corporate Strategy

2.1 The report supports Aims 1 to 5 of the Corporate Strategy (Maximising Life Opportunities, Stewardship of the Environment, Achieving Economic Prosperity, Building Strong and Safe Communities and Improving Services) by contributing to the statutory duties entailed in the management of the River Hamble.

3. River Hamble Dredging Plan

3.1 ABP mer (Associated British Ports marine environmental research) has supplied the Harbour Office and those involved with a copy of the draft Phase 2 document as commissioned in October 2004.

3.2 The document has been compiled to stand alone in its use as a baseline document against which applications to maintenance dredge can be assessed on the River Hamble.

3.3 At the steering group meeting on 17 February 2005 those present (representatives from English Nature, the Environment Agency, River Hamble Harbour Authority (RHHA), ABP mer and the Boatyard and Marina Operators Association (BYMOA)) discussed various amendments to the document. When revised the document will be distributed to all parties involved as a hard copy.

3.4 At a national level the three pilot sites have compiled their baseline documents and these are being tested with a genuine application on the Humber. This is due to complete by mid-2005, feeding into the finalisation of the protocol which should report at the end of 2005. Due to this situation the River Hamble Dredging Plan Steering Group felt that no more phases should be commissioned at present. The Group would await the finalised protocol and meet to discuss further work then.

3.5 The Steering Group discussed the upkeep and future control of the document. The BYMOA representative is to liaise with his members and report back to the Steering Group on this matter. Proposals suggested are that the RHHA would have control of the document and undertake a yearly update of it, or the document would be held on a secure website, possibly hosted by the RHHA, and a yearly meeting be held to update it.

3.6 All contributing to the document and those that will have to use it need to be happy with its continued upkeep and security. The issue of charging for outside use of the document also needs to be established.

3.7 ABP mer representative Peter Whitehead reminded all involved that once Phase 2 is complete any further involvement of ABP mer will incur associated costs. Peter Whitehead has proved invaluable to this project, bringing his in-depth knowledge of the subject matter and knowledge which he gained through his involvement with the protocol at a national level.

3.8 It is clear that the establishment of a dredging management plan for the river needs to be explored. Hopefully this would address some of the issues which have been highlighted, such as marinas dredging together, timing of the works, and use of other dredging techniques. All these issues could affect the future success of dredging applications on the river, but by all involved agreeing to a set timing and method of operation, it is envisaged applications to maintenance dredge should be a lot more straight forward.

4. River Hamble Streamlined Consents Advisory Panel

4.1 At the end of October 2004 the Assistant Harbour Master (Environment) (AHM(E)) received a request from Eastleigh Borough Council to allow the clerks from the five Parish Councils on the river to sit on the Streamlined Consents Advisory Panel.

4.2 This request was discussed at the next meeting of the Panel on 24 January 2005, and after careful consideration it was decided that the Parish Clerks would not be invited to sit on the Streamlined Consents Advisory Panel.

4.3 Due to the confusion and occasional uncertainty about the role of the Streamlined Consents Advisory Panel members felt it sensible to invite all Parish Clerks to the next meeting. The Clerks would be invited to sit as a development proposer, possibly using a practical case study, with each Panel member explaining their role in the Marine consents process.

4.4 The AHM(E) has responded to Eastleigh Borough Council explaining the decision and will be contacting the Parish Councils in due course.

4.5 Due to the success of this initiative, Associated British Ports (ABP) Southampton is keen to see this Advice Panel set up for its area and the AHM(E) is liaising with ABP Southampton to do so.

5. River Hamble Interpretation Project

5.1 A number of interpretation boards are currently being planned for the River Hamble and nearby areas by a working group made up of representatives from Hampshire County Council Countryside Service, Eastleigh Borough Council, Fareham History Society and the River Hamble Harbour Authority.

5.2 The boards, funded by Hampshire County Council and Eastleigh Borough Council, are to contain information about the area where they are sited and will all look similar in layout and design. Currently the working group is considering ways in which these boards can be launched/unveiled.

6. Upper Hamble Clearance

6.1 Following a slow accumulation of pontoon floats in the Upper Hamble, the AHM(E) liaised with English Nature to organise their removal from the designated saltmarsh of the Upper Hamble.

6.2 On 10 February 2005 the AHM(E) and AHM(Patrol), with help from Manor Farm Country Park rangers, refloated the pontoon blocks and towed them to Riverside Boatyard. Riverside Boatyard then used its heavy plant machinery to take the floats from the water to the skip which it had organised. In total seven floats of varying size were removed from the marshes.

6.3 During this operation 14 bags of litter were also lifted from the small section of marsh downstream of the Manor Farm Country Park Jetty.

6.4 In an effort to avoid future damage to the Upper Hamble marshes and to be able to identify the source of any further adrift pontoon blocks, the Harbour Office will be tagging all blocks that are not secured within a structurally sound pontoon system. This should then allow identification of the polluter and removal of the block before damage occurs.

7. Port Waste Management Plan

7.1 Following consultation, the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is set to publish guidance on the EC regulation No 1774/2002 which sets out the conditions which control the disposal of catering waste from ships and aircraft operating internationally (non-EU).

7.2 Having fed into the consultation on the guidance the AHM(E) understands the guidance will include a specific section for marinas and boatyards which do not have regular landings of vessels from outside the EU.

8. The Green Blue

8.1 The Green Blue is a joint venture by the British Marine Federation and the Royal Yachting Association, which aims to promote the sustainable use of coastal and inland waters by watersports participants and the sustainable operation and development of the recreational marine industry.

8.2 At the London Boatshow in January 2005 the Harbour Master, Marine Director and AHM(E) met with representatives from the initiative to discuss ideas, learn more and understand how to be involved. A short brief of the initiative is attached as an appendix.

8.3 The Green Blue is due to be launched at the Southampton Boatshow in September 2005 and the River Hamble Harbour Authority hopes to be closely involved.

9. Water Framework Directive 2000/60/EC

9.1 The Environment Agency as the sole competent authority charged with implementation of the Water Framework Directive in England and Wales, has recently published a consultation document titled "Water for life and livelihoods". This draft strategy presents the current thinking for river basin planning in England and Wales and suggests ways to best work together for the future. The document can be accessed from:
www.environment-agency.gov.uk/yourenv/consultations/946103/?version
=l&lang=_e and the closing date for responses is 29 April 2005.

10. International Festival of the Sea (IFOS), Portsmouth

10.1 The AHM(E) is currently working with staff from Chichester Harbour Conservancy and Langstone Harbour to organise a stand for the IFOS event being held from 30 June to 3 July 2005. The Solent Forum is running a marquee-type stand at the event and has offered space to its members at a greatly reduced rate.

10.2 It is hoped that the three estuary partnership will produce a stand detailing the estuary's environments through the tidal cycle, helping to educate the public on its interaction with the estuarine environment.

10.3 For the RHHA this will help with education aims under the topics of Recreation, Nature Conservation and Pollution and Water Quality in the River Hamble Estuary Management Plan.

11. River Hamble Oil Spill Contingency Plan

11.1 The River Hamble now has a workable booming arrangement that has been designed and successfully trialled by Oil Spill Reponse Limited. Due to this recent change and office staffing changes, there are a number of amendments which need to be made to the River Hamble Oil Spill Contingency Plan, and the AHM(E) will be undertaking a thorough review of the plan immediately.

11.2 On 16 February 2005 the Marine Coastguard Agency (MCA) Counter Pollution and Salvage Officer for the region visited the Harbour Office and audited the Harbour Authority Oil Spill Plan. During the audit the MCA Officer highlighted a number of non-conformities which need to be addressed as soon as possible. The non-conformity notices issued are:

(i) no amendments have been sent to the MCA since 9 October 2001;

(ii) the Harbour Master's 5P (training certificate) has expired and no other staff have level 1P;

(NB The AHM(E) is trained to level 5P (and the Harbour Master will be once an update course has been completed in March). Two of the AHM (Patrol) are level 3P and 2P trained. The regulations state that anyone who may have to use oil spill kit has to be trained to 1P level, with a minimum of two people being trained to 5P level at the office); and

(iii) no table top or notification exercises carried out in 2004.

11.3 It is intended to sign-off on the non-conformities by July 2005.

Recommendation

That this report be noted.

9236/EB