Contact: David Evans, tel 01489 576387 email: [email protected]

1. Summary

1.1 This report addresses the aspiration for a Strategic Plan for the River Hamble and sets out both the rationale for it and a number of possible constraints on its development. A possible way forward is suggested. The report is intended to stimulate informed debate by the Harbour Board, before any decisions are made about the way ahead.

2. Corporate Strategy

2.1 This report supports Aim 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 providing an overview of the strategic planning issues facing the River Hamble Harbour Board.

3. Introduction

3.1 In 1985 the County Council adopted the River Hamble Local Plan to provide a basis for the control of development and a framework for the management of the river. A revised version was adopted in 1992 (River Hamble Local Plan - First Alteration). However, changes in the planning regulations made this type of plan defunct, and policies for development control were subsequently incorporated in the respective Local Plans for Eastleigh and Fareham. This has resulted in some inconsistency of wording and interpretation of policies between the two sides of the river.

3.2 In September 2002 the County Council and the Crown Estate produced for public consultation a draft moorings plan (Towards a River Hamble Moorings Plan) with the aim of rationalising and reorganising moorings on the river. This met with substantial opposition and was shelved in favour of developing comprehensive plans for parts of the river where development pressures were greatest, starting with Warsash. Meanwhile, calls continued from stakeholder organisations for a strategic plan for the river. The County Council, as Harbour Authority, considered the requirements for a Strategic Plan and as a way forward offered to develop strategic principles to guide development on the river. These principles

were developed through widespread consultation, including a stakeholders' workshop, and adopted in June 2004. Nevertheless, pressure for a strategic plan remains.

4. Aim

4.1 To set out the issues which must be addressed if the Harbour Authority considers the concept of a Strategic Plan for the River Hamble.

5. Why a Strategic Plan?

5.1 Firstly, it is important to emphasise that a great deal of strategic thinking has been carried out in the past and the results are contained in a family of documents, none of which is a Strategic Plan on its own, but the sum of which comes close. These documents include:

· River Hamble Estuary Management Plan 2003 - 2008

· Strategic Principles (which need to be updated)

· Parts of Eastleigh and Fareham Borough Councils Local Plans

· Solent European Marine Site Management Scheme

· Dredging Plan (Confidential)

· Port Marine Safety Code

· Service Delivery Plan - rewritten annually

· River Hamble Port Waste Management Plan

5.2 However, there are still considerable gaps in the documentation and it may prove difficult for the Harbour Board to agree on cohesive overall policies using these documents alone. For example, there is scope for additions to the family of documents (to be updated as required) on such matters as:

· Harbour Authority Constitution

· Visitors

· Harbour Dues

· Supervision Charges

· Boat Capacity

· Houseboats

· The Key Role of the Crown Estate

· Medium to Long Term Budget Planning and Associated Projects, such as the Replacement of Jetties, Pontoons and Boats at the end of their current life expectancy

· Manpower Planning

· Commercial and Economic Development of the Hamble and its Marine Industry

· Development of Shore Side Infrastructure, such as Public Access and Information, Car Parking and Trailer Parking (recognising that such development is the primary responsibility of the appropriate local authority)

· Impact of New Technology

· Archaeology and Historic Sites

5.3 Ideally, a truly comprehensive strategic plan for the River Hamble would integrate all the topics and issues, policies and proposals, covered by the various strategies, plans and other initiatives listed in paragraphs 5.1 and 5.2. The understandable desire for a Strategic Plan is based on the concept of rational, comprehensive planning to cover all forms of development and activity on the river and adjacent land, and their impacts on the environment and each other. A comprehensive Plan would consider the cumulative effects of piecemeal development, the needs of commerce, recreational users and communities, as well as environmental and regulatory requirements.

6. Constraints

6.1 There are some important factors which militate against producing a Strategic Plan. The most fundamental is that a truly comprehensive strategic plan would have to include land use and development policies of the type that are currently included in the Eastleigh and Fareham Borough Local Plans. Under the new spatial planning system, policies and proposals of that type (eg boatyards, mooring restriction areas, etc) will be included in the Local Development Frameworks (LDFs) being prepared by the two Borough Councils. The LDFs will consider the commercial and economic development of the River Hamble and its marine industry, and the development of shoreside infrastructure, including car parking, and will contain policies on nature conservation and possibly recreational use, etc. To achieve consistency of policies throughout the river, there ought to be a river-wide LDF but this is unlikely to be feasible in the short term, as Fareham and Eastleigh Borough Councils seek to develop their own LDFs, both of which will cover parts of the river.

6.2 Therefore the spatial planning components which are fundamental to strategic planning will be covered by the LDFs. Notwithstanding this important fact, it would be possible, theoretically at least, to produce a strategic plan that covers all other aspects of planning and management of the river, which would complement and dovetail with the Eastleigh and Fareham LDFs. However, the production of such a plan would be highly complex, and difficult, time consuming and expensive to achieve, bearing in mind the extensive consultation that would be needed at all stages. Even so, it might be difficult to achieve full consensus, so the end result is likely to be something of a compromise and may therefore lack support from some key stakeholders, which could make it difficult for some policies to be implemented.

6.3 When considering the case for a strategic plan, some important questions need to be answered satisfactorily, including:

(i) How would the plan relate to the existing, well-established Estuary Management Plan, or the Dredging Plan that has been developed carefully with the commercial interests on the river?

(ii) How would it deal with capacity issues, which are so contentious?

(iii) How would it integrate matters that are primarily the responsibility of the Harbour Authority (eg the Harbour Board's budget/project planning and associated programme of works) with those for which responsibility for planning and implementation is more broadly based (eg visitors' strategy)?

(iv) Who would prepare the plan, and how would its preparation be funded?

(v) Consideration of appropriate responses to any requirements arising from the Marine Bill and the Water Framework Directive.

7. Possible Way Ahead

7.1 The calls for a strategic plan are insistent, and require a response. However, it has to be acknowledged that the ideal of a truly comprehensive strategic plan for the River Hamble is impossible to achieve, mainly because of the inevitable separation of spatial planning (land use and development) and management planning (primarily concerned with the management of activities) that is inherent in the UK planning system. The best thing to do is to make the most of the opportunities presented by the new spatial planning system through involvement in the preparation of Fareham and Eastleigh Borough Councils' LDFs, and to achieve maximum coverage and integration of all other aspects through a portfolio of plans and strategies for the river that are as comprehensive and forward looking as possible. Therefore, the possible way ahead suggested here consists of a twin-track approach.

7.2 To achieve better consistency in land use and development planning the Harbour Board could request the two Borough Councils to review jointly with the Harbour Authority the spatial planning policies for the river, with the principal aim of developing draft policies (with the same or similar wording) to be included in the two LDFs prior to any formal consultation. This review should be carried out in partnership with other authorities and agencies (eg the Crown Estate and the Environment Agency) and in consultation with stakeholders. This would ensure that spatial planning is considered holistically prior to policies and proposals being included in the respective LDFs.

7.3 In parallel, the Harbour Board could carry out an audit of all the plans and strategies that exist or are in preparation (for the river and adjoining land) that summarises, for each, the following information: purpose, aims and objectives; scope/remit; legislative basis; geographical area; plan period; lead and associated partners; amount of consultation; date of adoption; responsibilities for implementation/implementation method; arrangements for monitoring and review; etc. This audit would identify any gaps (and possibly any overlap) in planning and put forward ideas for filling them, and for achieving better integration between the plans and strategies wherever possible.

8. Consultation

8.1 Consultation is crucial, as there are so many diverse organisations and individuals with an interest in the future planning and management of the River Hamble. The development of any plans or strategies that follow the suggested audit would need to be subject to the following principles of consultation:

(i) strategies and plans for all or parts of the river should be subject to as much consultation as time and resources will allow, in order to ensure that all affected interests have reasonable opportunity to comment; and

(ii) consultation on any strategies or plans affecting the development and use of the river should commence as early as possible in the process, to ensure that the views of stakeholders on issues and objectives are understood before policies and plans are developed.

(Strategic Principles to Guide Development on the River Hamble, paragraph 4.46.)

9. Impact Assessments

9.1 Clearly, work on the preparation of any plans and strategies will need to take into account the impact on equalities.

Recommendation

That the Harbour Board treats this report as the starting point for informed debate on this crucial issue.

534/DE