AT A MEETING of the RIVER HAMBLE HARBOUR MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE held at the Hamble Memorial Hall on Tuesday 6 December 2005

Eastleigh Borough Council

Councillor W. J. Pepper

Fareham Borough Council

p Councillor T. Cartwright

Winchester City Council

a Councillor Mrs C. Sutton

Association of Hamble River Yacht Clubs

p J. Greensmith

Royal Yachting Association

p D. Alexander

British Marine Federation

p S. J. Bourne

Hamble River Boatyard and Marine Operators

p R. J. Saint

Associated British Ports

a S. Young

Also present

Captain M. Capon, Marine Enforcement Ltd

30. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Hockley, Sutton and

Mr Young.

31. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

Members were mindful that, where they believed they had a personal or personal prejudicial interest in any matter to be considered at the meeting, they should normally at the time of the debate declare their interest and, having regard to the circumstances described in paragraphs 9, 10, 11 and 12 of the County Council's Code of Conduct, consider whether to leave the meeting whilst the matter was discussed.

32. MINUTES

The minutes of the meeting held on 10 October 2005 were confirmed as a correct record subject to the substitution of the second sentence of Minute 24 with the following and signed by the Chairman:

"Councillor Sutton and Mr Greensmith declared personal pecuniary interests as members of the Royal Southern Yacht Club and Councillor Pepper declared a potential interest as a member of Eastleigh Borough Council's Area Committee which dealt with planning matters."

33. CHAIRMAN'S COMMUNICATIONS

There were no Chairman's communications

34. DEPUTATIONS

The Committee received three deputations as follows in respect of the proposals of the Royal Southern Yacht Club to refurbish its marina (Minute 39 refers):-

· Mr C Hall

· Commodore T Saunderson

· Mr J Mitchell

(NB As Mr Hall was not on the electoral roll for Hampshire, Standing Orders were suspended to allow him to speak.)

35. ALTERNATIVES TO THE SUPERVISION CHARGE

In accordance with the Constitution, the Committee, having exercised its call-in rights, discussed the decision of the River Hamble Harbour Board on 21 October 2005 regarding alternatives to the supervision charge. As a preliminary to this discussion, the Chief Executive reminded the Committee of the key features of the call-in procedure and its role, powers and duties in the matter.

Mr Alexander and Councillor Mrs Bailey declared personal interests as mooring holders, Councillor Woodward declared a personal interest as a berth holder and Mr Saint as a commercial operator.

Councillor T. G. Knight, Chairman of the River Hamble Harbour Board attended the meeting at the invitation of the Chairman, and explained that a principal objective of the Board was to seek the expert views of the River Hamble Harbour Management Committee on the two-tier system of harbour dues which was regarded by the Board as inequitable in its current form.

A full discussion ensued which covered issues such as (inter alia) whether a harbour dues charge could legally be described as a supervision charge (affirmed by the Chief Executive), and the nature of the services provided to moorings holders which were not provided to marinas.

RESOLVED:

That the River Hamble Harbour Board be asked to defer implementation of its decision on supervision charges pending an in-depth study by a working party to be set up for the purpose to investigate what supervision charges actually represent, what services they cover, and how such charges should be described in the future.

36. HARBOUR MASTER'S REPORT

The Committee considered the report of the Director of Environment (Item 7 in the Minute Book) which summarised the activities and events on the River from 8 September 2005. The officers amplified and supplemented the report in respect of a number of matters including in particular the storage and disposal of flares on the River.

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.

37. RIVER HAMBLE SERVICE DELIVERY PLAN 2006/07

The Committee considered the report of the Director of Environment (Item 8 in the Minute Book) which set out a draft service delivery plan for the River Hamble Harbour Authority for the financial year 2006/07. The Marine Director noted other possible key objectives for inclusion in the draft Plan, raised by members. He also invited members to contact him separately with any further suggestions.

RESOLVED:

That subject to the inclusion of any further proposals by members of the Management Committee as appropriate, the River Hamble Service Delivery Plan 2006/07 be submitted to the Harbour Board for approval.

38. RIVER HAMBLE BUDGET REPORT - REVISED 2005/06 BUDGET AND FORWARD 2006/07 BUDGET

The Committee considered the report of the County Treasurer and the Director of Environment (Item 9 in the Minute Book) which presented the draft Revised Budget for 2005/06, the draft Forward Budget for 2006/07 and proposed charges for 2007. Mr Alexander and Councillor Woodward declared personal interests as referred to in Minute 35 above.

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.

39 PLANNING AND CONSENTS - ROYAL SOUTHERN YACHT CLUB - REFURBISHMENT OF MARINA

The Committee considered the report of the Director of Environment (Item 10 in the Minute Book) on the application by the Royal Southern Yacht Club for conditional Harbour Authority consent to modernise the existing pontoon moorings which were located directly off the Royal Southern Yacht Club.

Copies of various letters of support for the proposals were tabled, together with a letter of objection from Hamble-le-Rice Parish Council.

Messrs. Bourne and Greensmith declared personal and prejudicial interests and left the room for consideration of the item.

RESOLVED:

That the River Hamble Harbour Board be recommended to refuse permission for the Royal Southern Yacht Club to proceed with the proposed plans to refurbish its marina as set out in drawing no. M0504/202 dated 17 November 2004 and drawing no. M0504/202/01 dated 9 November 2005 as subsequently amended, on the grounds of the adverse impact on the safety of other river users presented by the permanent closure of the outer access channel and the narrowing and occasional closure of the inner access channel.

40 REPLACEMENT OF THE HARBOUR MASTER'S JETTY AT WARSASH

The Committee considered the report of the Director of Environment (Item 11 in the

Minute Book) on proposals for the replacement of the Harbour Master's jetty at

Warsash.

RESOLVED:

That the River Hamble Harbour Board be advised that the Management Committee supports the proposed replacement of the Harbour Master's jetty at Warsash in accordance with either Plan 3 or Plan 3A as displayed at the meeting.

41. A VISITOR STRATEGY FOR THE RIVER HAMBLE

Consideration of this item was deferred until the next meeting of the Committee on 11 January 2006.

42 MARINE DIRECTOR'S CURRENT ISSUES

The Committee considered the report of the Director of Environment (Item 13 in the Minute Book) on three current issues under consideration by the Marine Director.

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.

43. BOAT CAPACITY OF THE RIVER HAMBLE

The Chairman of the Boat Capacity Working Group gave a brief oral progress report on the recent activities of the Working Group.

44. A GLOSSARY OF TERMS FOR INCLUSION IN THE STRATEGIC PRINCIPLES TO GUIDE THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE RIVER HAMBLE

The Chairman of the Glossary Working Group gave a brief oral progress report on the recent activities of the Working Group. Members noted that a more detailed report would be submitted to the next meeting of the Committee.

45 ITEMS FOR FUTURE MEETINGS OF THE COMMITTEE

The Committee noted the report of the Chief Executive (Item 16 in the Minute Book) on items for future meetings.

46 DATES OF FUTURE MEETINGS

The Committee noted dates of future meetings as follows:

11 January 2006;

3 May 2006;

3 July 2006;

15 November 2006.