Archived decisions

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

1. Summary

1.1 This report provides a note of the proceedings of the River Hamble Harbour Authority Annual Forum held on 27^th March 2007.

2. Recommendation

That the Appendix to this report be noted.

3. Introduction/Background/Other

3.1 The River Hamble Annual Forum was held on 27 March 2007 at Hamble Primary School. A `Note of Proceedings' is attached at Appendix.

4. Impact Assessments

4.1 This report covers the full range of services and facilities of the Harbour Authority, all of which have been subject to equalities impact assessments.

APPENDIX

RIVER HAMBLE HARBOUR AUTHORITY

ANNUAL FORUM

27 March 2007

Note of proceedings

1. Introduction and welcome - The Chairman of the Management Committee, Cllr Ray Ellis, welcomed everyone to the second Annual Forum and explained the plan for the evening.

2. Annual Report. The Marine Director (MD) presented his Annual Report (now published on the Harbour Authority website).

3. Marine consents process. Dr Paul Tosswell gave a talk on the marine consents process and its implications for the River Hamble.

4. Formal contributions from the floor:

Mr Michael Sterne. Acknowledged that consultation is now better

than it was a year ago, but the trick now was for the Harbour Authority to take notice of what is said. Main theme was `transparency', particularly with respect to recent requests under the Freedom of Information Act and the Environmental Information Regulations.

In response, the MD pointed out that the determination of which information can be released is done by specialist HCC officers and not the Harbour Office staff, and that the matter is now being dealt with by HCC lawyers and the Information Commissioner, making any further response inappropriate.

Mr Colin Brookes. Spoke about the consultation process and pointed out that the lack of speakers at the Forum should not be taken as an indication that all is well. Acknowledged that thorny issues of Harbour Dues and works consents are not major issues. Expressed concern that many of the issues raised at last years forum have not been dealt with by the Harbour Authority. Analysed the responses to the 13 points raised (in addition to Harbour Dues for canoes etc) and felt that six `noted but required no further action' gave the sense that stakeholders were being `fobbed off'. Spoke about the consultation in 2002 on `Towards a Mooring Plan' and his impression that HCC still supports the plan. Also pointed out that the outcome of the recent consultation on tender berthing bore little resemblance to the results of the consultation. Raised concerns about the Atkins Report on streamlining marine consents. Finally, raised (again) concerns about the auditing of Harbour Dues stickers without sequential numbers, pointing out that safety and security would be enhanced if each sticker could be matched to a boat by a unique number. Would be in favour of the marinas and boatyards providing the Harbour Authority with details of berth-holders. Finally, asked if the auditors had been made aware if his comments on this subject at the last Forum, and had they recommended any improvements to the system.

In response, the MD said that the document `Towards a Mooring Plan' was no longer extant, although it did contain a few useful ideas. It had been replaced by the `Strategic Principles to Guide Development on the River Hamble' which, though in need of some revision and therefore not yet formally adopted by the Harbour Authority, form a useful reference when considering future development in the River.

Tender consultation was not a `vote' - it was intended to canvas the opinions of River users so that the management of tenders in the future could be improved. Doing nothing was not a realistic option.

Atkins Report was not commissioned by the Harbour Authority and was never intended to be a public consultation exercise.

Can see little, if any, benefit in having sequential numbering on Harbour Dues stickers although there may be advantages to recording the name of the vessel on each sticker (this would currently have to be done by the marina staff). Accepted that the Harbour Authority does, indeed, have the powers to require marinas and boatyards to provide details of their berth-holders, but expressed concern about the implications of keeping such a large database up to date. Confirmed that the auditors were made aware of the issue and that they had not made any specific recommendations on it.

Mr Graham Brown. Spoke at length about his business (Seasure) and problems with the marine leisure industry in the UK, including the fact that the next America's Cup competition will be held in Spain, not the UK, and the fact that the UK's boat shows are no longer the best shop window for sailing businesses, compared to their continental counterparts. Outlined his personal experiences of dealing with the Harbour Master and Harbour Office staff, and complained about being charged £22 for an overnight stay on a visitor berth (the standard charge for an 11 metre vessel occupying a berth after 1700 hrs). Pointed out that in a recent survey of leisure activities in the UK, sailing barely featured. Wants the Harbour Authority to do everything it can to ensure that the Hamble does not become sailing backwater and, in particular, to stop charging Harbour Dues on small boats, lest their owners be put off the sport.

In response, the MD explained that the state of leisure boating in the UK was rather outside the scope of the work of the Harbour Authority, but agreed that few people wanted the River Hamble to become a sailing backwater. Although unfamiliar with the leisure survey referred to, the MD was aware of an often quoted statistic that boating is the second most popular participatory sport in the UK (after fishing). Also pointed out that the annual Harbour Dues for a small sailing boat (under 4 metres) are £20 - a small fraction of the total cost of running a boat - which was unlikely to put people off the sport as much as the high cost of specialist equipment.

A fourth written question was received, on the subject of cycling on the Bunny Meadows footpath. This was referred to the Countryside Service for a response.

Other contributions from the floor

Dr Philip Meakins. Asked that cooperation between stakeholders could extend to consulting with them about future applications for works consent. Also asked that consideration be given to moving some moorings away from the dinghy sailing area north of the Warsash Ferry Hard

.

MD explained that all applications for Harbour Authority works consent which require a new or updated Risk Assessment are now being circulated by email to relevant stakeholders for comment, as recommended in the Port Marine Safety Code, before the Risk Assessment is drawn up.

The Harbour Master explained the difficulties over changing the number of moorings allowed in mooring restricted areas. MD invited Dr Meakins to the Harbour Office to discuss further.

Mr Peter Middleton. Raised concerns about Risk Assessments and consultation on Harbour Authority works consents.

Covered by the reply to Dr Meakins above.

John Stickland. As a mooring holder in the area referred to by Dr Meakins above, asked to be included in the meeting.

MD agreed to arrange if possible.

Mr Jeremy Clark. Asked about the current status of `Strategic Principles to Guide Development on the River Hamble'.

MD explained that some work had already been done on preparing a glossary of terms for the document, but that more extensive revision could not be undertaken until the issue of moorings capacity is resolved, which could take many months.

Mr Tony Blewett. Asked whether it would be possible to charge Harbour Dues for individual boats within marinas, rather than by block payment.

MD invited Mr Blewett to Harbour office to discuss the implications of this.

Mr and Mrs Cliff Norbury. Asked about what had happened to the River Hamble Plan and commented on safety on the Fishermen's Jetty, pointing out that it may be better to remove the warning signs.

MD explained that the River Hamble Plan had been superseded by the Local Development Plans of the riparian local authorities. The comments on signage were noted.

5. Ballot for tender berths. The Chairman drew the ballot for the available tender berths for 2007/08. All applicants to be informed of the outcome by post and a list of successful applicants to be posted on the website.

6. The Chairman thanked everyone for a useful discussion and closed the Forum.