AT A MEETING of the RIVER HAMBLE HARBOUR BOARD held at Bursledon Village Hall, Bursledon on Wednesday 26 September 2007.

PRESENT:

Hampshire County Council

p Councillor J.V. Bryant

p Councillor K. Evans

a Councillor K. House

Independent Members

p Mr. T. Lovell

p Mr. C. Moody

p Dr. S. Tomson

Marine Director

p Mr. D. Evans

Also Present

Captain M. Capon, Designated Person (Port Marine Safety Code) and Tony Clatworthy, Harbour Master.

162. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

An apology for absence was received from Councillor K. House who is attending a Hampshire Fire and Rescue Committee meeting.

163. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

All Members who believe they have a personal or prejudicial interest in any matter to be considered at the meeting must declare that 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 is discussed, save for exercising any right to speak in accordance with paragraph 12 of the Code. The declaration should be made at the time of the relevant debate..

Dr. S. Tomson declared a personal interest as a Member of the Royal Southern Yacht Club and as a mooring holder, Mr D. Evans declared a personal interest as a mooring holder and boat owner, and Mr T. Lovell declared a personal interest as a Member of the Royal Southern Yacht Club and as a mooring holder. Mr C Moody declared an interest as Chairman of the Marina Operators Association. Councillor K Evans declared an interest due to being on Fareham Borough Council's Planning Committee. Councillor J. V. Bryant declared an interest due to being on Fareham Borough Council.

164. MINUTES

The Minutes of the meeting of the Board held on 20 July 2007 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

Regarding Minute 153 on Chairman's Communications - Governance Review, it was noted that the Marine Director had circulated by email Hampshire County Council's response to the Board and Management Committee Members.

Mr Lovell requested that the following amendment be made to the minutes. In paragraph 4 of minute 161 to amend the 2nd sentence so that it reads `Members suggested that it would be helpful to do further consultation of interested parties on this issue, and to ensure that a colour version of the plans showing the proposed channels be available to the public'.

Members agreed the change. The Chairman's signature would be sought as verification of these minutes once this change had been incorporated.

165. CHAIRMAN'S COMMUNICATIONS

The Chairman updated the Board regarding the Code of Conduct. He reported that he had received a letter from Captain Capon expressing concerns about the revised Code of Conduct for local authority members, as it applies to the Harbour Board. The following is a summary of Captain Capon's points:

· He was disappointed that the revised Code of Conduct seemed to have a negative impact on the efficiency of the Board at the last meeting.

· The Harbour Board is intended to be open, accountable and fit for purpose. To achieve this, independent experts were appointed to the Board so that their local knowledge would assist the Board. Each member of the Board has collective and individual accountability and it is vital that they are all fully involved in the deliberations and decisions taken by the Board.

· It is difficult to reconcile the requirement that co-opted members are required to have relevant expertise and experience of the River with the requirement that because they have interests in the River they are excluded from full participation in the process of governance.

· As designated person he ensures that the Safety Management System (SMS) works as it should and that all requirements of the Port Marine Safety Code (PMSC) continue to be met. Should the method of governance of the River become defective because of the strict application of the Code of Conduct it will follow that the SMS may not remain robust and that safety may be adversely affected.

The Chairman summarised the County Council's response as follows:

· The Code of Conduct is national and therefore applies to Members of all local government committees, whatever their purpose. Similar rules would apply to Board members of a Trust Port. The revised Code is more flexible than before. Harbour Board members with a prejudicial interest still cannot take part in the debate or vote but they now have the same rights as a member of the public to make comments on the matter, before they have to leave the room.

· The Code of Conduct is quite specific that where a member has a prejudicial interest he or she must declare it and take no further part in the debate or the vote, apart from being given an opportunity to speak on matters of fact. This situation should only arise when a financial matter is being considered and is thus likely to apply when a specific safety matter is before the Board.

· Hampshire County Council's Standards Committee has considered whether to grant a dispensation and has concluded that it would be premature to do so, preferring to review the situation in 12 months time, to be based on evidence of how the Code has affected the decision making of the Board during that time.

· Whenever a specific safety matter is under consideration by the Board, the views of the Designated Person will always be heard and taken into account, in addition to the views of the Board members.

The Chairman advised the Board that Councillor T. K. Thornber, Leader of

Hampshire County Council would be addressing the Standards Board of England at

its Annual General Meeting.

The Chairman conveyed his thanks to the Harbour Master and his staff on behalf of

himself and the Board Members for organising the Oil Boom exercise and

presentation

The Chairman advised that the draft report on the Governance Review would be

considered at the River Hamble Harbour Management Committee meeting on

23 October 2007.

166. DEPUTATIONS

No deputations were received for this meeting.

167. HARBOUR MASTER'S REPORT

The Board considered the report of the Director of Recreation and Heritage (Item 6

in the Minute Book) summarising the activities and events on the River Hamble

since 17 June 2007.

The Harbour Master highlighted particular areas of his report as follows:

Paragraph 3.1 - currently 4 Coxswains were employed from 1 April to 31 August

each year and because River activities were continuing through to September two

Coxswains have been retained for a further month.

Paragraph 4.15 - a letter had been sent to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency to ask

that the Harbour Master be informed whenever the Venturers Rescue RIB brings a

rescued boat into the River in future.

Paragraph 4.27 - Esso had attended every incident where a boat had been covered in

soot and he was pleased to report that they were working well with managing the

compensation and washing boats.

Paragraphs 4.35 and 4.36 - The patrol had chased three youths, who were detained by

the police but unfortunately there was insufficient evidence to proceed to prosecute.

Paragraph 4.42 - Discussions had been held with the owner of the boat.

Paragraph 4.50 - A formal letter has been sent to Stone Pier Yard to consider the

condition of the jetty. The Marine Director reminded members that the fuel jetty was

a floating pontoon and did not store fuel.

Mr Moody pointed out that a number of boats have been sailing up and down the

River. The Harbour Master advised that this was not contrary to the Bye-Laws but

that sailing boats should have engines immediately available. He informed the Board

that there had been numerous engine failures during the summer which was a cause

for concern.

Paragraph 4.58 - it was noted that it had not been possible to trace the yacht despite

checking all the Marinas on the River as no identification had been provided by the

RIB's owner and other witnesses.

Paragraph 4.60 - During the Regatta the boat had failed to stop and had collided with

the skiffs. Although there had been no come back the Harbour Master was asked to

follow up the incident with the Marine Accident Investigation Branch and Maritime

Coastguard Agency.

With regard to the Pontoons, the Board asked the Harbour Master to report back on

the safety of the Pontoons.

Paragraph 9.2 - the advice taken from Southern Sea Fisheries covered everyone's

interests.

In connection with the oil spill exercise, the Harbour Master reported that he proposed

to amend the contingency plan as a result of the exercise. The exercise had provided

an excellent opportunity to enhance the communications with other organisations

including local businesses, the emergency services, ie Fire and Police, Eastleigh

Borough Council, Fareham Borough Council and Hampshire County Council's

Emergency Planning Services and local residents to assure people that plans are in

place. He advised that prior to the exercise details were placed on the website. A press

release was issued following the exercise.

The Board felt that yachting magazines should be asked to publicise the exercise by

printing detailed articles. Dr Susie Tomson offered to discuss with the Royal

Yachting Association whether they could print something in their newsletter.

Tony Lovell asked if Mooring Holders could provide feedback on how to further

improve the promulgation of Notices to River Users.

RESOLVED:

That the Harbour Master's report be noted.

168. RIVER HAMBLE HARBOUR DUES 2008

The Board considered the report of the Director of Recreation and Heritage (Item 7 in the Minute Book) on the proposed rates for the River Hamble Harbour Dues for 2008, taking into account an increase of Retail Prices Index (RPI) + 1% and incorporating other changes as agreed by the Harbour Board at its meeting on 20 July 2007.

The Marine Director pointed out that at the time of writing the report the increases had been based on an RPI of 4.3% (May 2007) which now deduced to 4.1% (August 2007). He suggested that the increase should therefore be held at the current RPI + 1% (ie 5.1%) but the Board felt that it was inappropriate to adjust the figures at this stage and asked that the increase in future be based on the May RPI figure.

RESOLVED:

That the recommended Harbour Dues for 2008 as set out in paragraph 2.1 of the

report be agreed.

169. CHARGES FOR DISCRETIONARY SERVICES 2008

The Board considered the report of the Director of Recreation and Heritage (Item 8 in

the Minute Book) on the proposed charges for discretionary services provided by the

River Hamble Harbour Authority, with effect from 1 January 2008.

RESOLVED:

That the recommended rates for discretionary services provided by the Harbour

Authority for 2008, applicable from January 2008, as set out in paragraph 2.1 of the report be agreed.

170. HARBOUR DUES FOR COMMERCIAL VESSEL

The Board considered the report of the Director of Recreation and Heritage (Item 9 in

the Minute Book) on the proposed Harbour Dues for visiting commercial vessels.

The Board considered that the rates could be based on the number of passengers per

vessel rather than the Gross Tonnage and that this could be a fairer way of charging.

The Board agreed to further consider this option next year.

RESOLVED:

That the recommended increase to commercial Harbour Dues charges for visiting

commercial vessels from £0.0702 to £0.0802 (plus VAT) for each 24 hour period

(or part thereof) an increase of 14.5%, equating to approximately 4.75% each year

since 2004 be agreed with effect from 1 January 2008.

171. RETENTION OF HIGH LEVEL JETTY AT UNIVERSAL MARINA

The Board considered the report of the Director of Recreation and Heritage (Item 10 in

the Minute Book) on an application by Universal Marina to make alterations to a

previously consented application by seeking permission to retain part of the high level

jetty and houseboats at Universal Marina (formally Crableck Marina).

The Harbour Master advised that advice had been sought from Natural England and

the Environment Agency who had stated that it recognised the situation but that it did

not consider that it would not have a substantial effect on the adjacent marine sites.

The Board felt that it was an unfortunate and unacceptable situation but reluctantly

agreed to endorse the recommendations of the Director of Recreation and Heritage.

The Board felt that in future any mitigation or compensation required as conditions of

Harbour works consents should be completed where possible before the main works

commence.

RESOLVED

(i) That the River Hamble Harbour Board grants consent for the current application to

remove part of the high level jetty and houseboats as per drawing DRG No.

8686/38 A3, thereby providing part of the mitigation measures required for lost

intertidal habitat and enabling the applicant to comply with the Section 106

Agreement dated 12 April 2007 with Fareham Borough Council ("the section 106

Agreement"), with the following conditions:

(a) The marina operator shall ensure that the master or owner of each vessel moored on

the high level jetty has sufficient insurance to enable recovery or disposal of the

vessel should it sink either at its moorings or in transit to or from a boatyard.

(b) Should a vessel moored at the high level jetty be abandoned by the owner, the

marina operator shall immediately become responsible for disposal of the vessel in

a safe way that will not damage the environment nor impact on navigation.

(c) The marina operator shall on dismantling the whole or any part of the high level

jetty dispose of the resulting materials to a suitable licensed disposal site.

(d) No vessel shall be permitted to move from the high level jetty without first

obtaining written consent from the Harbour Master.

(e) The marina operator shall comply with the requirements and conditions of the

Section 106 Agreement, as attached at Annex A to the report.

(ii) That future Harbour Works Consents that require compensation or mitigation

measures will normally be subject to a condition that the Works will not be

allowed to commence until such time as the Harbour Master has stated in writing

that the compensation and mitigation measure have been completed to his

satisfaction.