Archived decisions

AT A MEETING of the RIVER HAMBLE HARBOUR BOARD held at The RAF Yacht Club, Hamble on 19 September, 2008

PRESENT:

233 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

Apologies for absence had been received from Councillor K Evans.

234 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 is discussed, save for exercising any right to speak in accordance with paragraph 12 of the Code.

Dr S Tomson, Mr T Lovell and Mr D Evans declared personal interests by reason of their being mooring or berth holders on the river. Dr S Tomson declared a personal interest as a member of the Royal Southern Yacht Club. Mr. D Evans declared a personal interest as a member of Warsash Sailing Club and the Royal Air Force Yacht Club.

235 MINUTES

The Minutes of the meeting of the Board held on 11 July 2008 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

236 CHAIRMAN'S COMMUNICATIONS

The Chairman reported that the County Council at their meeting on 18 September had agreed changes to River Hamble Governance, to the effect that:

· An additional member should be appointed to the Management Committee to represent the interests of mooring and berth holders, together with the appointment of an additional County Council member to the Committee.


· The Chairman and members of the Hamble Estuary Partnership to be invited to provide an additional forum for consultation with stakeholders.


· The Chairman of the Hamble Estuary Partnership to be allowed direct access to the Harbour Board.


· The River Hamble to continue to be run as a municipal port and not as a Trust port.


He also reported that Lindsey Hawke-Davies from the Chief Executive's Department had suffered a fall and broken ankle, and the Board wished her a speedy recovery.

237 DEPUTATIONS

It was reported that deputations had been notified by Mr. Colin Brooks on behalf of the River Hamble Mooring Holders Association; and by a mooring holder Richard Burnett, both relating to the item on navigation channel improvements (Item 6 - Minute 238). There had also been written representations on the same subject from Dr. Chris Sinclair. It was proposed, and the deputations accepted, that they should bring forward their representations to the November meeting of the Board in light of the suggestion that the item on the navigation channel improvements should be deferred.

238 NAVIGATION CHANNEL IMPROVEMENTS (DECISION NO. 287)

The Committee received the report of the Director of Recreation and Heritage (Item 6 in the Minute Book) on the proposed allocation of funds to enable the replacement of Crableck and Swanwick Beacons and the realignment of moorings on this stretch of the river. The Chairman proposed that this item should be deferred to enable a risk assessment to be prepared, and that it would be brought forward again for consideration at the Management Committee on 24 October and for final decision by the Board on 21 November.

RESOLVED:

That consideration of the Item on navigation channel improvements (Item 6 - Decision 287) be deferred.

239 HARBOUR WORKS CONSENT APPLICATION - LAND'S END HOUSE, BURSLEDON (DECISION NO. 263)

The Board considered the report of the Director of Recreation and Heritage (Item 7 in the Minute Book) on the proposed granting of conditional harbour works consent for the installation of a mooring pontoon at Land's End House, Bursledon. It was reported that the proposed environmental compensation works on nearby sites, referred to in Paragraph 6.3, had already been carried out. Attention was drawn to the proximity of the proposed pontoon to the maintenance piles, but this was not expected to be a problem as most users took advantage of the opposite side furthest away from the pontoon.

RESOLVED:

That the River Hamble Harbour Board grants conditional Harbour Works Consent for the installation of a mooring pontoon at Land's End House, Bursledon as shown on Drawing 8937/1 to 4 (attached as Annex A to the report) with the following conditions:-

(a) All other required consents must be in place with copies of such consents applied to the Harbour Authority prior to the commencement of the works.


(b) The agreed environmental compensation referred to in Paragraph 6.3 of the report must be completed prior to the installation of the pontoon and must be undertaken and paid for by the applicant. The methodology must prevent short-term negative impact to the Site of Importance for Nature Conservation.


(c) No works are to occur within the waterfowl over-wintering period 1 October to 31 March inclusive as per advice from Natural England.


(d) Piling is to be by vibro-hammer to minimise environmental impact.


(e) The pontoon is to be no larger than 6.1 x 2.5 metres and the seaward edge is to be located no further out than shown on the drawing.


(f) A valid harbour dues sticker is to be displayed by any boat moored on the pontoon.

240 HARBOUR MASTER'S REPORT

The Board considered the Report of the Director of Recreation & Heritage (Item 8 in the Minute Book) on various activities, incidents and events; they also had before them a supplementary report on items of interest which had occurred during late August and early September (Item 8x in the Minute Book). On Paragraph 4.6, discussions were continuing with the Crown Estate's Legal Advisors on liabilities and insurance responsibilities for sub-let pontoons. On Paragraph 4.17, attention was drawn to the effective response by the patrol crew who had tried their best to defuse a confrontation between the occupants of different boats, and disappointment was expressed at the poor police response to this incident. In general terms, the Board was pleased with the prompt and helpful response from police community safety officers when incidents requiring their attendance arose on the river.

Port Marine Safety Code Compliance

Capt. Mark Capon elaborated on his report and confirmed that the Board complied with their responsibilities under the Code and he paid tribute to the openness of the Harbour Authority's operations and the way they consulted and engaged with river users. These were felt to be an exemplar of good practice for other harbour authorities. He considered that the safety management system was working effectively, but expressed disappointment at the continuing problems with the closed circuit television system which was still not fully operational. As it was a tool which, if used effectively, could help the Harbour Authority to manage risks, more effort needed to be devoted to ensuring that it was fully operational. The Board welcomed the positive audit outcome and congratulated the Marine Director, Harbour Master and their staff for their responses.

On other sections of the report, the Harbour Master reminded members of the perennial problems posed by children and young people misbehaving and jumping into the water, thereby causing a hazard to themselves and other river users; and to people who still went on the river without lifejackets. In conclusion, in the context of security, terrorism and border/immigration controls, it was suggested that all river users should be observant and vigilant, and be prepared to report any unusual or suspicious activity. This might be particularly significant in the period running up to the 2012 Olympics.

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.

241 MARINE DIRECTOR'S CURRENT ISSUES

The Board considered the report of the Director of Recreation and Heritage (Item 9 in the Minute Book) on the implications for the River Hamble of possible mineral extraction at the former Hamble Airfield site. Dr. Tomson reported that she had met the Director of Environment on an informal basis, and it was clear that publication of the Minerals Plan had been delayed for legal and technical reasons. This meant that consultation on its proposals was unlikely to proceed until 2009 as decisions were still awaited from Government and the South East Regional Assembly on allocations for the South East as a whole and for Counties within the South East area. It would be open to interested parties, such as the Board, to make representations when an Inspector examined in public the soundness of the report, when such aspects as heavy lorry traffic and other impacts on the river in commercial or environmental terms could be taken into account.

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.

242 ENVIRONMENT UPDATE

The Board considered the report of the Director of Environment (Item 10 in the Minute Book) on various matters relating to the environment of the river. Members of the Board congratulated the Assistant Harbour Master (Environment) Alison Fowler on her recent marriage. The Board received with interest the update on dredging; the Solent Forum; the developing role of the Hamble Estuary Partnership and the Water Framework Directive. Many of the initiatives taken by the Harbour Authority for the River Hamble had been mirrored by other Harbour Authorities, and close working relationships had been established to mutual benefit.

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.

243 SPEEDING

The Marine Director took the opportunity to inform the Board that on 17 September Southampton Magistrates had issued fines totalling £460 plus £2,000 costs, to the skipper of a vessel caught speeding on the River Hamble. Members of the Board welcomed the action taken and the outcome. They were particularly concerned not just at the element of speeding but at the danger to other river users of the wash caused by a vessel being navigated without due care. Extensive publicity was being given to this case in order to encourage considerate navigation on the River.

244 DATES FOR FUTURE MEETINGS

The Chief Executive circulated a schedule of dates for meetings of the Board during 2009:

30 January, 3 April, 5 June, 17 July, 18 September and 20 November.

All on Fridays at 10.00 a.m at a range of venues close to the river.

245 SOUTHAMPTON WATER DREDGING

The Board received with interest a presentation from Associated British Ports and ABPMer on the implications of the proposed scheme to deepen the main channel along Southampton Water by 1 metre and to widen it by 100 metres from Dock Head to Fawley. They gave an explanation of the likely impact of the proposals on the River Hamble, notably hydrodynamics; sedimentation; erosion/accretion; impact on designated nature conservation sites; impact on commercial operators; and impact on shellfisheries. Research and modelling carried out by ABPMer showed that changes to the River Hamble occasioned by the scheme would be minimal. ABP were working in close association with the Environment Agency and Natural England and the timetable was to make an application to the Marine and Fisheries Agency by the end of 2008, with consent hoped for during 2009 and a start on work in early 2010, with a work programme expected to last for 65 weeks. It was envisaged that most of the dredged material would be disposed of at sea to the south east of the Isle of Wight, but approaches were being made to nearby local authorities as to any appropriate uses for gravel which was dredged. The Board thanked ABP for their presentation, which was not taken as a formal part of their agenda and on which they took no decisions.

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