Archived decisions

AT A MEETING of the RIVER HAMBLE HARBOUR MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE held at Warsash Sailing Club, Warsash on 9 January, 2009

PRESENT

Also present:

Councillor J.V. Bryant, Chairman of the River Hamble Harbour Board together with Councillor K. Evans, Board Member.

194 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

It was reported that apologies for absence had been received from Councillor G. Davies-Dear and from Capt. P. Holliday (ABP).

195 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. The declaration should be made at the time of the relevant debate.

Councillor Mrs. C.A. Bailey, Councillor T.M. Cartwright, Councillor Mrs. V. Weston and Councillor S.D.T. Woodward, together with Peggy Dorothy, Peter Middleton and David Jobson, all declared personal interests by reason of their being mooring or berth holders on the river.

In addition Councillor T.M. Cartwright declared a personal interest as a member of Warsash Sailing Club; Mr. P.S. Middleton declared a personal interest as a member of the RAF Yacht Club; and Peggy Dorothy declared a personal interest as Commodore of the Hamble River Sailing Club.

196 MINUTES

The Minutes of the meeting of the Management Committee held on 24 October, 2008 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

197 CHAIRMAN'S COMMUNICATIONS

The Chairman welcomed Councillor Colin Davidovitz to his first meeting of the Committee, as a newly appointed additional representative from the County Council. He also welcomed Peter Middleton who was taking the place of John Greensmith as the representative of the Association of Hamble River Yacht Clubs. In addition he welcomed Mr. M. Glanville as Deputy Member standing in for Mr. Jon Eads on this occasion.

198 DEPUTATIONS

No deputations had been notified under Standing Order 21.

199 MARINE DIRECTOR'S REPORT - APPOINTMENT OF A BERTH/MOORING HOLDERS REPRESENTATIVE TO MEMBERSHIP OF THE COMMITTEE

The Committee considered the report of the Director of Recreation and Heritage (Item 6 in the Minute Book). Members noted the recruitment and selection procedure and it was unanimously

RESOLVED:

That the Management Committee formally ratifies the appointment of Mr. David Jobson as the berth and mooring holders representative.

200 RIVER HAMBLE BUDGET REPORT

The Committee considered the report of the Director of Recreation and Heritage (Item 7 in the Minute Book) on the revised budget for 2008/09 and the forward budget for 2009/10. The following points emerged in response to questions.

· With regard to economic impact from the recession, there was so far no evidence of the Harbour Authority's income reducing, although it was recognised that visitor income might well be adversely affected.

·

· The extent of central department charges would continue to be monitored, although these were felt to be reasonable value, especially given that some services were provided by the County Council at no cost to the Harbour Authority.


· Fees and charges had been reduced to users by more than the recently announced reduction in VAT, in the hope of maintaining income from visitors; these changes had been widely publicised.


· The projected increase in salaries for next year was the result of the pay and benefits review recently undertaken by the County Council for all its staff, and of the allowance for the 2009 pay award.

RESOLVED:

That the report on the revenue budget be noted by the Management Committee and submitted to the River Hamble Harbour Board for approval.

201 COMMERCIAL AND CONSENT CHARGES

The Committee considered the report of the Director of Recreation and Heritage (Item 8 in the Minute Book) on a revised charging regime for costs associated with commercial vessels, passengers landing on public jetties, harbour works consent and dredging within the River Hamble harbour area. Members considered each of the proposed charges in turn and concluded that they were reasonable.


RESOLVED:

That the River Hamble Harbour Board be recommended to grant consent for the following charges to be imposed with effect from 1 April 2009:

(i) that the charge for a commercial vessel visiting Hamble harbour is increased from 8.02p to 12p plus VAT per Gross Registered Tonne (GRT), and that the Harbour Master should have the authority to negotiate annual compound charges for regular visitors.


(ii) that a charge be introduced for commercial vessels visiting Hamble harbour and licensed to carry more than 12 passengers, embarking and disembarking passengers on public jetties at 50p plus VAT per passenger, and that the Harbour Master should have the authority to negotiate annual compound charges based on typical annual activity.


(iii) That a basic charge of £390 plus VAT be introduced for applications for Harbour Works Consent with an additional sum based on the size of the proposed works, as follows:

(iv) That charges for capital dredging be increased by 20% + VAT.


(v) That a charge be introduced for each site application for maintenance dredging of £150 + VAT.

202 ENVIRONMENTAL UPDATE

The Committee considered the report of the Director of Recreation and Heritage (Item 9 in the Minute Book) on various issues affecting the environment of the river, notably dredging; the Marine Bill; the Marine and Fisheries Agency; Marine Archaeology; and oil spills, responses and training.

RESOLVED:

That the Environmental Update report be noted.

203 HARBOUR MASTER'S REPORT

The Committee considered the report of the Director of Recreation and Heritage (Item 10 in the Minute Book) covering recent events and incidents on the river. An update on other current issues; and the report by Marine Enforcement on compliance with the Port Marine Safety Code were circulated and appear as Item 10(x) in the Minute Book). With regard to the "man overboard" incident on 17 December, the Harbour Master stressed yet again the vital importance of wearing a life jacket when out on the river.

The Harbour Master raised concerns about compliance by the Warsash Sailing Club with the conditions relating to launching vessels from their dinghy pontoon; it was agreed that further approaches would be made and that the Chairman of the Board and the Chairman of the Management Committee together would seek to meet the Club in an attempt to resolve the outstanding issues.

RESOLVED:

(i) That the Harbour Master's report and its addenda be noted.


(ii) That the Chairman of the Committee and the Chairman of the Board be requested to meet representatives of the Warsash Sailing Club in an attempt to resolve with them outstanding issues relating to completion and compliance with conditions on their dinghy pontoon.

204 DATE OF NEXT MEETING

Members were reminded that the next meeting of the Management Committee would be held on 3 April, not 17 April as originally planned.

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