Archived decisions
AT A MEETING of the RIVER HAMBLE HARBOUR BOARD held at Royal Air Force Yacht Club, Hamble on Friday, 17 July 2009.
PRESENT
Hampshire County Council
Councillors:
p K. Evans (Chairman)
p G. Hockley
p K. House
Independent Members
p T. Lovell
p C. Moody
Marine Director
p D. Evans
Also in attendance Capt. M. Capon, Managing Director, Marine Enforcement
1. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
There were no apologies for absence.
2. 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 save for
exercising any right to speak in accordance with
Paragraph 12 of the Code.
The following Members declared a personal prejudicial interest on the item relating to Harbour Dues:
Mr. D Evans - River Hamble Mooring/Berth Holder and Member of Warsash Sailing Club and Royal Air Force Yacht Club.
Mr. T. Lovell - River Hamble Mooring/Berth Holder.
3. MINUTES
The Minutes of the meeting of the Board held on 1 May 2009 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.
4. CHAIRMAN'S ANNOUNCEMENTS
a. New Board Member
The Chairman reported that Councillor G. Hockley was appointed a member of the Board at yesterday's County Council meeting.
b. Environment Board Member
The Chairman reported that interview had recently been held to fill the vacancy for an Independent Environment Member on the Board. Only one candidate was interviewed and it was decided to re-advertise the vacancy on the Board.
5. DEPUTATIONS
There were no deputations to this meeting
6. RIVER HAMBLE HARBOUR MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE -
26 JUNE 2009
The Minutes of the Meeting of the Management Committee held on 26 June 2009 were noted.
7. HARBOUR MASTER'S REPORT
The Harbour Master presented a report summarising the activities and events in the Harbour since 1 May 2009 (Item 7 in the Minute Book). He outlined the incidents that had taken place, patrol activity which had included a number of incidents involving young people jumping into and swimming in the Harbour. In association with the Youth Service an exclusion zone for boats, financed by the Youth Service, had been set up around the areas where young people jumped into the Harbour in an effort to protect them from any additional risk. Local schools had been approached to warn young people of the dangers of swimming in and jumping into the Harbour and other ways were being investigated to warn them of the dangers. Arrangements had been made with the Police on the Eastleigh side that they would respond immediately to any emergency 999 calls from the Harbour Master and similar arrangements were being sought with the Police on the Fareham side of the River. It was agreed that something pro-active was required to deal with the problem of swimming in the Harbour and that a small group should be established to look into the issues. The annual River Hamble gig race had taken place on 9 May which had been well attended and the Harbour Master's Charity Pursuit Race had taken place on 6 June raising funds for McMillan nurses. A memorial service had been held on 6 June at the Commando War Memorial, Warsash to commemorate the 65th Anniversary of D-Day. Hamble Week had been held between 27 June and 5 July and had ended this year with a land based firework display. Six boats had visited from Vannes, Fareham's twin town in France, and berths had been made available for them at the Harbour Master's jetty at Warsash. A letter of appreciation had been received from Solent Coastguard thanking the Harbour Authority Team for their efforts during a rescue in April 2009. the annual waterfront Church Service had been held on 12 July which had been well attended. The Port Marine Safety Code Audit had been carried out, the report of which was attached to the Harbour Master's report. Capt. Capon had carried out the audit and highlighted the points raised to Members. Consultation was now under way with harbour users on the three yearly Port Marine Safety Code Navigational Safety Report which would be presented to the Management Committee and the Board in November 2009.
A five year survey report of Hamble jetty indicated that work would soon be required to be undertaken on the jetty. The Harbour Master highlighted the work that would be required and said that the works could include enhancements to berthing pontoons and improved tender storage facilities. He sought authority to engage a consultant to assist in producing drawings and costs for the Board's September 2009 meeting. There would be no fee, initially, for the consultant's work.
RESOLVED:
That:
a. the report be noted.
b. a small group be established to look at the issues of swimming in the Harbour and consider a pro-active approach for dealing with the problem.
c. approval be given for the employment of a consultant, initially free of charge, to assist with the identification and assessment of options for maintaining and enhancing Hamble jetty.
8. ENVIRONMENT UPDATE
The Director of Culture, Communities and Rural Affairs presented a report summarising the key aspects relating to the environment management of the Harbour (Item 8 in the Minute Book). Details were given about:
· Port Waste Management Plan
· Maintenance Dredging
· Associated British Ports proposal for Capital Dredge of Southampton Approach Channel
· Streamlined Consents meeting
· Water Framework Directive Update
· Solent Harbours Environment Officers meeting
· Solent Forum
· Botley Bark Stoke Slipway Wall
· Upper Hamble Access
· Solent Seal Tagging Project
· Seal Tagging
· Crabbing Competition
RESOLVED:
That the report be noted.
9. MARINE DIRECTOR'S CURRENT ISSUES
The Marine Director presented a report providing an update on the current issues relating to the River Hamble ( Item 9 in the Minute Book). He said that the Marine and Coastal Access Bill was progressing through Parliament and had currently progressed through the House of Lords. With effect from 1 May 2009, on a trial basis, the grass verge to the west of Passage Lane, Warsash had been designated as a trailer only parking area in addition to the trailer only bays in the tarmac area. The Warsash Sailing Club's Section 31 objection to Harbour Dues had now been considered by the Department of Transport and it had been decided that the outcome would be determined by a Public Inquiry to be held in the autumn. The cost of the Inspector would be borne by the Department of Transport but there was a question as to where other costs would fall. Arrangements had been for the Chairman of the Management Committee to meet with Mr. Sterne and Warsash Sailing Club to discuss the issue on 31 July 2009.
RESOLVED:
That the report be noted.
10. RIVER HAMBLE FINAL ACCOUNTS 2008/09 AND HARBOUR DUES POLICY 2010
Messrs. D. Evans and T. Lovell declared personal prejudicial interests and left the meeting during the discussion on Harbour Dues.
The County Treasurer and Director of Culture, Communities and Rural Affairs presented the final accounts for 2008/09 (Item 10 in the Minute Book). The Harbour Undertaking budget had made a surplus of £7,041 which would be added to reserves. The overall expenditure had exceeded the budget by £9,653 which had been offset by additional income of £13,194 which ensured that a draw on reserves would not be required. The Marine Director reported that the Management Committee had established a working party. to review working costs and to mitigate costs and maximise revenue which would report back to the Management Committee in October 2009. members gave consideration to the Asset Enhancement Reserves and the Asset Replacement Reserves and agreed that £70,000 should be transferred from the Asset Replacement Reserves to the Asset Enhancement Reserves.
On consideration of the Harbour Dues policy for 2010 Members were aware that the Harbour Dues for the forthcoming year were based on the Retail Price Index for May of the current year, they noted that the Retail Price Index for May 2009 was minus 1.1% and as a result agreed that basic rate of Harbour Dues for 2010 should decrease by 1%.
RESOLVED:
That:
a. The Final Accounts for 2008/09 be approved.
b. £50,000 be transferred from the Asset Replacement Reserves to the Asset Enhancement Reserves.
c. The basic rate of Harbour Dues for 2010 be decreased by 1%.
11. REVIEW OF HARBOUR DUES FOR CANOES, KAYAKS ETC.
The Director of Culture, Heritage and Rural Affairs presented a report to consider initiating a review of the current policy of exempting vessels using the River Hamble without engines or sails that were being rowed or paddled from the requirement to pay Harbour Dues (Item 10 in the Minute Book). Observations over the past three years suggested that the volume of activity on the River by vessels that are being rowed or paddled (i.e. canoes, kayaks, gigs, skiffs and tenders) has not changed significantly. In 2006, it was estimated that charging Harbour Dues for these types of boat would generate an annual income of about £1,500. Since the annual rate (£5.00 per metre) has not changed and the daily rate (typically £3.50 per day) had actually reduced slightly, this estimate remains broadly valid. The arguments put forward at the time were that such vessels for the most part, use the upper Hamble, have little detrimental effect on the environment, make little, if any, use of the facilities directly provided by the Harbour Authority, are a cheap and convenient way of allowing young people to participate in water activities and that charging for this type of activity runs counter to current national initiatives to encourage a healthy Britain. On the other hand Harbour Dues were the means by which the activities of the Harbour Authority as a whole were funded and that without the controlling influence of the Harbour Authority, the harbour would quickly become a much more dangerous place for rowers and paddlers to operate. In addition, policing events such as organised gig racing imposed a considerable demand on the time and resources of the Harbour Authority, effectively free of charge. A strong case could, therefore, be made against the argument that such vessels make little, if any, use of the facilities directly provided by the Harbour Authority. The determining factor in this review was the difficulty of collecting Harbour Dues from this type of craft, and of monitoring compliance. There was nothing to suggest that this was likely to become any easier. It was recommended that existing arrangements should be maintained, with another review after a further three years (or sooner if other factors so require). The Management Committee had recommended that the current policy of exempting vessels using the River Hamble without engines or sails that were being rowed or paddled from the requirement to pay Harbour Dues should continue and that the policy be reviewed again in three years.
RESOLVED:
That the current policy of exempting vessels using the River Hamble without engines or sails that were being rowed or paddled from the requirement to pay Harbour Dues should continue and that the Marine Director should monitor the situation.
12. FUTURE MANAGEMENT OF HARBOUR AUTHORITY PATROL BOATS
The Director of Culture, Communities and Rural Affairs presented a report detailing the long term costs and other factors to be taken into account before deciding whether to replace or refit the current Harbour patrol boats (Item 12 in the Minute Book). In order to establish the relevant factors, a thorough investigation had been carried out by the Harbour Master and Patrol Officers into the tasks carried out by the present boats, set against an examination of the characteristics of a number of generic design types. The opinions of other members of the Harbour Authority staff were sought, along with advice from other sources within the marine industry and the County Treasurer. Various types of patrol craft used in similar harbours were also investigated and taken into consideration. The Harbour Authority currently owned two Cheetah catamaran patrol boats which were purchased in 1998 and 1999 at £29,000 per boat including modifications to ensure that they were capable of carrying out their tasks safely and efficiently. The boats had a planned life of ten to twelve years from purchase date without a comprehensive refit. Without a refit, they have been valued by a competent authority at about £10,000 each (including engines) on the second hand boat market at today's prices.
Three distinct options had been identified and subjected to a cost-benefit analysis:
a. Sell the current boats and replace with new, on a ten-year cycle.
b. Extend the life of the current boats for a further ten years by carrying out a thorough mid-life refit, and then continue with replacement boats on a twenty year cycle with refits at the ten year point.
c. Replace one boat now and refit the second to extend its life to about twenty years, then continue with a cycle of replacing the oldest boat every ten years and refitting the newest every ten years.
The Harbour Master gave details of the operational requirements and the cost benefit analysis for each of the options. He also highlighted other considerations and factors which might serve to make other options more attractive which were:
a. The existing boats were very versatile but more modern designs might be able to offer an even closer match to the wide variety of tasks carried out on a regular basis by the Harbour Authority.
b. The existing boats were already looking shabby after a hard ten-year life; they would doubtless be considerably worse after twenty years and may not match the modern, efficient image which the Harbour Authority seeks to convey.
c. The option of changing just one boat at a time will mean that the Harbour Authority will never again own two identical boats because designs and specifications change considerably over a ten year period. Thus, the Harbour Authority would risk losing the considerable advantages of inter-operability and common handling characteristics associated with operating two identical boats.
d. Buying either one or two new boats at this stage would mean that they would be used for some tasks which might cause their condition to deteriorate quite quickly. These tasks include providing a platform for painting piles, removing debris and overhanging branches from the river, and responding to oil spills. If it was decided that both boats should be replaced now, this problem could be largely overcome by retaining one of the existing boats as a working platform with less powerful engines (and without the benefit of a mid-life refit or annual engine replacement) at minimal cost (apart from loss of residual value).
The Harbour Master advised members that he had made enquiries on the refitting of each vessel and it was estimated that it would cost between £18,000 and £20,000 each boat for the hull repairs alone.
After considering all of the options and the recommendations of the Management Committee it was agreed that, at current costings, the most effective option was to replace both vessels now.
RESOLVED:
That the two patrol boats be replaced with two new boats and the Officers in consultation with the Chairman be given delegated authority to:
a. obtain a detailed specification for replacing the two boats.
b. after considering the specifications a tender process be initiated in respect of the agreed specification and
c. let the contracts as appropriate.