Agenda and minutes

To confirm as a true record the Minutes of the meeting held on 29 September 2021.

RESOLVED:

THAT the minutes of the meeting held on 29 September 2021 be confirmed.

To invite Members to declare any interest they might have in the matters on the agenda.

There were no declarations made at this stage.

Questions may be asked without notice but to guarantee a full reply at the meeting, a question must be put including the name and address of the questioner by delivery in writing or by electronic mail to Democratic Services at democratic.services@iow.gov.uk, no later than two clear working days before the start of the meeting. Therefore the deadline for written questions will be Friday, 7 January 2022.

There were no public questions submitted.

To receive an update from JBW Consulting on the EU Seaweed project.

Piece of work commissioned between the Isle of Wight Council and Ventnor Town Council to look at possible alternative uses of seaweed in Ventnor harbour and other areas leased or owned by the Council.

A presentation from JBW Consulting was circulated prior to the meeting which was a European funded programme called ICE, the presentation included the scope of the project, quantities of seaweed around the Isle of Wight and details of samples taken for analysis.

Alternative solutions were investigated to collect the seaweed and the cost highlighted, it was noted that Ventnor harbour contained green, red and brown species of seaweed. The risks and benefits of collecting the seaweed were explained along with the pilot scheme action plan.

The Committee thanked Jean-Baptiste for providing a comprehensive presentation and asked if there were UK based projects that could be investigated, a list would be provided to the Committee.

The Assistant Director for Neighbourhoods advised that the presentation had been brought to the Committee to highlight the investigations into the seaweed issue in Ventnor, there was currently no budget to remove the seaweed and it was done on an as and when basis, it was noted that this issue was Island wide and not a decision for the Harbour Committee to make.

RESOLVED:

THAT officers would take the report back to discuss how this issue could be delivered.

The Assistant Director for Neighbourhoods advised that the forecasted end of financial year indicated an overspend, which was a result of legal costs, the renewal of leases and licences had commenced and had begun to re-establish the financial position of Newport harbour.

The Assistant Director for Neighbourhoods informed the Committee that the removal of seaweed issue continued, however investigations into a solution were being looked at, there was limited income at Ventnor Harbour.

The Committee acknowledged the investigation work regarding the seaweed issue and asked if other solutions could be looked at including a suggestion that snails may eat the seaweed, Officers advised that they would look into it. The Committee were advised that the current contract was due to be renewed, Councillors asked if the tender was opened up to include removal of the seaweed from the area would encourage more tenders being submitted, The Assistant Director for Neighbourhoods advised that it was important for local residents that a contract was in place for this year. 

To receive a verbal update from the Senior Harbour Master.

The Senior Harbour Master report had been circulated prior to the meeting, he advised that the drop in numbers was normal for the time of year due to the weather. There had been a couple of events held on the harbour which had been successful.

The Committee thanked the harbour staff for their continued work.

To receive the DPA audit for Newport harbour.

David Foster from Marico advised the committee that he carried out a Safety Code Audit in October 2021, he expressed some concern regarding Newport harbour as some of the procedures in place had fallen behind, he acknowledged that there had been some gains with the Harbour Revision Order which allowed the preparation of General Directions for consultation.

He advised that he recommended a follow up audit in approximately six months after the audit had been carried out to ensure it was moving in the right direction.

It was noted that the following agenda items would explain the position of the harbour and what action would be done to ensure the re-assessment would show significant improvement.

RESOLVED:

THAT the Port Marine Safety Code Audit be noted.

To receive the Get Well plan for Newport Habour.

The Strategic Manager for Commercial Services advised the committee that systems had fallen behind due to staffing during the pandemic, staff had been furloughed or redeployed to assist with covid response, it was noted that the harbour had been staffed around tide times for day-to-day operational activities.

14 items had been identified as requiring attention and to date three had been completed, a timetable had been produced for the remaining items to tie in with the follow up audit assessment in the spring.

RESOLVED:

THAT the get well plan for Newport Harbour be noted.

To receive the Get Well plan for Ventnor Harbour.

The Committee were advised that the situation at Ventnor was similar to that of Newport harbour, however 23 actions had been identified with four completed to date.

The Committee noted that the harbour had moved forward in the last few years and were encouraged by the plans in place that the issues would be dealt with and bring both harbours to a better place.

RESOLVED:

THAT the get well plan for Ventnor Harbour be noted.

To receive an oral update.

The committee were informed that an oil spill exercise had taken place at Newport harbour, this was believed to be the first in the history of the harbour and all was deemed to be successful, a de brief report had been produced and staff were currently reviewing it and it would be circulated to the Committee after the meeting.

Following the exercise it was recognised that a Memorandum of Understanding needed to be produced with both Cowes and Yarmouth harbour’s for harbour staff to provide mutual assistance if required.

RESOLVED:

THAT the update be noted.

To receive a report on the draft general directions.

The Strategic Manager for Commercial Services advised that following the agreement of the Harbour Revision Order (HRO) in 2021, the next step was for General Directions to be drafted and consulted on, the proposed general directions had been drafted with assistance from Marico and Dorade Law who had previous experience with Local Authorities and harbours.

There was a statutory duty to consult on the general directions and responses to comments were mandatory, the general directions would provide powers to the harbour master and staff to operate the harbour safely.

It was noted that the general directions allowed the harbour master and staff to agree certain operations on the harbour, the main reason for the HRO was to allow the harbour to operate in a more modern and safe way.

RESOLVED:

THAT the drafted general directions would be released for consultation.

To guarantee a reply to a question, a question  must be submitted in writing or by electronic mail to democratic.services@iow.gov.uk no later than 2.00 pm on Monday, 10 January 2022. A question may be asked at the meeting without prior notice but in these circumstances there is no guarantee that a full reply will be given at the meeting.

Councillor Phil Jordan asked for an update regarding the Capital bids, officers advised that a capital bid had been refreshed for phased works to the harbour wall, the bid had been updated to reflect changes in cost for the next five years.