Agenda and minutes

Venue: Council Chamber, County Hall, Newport, Isle of Wight

Contact: Marie Bartlett  Email: democratic.services@iow.gov.uk

Media

Items
No. Item

10.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 110 KB

To confirm as a true record the Minutes of the meeting held on 30 June 2021.

Minutes:

RESOLVED:

 

THAT the minutes of the meeting held on 30 June 2021 be confirmed.

11.

Declarations of Interest

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

Minutes:

Councillor J Jones-Evans and Matthew Price declared an interest as they were the Local Councillors for Newport Harbour.

12.

Public Question Time - 15 Minutes Maximum

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, 24 September 2021.

 

Minutes:

There were none received.

13.

Finance Report

13a

Finance reports for Newport and Ventnor Harbours pdf icon PDF 157 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Assistant Director for Neighbourhoods advised the Committee that Newport Harbour forecast shows an overspend at the end of the financial year, the overspend was as a result of employees a reorganisation had been undertaken of the staffing structure, it was hoped this would be better by the end of the year.

 

Berthing fees were still reduced however they were increasing, leases and licenses were doing well and it was hoped this would continue to grow.

 

The Committee questioned the figures regarding staff, they were advised that a staffing restructure paper had been produced and could be shared outside of the meeting, the restructure ensured the Port Marine Safety Code would be complied with.

 

Leases and Licences were being reviewed and an estimate had been provided to the accountant, a breakdown would be provided to the Committee. It was hoped that an increase in income would be received due to the Harbour Revision Order as the previous order had a number of restrictions that had now been removed.

 

It was noted that a business had been affected during the Isle of Wight Festival and were advised that the events team had been dealing with the business and the festival organisers. There were concerns raised regarding the level of control from the festival security on the Harbour this year was very restrictive. It was noted that future festival agreements were being investigated and there needed to be some conversations regarding how this would be managed.

 

The Committee were advised that the removal of seaweed issue at Ventnor Harbour continued, the contract was due to expire at the end of March 2022, negotiations were taking place to extend the contract for a period of two or three years. A funded project looking at alternative uses of seaweed being undertaken across the island, a report was expected soon, currently there was one sole provider for the contract.

 

The Committee asked questions regarding the capital spend and where the project on Newport harbour was, the capital dredging programme had been completed and the repair and refurbishment of the walls at the southern end of the harbour due to be completed by mid November 2021.

 

It was noted that the revenue forecast was updated on a monthly basis by the finance team in conjunction with service managers.

 

RESOLVED:

 

THAT the finance report be noted.

14.

Report of the Senior Harbour Master

14a

Senior Harbour Master Report pdf icon PDF 212 KB

Minutes:

The Senior Harbour Master advised the Committee that the harbour had reopened fully in July 2021, dredging had been completed at the end of June 2021, now that Covid restrictions had been lifted there had been an increase in the number of visitors to the harbour.

 

The Committee asked what impact the dredging had on Odessa and were advised that their part of the harbour was not included in the dredging programme. Notices had been served for abandoned boats, the process of removing would then follow.

 

Questions were raised regarding the toilet facilities on the harbour that Newport and Carisbrooke Community Council (NCCC) had funded refurbishment to have them open for events taking place on the harbour, officers advised that the work had been carried out prior to the IW Festival. It was confirmed that if an event was being held that was not arranged by NCCC the facilities would be opened and it was the responsibility of the event organiser to clean the facilities. A contact name from NCCC would be provided to the Senior Harbour Master.

 

The Committee noted the recent changes to the carbon neutrality targets and asked if an assessment had been undertaken, they were advised that an assessment had not commenced.

 

Safety issues on the harbour were raised and questions were raised regarding the incidents and what could be looked at to avoid this in the future, the Committee were informed that one of the incidents involved a push chair being used to transport goods had been overloaded and the owner had not been paying attention to it. It was noted that erecting railings could encourage people to climb on.

 

The Committee asked if a tour of Newport harbour estate could be arranged as they believed this would be helpful.

 

RESOLVED:

 

THAT the update be noted

 

THAT a tour of Newport harbour estate be arranged

15.

Port Marine Safety Code

15a

Get Well Plan pdf icon PDF 132 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Senior Harbour Master advised that the general direction was good, a staffing review was underway.

 

RESOLVED:

 

THAT the Get Well Plan be noted.

16.

Combined Storm Overflows (CS)s)

To receive a verbal update.

Minutes:

The Strategic Manager for Commercial Services advised that following the last meeting contact had been made with both Southern Water who had provided plans of the outfalls and overflows which discharge into the river Medina on the harbour estate, of which there were eight in total. Environmental Health were notified of monitoring outcomes, a request had been made to include the generic harbour email address to the distribution list.

 

Councillor Jarman advised that they had been in discussion with Southern Water to get access to the real time, full telemetry site and hoping to get that as soon as possible seemed reasonable those who monitored the harbours would have access to the information. A potential trial site for satellite monitoring system which monitored water quality had been offered.

 

The Committee asked that the plans provided could be shared with them and asked if plans covering the whole of the river itself.

 

RESOLVED:

 

THAT the plans be circulated to the Committee

 

THAT the update be noted.

 

17.

Members' Question Time

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 2.00pm on Monday, 27 September 2021. 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.

Minutes:

Councillor Vanessa Churchman asked how far down the line with Ryde Town Council taking over Ryde Harbour and what costs were being incurred by the Local Authority, She was advised that conversations with Ryde Town Council were going well and the planned transfer date was 1 April  2022.

 

The Committee discussed the date for the next meeting and asked if an alternative date could be found due to its proximity to Christmas.