Agenda and minutes

Agenda and minutes

Harbour Board - Tuesday, 4th February, 2020 2.00 pm

Venue: Ilfracombe Centre - Ilfracombe. View directions

Contact: Corporate and Community Services  01271 388253

Items
No. Item

36.

Apologies for Absence

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Campbell and Wilkinson.

37.

To approve as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 12th November 2019 pdf icon PDF 164 KB

(attached).

Minutes:

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 12th November 2019 (circulated previously) be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

38.

Items brought forward which in the opinion of the Chair should be considered by the meeting as a matter of urgency

Minutes:

The Chair welcomed two new Co-optees to the Board, Mr Gear and Mr Gibbs, and he requested that everyone introduce themselves.

 

RESOLVED that item 8, Ilfracombe Birdman Event 2020 be discussed prior to item 6, Quarterly Designated Person Port Marine Safety Code Audit report.

39.

Declarations of Interest

(Please complete the form provided at the meeting or telephone Corporate and Community Services to prepare a form for your signature before the meeting) Items must be re-declared when the item is called, and Councillors must leave the room if necessary)

 

 

Minutes:

The following declarations of interest were declared:

 

Councillor Fowler                 

All items – personal interest as was a member of the Ilfracombe Yacht Club and a boat owner

 

Bert Gear

All items – personal interest as was a member of the Ilfracombe Yacht Club

 

Colin Knill

All items – personal interest as a trustee of the Ilfracombe Yacht Club, boat owner and Y Sail secretary

 

40.

Ilfracombe Birdman 2020 event

Harbour Master to report.

Minutes:

The Harbourmaster updated the Board on the Ilfracombe Birdman event 2020. There had been plans submitted by the event organisers which the Harbourmaster had shared with stakeholders and whose comments were shared with the Board.  The event was weather dependent for its success and the ability to extend the number of days would maximise the money raised which was put back into the community.  There had been a consultation with the public and stakeholders which ended 6th January 2020.  The majority of responses were positive, 77% with the remaining 23% of responses concerned over loss of business on the Harbour.

 

The Chair invited the Harbour Forum representative to present their statement regarding concerns they had over access to the Lundy booking office being blocked.

 

The Chair invited the Round table representative to address the Board and answer questions from members of the Board. 

 

In response to the concerns raised by the Harbour Forum about access to the Lundy booking office being blocked. The Round Table representative advised that there was no intention of blocking the booking office and at the time of evening when live music took place the office would be shut.

 

The Head of Resources advised that the loss of turning space would cause problems for cars trying to exit the car park and, as in previous years, the loss of revenue would be a recharge, although the charity concession amount of £500 would still be in place.  A further discussion with the car parks Manager would be needed to come to an agreement of the management of traffic and use of the car park over two days.

 

The Round table representative requested that liaison between North Devon Council and the event organisers was arranged.

 

RESOLVED that the Board approved of the request made by the Birdman event organisers to extend the event by one day plus with the condition that a resolution to the car park management was agreed on.

 

 

41.

Quarterly Designated Person Port Marine Safety Code Audit Report - Ilfracombe and Lynmouth Harbours pdf icon PDF 216 KB

Report by Health and Safety Manager, (attached).

Minutes:

The Board Members received an update from the Head of Resources/Designated Person following the quarterly designated person audits, which were carried out at Ilfracombe on 8th January 2020 and at Lynmouth on 16th January 2020, (circulated previously).

 

The Designated Person confirmed that the Marine Safety Management System was working effectively and was, therefore, ensuring compliance with the Port Marine Safety Code for both Harbours.

 

The following updates were given:

 

·         Ilfracombe

·         The two Yokohama fenders that had been stored awaiting resale had been donated to a Scottish charity and taken away

·         No further damage had occurred after the repointing of Stone Bench

·         The trialling of a non-bleach cleaning fluid had been successful and there were plans to extend its use.  Cost wise the product also worked out less per unit than the currently used product.  A wheeled delivery unit had been created with a 50 metre hosepipe for the delivery of the five litre drums.  The area that had been tested had not had any regrowth since it was used last June

·         Fishing Amateur, a bid writing company from Cornwall, were helping the Fisherman’s Association to secure funds for improvement works on the Cove and inner Harbour

·         Works were ongoing at the Cove to repair damage sustained during the storms of November 2019.  Damage to Old Quay Head, sustained at the same time had  been repaired

·         The maintenance of Ground chains in the Harbour as well as replacement of electrical conduits was also still awaiting implementation 

·         The footpath from the Harbour to St Nicholas Chapel was still closed to the public while repair works were carried out, opening of the path to allow access was dependent on weather conditions

·         The new sling type fenders, as opposed to Netted Yokohama fenders, had been ordered, this would reduce maintenance costs without affecting the operational needs of the Oldenburg

·         The use of Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene (UHMW PE) to face the wooden pile fenders would extend their life expectancy

·         Lynmouth

·         Repairs had been carried out to steps on the port side of the harbour

·         Talks were still ongoing with the Environment Agency regarding replacing stone works carried out on the stone wall; a timetable of when they would be carrying out the works was still to be confirmed

·         The town clerk was carrying out research at the library records office to determine who was responsible for the pedestrian bridge at Lynmouth.  Devon County Council had claimed responsibility but had now said Lynton and Lynmouth Town Council were the responsible authority

 

42.

Ilfracombe Harbour - Charges review 2020 - 2021 pdf icon PDF 329 KB

Report by Harbourmaster, (attached).

Minutes:

The Harbourmaster gave the Board an update on the Ilfracombe Harbour Charges review 2020-2021, (circulated previously) as follows:

 

·         Consultation responses had been received and considered

·         The Yacht club were no longer taking over the running of the shower facilities.  North Devon Council would remain responsible for the upkeep and running of this facility

·         It was requested that the Board consider not increasing visitor dues despite there now being no charge for using the shower facilities

 

RECOMMENDED that the Ilfracombe Harbour charges be increased by 2% for 2020-2021 with the exception of the visitor dues which would remain at the rate agreed for 2019-2020.

 

43.

Aids to Navigation Update

Harbourmaster to report.

Minutes:

The Harbourmaster provided the Board with an update on Aids to Navigation as follows:

 

·         Poor wiring had caused two green lights to fail at the pier end of the Harbour

·         Two sets had failed at Stone Bench during the summer of 2019

·         The maintenance contract with Navmoor which started in April 2020 would cover the replacement of wiring works

·         On 25th February 2020 there was to be an inspection carried out by Trinity House

 

 

44.

Harbour Security Update

Harbourmaster to report.

Minutes:

The Harbourmaster gave the Board an update on Harbour Security as follows:

 

·         The last security committee meeting had been held in December 2019

·         CCTV replacements was still ongoing but Ilfracombe Harbour had been approved to join the Hub in Barnstaple.  Barnstaple Town Centre Management would be holding a meeting with all stakeholders to discuss requirements

 

45.

Infrastructure Update

Harbourmaster to report.

Minutes:

The Harbourmaster gave the Board an update on Infrastructure as follows:

 

·         Slipway repairs were imminent, the RNLI had to agree to the works as they covered 75% of the costs

·         Six beams needed repairs

·         The results of tests made by the Royal Marines on the quality of the sand were still outstanding

·         The Environment Agency had given the go ahead for the Harbourmaster to dredge

·         The Harbourmaster was hiring the use of a three tonne mini digger for the works starting at the top of the beach removing dumpy bags and to track location of the ground chains

·         If the use of the digger proved successful then consideration to hire in the future would be given to help with the digging out of the ground chains and Visitor moorings.  At present this work was done manually and took a whole week.

 

46.

Ilfracombe Harbour Community Forum pdf icon PDF 286 KB

Minutes of meeting held on 22nd January 2020, (attached).

Minutes:

The Harbour Forum representative gave the Board an update as follows:

 

·         The RNLI had had a very busy period over Christmas 2019, their call outs had increased to over 50 whereas in previous years they had had to respond to up to 30 call outs

·         The slipway was last built in 1996 and had 90 beams to replace.  Two beams were to be trialled with a new edging product.  The senior engineer at the RNLI had last repaired some beams 12 years ago.

 

 

47.

Future Projects

Harbourmaster to report.

Minutes:

The Harbourmaster gave the Board an update on future projects as follows:

 

·         The Harbour’s three yearly external audit was due in April 2020. It was likely this would be undertaken by ABPmer consultancy service

·         The constitution was to be rewritten which would give the opportunity to include Lynmouth Harbour

·         The sharing of Designated Persons with Watchet meant audit checks would be biannual.  The annual audit report would still be presented to the Duty Holders

·         Cornwall who managed 27 ports had sent through their paperwork to use as templates when drafting new documents.  A workshop would be required to go over the templates and draw up the new streamlined versions of the Long term Strategy Plan, Master Plan, Business Plan and Annual report

 

48.

Harbour Board - Dates for Future Meetings of the Board in 2020/21

To consider and agree the proposed dates for future meetings of the Board in 2020/21 as follows:

 

·         Tuesday, 5th May 2020 at 2 pm

·         Tuesday, 11th August 2020 at 2 pm

·         Tuesday, 17th November 2020 at 2 pm

·         Tuesday, 2nd February 2021 at 2 pm

 

Minutes:

The Board considered the dates proposed and agreed the dates as follows for 2020/21:

 

·         Tuesday, 5th May 2020 at 2 pm

·         Tuesday, 11th August 2020 at 2 pm

·         Tuesday, 17th November 2020 at 2 pm

·         Tuesday, 2nd February 2021 at 2 pm