Agenda and draft minutes

(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)

Councillor Fowler

All items – personal interest as a boat owner and a Trustee of Ilfracombe Yacht Club.

Mr Knill

All items – personal interest as a Trustee of Ilfracombe Yacht Club, Secretary of Ysail and a boat owner.

·         A report outlining the improvements for the CCTV infrastructure had been approved in principle at Strategy and Resources Committee in September 2019

·         The outer steps at Old Quay Head had been repaired and painted

·         An agreement had been reached with the Conservation Officer over what was acceptable to use in the replacement of the dock ladders

·         The new leases for the Old Quay Head store huts were being finalised with the Council agreeing to carry out the repairs to the sliding doors over the winter months

·         All the laser scan reports had been received except for the East Face

·         Speed ramps had been installed as well as yellow paint markings highlighting the pedestrian walkway on the working side of the Quay

·         Due to adverse weather conditions the boats out was delayed by one day.  Not all owners could attend, therefore, a second lift out was arranged for 30^th November

·         Two Yokohama fenders had been lifted and stored awaiting resale

·         Recent storm weather had caused a ground sinker to fail causing damage to two boats, the sinker was made good and plans to inspect all Harbour ground chains and GPS mark them over the winter months would enable the Harbour to optimise moorings

·         Further to the survey of the main slipway, works were to be carried out during the second week of December 2019

·         Replacement of railings which were starting to rust alongside the seating on the Harbour wall and Quay Road would be replaced in the near future

·         There was a need for representation from Lynmouth Harbour to be present at future Board meetings

·         Ladders were ready to be fitted to the Harbour wall in coming months

·         Discussion was still ongoing with the Environment Agency over the works to be rectified around the flood wall stone work, which due to the sub-standard nature of the works had suffered further destruction during recent storms

·         Railings on the pedestrian bridge required replacement and talks were ongoing with Devon County Council who had confirmed they owned them

·         There was a need for the Safety plan which was three yearly updated to be separated from the annual report

·         The separation would make the monitoring of objectives easier as three years was a better timeline for checking progress

·         It was requested that Board Members attend a workshop to be arranged over the winter months to work on the separation of the documents

·         There were four documents that needed to be stand alone:

(a) Long term Strategy Plan

(b) Master Plan

(c) Business Plan

(d) Annual report

·         Increased activities in the Harbour meant that the Harbour Master was more likely be needed to deal with water-borne incidents.  To minimise reliance on Commercial users and the RNLI the Harbour Master suggested the purchase of a small vessel which could be launched from the fuel berth.  The cost of a second hand, four metre vessel could be less than £3,500.

·         It was hoped that the Yacht club would take over the running of the shower facilities although the lease had yet to be signed

·         As a result of the meeting that had taken place with auditors the question of red diesel sales came up and the Harbour Master hoped this issue could be brought to a future Board meeting to be discussed fully

·         HMRC had confirmed that the Dive club did not fulfil the criteria to  be classed as commercial users of diesel and as such would have to seek alternative methods to fuel, using white diesel when the regulations changed

·         The response to the HMRC’s stage 2 consultation into the implementation of the Court of Justice of the European Union judgement on diesel fuel used in the private pleasure craft industry had been the biggest response they had ever had in their history of consultations

RECOMMENDED that subject to public consultation:

(a)   the charges for Ilfracombe Harbour be increased by 2% and;

(b)   the dues to the Ilfracombe Yacht Club remain the same as they   were taking on a lease to run the shower facilities and would be charging for the use.

·         Full council were the Duty Holder for the Harbour and the Designated Person provided independent assessments and reported back to the Duty Holder

·         The last revision of the Guide to good Practice, in 2018, gave the criterion that the Designated Person had to hold appropriate qualifications to be the Designated Person

·         The Harbour Master of Watchet and Minehead was a master Mariner and their harbours matched the size of Ilfracombe and Lynmouth fairly evenly

·         It was hoped that bi-annual visits to reciprocal Harbours would be carried out with Watchet and Minehead Harbour Master visiting Ilfracombe and Lynmouth in 2020

RECOMMENDED that the role of Designated Person be re-evaluated to allow for the appointment of a Designated Person for Ilfracombe and Lynmouth Harbours who would be appropriately qualified for the role.

·         It had been decided to go ahead with the maintenance contract with Navmooor Limited at a cost of £1,500 per annum covering both Ilfracombe and Lynmouth Harbours.

·         This costing was broken down as £1,000 for Ilfracombe and £500 for Lynmouth

·         The Police Drone Team had expressed an interest in drone flying exercises over Ilfracombe Harbour, this activity would complement our contingency planning.  Details would be put forward to a future Council meeting before talks with the Police and Crime Commissioners Office would begin

·         A quote had been received from M&E Alarms for the installation of the new CCTV cameras

·         19 cameras in total would be installed with various organisations paying for a camera at locations relevant to their organisation

·         The European Maritime and Fisheries Fund provided help to cover the costs of CCTV installations as well as landing stages, ladders and fenders.  A new fund has been opened to run until 2021

·         Two old Yokohama fenders had been removed and were to be sold for around £2,000 each

·         The cost of replacing these with sling fenders came to £7,950 each.  The pilings would need to be faced with a non-abrasive material but the life span of this would be 20 to 25 years

·         Six pile fenders were to be removed from the South Pier and used at the Cove

·         New facing was being looked at for the fuel berth

·         Currently the Harbour ladders were replaced every three years and a more cost effective option was being looked at

·         Captain Hines from Chivenor Marine Base was going to visit and take a sample of sand to test for suitability for use in filling their sandbags.  If the quality of the sand was correct they would dig down one to two metres, this had the added bonus of helping to keep the culverts clear

·         Vacant possession of all kiosks had been regained.  It was no longer planned to fully demolish the kiosks.  Architects drawings of the proposed plans for the pier entrance had been received

·         The finials were of historic significance and would be relocated to the Victoria Pleasure Grounds nearby

·         The clock was to be relocated to an arch which would mark the entrance to the pier which would give the additional bonus of retaining the history but also enhancing the pier

·         The Harbour Forum expressed its concerns over the finances of the Water Sports Centre

·         Whether the introduction of a toilet charge could be used toward the cost of keeping the toilets clean

·         Lynmouth Harbour needed to be incorporated into the North Devon Council constitution and it was proposed that a further workshop was arranged to have this discussion

·         The cost of a Harbour Revision Order was currently £4,500 but the Marine Management Organisation were planning to increase this cost to £17,500.  In a move away from Bye-laws the cost of using General Directions had been looked at

·         The cost to hire a lawyer and make the changes privately would be £9,000 and take six to nine months to complete

·         Two cruise ships were due to visit the Harbour in 2020, the MS Veendam on 12^th May and the MS Rotterdam on 8^th September

·         The Birdman organisers had requested to extend their event over a whole weekend, a two day closure of the Harbour would require a public consultation to collate opinion.  The weekend in question was the first weekend in August at peak visitor time and it was suggested that an alternative weekend be considered and the possibility of including the whole town

·         The Harbour Master was now fully up-to-date on her Instructor qualifications and hoped to be fully up and running mini courses early summer 2020

·         Duty Holder training was to be arranged with the British Port Association and held jointly with Exeter City Council.  A date in February would be confirmed nearer the time.