THE CROUCH HARBOUR AUTHORITY MINUTES OF THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING HELD ON 18TH OCTOBER 2017

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1 THE CROUCH HARBOUR AUTHORITY MINUTES OF THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING HELD ON 18TH OCTOBER 2017 CHAIRMAN: PRESENT: C Freeman J Biscoe, P Brown, P Burgess, B Calver, Penny Channer, T Dann, R Hawkins, D MacEwen, P Pope, N Pudney, D Record, A Shearring, P Woodford APOLOGIES: S Hollington, J James, C Tyas, K Wickham IN ATTENDANCE: Susan Harrison Harbour Master, James Vannuffel Assistant Harbour Master In the absence of the Chairman, Mr Freeman as Vice Chairman took over the chair. The VC welcomed the following new members onto the Committee: Mr John Biscoe (Chairman of the Bridgemarsh Island Cruising Trust representing the Essex Joint Council of Wildfowling Clubs Councillor Peter Brown representing the Essex Association of Local Councils (Chelmsford District) Mr Bob Calver replacing Mr Chris Edwards representing the Royal Yachting Association Captain Trevor Dann representing Trinity House Members then went on to introduce themselves for the benefit of the new members. 11 Any Other Business: Members were given the opportunity of raising any items that were not on the Agenda. Mr Calver said he had been asked by the Chairman to raise a couple of items following consultation with the RYA concerning PWC as tenders and insurance for kayaks. He then went on to read the RYA s response There is no legal reason why a PWC cannot be considered to be a tender, it is entirely a matter for CHA to decide whether a) Tenders should be exempt from Harbour Dues b) a PWC that is associated with a particular parent vessel might fall within the scope of such an exemption. It was agreed that the judgement of whether the jet ski was a tender or not would depend on the use of PWC whether on the planes of the Jet Ski or a slower tender With regard to insurance the RYA s current policy is to recommend that recreational boaters carry at least third party insurance - no specified minimum sum but to oppose any attempt to make such insurance compulsory at a national level. It is not therefore appropriate for the RYA to take a different stance in relation to other water sports or to express a view on insurance on water sports that are outside its remit. 1

2 This was discussed at the last Authority meeting and it was suggested that one of the definitions for a tender should be defined as less than 16ft and no more than a 10 h.p. engine. On reflection it was felt it was not viable and the Authority do in fact already specify that PWC s/jet skis are not permitted to be used as a tender in its Schedule of Dues. Everyone was in agreement that the Authority s definition of a PWC was that it should not to be used a tender. The Harbour Master reported that the issue with regard to insurance was muted at a recent meeting and it was the view of the Authority that it should do the same as the RYA and recommend that all river users whether in canoes, paddle boards etc. have some form of insurance but at this juncture the Authority were unable to enforce it Councillor Burgess reported that after having looked at the Accounts that had been published he felt members should be aware of the Authority s finances when making decisions and briefly read out the figures. He said the increase in the Harbour Dues would suggest the Harbour Master had been active and substantial effort made given that there were not so many boats on the water. The Harbour Master said this was down to the efforts of the staff and the new harbour system which was beginning to show rewards in that it was now much easier to chase non payers The VC reported that this year there had been a spate of verbal abuse and disrespect against the Harbour Master and he would like to propose to the members that the Chairman of the Authority write a letter to all the Clubs/Associations/Marinas and commercial users of the river expressing the Authority s full support of the Harbour Master and that both she and her staff should be shown due respect. Members expressed their concern that this had been happening and went on to discuss the best way of dealing with the matter as it was felt that by making a general point and sending a letter to everyone could have a more damaging effect and there was a risk of offending those who were not responsible. A few suggestions were muted and whilst it was agreed this should not be tolerated and the situation met head on further thought should be given of how best to get the message across. In the meantime it was recommended that a statement should be put on the Authority s website quoting from the Byelaws No person shall intentionally obstruct any Officer of the Harbour Authority in the reasonable execution of his/her duty 12 MINUTES OF THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING HELD ON 26TH APRIL It was proposed by Mr MacEwen and seconded by Mr Record that the Minutes of the Advisory Committee be signed as a true record. AGREED Matters Arising: 12.3 Minute 7 Proposal from Mathew Smith to lay Oyster Trestles on the Seabed in the Roach The Harbour Master confirmed that following on from the last meeting she had written a letter to Mr Smith stating what had been agreed and that the Authority was happy to assist wherever possible. No further feedback has been received from Mr Smith. 2

3 12.4 Minute 9.3 Riverside Village Holiday Moorings The Harbour Master confirmed that as per the original lease with Riverside all mooring and ground tackle has been removed. Should anyone express interest in taking up the moorings in the future this will be considered by the Authority. 13 MINUTES OF THE CROUCH HARBOUR AUTHORITY MEETING HELD ON THE 6 TH SEPTEMBER The VC then went on to ask members if they had any comments on the Works/Dredging Licenses as set out in the Agenda. Mr Shearring said he would like to discuss item 5.3 Works Licence Application for Port Moor Cottage at Fambridge to carry out repairs to the Jetty. Under the new system of two meetings per annum the Works/Dredging applications are circulated by the Office Manager and members asked to comment. Mr Shearring said he had responded and made comments with regard to the lack of plans for Port Moor Cottage and expressed concern as to the transportation of material. He said that he had noted that Mr James had also expressed concern at the Authority meeting that the materials being used were not environmentally friendly. Mr Shearring said that he was surprised to then find that despite his misgivings and those expressed by Mr James the works at Port Moor Cottage had been approved and a Works Licence issued. Mr Pope said he had also asked for further information and the fact that proper plans should have been submitted, which had not been followed up and felt that there was a need to revert back to a reasonable frequency of meetings. Councillor Brown pointed out that with regard to the correspondence to the members rather than being a one way process between CHA and individual members that there was an open exchange of s between members of the Committee voicing any concerns. The Harbour Master said that in defense of the Authority s decision photographs of the jetty were taken as it stood at the moment with its rotten planking. The application was only to replace top planning with top planking and the applicant had been in touch with the MMO and was told that providing that he was replacing like for like and the work carried out by hand there was no requirement for a Licence from them. The Authority did establish ownership of the site with the Land Registry and following concern expressed with regard to the products being used took advice from Mr Border, Manager of Baltic Wharf Timber products who sits on the Authority, who advised that the treatment being used was of such a quality would last a long time. Councillor Burgess said he had attended the Authority meeting at which the application had been approved and said that from an observers prospective felt that the application had been dealt with adequately. Mr Calver said that despite there being an issue with this particular application the system in place at the moment seemed robust and was working well. Both Mr Shearring and Mr Pope said that their concerns had not been properly addressed and their request for further information ignored, which indicated that the new system of two meetings a year was inappropriate and took away the role of the Advisory Committee. 3

4 Mr Pope also reported that he had also had problems with regard to receiving notification of the meetings. The Harbour Master confirmed that everyone received the same information and no-one else had made any complaints. The VC pointed out that as agreed at the last meeting members did have the option of calling a meeting if it was felt necessary. He said that in future any comments received would be circulated to everyone and where a member had any specific concerns these would need to be raised with the Chairman in order to set up a meeting. With regard to the works at Port Moor Cottage the VC said that it would be a matter of checking to see that the work carried out was as per the Licence caveats. 15 Proposal to issue all Ski/PWC Licenses from the Harbour Office A report was tabled at the meeting with a proposal to issue all the licensing in house rather than through Tim Cook who acts as the Agent for the CHA. Mr Pope asked if he could comment on the report. He went on to say that there was a large and in his opinion a well organized Club called WFWSC. WFWSC requires all of their members to be members of the British Water Ski Federation, which is the national government body similar to the RYA. The Club also provides facilities for its members but it also requires that all of the people taking charge of the ski boats are properly insured and qualified. He pointed out that this was extremely unpopular for those who want to do a bit of casual water skiing on the River Crouch. At the moment there is a majority of water skiing going on through the WFWSC however there is a faction outside who want to stay completely outside the requirements. There is also a portion of people who don t wish to join the WFWSC and don t want to use the designated area and those people obtain a CHA decal. These are at the moment issued by Tim Cooke who acts as an agent for the CHA, and this was discussed at length previously and agreed that would continue as is. Mr Pope pointed out the requirements of the British Water Ski Boat Drivers Award where there were two places in Essex the course could be taken, one being at the WFWSC. He said the Club was not a commercial Club per se and the Club ran the course for their members on a voluntary basis. There was an option to either join the Club in which case you can be trained by the Club or people could go to one of the places in Essex and take the course there. Mr Pope said he was extremely disappointed to see the Report and objected to the amount of conflict shown from the current arrangement. He felt he should have been told prior to the meeting of what was being proposed. After having spoken to Tim Cooke today he was also quite upset. The Assistant Harbour Master as the Policing Officer then went on to explain why the CHA wished to take back the licensing so it was fair and transparent and the same to everyone. Mr Pope said that this proposal had not been mentioned at previous meetings. The Harbour Master said that the Authority had been asked to raise this issue and whilst it was known that the issue was going to be contentious, following the annual PMSC audit which was carried out by the DP he had looked at all the Authority s Incident Reports and many of them did relate to ski issues. The DP therefore looked into greater depth how the Authority licence ski boats and he raised concern that he did not feel the Authority were following best practice guidelines of transparency and he felt this should come to the attention of the Authority as duty holders to review the situation. 4

5 The DP also raised the matter with regard to compliance with the new data protection and queried why one area of activity on the river was being singled out to licence itself under a different format to everyone else on the river. The Harbour Master concluded that this was how the matter arose subsequent to the meeting held last year where it was agreed to allow the WFWSC to continue for the next 12 months. The Harbour Master referred to a skiing incident which took place at Hayes Farm on the 19 th July 2017 which had been raised by Mr Pope. She said that she was obliged to follow up on and investigate any reports as it was down to the CHA to police and make any enforcement. After further discussion the members were then asked to make any comment. It was felt that whilst the Club had carried out a good job in the past and the Authority would still encourage people to join the WFWSC it was important to ensure that the Authority were complying with the legislation issued by Department of Transport and to act on the advice of the DP with regard to the audit and to adhere to any changes in the Data Protection Act. It was proposed by Mr Calver and seconded by Mr MacEwen that the ski/pwc licensing is taken back in house. 16 Wallasea Island Wild Coast Project Decommissioning and Removal of Offloading Jetty The Harbour Master reported that the RSPB have been speaking to CHA in respect to decommissioning and removal of the offloading facility. Currently the RSPB own the two jetties and equipment, however it is likely to be sold to Bam Nuttall the Contractors used for the construction of the jetty and who also ran it on behalf of RSPB during the Crossrail Project. As there is likely to be a lot of disturbance this probably won t take place until next summer as a lot of it will be governed when they can work due to the nesting season, especially as removal of piling work will be involved and subject to a Works Licence. The Harbour Master pointed out this was for information only at this stage. 17 Update on Jetties on Burnham 18 Llys Helig This has been mentioned at previous meetings and is with regard to the derelict small wooden structures along the front of Kings Wharf at Burnham. CHA have recently removed the derelict planking (photos of the jetties were available at the meeting). Complaints have been received from local residents saying they were a danger to the general public. The CHA did get in touch with the MMO with regard to the removal of the top planking via access to the shore but were able to go ahead and do so without any Licence required from MMO. The piling has not been removed as to do so would require permission from them. At this stage it is not known what will happen to the remaining structures certain people have expressed interest in getting them rebuilt and have approached the heritage conservation. Councillor Channer declared an interest as an Officer of MDC and also Councillor Pudney who represented Burnham Town Council. 5

6 For the benefit of the new members the Harbour Master briefly reported on the background of the vessel prior to it sinking in situ 7 months ago. She confirmed that it was not a dangerous wreck as there was no oil/contamination other than the issue of the debris. The owner had obtained several quotes from reputable salvage operators to right the vessel which proved to be too expensive. Following a long drawn out saga at which the owner tried to approach other Contractors eventually last Friday the owner has said he is walking away from the boat and this was confirmed via text to MDC. As of last Friday the vessel is believed to be abandoned. MDC have been in contact with a local Contractor to come over and remove the debris lying on the foreshore and boom off the stern of the boat so there can be no further seepage until it is decided what will happen to the boat. A meeting is due to be held tomorrow with Richard Holmes of Maldon District Council where it is hoped further information will be known. 19 The VC asked if there were any comments with regard to the Dredging Licences as per the Agenda. Councillor Burgess queried the last paragraph (Minute 34 - Annual Dredging Licence Application from Burnham Yacht Harbour of the CHA Minutes of ) in which it mentioned depositing silt onto the saltings and asked what this referred to. Mr MacEwen reported that the saltings mentioned were none specific and purely a generalization. He confirmed that CHA had a meeting with the UEA (University of East Anglia Research Scientists who were explaining what they had done in Brightlingsea where they dredged and have deposited silt to rebuild saltings. The UEA looked at the river and advised they could make a report but at a cost which the Authority have not followed up on because of financial restraints. 20 Harbour Master s Update The Harbour Master reported that she had nothing further to report as it had all been covered during the meeting Harbour Guide The Annual Harbour Guide is due for publication in March of next year. Members were asked to send in any updates in terms of information and photographs as soon as possible to the Harbour Office for inclusion in next year s Guide. 22 Meeting Dates for 2018 After further deliberation with regard to the number of meetings per year it was recommended by Mr Pope and seconded by Mr MacEwen to reinstate the three Advisory Committee meeting per year which would be synchronized so that the meetings would be held before the CHA meetings which would allow for any recommendations to go before the main Authority meeting. 23 Any Other Business: 6

7 23.1 Kent & Essex IFCA - Native Oyster Permit Byelaw Consultation Councillor Channer expressed an interest as a representative of Kent and Essex IFCA. Mr Hawkins reported that he had received no form of communication from Kent and Essex IFCA in his capacity as a landowner and also as their representative on the Advisory Committee. He went on to say that from the information he had received via the CHA it looked as if all forms of trawling have been banned in the River Crouch and Roach. A lot of concern had been expressed by the local fishermen with regard to the proposals as at the moment areas were being created to help the oysters grow and once the tonnage is back up it is the intention to issue paid licences which could result in an influx of poaching. Mr Hawkins has sent in a letter to Kent and Essex IFCA expressing his concern and lack of consultation as a landowner. The Harbour Master said she had been trying to contact them to arrange a meeting to come along to the Harbour Office and this is in hand at the moment. The Kent and Essex IFCA have scheduled a meeting for the 30 th October 2017 at Mersea which Mr Hawkins said he hoped to attend and would report back to the members at the next meeting. There being no further business the Meeting closed at 9.25 p.m. 7