Agenda and minutes

The Chairman congratulated Mr Chris Brook on his recent appointment as the Council’s Strategic Director – Place and Enterprise.

to approve as a correct record and authorise the Chairman to sign the minutes of the meeting of the Board held on 24 June 2019;

The minutes of the meeting of the Salcombe Harbour Board held on 24 June 2019 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

Members are invited to declare any personal or disclosable pecuniary interests, including the nature and extent of such interests, they may have in any items to be considered at this meeting

Members were invited to declare any interests in the items of business to be considered during the course of the meeting, and the following were made:

Ms Jones, Mr Plant and Mr Taylor each declared a disclosable pecuniary interest in all related agenda items by virtue of paying harbour dues to the Council.  As a result of the Deputy Monitoring Officer granting each Board Member a dispensation, they were all able to take part in the debate and vote on any related matters (Minute SH.3/19 refers).

a period of up to 15 minutes is available to deal with questions from the public

It was noted that no Questions were to be raised in accordance with the Public Question Time Procedure Rules.

to receive verbal reports from Board Members who attend the Harbour Community Forums on behalf of the Board

The Board received verbal update reports from those Members who attended the Harbour Community Forums.  The updates were given as follows:

Salcombe Kingsbridge Estuary Conservation Forum (SKECF)

The representative advised that the next SKECF meeting was to be held on Tuesday, 17 September 2019.

South Devon & Channel Shellfishermen

The representative advised that:

-        an application had now been made by the Council to the Maritime Management Organisation for funding towards the purchase of Personal Flotation Devices.  By way of a further update, the Chief Executive advised that the application had sought 75% of the total funding and therefore, if successful, there would need to be a means of raising the additional monies.  A Board Member proceeded to make the point that Fishermen in Cornwall were each required to contribute £30 towards their own devices;

As a cautionary note, the Board was advised that, whilst Plymouth City Council had been successful in its Bid, officers were not aware of any other local authority that had been awarded funding.  Members concluded that it would be useful to receive a progress update at the next Board meeting.

Kingsbridge and Salcombe Marine Business Forum

The representative informed that the marine businesses were generally content.  However, in response to recent thefts, some concerns had been raised over the service that was being provided by the security company.  Following a brief discussion, the Harbour Master advised that the current contract was due to expire in 2020 and a future options report would therefore be presented to the Board before the expiry date.

Kingsbridge Estuary Boat Club (KEBC)

The representative did not provide an update to this Board meeting.

East Portlemouth

The representative informed that the Parish Council had last met in September and no issues relevant to the Harbour had been raised at this meeting.

Members considered a report that proposed the Salcombe Harbour Authority budget for 2020/21.  Furthermore, the report also provided a Budget forecast for 2019/20.

During the subsequent debate, a Member was of the view that the proposal to contribute £58,000 to the Council’s Marine Infrastructure Reserve should not be supported.  In support of his view, the Member highlighted the recent decision to use this Reserve to support the Batson Project and felt that it would be more appropriate for the £58,000 contribute to be allocated to the Pontoon Reserve.  In response, the Chairman reminded the Board of the recent works that had been undertaken to the Kingsbridge Quay wall and that the Harbour Authority had not been asked to contribute any monies.  As a result, the Chairman was of the view that there was a need for an element of goodwill and trust from both the Council and the Board.

In conclusion, whilst the majority of Members were supportive of the proposal to contribute to the Marine Infrastructure Reserve, it was felt that the wording in section 9 of the presented agenda report should be reviewed in future years to ensure that it was not misinterpreted.

It was then:

Consideration was given to a report that presented the proposed Fees and Charges for the Harbour that would ensure that it achieved a breakeven Revenue Budget for 2020/21.

The report also advised that the 2020/21 Budget gap had been projected to be £34,700.

The Chairman introduced the report and wished to thank both the Harbour Authority and Finance officers for their work and extensive consultation with Members to develop the proposed Fees and Charges for 2020/21.

In discussion, the following points were raised:-

(a) A Member highlighted the proposed reductions in Harbour Dues for Commercial Fishing Vessels and felt that this was a good example of the Board’s support for the fishing industry;

(b) In echoing the comments of the Chairman, such was the work that had been undertaken by the Board to reach this point, Members felt that they could recommend the proposed Fees and Charges for 2020/21 with far more confidence than in previous years.

                    It was then:

Members considered a report that provided an update on a number of recent issues that had affected the Harbour.

During discussion, reference was made to:-

(a)    the serious recent incident on the Slipway.  The Board recognised the seriousness of the incident and welcomed the steps that had already been taken to prevent a similar incident from occurring again.  Officers noted the importance of both the Board and Council being adequately assured and a lessons learned exercise had already commenced.  Members requested that this be considered at the next Board Workshop on 25 November 2019;

(b)    the next Board Workshop.  Members were supportive of the Harbour Master suggestion that the next Workshop should replace the next scheduled formal Board meeting.  It was therefore agreed that the Workshop should be held between 1.00pm and 4.00pm on Monday, 25 November 2019.

It was then:

RESOLVED

That the contents of the Harbour Master’s report be noted and approved.

- to consider the following resolution to exclude the public and

press:-

“That in accordance with Section 100(A)(4) of the Local

Government Act 1972, the public and press be excluded from the

meeting during consideration of the following items of business in

order to avoid the likely disclosure to them of exempt information

as defined in paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Act”;

It was then:

RESOLVED

That in accordance with Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public and press be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the following item of business as the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 3 of Schedule 12A to the Act is involved.

The Assets Specialist provided an update to the Board on the Assets Projects and it was agreed that more detailed consideration to the issues raised would be given by Members at the aforementioned Workshop on 25 November 2019.

It was then:

RESOLVED

That the public and press be re-admitted to the meeting.

Since this was the last scheduled Board meeting before the Assistant Harbour Master (Logistics and Maintenance) left the employ of the Council, the Chairman (on behalf of the Board) thanked the officer for being such a fantastic public servant and all Members wished him every success for the future.