Agenda and minutes

SH.17/20        

Since this was the first Board meeting since Mr Mark Taylor had resigned as a Co-Opted Member, the Chairman wished to put on record his thanks for the excellent service that had been given by Mr Taylor and proceeded to wish him every success for the future.

In addition, the Chairman made reference to the recent passing of Mrs Judith Foss and asked that the best wishes of the Board be forwarded to Cllr Foss.

to approve as a correct record the minutes of the meeting of the Board held on 19 October 2020;

SH.18/20        

The minutes of the meeting of the Salcombe Harbour Board held on 19 October 2020 were confirmed as a correct record.

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

SH.19/20        

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 Mackley, Mr Marriage, Mr Plant and Mr Stewart 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.3/20 refers).

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

SH.20/20        

In accordance with the Public Question Time Procedure Rules, there was no issues raised:

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

SH.21/20        

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 a SKECF meeting had been held recently and had been well attended.  Whilst there were no specific issues raised for the Board, the Estuaries Officer had also been in attendance and, at the discretion of the Chairman, he proceeded to provide an update to this meeting.  During his update, the Estuaries Officer made particular reference to concerns over nutrients from farmland entering the Estuary and the increased numbers of Pacific oysters being found in dwarf seagrass.

South Devon & Channel Shellfishermen

The Board was informed that the first crab sales had now entered Europe since the UK had left the European Union.  In highlighting the difficulties that had been experienced, the Board wished to thank the Council’s Environmental Health Officers for their help and support that they had given to the Shellfishermen.

Furthermore, the representative advised that the China Shellfish market appeared to be particularly stable at present.

Kingsbridge and Salcombe Marine Business Forum

The representative advised that boat selling businesses were experiencing a significant increase in boat sales.

Kingsbridge Estuary Boat Club (KEBC)

The representative informed that he had nothing to report to this meeting.

East Portlemouth

The representative informed that he had nothing to report to this meeting.

SH.22/20        

The Board considered a report that provided an update on income and expenditure variations against the approved budget and forecasted the year-end position.

In discussion, a number of Members commended both the Harbour Authority and the Council for being able to achieve such an excellent outcome given the severe impact that had been experienced by the COVID-19 Pandemic.  Whilst it was hoped that the Harbour Authority could now begin to plan for the future, it was also recognised that the Pandemic had yet to be conquered.

It was then:

RESOLVED

That the forecast income and expenditure variations for the 2020/21 Financial Year and the projected overspend of £3,100 (essentially a break-even position) be noted.

SH.23/20                    

A report was presented that updated the Board on a number of recent issues affecting the Harbour.

In discussion, reference was made to:-

(a)    the security patrol contract.  Once the procurement exercise had commenced, the Harbour Master confirmed that a meeting of the Working Group would be convened;

(b)    the communication cascade.  Board Members were thanked for their role in keeping stakeholders up to date where relevant changes in Central Government guidance had affected the usage of the Harbour to help prevent the spread of COVID-19;

(c)    production of Briefing Notes.  In citing the impact on the Harbour Authority of the UK leaving the European Union as an example, Members requested that, to ensure that they were kept informed on relevant matters, they be in receipt of Briefing Notes.

It was then:

RESOLVED

That the content of the Harbour Master’s Update report be noted and endorsed.