Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence were received from Cllr Louie O’Leary, Cllr Sarah Williams; Michael Hainge (Interim Lead – Place Services) and Andy Sargent, Chairman of the Weymouth Harbour Consultative Group.

To confirm the minutes of the meetings held on 17 March 2021, 16 June 2021, 29 September 2021 and 8 December 2021.

The minutes of the meeting held on 17 March 2021, 16 June 2021, 29 September 2021 and 8 December 2021 were confirmed and signed.

To disclose any pecuniary, other registerable or non-registrable interest as set out in the adopted Code of Conduct. In making their disclosure councillors are asked to state the agenda item, the nature of the interest and any action they propose to take as part of their declaration.

If required, further advice should be sought from the Monitoring Officer in advance of the meeting.

Cllr Mark Roberts declared non-pecuniary interests as the holder of a mooring at West Bay Harbour, a member of the LGA Special Interest Group - Wessex Regional Flood and Coastal Committee and Chairman of Southern IFCA.

Cllr Mary Penfold declared non-pecuniary interests as the Chairman of SCOPAC (Standing Conference on problems associated with the Coastline) and as a member of the Special Coastal Interest Group.

Representatives of town or parish councils and members of the public who live, work or represent an organisation within the Dorset Council area are welcome to submit up to two questions or two statements for each meeting.  Alternatively, you could submit one question and one statement for each meeting.  

All submissions must be emailed in full to denise.hunt@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk by 8.30am on Monday 14 March 2022.   

When submitting your question(s) and/or statement(s) please note that: 

·       no more than three minutes will be allowed for any one question or statement to be asked/read  

·       a question may include a short pre-amble to set the context and this will be included within the three minute period 

·       please note that sub divided questions count towards your total of two 

·       when submitting a question please indicate who the question is for (e.g. the name of the committee or Portfolio Holder) 

·       include your name, address and contact details.  Only your name will be published but we may need your other details to contact you about your question or statement in advance of the meeting. 

·       questions and statements received in line with the council’s rules for public participation will be published as a supplement to the agenda 

·       all questions, statements and responses will be published in full within the minutes of the meeting.

Dorset Council Constitution Procedure Rule 9 

There were no written statements or questions received.

To consider a verbal report by the Chairman.

The Chairman welcomed Richard Tinsley and Philip Thicknesse who had recently been successful in interviews for the role of Independent Members of the Committee.  Their appointments would be formally ratified by Full Council on 14 April 2022, following which they would become members of the Harbours Committee.

The Chairman paid tribute to David Sales, a fisherman from West Bay who passed away on 6 March 2022, commending in particular his work with the Southern IFCA.

He also notified the Committee of the resignation of Independent Member Will Ellwood.

To note the minutes of the Weymouth Harbour Consultative Group meeting held on 16 February 2022.

Please note that there have been no meetings of the Bridport or Lyme Regis Harbour Consultative Groups since the last meeting.

The Committee noted the minutes and statement on behalf of the Weymouth HCG in relation to the meeting held on 16 February 2022.

To consider a report by the Head of Environment and Wellbeing.

The Committee considered a report on the Dorset Council Harbours Strategy that set out the strategic direction for the three harbours.

Further to presentation of the report, the Head of Environment and Wellbeing advised that some of the operational comments arising from the consultation had been forwarded to the harbour teams for further consideration.

There followed some discussion on the percentage of respondents who were Dorset residents and that there could have been a degree of ambiguity in how this information had been obtained in the questionnaire.  Officers agreed to follow this up with the Dorset Coast Forum with a view to providing more detailed information on the exact number of Dorset residents who had responded to the questionnaire.

Proposed by Cllr Mary Penfold, seconded by Cllr David Gray.

Decision: That the Dorset Council Harbours Strategy be approved.

Reason for Decision

The draft Dorset Council Harbours Strategy sets out the strategic direction for our harbours. The Strategy has been widely consulted upon in its development and through an eight-week public consultation on the draft strategy document. Responses to the public consultation were very supportive of the strategy objectives and proposed actions.

To receive the following updates from the Harbour Masters:-

·         Weymouth

·         Bridport & Lyme Regis

William Heaps, Designated Person, provided a brief overview of his role and confirmed that all 3 harbours complied with the Port Marine Safety Code.  He planned to visit the 3 harbours in order to identify improvements and provide a report for consideration at the September committee meeting.

The Harbour Masters presented their updates.

The Weymouth Harbour Master reported that, further to the recent government sanctions, there were no vessels with a Russian connection in the Dorset Council harbours and that a list of the relevant criteria could be circulated on request.

Noted

To provide an engineering update for Weymouth, Bridport and Lyme Regis harbours.

The Lead Manager – FCERM presented an update report for the three Dorset Council harbours.

Noted

To consider a report by the Weymouth and Bridport & Lyme Regis Harbour Masters.

The Committee considered a report setting out the current budget monitoring position for the harbour operational budgets for Weymouth, Bridport and Lyme Regis Harbours at the end of January 2022 and the predicted position of the Harbour Reserves for 2021/22.

Following presentation of the report, a typographical error was corrected in appendix 1 of the report to replace the headings 2022/23 with 2021/22 for the full year budget and forecast.

Members requested some background on predicted car parking income given the large increase in car parking expenditure required in future years as well as some insight into future repairs.

In response to a further question it was confirmed that no asset disposals were being considered at the current time and that car parks would continue to be managed by the car parks team with the net proceeds being transferred to the harbours budget. However, officers agreed that it would be useful to investigate the condition of the car parks to get a clearer idea of future repair expenses.

Following the report of the Bridport and Lyme Regis Harbour Master, members asked whether there should be a contingency fund for the 3 harbours given the unpredictable nature of the price of fuel, supplies and pay.

Officers confirmed that any increases in the costs of supply would be passed on to the customer and that any overspend would be funded from the general reserve.  However, it was considered worthwhile to do some assessment work to identify any financial trends.

Noted

To consider the Harbours Committee Forward Plan.

The Committee noted its forward plan.

Further items for consideration as a result of the debate included:-

• Future car parking income and expenditure
• Assessment of future increases of fuel, supply and pay

To consider any items of business which the Chairman has had prior notification and considers to be urgent pursuant to section 100B (4) b) of the Local Government Act 1972. The reason for the urgency shall be recorded in the minutes.

There were no urgent items.

To move the exclusion of the press and the public for the following item in view of the likely disclosure of exempt information within the meaning of paragraph 3 of schedule 12 A to the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended).

The public and the press will be asked to leave the meeting whilst the item of business is considered.

There was no exempt business.