Agenda and draft minutes

To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence were received from Cllr Sarah Williams and Philip Thicknesse.

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 6 March 2024.

The minutes of the last meeting held on 06 March 2024 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.

Richard Tinsley declared that he held a berth at Weymouth Marina.

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 either 1 question or 1 statement for each meeting.  You are welcome to attend the meeting in person or via MS Teams to read out your question and to receive the response.   If you submit a statement for the committee this will be circulated to all members of the committee in advance of the meeting as a supplement to the agenda and appended to the minutes for the formal record but will not be read out at the meeting. The first 8 questions and the first 8 statements received from members of the public or organisations for each meeting will be accepted on a first come first served basis in accordance with the deadline set out below.  Further information read Public Participation - Dorset Council 

All submissions must be e-mailed in full to joshua.kennedy@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk

by 8.30am on Friday 7 June 2024.

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

• You can submit 1 question or 1 statement.
• a question may include a short pre-amble to set the context.
• It must be a single question and any sub-divided questions will not be permitted.
• Each question will consist of no more than 450 words, and you will be given up to 3 minutes to present your question.
• 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.   

There were no public questions.

To consider a verbal report by the Chair.

The Chair delivered a verbal update to the committee, he thanked the previous Chair of the committee for their work in delivering the Harbours Strategy and Business Plan, as well as Cllr Bryan in his previous role as Brief Holder. The Chair also thanked the officers and harbour teams, as well as the independent members for their contribution to the committee. In their new roles, the Chair and Vice-Chair had attended a meeting with the Harbour Master to discuss current projects and see West Bay and Lyme Regis Harbours and the Chair looked forward to attending the consultative group meetings going forward.  

To note the minutes of the Weymouth, Bridport and Lyme Regis Harbour Consultative Groups.

The Lyme Regis Consultative Group minutes for the meeting held on 09 May 2024 were presented by Nick Marks, the Consultative Group Chair.

The Weymouth Harbour Consultative Group minutes for the meeting held on 22 May 2024 were presented by Tim Day the Consultative Group Chair.

In response to questions from members the Harbours Manager explained that they were intending to increase patrols during firework displays over the summer and that they were encouraging harbour users and visitors to report any incidents to the Harbour Office.

To receive updates from the Weymouth and Bridport & Lyme Regis Harbour Masters.

The Bridport Harbour Master presented the updates for Bridport (West Bay) and Lyme Regis Harbours. He provided a summary of the statistics for each Harbour, noting that in Bridport, due to poor weather in April and May that day launches and visiting boat numbers were down, however season ticket sales were comparable to the previous year. In Lyme Regis the statistics also reflected the poor weather earlier in the year and he noted that quayside parking had seen a large increase.

The Harbour Master provided an overview of ongoing works in the harbours, including dredging in both harbours that had been completed, the harbour storage building in Lyme Regis and bin housing in Bridport. The Harbour Master also presented details of an incident where the storm moved a large amount of stone from the beach onto the Cobb in Lyme Regis, requiring it to be cleared and a failed power cable that required repair.  

The Harbours Manager presented the update for Weymouth Harbour. He explained that there had been a decrease in popularity of berths for smaller boats, likely attributed to the cost-of-living crisis, however interest in large vessels remained strong. The adverse weather in April had also impacted the statistics for Weymouth. 

A summary of the recorded incidents that had occurred in Weymouth was provided to members, including spillages and anti-social behaviour. The Harbours Manager also noted that the harbour team undertook a training exercise in May to simulate a tier 2 oil spill.

In regard to harbour works, the Harbours Manager informed the committee that construction works on the Weymouth Quay Regeneration Project was in the final stages and that delays to the project had occurred, due to lack of provision of electrical infrastructure. It was also noted that work on Harbour Wall 4 was ongoing and that there had been no effect on harbour operations during the works.

In response to a question from a member, the Harbour Master clarified that they were exploring future licensing options to facilitate dredging in Lyme Regis going forward. The Harbours Manager also explained that all harbours have an incident reporting system and that work was ongoing to analyse the data around incidents.

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

The Service Manager for Flood & Coastal Erosion Risk Management presented the engineering update to the committee. He noted that dredging had been completed as a single operation between Bridport and Lyme Regis, however the required depths had not been achieved in Bridport, so conversations were ongoing to arrange for dredging to be re-done in Bridport.

The Service Manager provided an overview of the works going on across the three harbours, including repairs to harbour walls A and B in Bridport, where options were being explored to combine the work into a single construction project to reduce costs. In Lyme Regis the Cobb was being monitored following repairs that had been completed after storm damage.

Inspections were set to take place across the three harbours over the course of the summer and autumn months.

In response to questions from members the Service Manager explained that there were financial restraints on the repair and maintenance budgets, meaning that funds were being reprioritised as and when repairs were necessary. He also noted that the team was acutely aware of the deadline for completion of works that was dependent on levelling-up funding and was confident that the projects could be delivered within the deadline.

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

The Bridport Harbour Master presented the budget monitoring report for Bridport and Lyme Regis, due to it being early in the year the Harbour Master explained that there were no variances to the budget forecast and the movement to reserves for Bridport was currently predicted to be £102,850, while there was no predicted movement to reserves for Lyme Regis as it was still funded by Dorset Council.

The Harbour Office Manager presented the budget monitoring figures for Weymouth harbour. There was a healthy reserve predicted to be transferred at the end of the financial year and it was explained that the large reserve fund for Weymouth harbour was split into five separate categories.

The committee noted the budget monitoring reports 2024/25 for Bridport, Lyme Regis and Weymouth harbours.

To consider a report from the Harbours Manager and Harbour Master.

The Year End Budget report for 2023/24 for Bridport was presented by the Bridport Harbour Master. In his report he summarised the main variances to the budget, including expenditure related to car parking management fees and an overspend on staffing costs, however there was also a significant surplus of income from car park revenue. Due to there being one and a half dredges costed into the financial year the transfer to reserves was less than expected for Bridport harbour. The Harbour Master provided a similar update for the Year End Budget report for Lyme Regis, with an overspend on staffing costs and the contractor’s budget. Surplus income in a range of areas was also reported. 

The Harbour Office Manager presented the Year End Budget report for Weymouth harbour. The main areas of variance were reported to the committee and it was noted that some of the reserve funds would be allocated to the next financial year to fund projects from the Asset Management Plan that had not been completed.

In response to a question from one member, the Harbour Office Manager stated that they could provide a detailed breakdown on parking income at a future committee meeting.

The committee noted the end of year actuals for 2023/24 for Bridport, Lyme Regis and Weymouth harbours.

To consider the Harbours Advisory Committee forward plan.

The Head of Environment and Wellbeing presented the forward plan to the committee, highlighting that in addition to the standing items, updates on the Harbours Business Plan and Harbour Revision Order would be brought to the next meeting in September.

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 x 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 is no scheduled exempt business for this meeting.

There was no exempt business.