Agenda and minutes

To elect a chairman for 2015/16

RESOLVED to re-elect Councillor Alwyn Gruffydd as chairman of this committee for the year 2015/16.

To elect a Vice-chairman for 2015/16.

RESOLVED to re-elect Councillor Selwyn Griffiths as vice-chairman of this committee for the year 2015/16.

To receive any apologies for absence.

David McLean (Landowner Interests).

To receive any declaration of personal interest.

No declarations of personal interest were received from any members present.

To consider any items which are urgent matters in the opinion of the Chairman.

The Chairman will propose that the minutes of the meeting of this committee, held on 4 March, 2015, be signed as a true record.

The Chairman signed the minutes of the previous meeting of this Committee, held on 4 March 2015, as a true record.

To submit a report by the Maritime and Country Parks Officer.

The Maritime and Country Parks Officer guided members through the report and the following main points were highlighted:

·         That it was intended to extend/develop the website to include more maritime information;

·         That there were 140 annual moorings, compared to 157 in 2014, which reflected the broader economy;

·         That consideration would be given to the registration system and fees over the Winter;

·         In terms of the Marine Safety Code, the Senior Harbours Officer would review it before the appointed independent authority, Caernarfon Harbour, would audit it.  It was noted that the Code provided guidance and reassured the public that user safety was important to the Council;

·         That observations from members on the content of the Code would be appreciated;

·         That the service was eager to develop Performance Indicators in relation to the management of the harbours and that initial ideas or suggestions were invited from members;

·         That work had been done in response to one Notice to Mariners that was in force, namely installing a new bulb in the lantern of the Navigational Buoy.  There was one other notice in force because the light on the Madog Yacht Club pontoon was non-functioning and that the Council would be prepared to assist with the work;

·         That the Harbour Master’s secondment had been extended until to the end of October 2015 when the post would be reviewed; 

·         It was noted that the employment period of Harbour Assistants (Seasonal) had been extended to 31 December to ensure that it would be possible to respond to incidents and complete the maintenance programme of Porthmadog and Barmouth harbours.

·         That a wreck which was causing a hazard had been disposed of and that another two boats would be assessed before deciding whether or not a notice needed to be placed on the boats;

·         That damage had been caused to an electricity cable when extracting a yacht from the slipway – the incident had been reported to the HSE however no investigation had to be conducted.  It was noted that the need to undertake risk assessments before undertaking such work had been emphasised to staff;

·         That the Harbour's income situation at the end of the 2014-15 financial year was encouraging and that there had been an underspend of £29,276;

·         That it was anticipated that there would be an overspend of approximately £1,400 by the end of the current financial year; 

·         That an investment had been made in a new CCTV system for the harbour;

·         That the moorings had been inspected and that it was anticipated that there were costs of approximately £3,000 in relation to works required on them and it was hoped that the work would be completed before Christmas;

·         That it was intended to replace the Aberdyfi Harbour red diesel tank with the Harbour’s diesel tank in order to increase the storage capacity;

·         That a number of events had been held over the summer. It was intended to include a list of events for summer 2016 in the report submitted at the next meeting and he  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

To note that the next meeting of the Porthmadog Harbour Consultative Committee will be held on 9 March 2016.

It was noted that the next meeting would be held on 9 March, 2016.