Agenda, decisions and minutes

To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies were received from Councillor Aled Griffith (Porthmadog Town Council), Llyr Beaumont Jones (Assistant Head of Economy and Community⁠ Department) and Arthur Francis Jones (Senior Harbours Officer).

To receive any declarations 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.

No urgent items were received.

The Chair will propose that the minutes of the meeting of this committee, held on 3^rd October, 2023, be signed as a true record.

The Chair signed the minutes of the previous meeting of this committee held on 3 October 2023, as a true record.

To submit a report by the Senior Harbours Officer.

To note and accept the report.

The following reports were presented, and members were invited to give feedback on the safety matters and harbour operational matters.

(1)       The Senior Harbours Officer's report, giving a brief update to the committee on harbour matters for the period from October 2023 to February 2024.

(Due to the sickness absence of the Senior Harbours Officer, the report was presented by the Maritime Services Manager).

The Senior Harbours Officer was thanked for preparing the written report, and best wishes were extended to him for a speedy recovery.  

Math Roberts was congratulated on his appointment to the full-time post of Beaches Officer.  In response to a question, it was noted that it was not currently envisaged that the Beaches Officer would need to attend harbour committee meetings as the beaches would be the main focus of his post, however, it was explained that the officer would also assist harbour staff with harbour matters when required.

As part of the report, the Maritime Service Manager gave a short summary of the Harbour's budgets 01/4/23 - 31/3/24 (November 2023 Review), which was included as an appendix to the report.  Details were given on following elements of the budget:-

Employees

It was explained that the anticipated overspend under this heading was mainly due to staff overtime costs as they had been called into work during periods of leave / outside normal working hours during the year to deal with incidents, not only in Porthmadog Harbour, but also on other beaches and harbours in Gwynedd. 

Staff were thanked, and especially the Harbourmaster and Assistant Harbourmaster, for their commitment to assist with these incidents.

Property

It was explained that additional finance had been included under this heading in case there was a need for significant expenditure on infrastructure, the harbour wall or the land surrounding the harbour. Since there had been no significant costs this season, an underspend was anticipated in the budget.

One-off spending - Funding from the Department's Funds 

It was explained:-

·         As a result of charging fees, the Maritime Service and Hafan Pwllheli had funds where money had accumulated for years, and there had been a direction to identify schemes across the Service where this money could be used to improve maritime facilities. 

·         That several projects had been put forward, with some being realised in the current financial year, and others in the next financial year.

·         One of the main projects in Porthmadog Harbour was to renew the anchoring chains, and significant finance had been invested in this, as well as maintaining the buoys, installing new ladders on the side of the harbour wall and contractor costs to undertake all the work.

·         That approximately £28,000 had been spent thus far, and a further expenditure of between £7,000 and £8,000 was anticipated before the end of March on other sundries, including improving the compound, repositioning slabs in the area behind the harbour building and upgrading the CCTV system.   

·         That this expenditure would have no impact on the budget as £36,000 had been transferred from the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

To note that the next meeting of the Porthmadog Harbour Consultative Committee will be held on 1^st October, 2024 (subject to confirmation by the Full Council).

It was noted that the next meeting would be held on 1 October 2024 (subject to confirmation by the Full Council on 7 March).

It was noted that the other three harbour committees now met during the day, and it was asked if the members were also interested in holding this committee during working hours.  

It was noted that it was usual for this committee to meet at 5.30pm on a Tuesday, and it would not be practical for it to be held earlier in the day due to the other commitments of some members.  Therefore, it was agreed to leave the time as it currently was.