Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies for absence.

Councillors Dylan Bullard and Peter Read, along with Councillor Mici Plwm (Pwllheli Town Council), Alwyn Roberts (Royal National Lifeboat Institution) and Councillor Ioan Thomas (Cabinet Member - Economic Development).

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.

There were no urgent items.

The Chairman will propose that the minutes of the meeting of this committee, held on 16 October 2018, be signed as a true record.

The Chair signed the minutes of the previous meeting of this Committee, held on 16 October 2018, as a true record subject to the amendment of the first sentence of the second paragraph on page eight of the English version of the minutes to read:

“In response to an observation by a member regarding depositing the materials removed from the harbour basin directly on Abererch beach, the Economy and Community Senior Manager explained that excessive fine silts were detected in material samples removed from the basin.”

(a)       To submit the report of the Maritime and Country Parks Officer.

(b)       To submit the report of the Pwllheli Harbour and Hafan Manager.

(a)       The Maritime and Country Parks Officer guided the members through the report, drawing attention to the following main points:

·         That the Harbour Committees' constitution noted their membership and that organisations were required to confirm their representative annually, and to send a copy of their constitution and the minutes of their annual meetings.

·         That the Maritime and Coastguard Agency Inspectorate's Chief Auditor had carried out a follow-up review of the safety procedures and systems of Gwynedd's muncipal harbours on 5-6 March 2019 in order to ensure full compliance with the Port Marine Safety Code (PMSC). In the case of Pwllheli Harbour and Hafan, that the Chief Auditor had noted the need to look at the channel.

·         No issue or cause of concern had been submitted for the attention of the service by Members of the Harbour Committee in 2018 in relation to the Harbour's statutory responsibilities and duties. The Safety Code was in the process of being reviewed, and a copy of the Code would be sent to members prior to the next meeting. It would also be available on the Council's Website.

·         Reference was made to a brief summary of the Harbour and Hafan's budgets and current financial situation up to the end of February 2019. That Hafan's income performance was £1,198,506 against the target income of £1,351,780; which was encouraging given the number of empty berths. On the whole, the budgets were positive, with Hafan generating an excess despite all the necessary work and cuts to budgets.

·         That the fees and charges for 2019/20 had been published in the handbook and on the Council's website in November 2018. In order to meet the budget challenge and the service's income target, Pwllheli Harbour and Hafan fees would increase by 3% on average for the 2019/20 financial year. There would be no increase in berthing fees for the Outer Harbour.

·         That detailed plans for the Crib Groyne had been completed, and that the initial estimated costs submitted anticipated that the costs of renovating the groyne would be approximately £200,000. The necessary work to submit a Marine Licence had been completed and the application submitted to Natural Resources Wales. It was reported that the application result was expected before 27 June 2019 and that the consultation period would last for four months. It was explained that it was vital that the Council submitted an application for a Marine Licence as the footprint of the groyne extended farther than its current footprint. The Council would advertise the work and would invite tenders by qualified contractors on the Sell2Wales Website. It was anticipated that work on renovating the groyne would commence in September 2019.

·         The stilling lagoon had been emptied during December 2018 and January 2019. Work was to be completed to raise the height of the pipe in order to allow more silt into the stilling lagoon. Samples would then be taken of the silt entering and leaving the pipe in order to determine how much had settled and how much was  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

To receive a presentation from the Economy and Community Senior Manager.

An update was given by the Senior Manager - Economy and Community on the management model review for the Harbour and Hafan. It was noted that, following the invitation of tenders in January 2019, Strategic Leisure had been appointed to undertake the detailed work of assessing the five options noted on the short-list, and developing an outline business case as part of the second phase. It was explained that a report was expected on the favoured option along with an outline business case by the end of April 2019. The eagerness to hold a meeting with Committee members around the report's conclusions in May was noted.

The Pwllheli Harbour Berth Holders' Association representative noted that he had submitted information via e-mail to the Maritime and Country Parks Officer, but that it had not been included on the agenda. In response, the Maritime and Country Parks Officer apologised for the information having been left out of the agenda, but noted that he had mistaken it for a statement rather than a matter for the agenda.

The representative was given the opportunity to present the information. He noted:

·         That Pwllheli Harbour Berth Holders' Association was seriously concerned that the adopted Pwllheli Harbour Dredging Strategy was not being complied with. Natural Resources Wales (NRW) appeared to be actively frustrating Gwynedd Council's ability to comply, resulting in restrictive water depth for boats. That Pwllheli Harbour Berth Holders' Association requested that Natural Resources Wales provide to the Pwllheli Harbour Consultative Committee, validation and documentation setting out their objections to the disposal options that were discussed and dismissed, including the controlled disposal on nearby beaches.

·         That a recent on-line survey of Association members showed a concerning age profile of Pwllheli Hafan Annual Berth holders. This result was consistent with the issues raised by the British Marine Federation Futures Report 2018 which raised a number of pertinent challenges for the industry. With this background of challenges, coupled with the hard evidence of reducing numbers, it was important that the fundamental basis of the marina and harbour was restored and protected. This was needed in order to give a stable facility and thus enable concentration on the more esoteric issues facing the business. Unless drastic steps were taken to address the dredging situation it would make the Hafan unviable in a few years, with a significant loss of revenue to Pwllheli Town and surrounding areas.

·         That the survey’s results had been shared with the Senior Manager - Economy and Community and the Maritime and Country Parks Officer.

In response, the Senior Manager - Economy and Community expressed his appreciation upon receiving this useful information, noting that he had glanced at the survey’s results, and that it highlighted the challenges facing Hafan and the Harbour. He added that the information would be presented to the consultants, and that it was intended to send a copy of the survey’s results to Committee members.

RESOLVED to note the information.

To note that the next meeting will be held on 15 October 2019.

It was noted that the next meeting would be held on 15 October, 2019.