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Agenda and minutes

Venue: Parlwr Mawr, Theatr y Ddraig, Barmouth Community Centre, Jubilee Road, Barmouth, Gwynedd. LL42 1EF

Contact: Lowri Haf Evans  01286 679 878

Items
No. Item

1.

ELECT CHAIR

To elect chair for 2018/19

Minutes:

RESOLVED to re-elect Councillor Gethin Williams as Chair of this Committee for the year 2018/19.

 

2.

ELECT VICE CHAIR

To elect vice chair for 2018/19

Minutes:

RESOLVED to re-elect Councillor Eryl Jones-Williams as Vice-chair of this Committee for 2018/19.

 

3.

APOLOGIES

To receive any apologies for absence.

 

 

Minutes:

Councillor Ioan Ceredig Thomas (Cabinet Member - Economy), Dr John Smith (Barmouth Viaduct Access Group), Mr Martin Parouty (Barmouth Harbour Users Group) and Mr Mike Ellis (Three Peaks Race Committee)    

 

4.

DECLARATION OF PERSONAL INTEREST

To receive any declaration of personal interest.

Minutes:

The following members declared a personal interest in the following items for the reasons noted:  

 

(a)           Cllr. Gethin Williams – member of the Community Trust 

(b)          Mrs Wendy Ponsford – member of the Yacht Club, member of the Community  Trust

(c)           Cllr. Rob Triggs – member of the Community Trust, member of the             Yacht Club 

 

          Members did not vote on the matters that dealt with their personal interest. 

 

5.

MINUTES pdf icon PDF 107 KB

To confirm the minutes of the previous meeting of the Barmouth Consultative Committee held on 6.3.2018

Minutes:

The Chairman signed the minutes of the meeting of this Committee held on 6 March 2018, as a true record.

 

Glynda O'Brien (Member Support Officer) was wished a happy retirement and she was thanked for her contribution and service to the Committee over the years.

 

          Matters arising from the minutes:

 

(a)       Maintenance


The Maritime and Country Parks Officer to ask the Senior Harbours Officer and the Harbour Master about the winter maintenance work programme.

 

(b)       Events


It was accepted that there was room for improvement with the process of reminding organisers to contact the Maritime Service first to get permission to hold activities and to strengthen day-to-day arrangements. 

 

          It was reported that discussions had taken place regarding the Motorcross   event clashing with Gwynedd Half Term holidays and the lack of            communication between the organisers and Barmouth Town Council.  It was noted that Mr Arnold (Motorcross organiser) required confirmation of the dates      for 2019, before December in order to organise the event.  It was added that it           was not possible to change the date for 2018 as the Motorcross events   programme across the country had already been published.  A suggestion was           made that October half term weekends (Gwynedd) should be avoided and           Remembrance Sunday should also be considered.

 

          The 9/10 or 16/17 of November were suggested in order not to clash with    half-term.  It was noted that the event was important for the area and they did     not want to lose it.  The need to confirm the dates with Mr Arnold before December 2018, was emphasised.

 

(c)        Fairbourne Emergency Telephones

            It was highlighted, following the Committee's decision to express to the relevant    Cabinet Member their wish to dispose of the emergency telephones due to a             lack of use, that this had not occurred. Prior to disposal, it was suggested that      there should be further consultation with the Coastguard and the RNLI             regarding the use of the telephones.

 

(ch)     FLAG Activities (Fisheries Local Action Group).

 

   It was reported that the activities had been successful and it was proposed to       expand the venture in the future.  All who had been part of the arrangements       were thanked.

 

The Town Councillor noted that he could not attend FLAG Group meetings in the area and he suggested that membership should be offered to someone else.  It was confirmed that the FLAG Group's wish was for any one memberfrom Barmouth Town Council to be a representative.  

 

(d)     Sand Clearance

 

It was stated that it was not possible to see the sea from Barmouth, and it was noted that following meetings with Gwynedd Consultancy it was not possible to remove the sand.  However, it was highlighted that positive statements had been made in a magazine stating that the beach was an excellent resource, the seawall was popular and the channel was clear.

 

(dd)   Dredging

 

It was anticipated that only Victoria Dock and Pwllheli Harbour would be dredged.

 

(e)     Arthog  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

6.

HARBOUR SAFETY

To consider any harbour safety matters.

Minutes:

It was noted that no issue regarding harbour safety had been submitted within the period, however, attention was drawn to the concern that young children were climbing along the buildings, boats, pots and fishing tackle in Aberdyfi.   A comment was made that it should be ensured that the site was safe and a request should be made to the owner of any fishing tackle to complete a risk assessment.

 

 

7.

UPDATE ON HARBOUR MANAGEMENT MATTERS pdf icon PDF 71 KB

To consider a report by the Senior Harbours Officer

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

a) Senior Harbours Officer's Report

A report was presented by the Senior Harbours Officer giving a brief update on Harbour matters for the period from March 2018 to October 2018. Following an exceptional Summer, with a significant increase in numbers visiting the area, it was reported that the Service's resources were not sufficient to respond to all the issues and this was highlighted as a high risk.   It was added that one fatal accident had occurred and the response to the Coroner had been implemented.  It was also noted that staff had to deal with very difficult situations and in response to this it was highlighted that a meeting had been organised with the Coastguard to discuss the situation further.   It was reported that the Service was under pressure.

 

In response to a question regarding the reduction in the number of moorings, it was reported that this was a pattern that could be seen in other natural harbours.  It was added that the industry itself was suffering, but despite the reduction this did not have an impact on the economic benefit when looking at the whole situation e.g. a positive increase was seen in the number of powerboats.  The Harbour Master noted that a change in culture was one reason for the reduction in the number of yachts and the need for power and speed had increased.  It was added that customers needed to 'buy a resource' such as moorings as an item and that the current process was protracted.

                       

To address this it was suggested there should be a way of facilitating payments and a request was made for a report to the next meeting listing the possible options available.

 

The Maritime and Country Parks Officer added that a review was being undertaken by the Service asking why mooring owners had left and a report on the findings would be submitted (to all Harbour Committees) in March 2019.

 

In the context of installing moorings, it was highlighted that Barmouth Town Council had considered funding the costs of moorings and they intended to raise money for pontoons. The need to confirm the arrangements for ownership was highlighted and it was suggested that the Town Councillor should meet with the Senior Harbours Officer and the Harbour Master to discuss this further.  In terms of dredging, an operational licence would be required.  As the Council's budgets were tight and were facing further cuts, it would not be possible for the Council to fund the dredging of the Harbour.  It was suggested that the Town Councillor should consult the Maritime and Country Parks Officer to agree on a letter to be sent to Natural Resources Wales to be able to operate.  It was suggested that the community was willing to raise the money.

 

·         Barmouth community was praised for its willingness to collaborate and to get the best for  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

8.

MATTERS TO BE CONSIDERED AT THE REQUEST OF MEMBERS OF THE CONSULTATIVE COMMITTEE

·         Consider allowing Representative of Fairbourne Amenities Trust as co-optee on committee

Minutes:

 

          (a)          Consider allowing a representative of Fairbourne Amenities Trust                  as a co-                           opted member on the Committee.

 

                        The Maritime and Country Parks Officer referred to the Harbour                             Committee Terms of Reference and confirmed that the                                         membership was:

 

·         up to 4 local members of Gwynedd Council

·         The Gwynedd Council Cabinet Member who is responsible for the Harbour Authority portfolio

·         One member of the Town Council

·         Up to 7 other members representing the various interests of the harbour users

 

                        Since the current membership of Barmouth Harbour Consultative   Committee was              complete an additional request would be beyond      the Council's enforcement                     framework.

 

                        It was highlighted that Arthog Community Council had an empty seat and it was                   suggested that one representative could be appointed that would represent both                  bodies. 

 

                        It was noted that the Barmouth Viaduct Access Group representative had resigned              and that it was the Group's responsibility to elect a new representative. 

 

                        It was noted that the Three Peaks Race representative also wished to resign and             that it was that Committee's responsibility to elect a new representative. 

 

                        It was emphasised that there was a responsibility on the above bodies to inform the            Maritime and Country Parks Officer or the Member Support Officer of the new                      nominations.

 

                        Mr Mike Ellis (Three Peaks Race Committee) was thanked for his distinguished                   contributions to the Committee over the years.

 

9.

DATE OF NEXT MEETING

To note that the next meeting of the Barmouth Harbour Consultative Committee will be held on 26th of March 2019

Minutes:

It was noted that the next meeting will take place on 26th March, 2019.