Agenda and minutes

To elect a Chairman for this Committee for the year 2015-16.

Resolved:     To re-elect Councillor Dewi Owen as Chair of this Committee for 2015-16.

To elect a Vice-Chairman for this Committee for the year 2015-16.

Resolved:     To re-elect Councillor Anne Lloyd Jones as Vice-chair of this Committee for 2015-16.

To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies were received from Cllr. Mike Stevens, Mr Paul Fowles (Aberdyfi Chamber of Trade), Cllr Mandy Williams-Davies (Cabinet Member - Economy), Mr Llŷr B. Jones (Senior Manager - Economy and Community),

To receive any declaration of personal interest.

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

To note any items that are a matter of urgency in the view of the Chairman for consideration.

The Chairman did not receive any urgent matters for discussion.

To confirm the minutes of a meeting of the Aberdyfi Consultative Committee held on the 3 March 2015.

Submitted:   Minutes of a meeting of the Aberdyfi Harbour Consultative Committee that took place on 3 March 2015.

Resolved:      To accept and approve the minutes as a true record.

To receive and consider a report by Mr Barry Davies, the Maritime Officer.

Submitted:   The report of the Maritime Officer, Mr Barry Davies, on activities in Aberdyfi Harbour with specific reference to the following:

(A)       Mooring figures – Aberdyfi Harbour

The figures for 2015/16 were presented and it was noted that the number was disappointing due to the inclement weather over the summer and the fragile position of the economy and the maritime sector. The following points were noted:

-        That fewer numbers would have an impact on income and therefore expenditure and budgets would have to be cut. This reduction was also reflected throughout the country and further afield, attention was drawn to the fact that some marinas in Europe had a maximum of 30% moorings in use.  It was trusted that the decline in the maritime sector had come to an end and it was anticipated that there would be no further reduction with the market gradually growing over the next two years. 

-       The format of the submitted report had been amended to be less historical and more concise, however, it was noted that full details were available for anyone who required them in electronic or hard copy format.

-        Gwynedd had managed to retain the number of powerboats at a consistent level. There was a high use of personal watercraft in Gwynedd compared to that of the neighbouring counties of Ceredigion, Anglesey and Conwy.  The facilities and the welcome given to boat users in Gwynedd were some of the key factors.

-        Special thanks were given to the Aberdyfi Advertising and Improvements Committee for the high quality Aberdyfi Visitors’ Packs. 

-        The wish to expand this successful practice to other areas of Gwynedd was noted.

-        A request was made by the Chair for the number of visiting boats to Aberdyfi to be noted in the report. The Maritime and Country Parks Officer agreed to undertake this in the next report in March 2016.    

Resolved:    

-       To accept and note the above.

-       That the Maritime and Country Parks Officer states the number of visitors to the harbour in his next report in March 2016. 

(B)       Marine Safety Code

-       It was noted that the Marine Safety Code had been fully adopted following discussions at the Harbour Committees and it was reviewed regularly. A copy had already been circulated to Members and was available on the Council’s website.

-       Adopting the Code was good practice, however, it was noted that it may be unsuitable in certain cases as the Code had the same requirements for fairly small Harbours such as Aberdyfi as those of larger commercial Ports such as Dover. It would be useful to have guidelines that were more suitable and purposeful for smaller sized harbours.

-       The Maritime and Country Parks Officer would send an electronic link to Members following the Government’s consultation into the proposed legislation that would vary harbour abolition powers and competent harbours. 

-       Members were encouraged to raise any concerns regarding Aberdyfi harbour as soon as possible following an incident and they could  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

Fishermen’s Compound

To note that the next meeting of the Aberdyfi Harbour Consultative Committee will be held on 10 March 2016.

Resolved:     It was noted that the next meeting of this Consultative Committee would take place on 10 March 2016.