Agenda item

In accordance with the Notice of Motion received under Section 4.20 of the Constitution, Councillor Gareth Thomas will propose as follows:-

“This Council calls on the UK Government to create legislation to control personal watercraft on the sea in the same manner as motorcycles on land.  That is, that every personal watercraft has to have a licence and insurance prior to use on the sea and that every driver is given a test on his/her ability to manage the vehicle and on his/her knowledge of navigation.”  

That the Council calls on the UK Government to create legislation to control personal watercrafts and powerboats on the sea in the same manner as motorcycles on land.  That is, that every personal watercraft and power boat has to have a licence and insurance prior to use on the sea and that every driver is given a test on his/her ability to manage the vehicle and on his/her knowledge of navigation.  

Submitted – the following notice of motion by Councillor Gareth Thomas, in accordance with Section 4.20 of the Constitution, and it was seconded:

That the Council calls on the UK Government to create legislation to control personal watercrafts and powerboats on the sea in the same manner as motorcycles on land.  That is, that every personal watercraft and power boat has to have a licence and insurance prior to use on the sea and that every driver is given a test on his/her ability to manage the vehicle and on his/her knowledge of navigation.  

During the discussion on the motion, it was noted:

·         That Britain was the only country, with the exception of Egypt, that did not have control over personal watercrafts.

·         That they could compare driving a personal watercraft to an inexperienced person driving a powerful motor cycle among people.

·         The sale of watercrafts had increased this year as a result of Covid and, therefore, the problem was likely to be even worse next year.

·         It appeared that the police could not prosecute in cases of irresponsible or aggressive driving of personal watercrafts.

·         This was a problem along the Gwynedd coast and there was a real need for legislation to ensure that our beaches were safe.

It was further noted that individuals were not required to register or obtain a licence to drive powerboats either, and an amendment to include powerboats was proposed and seconded.

The proposer of the original motion agreed to amend the motion on these lines with the Council’s consent.

During the discussion on the amendment, it was noted:

·         There was no method to monitor whether or not the driver of a personal watercraft or powerboat had been drinking alcohol.

·         Lack of control was a common theme for the three motions that had been submitted to this meeting of the Council, and the importance of devolving powers for such matters was emphasised.

·         An app was available to manage the movements of boats.

·         Everyone should receive training prior to driving such vehicles.

In response to a member’s question regarding the situation on Council beaches, the Monitoring Officer explained that there were limited rights in terms of, for example, controlling speed in specific sections of a beach etc. which had been indicated in by-laws. However, it was not required to have insurance or to register in order to use these vehicles and this was the loophole in the law that was referred to by the motion.

A vote was taken on the amendment and it carried.

As the amendment was accepted, the Monitoring Officer explained that the original motion had been amended and that a further vote was needed on the wording of the amendment, rather than the wording of the original. The majority voted in favour of the motion. 

RESOLVED to adopt the motion, namely:

That the Council calls on the UK Government to create legislation to control personal watercrafts and powerboats on the sea in the same manner as motorcycles on land. That is, that every personal watercraft and power boat has to have a licence and insurance prior to use on the sea and that every driver is given a test on his/her ability to manage the vehicle and on his/her knowledge of navigation.