The Harbour Board has established an annual River Hamble Forum, held in late March or early April each year.

Should there be any issues or matters of concern which you wish to raise as a River-user or stakeholder in the intervening period between Forum meetings, you should contact any member of either the Harbour Board or Management Committee.

Marine Director’s Annual Report 2012

The last 12 months have seen a period of consolidation and relative stability but, as ever, there has been plenty to keep us more than busy.

Firstly, the year has seen a couple of staff changes. Graham Horton, with us for 12 months as Environment and Development Manager, has returned to Natural England and Alison Fowler has rejoined the team after her maternity leave. We have also welcomed a new member of the team – Peter Jennings – who has joined us in a newly created training role as Harbour Patrol Assistant.

The Harbour Board and Management Committee have both seen some changes during the past year. Chris Moody has been re-appointed to the Board, for a further four years, and David Jobson has joined as the recreational boating member, taking over from Tony Lovell. Dermod O’Malley has joined the Management Committee as Berth and Mooring Holders representative, and we also welcomed Councillor Graham Burgess.

A major piece of work has been carried out during the year to establish a new Strategic Vision for the River Hamble. This was the result of a great deal of effort by a sub-committee formed from members of the Management Committee and Harbour Board, along with input from other members of the Management Committee, through consultation with their constituents. The Strategic Vision has now been published and is available to view on the Harbour Authority website. It is a living document and will initially be reviewed at six monthly intervals. In parallel, we have carried out an annual review of the Strategic Plan and updated the Annual Business Plan, both of which are also available on-line. On the financial front, we have continued to drive down costs and seek to maximise income. The projected surplus for the financial year 2011/12 is £23,000 and the budget for 2012/13 has been agreed by the Harbour Board, showing a projected surplus of just over £18,000.

Our compliance with the Port Marine Safety Code has been audited regularly by the Designated Person and I am delighted to say that there have been no major incidents on non-conformities to report this year.

In response to proposals by ABP for a major capital dredge in Southampton Water and the Solent, the Harbour Authority, working on behalf of all river users, has been working closely with ABP to ensure that sufficient monitoring and mitigation is provided to protect the interests of the River Hamble and all its users. A formal agreement has now been signed by both parties.

Whilst on the subject of dredging, the Harbour Authority has been working with the Hamble marinas and boatyards to produce a jointly-funded report to examine the impacts of maintenance dredging upon nature conservation sites in the River. The report has now been completed and approved by the Environment Agency and Natural England as meeting the requirements of Defra’s maintenance dredge protocol.

We continue to ensure that all staff are fully trained, to the required level, for oil spill response, and that our equipment stocks are maintained.

After a couple of years of experience of the revised dinghy and gig racing risk assessment and Code of Practice, we have once again met with representatives of the clubs and event organisers and re-affirmed the procedures for 2012.

The flow of applications for Harbour Authority works consent had virtually dried up at one stage with the only applications processed being for maintenance dredging. However, there were three new applications during the last year:

Deacons Boatyard – re-configuration of berths and a capital dredge approved by the Harbour Board and Marine Management Organisation, but refused by Eastleigh Borugh Council

Warsash Sailing Club - new dolphin to support the race officers hut – approved and work completed

RK Marine - installation of a lift dock - approved and work completed.

We have continued work on a programme of Asset Enhancement projects. Photographs of both River banks have been taken, at 20 metre intervals, to record the state of the banks as they were in 2011. These have been added to a project called ‘River Hamble View’ which is a multi-layer interactive mapping system for the River, showing maps, charts, aerial photographs, land registry data, bank photographs, environmental designations, moorings and much more. It is hoped that most of the layers will be made available on-line in the near future. New slipway safety and information signs will be installed shortly at Warsash, Hamble and Swanwick. The project to provide educational resources for schools is now at the scoping stage and, finally, a seagrass survey of the River was carried out, although none was found

Rather slow progress has been made towards installation of a new workshop and store on the Warsash Jetty. This has now gone out to tender and it is hoped that the work will be done before the autumn. Our new RIB, to replace the Dory in accordance with the Asset Replacement Plan, is in the final stages of build and will be delivered shortly. No Asset Replacement projects are scheduled for 2012, but heavy corrosion at the up-stream end of the Hamble Jetty pontoon has involved some expenditure to rectify the problem. In 2013, the maintenance piles at Land’s End are due for a survey, and replacement if required.

Harbour Authority staff have been involved in many routine activities, including support for the Annual Harbour Master’s Charity Pursuit Race for dinghies , the Bursledon Regatta and the Hamble River Raid. We will also be providing full support for the River Hamble Games on 21 July this year, including entering a Harbour Authority team.

We have worked with the Hamble River Combined Clubs on the preparation of the latest edition of the River Hamble Handbook and Directory which was published in February.

We have continued with the management of the mid-stream moorings and the moorings Waiting List, on behalf of the Crown Estate. We have devoted a considerable amount of time assisting the Crown Estate with the management of their winter pile maintenance programme, which was completed in February with minimal disruption to mooring holders. We have also re-negotiated and signed the Management Agreement with The Crown Estate, on terms which are very favourable for the Harbour Authority.

An initial re-vamp of our website has been completed, but there is still more work to be done when time permits. We are now able to offer on-line applications and payments for the Waiting List, and on-line payments for annual Harbour Dues for dry-sailed vessels. It is hoped that this can be extended to include other routine payments in due course.

Members of staff have continued to give talks and presentations about the management of the harbour, at a variety of venues, including to a total of 120 children at Locks Heath Junior School.

Thefts of property on and around the River have been a continuing cause for concern, and Harbour Authority staff have been working closely with the police and the Marine Police Unit in an effort to deter and detect these crimes. A new off-shoot of the familiar Project Kraken has been established, purely at a local level, in an effort to enhance information sharing and to encourage regular River users to report anything suspicious or unusual.

Once again, visitor income has been maintained by maximising the use of the visitor berthing facilities during the winter months – a facility enjoyed by many of the local sailing schools and fishermen – and we have again advertised the Visitor Pontoon for pre-booked events and rallies during the summer, which was well received last year.

On the environmental and development front, the highly successful Streamlined Consents Group, recognised nationally as an example of best practice, continues to operate well. This is a chance for people wishing to undertake works in the marine environment on the River to meet informally with consenting organisations prior to an application being submitted and marine consents sought. We have also continued to support the work of the Hamble Estuary Partnership (HEP). The role of the HEP has been reviewed and there continues to be a valuable place for the partnership under its new Chairman, Dr Anthony Gallagher.

Overall, it has been a year of consolidation, with a few on-going frustrations, but we continue to be largely successful in what we do – keeping the harbour as safe as possible for those who use it.

David M Evans
Marine Director and Harbour Master
River Hamble Harbour Authority