A boat owner in Ventnor was shocked to receive a letter from the Isle of Wight Council on 2nd April.
The letter informed him that the cost of an annual permit to park a 5.1m boat at Wheelers Bay in Ventnor was going to jump from £52.60 to £99.36 in 2012/13. Then rise again the following year to £160.
It’s not just the proposal to more than triple the costs over the period that alarmed the boat-owner, but the sheer speed the council was attempting to execute it at.
New rates effective immediately
Dated 28th March, the letter explained that the new rates would be effective from 1st April 2012, giving the boat owners no time to make alternative arrangements.
When the council was contacted, VB has been told that the reaction of the person dealing with it was along the lines of ‘If you don’t like it, move your boat’.
The council justify the rise as a result of a recent review of all leisure-related charges and in the letter to permit holders go on to compare their permit prices with the likes of New Forest and Torbay.
Cllr Welsford: Request to “hold off for a year”
County councillor for the area, Cllr Chris Welsford, told VB he’d put in a complaint about what he called the ‘unbelievably short notice’ of price rise given to permit holders and the rudeness of the way tax-payers had been dealt with.
The dinghy park, which has been described as ‘like a high beach’, is thought to originally have been Common land and used for over 200 years by local boat owners.
“What is the area if it’s not sailing use?” said Cllr Welsford.
He said that he’d be asking for the new rates to be postponed for a year, giving permit holders the opportunity to either make alternative arrangements or budget for the price hike.
“I don’t think they’re getting a fair deal the way they’re being treated.” Cllr Welsford told VB.
Ventnor versus Yarmouth
Rather than compare the permit price to an area such as New Forest, which has a totally different local economy, the boat owner who got in touch with VB compared the service offered at Wheelers Bay to that at Yarmouth Harbour.
It’s not hard to see the differences on the table below. Yarmouth permit holders will pay over £20 pa less, but receive substantially more services for their money.
| YARMOUTH 5m boat 2012/13 £78.66 |
VENTNOR 5m boat 2012/13 £99.36 (rising to £160 in 2013/14) |
| * A secure site. * CCTV * Security patrol at night from Easter until at least the end of Oct. * Purpose built safe slipway usable at all states of the tide. * Assistance from staff if required during day light hours. * Electric winch. * Access to fresh water, toilets and showers. |
* No facilities (water, toilets, security) * Slipway not designed for boats (faces east instead of south) and not usable at certain states of the tide. * Hand winch not usable. * Non boat site owners using the slipway probably not insured (we have to be). * No litter bin. * Dogs mess everywhere. |
