The running costs for Ventnor Harbour have increased over the last financial year, again.
The budget for 2021/22 was set at £76,054, but by February 2022 it had already reached £78,821, with the end of financial year figure predicted to be £94,529. That £18,475 over budget.
Loss in the income budget too
There’s another blow for the Isle of Wight council in that forecasted berthing fees of £6,024 have been nowhere near reached, with just £1,056 raised to date and no more expected before the financial year end.
The Isle of Wight council do have £12,000 lease payments to bank, but without the expected berthing fees, the income forecasts are down £4,968 for 2021/22.
Contract to remove macroalgae
Cheetah Marine, who previously held the contract for the day-to-day supervision of the harbour, no longer undertake any of these functions as they’re now carried out by the council and are managed by the Senior Harbour Master.
Their contract to clear the harbour of macroalgae – at an annual cost of removing of around £87,420 – was due to come to an end in March 2022.
Investigation into other options
As this function was considered unsustainable in the medium to long term, council officers commissioned Royal HaskoningDHV to investigate options to prevent or reduce the macroalgae entering the Harbour.
The outcome of the investigation was that although “physical changes to the harbour were possible, albeit at a high capital cost, they could not be proven to mitigate the accumulation of macroalgae and that the most economical way of resolving the situation was to continue the physical removal and disposal”.
Will it be sold?
The Isle of Wight council did say in March 2021 that if Ryde Harbour is to be sold to Ryde Town Council (which is was), then the future operation of Ventnor Harbour could be subject to a separate marketing exercise.
The Annual Report for Ventnor Harbour states that:
At the time of preparing this annual report Ventnor Harbour is still within the Isle of Wight Council’s ownership and management and option are being reviewed for the future.
Get Well Plan
Papers for the upcoming Harbour Committee (30th March) reveal a Get Well Plan for Ventnor Harbour, which indicate some changes are planned in the coming months.
You can read the full reports below.
Image: © Chi Bellami
