7th December, 2024

Are Peel Ports Clydeport about to impose a £100 annual charge for all vessels from six to 24 metres moored or berthed in their area?

By Bill Heaney

A Mayday message went out to all small boat owners – and even the “pink gin sailors” at establishments such as the Royal Northen and Clyde Yacht Club in Rhu – that a proposal is being considered which would see Clydeport owner Peel Ports impose a £100 annual charge for all vessels from six to 24 metres moored or berthed in their area — or a £75 charge for summer only.

Clydeport operates a cluster of ports spanning 450 square miles from Ardrossan in South Ayrshire to Greenock in Inverclyde, Clydebank in West Dunbartonshire and the King George V dock in Glasgow.

They are reported in the Glasgow Herald to be about to introduce a ‘conservancy fee’ for recreational vessels and a £100 annual charge for all boats from six to 24 metres moored or berthed in the Clydeport area.

These plans to charge small boats to use the Clyde have been predictably branded “outrageous”, and the Scottish Government has been urged to intervene.

The River Leven appears not to be included in the plan, but the complaints about wrecks littering the river from Dumbarton Rock to Balloch and Loch Lomond have been mounting in recent years and it is likely that West Dunbartonshire Council would welcome a big company coming in to take matters in hand.

Mooring on the Leven is free to all boat owners and this goes back centuries and is associated with a Royal Charter.

The Clyde Port Authority was privatised by John Major’s government in 1992, and acquired by Peel Ports in 2003.

Any movement in the direction being talked about would affect sailing clubs which use the river as well as marine tourism and could impact rural communities around the Three Lochs and the Clydeside economy at large.

At the Scottish Parliament’s Cross Party Group (CPG) on Recreational Boating and Marine Tourism’s meeting on November 27, members of the leisure boating community and sector representatives expressed their concerns about Peel Port’s proposal and their failure to engage with the CPG about their plans.

Stuart McMillan, the Greenock MSP who chairs the CPG, said: “The sector is rightly angry about this proposal, as the rationale for the charge does not appear to stand up to scrutiny.

“Members of the CPG are particularly frustrated that Peel Ports have twice turned down invites to our meetings to explain their proposals, leading the sector to feel like this is being imposed upon them without their input.

“While Peel Ports have said that they plan to begin their consultation with the sector after the New Year, boaters feel like they have been treated with contempt. It was therefore agreed at Wednesday’s meeting that Peel Ports should abandon this proposal.”

Peel Ports Clydeports’ Greenock site (Image: Peel Ports)

Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, who attended the CPG meeting said: “The recreational boating sector contributes significantly to Scotland’s coastal communities. The last thing the sector needs is for recreational boaters to be targeted with an unjustified and extortionate fee.

“The Clyde’s waters belong to the people of Scotland – not corporate interests looking to squeeze every penny out of those who enjoy and rely on them.”

Finlo Cottier, CEO of Royal Yachting Association Scotland (RYAS) said: “This is not about recreational boaters being unwilling to pay for their pastime – sailors have always expected to pay for harbour, berthing and mooring fees.

“This is about the imposition of a fee with no clear provision of service or facility across a huge part of the recreational boating community.

“Peel Ports have tried to equate the proposed fee to those applied in other harbours across the UK, but this does not stand up to scrutiny.

“The Clyde is unique in the UK in its size and character, and the Clydeport area which Peel Port controls extends well beyond the commercial shipping channels.”

Hunterston Port facilitiesUnder the 1964 Harbours Act, the Scottish Government has the power to remove statutory powers from a harbour authority, and calls are now being made for Holyrood to step in.

Eric Sweeney of Sailing Cruising Scotland, said: “In discussions with representatives of the members of SCS, of which there are over 13,000, it has become apparent that Peel Ports, as port regulator, need to be regulated themselves.

“In this regard, we believe that relevant Scottish Ministers should issue a Harbour Order to Peel Ports that ensures leisure craft under 24 metres in length are exempt of any port fees whatsoever.

“In addition, there is no appetite among our members to pay this fee and no appetite among marinas to collect the fee. Consequently, there is a danger that leisure vessels will deactivate location devices, which would be a safety concern.

“Fundamentally, Peel Ports’ plan to introduce a conservancy fee is outrageous.”

A spokesperson for Peel Ports Clydeport said: “We are at the early stages of exploring options around the introduction of a conservancy fee for leisure vessels on the Clyde, aligned to the practice of many other statutory harbour authorities who already apply these fees to their services.

“No decision has been taken with regard to these initial discussions. However if we were to pursue the introduction of a fee, in line with our statutory obligations we would hold a consultation during which all marine users would be given the opportunity to share their views.

“Conservancy fees for leisure vessels are standard practice among UK harbour authorities, enabling the essential maintenance and operation of our waterways.

“Regardless of the outcome of these discussions, as the statutory harbour authority for the Clyde, we will continue to provide a safe and enjoyable experience for both professional and leisure users of the Firth of Clyde and river.”