Minutes of a meeting of Directors held on Thursday 11th February 2021
Because of the coronavirus, this meeting was held remotely via Zoom.
Directors:
Alasdair Swan (Chair); Steven Anderson; John Band; Paddy Crerar; Eric Robertson
Paul Ingram; Kenny Maule; Robin Hamilton; Yvonne Wemyss;
Harbourmaster:
Quentin Dimmer
Apologies: Alastair Cook; John Williams
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1 Minutes of the previous meeting The minutes of the meeting held on 14th January 2021 were approved. |
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Matters completed –
Matters still in progress –
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JB
PI
AS
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2. Port Marine Safety Code Incident Log Review There were no major or minor incidents to report in January.
Risk Assessment Review The following risks were assessed –
No recommendation for amendment to 2 and 3, as circumstances are the same as before, but the risk of a Vehicle falling into the harbour could be looked at again as changes to the use of the hard standing have resulted in day launch vehicles and trailers being located along the north pier, something which has previously been out of bounds, unless the permission of the Harbourmaster has been obtained. Knowing how inexperienced at towing and manouvering trailers some users are, this has increased the possibility of this risk occurring. The Harbourmaster drew attention to the recent accident at Nairn when a car ended up in the harbour. There was a discussion about the requirement to place safety rails around the Victoria Harbour. It was agreed that the rails would continue from their current position towards the bridge, along the South Pier. If the main risk is that the Forklift Truck will fall into the harbour, the question was posed as to why a rail was not necessary opposite the Cold Store. The current decision is that no rail will be placed here, but the matter will be raised again at the next DHMC. There was also concern that the turning of trailers along the north wall presented a risk of trailers and their vehicles falling into the harbour. However, placing safety rails here may create a risk to swimmers, who, although not authorised to swim there, in reality do. The current decision is that no rail will be placed here. There was also concern that vehicles park under the Battery. If a driver forgets to put a handbrake on the vehicle has nothing to stop it falling into the harbour. The current decision is that no rail will be placed here. It was agreed that these matters need to be kept under review. |
RH
ER
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3 Finance Report A. January management accounts: The January report had been circulated prior to the meeting.
B. Retail plan 2021: The closing date for retail applications was 31st January 2021. An invitation to submit applications was sent to all traders who noted an interest last year, excl. commercial submissions for seafood outlets, which was considered separately. Three applications were received from existing traders. The Board approved the 2021 licences for - Bisset’s Seafood Shack Trading period: 1st April – 30th September Trading days/ times proposed: Weds to Sun, 10-4pm All relevant documents received (some expire during trade period, renewals will be provided at appropriate time) Supporting statement: “We offer fresh seafood (some caught from our own boat or from the local fleet) as reasonable prices. The nearest direct competitors are North Berwick and Eyemouth so hopefully something both locals and tourists appreciate as a little bit different to other offerings. We hope to offer a feed the seal offering in the near future to attract more visitors to the harbour.” Tasty Toasty Trading Period: 1st April – 30th September. (Permission to trade may be requested at an earlier date. However, permission with be sought well in advance and will be considered separately) Trading days/ times proposed: Daily, 9-6pm (usually 10-4pm) All relevant documents received (some expire during trade period, renewals will be provided at appropriate time) Supporting statement: “I will endeavor to continue to provide a reasonably priced quality food and drink products. I will continue to support the regular and local customers and promote the Harbour and town to our many visitors. We try to offer a mini tourist information service offering information on the Harbour and the towns history. We are willing to continue collecting launch fees and any other reasonable requests from the Harbour Trust, Harbour users and Quentin.”
Sno Cream Ices Trading period: 1st April – 30th September Trading days/ times proposed: Daily from 10-6pm, weather permitting and until quiet. All relevant documents received with a note that the trader is awaiting renewal of the street traders license from CEC (CEC have advised delayed due to Covid and an additional license from ELC to trade in a different authority area is not required. However, an application has been made to ELC to avoid any potential issues with trade. These documents will be supplied as soon as received) Supporting Statement (verbal): “Sno Cream Ices has been well received at Dunbar Harbour. I will continue to support harbour events and donate to local charitable causes. A donation was made to the RNLI from a colouring competition held in the summer 2020 and a further donation is to be made to the RNLI, along with Dunbar Christmas Lights from the ‘Santa’ visit to the harbour in December 2020.” The three licences will now be issued
Advertising for Belhaven Lobsters An application for a banner to be placed where the “Fishing for litter” banner once stood was considered. There was concern that this could set a precedence for excessive advertising around the harbour. It was agreed that no more than three such banners would be allowed, no more than one banner for each business, and that permission for new banners would be given at the absolute discretion of the Harbour Trust. Sail flags and sandwich boards will be permitted to promote approved businesses provided that they are removed at the end of each trading day.
However, there was support for the idea of helping a local fishing business, selling local produce at the harbour, and it was agreed that it would be helpful for visitors to know where to go to avail themselves of this service. It was also noted that there are not any other similar facilities at the moment at the harbour, so the fear of setting a troublesome precedent is limited. It was therefore agreed that Lawrie McFarlane should be allowed to put up a banner, preferably no larger than it has to be to be effective, provided that he first obtains Advertising consent from East Lothian Council, and pays the fee in line with the Advertising Policy. C. Licences for the shared use of DHT Maggie store: There are requests to have short term licences to share the DHT store Blue Wild Alan Stewart, Blue Wild, made a submission to the Trust on 4th November 2021. This outlined Blue Wild’s ambition to build upon their existing tour boat business, promote Dunbar and to attract visitors to enjoy the harbour. Alan also outlined the essentials needed to run an efficient tour boat business. Blue Wild have been developing their business throughout the winter months, including working with an Edinburgh tour company to promote trips and make bookings. As part of the essential requirements, Alan requested storage space for varying items including life jackets, waterproof clothing, regular cleaning equipment, tools and Covid related items such as sanitiser, gloves, and face masks. He noted that there is too much equipment to store on the boat, with much of it having to be left on the harbourside during trips, causing potential endangerment to the public and risk of theft. Alan has confirmed that he would consider shared access to a Maggie Store as a short-term measure. He has advised that use of one of the stores on the South Quay would not be suitable due to the limited storage space and ease of access. He has advised space required would be equal to a 6x4ft shed space. He understands that shared use of a Maggie Store would be chargeable. Alan is keen to reach a suitable arrangement to assist business decisions and progress next steps for the planned service. There was concern that there was insufficient capacity to provide shared space for Blue Wild and the majority determined that no licence will be offered to Blue Wild.
Dunbar Rowing Club An approach had been made by the Committee of the Rowing Club fat the time of the planning application for – Storage of life jackets (boxed), a gazebo (bagged) and oars (to be hung on walls). Consideration was given to the fact that the space required by the Rowing Club is small and that the Club provides considerable pro grata volunteer time in the management of the Battery. It was determined that the Rowing Club could share space, at an appropriate rate, without risk, recognising the contribution it makes to the harbour. D. EMFF Grants There is one outstanding grant, still to be received, for the Maggie Project which amounts to £15,562 An application for further funding has been made to Marine Scotland and the outcome of this application will be known by the start of next week. Priority will be given to the South Pier road repairs and rope rails, the rams for the harbour bridge and the two Cromwell Harbour branders, repairing the historic branders of old to enable the smaller fishing boats to moor more safely. E. Cash flow report The cash flow to the end of January was reviewed. The bank balance has fallen by £34,000. This is partly attributable to the loss of income during the pandemic, but mainly to the heavy investment in harbour improvements, which to date have cost over £53,000. These include the new Maggie stores, the CCTV system, replacement leading lights and the safety improvements around the harbour. There was a discussion about the restricted funds which can only be spent on certain matters, such as the repainting and repair of McArthur’s Store or the Thelma Band Fund for the Harbour Festival. The remaining free funds are often needed to fund the upfront money for large projects such as wall repairs, even if some or all of this money is subsequently recovered through grants. F. 2021/22 Budget considerations The budget for the coming year was considered in the light of the current cash flow position. It will now be finalised. Income
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YW
YW
YW
AS
AS/RH
AS
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4. Harbour Management Committee |
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The Committee confirmed the need for two new Cromwell Harbour branders and the extended rope rails. |
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5. McArthur’s Store The harbourmaster has repaired the defective outside lights. |
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Letters have been sent to tenants informing them of the 2021/22 licence rates. The tenants have been asked to notify the Trust of any defects. |
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6. Welfare Committee The Welfare Committee met with the Harbourmaster on 26th January 2021 1. The purpose of Welfare committee was outlined and discussed. The key principle being to give an independent (of line management) opportunity for the Harbour Master and Deputy (or any harbour employee) to raise matters that may be unresolved between the employees , line management and others on the board of the harbour trust. It was outlined that all matters would remain confidential with some exceptions , being; 2. The committee’s role is also to discuss pay awards and the annual increase for 2021 was discussed. In accordance with DHT principles to ensure all employees earnings stay equal or ahead of RPI a 2% increase was awarded. 3. The Committee recognized the loyal work of the Deputy Harbour Master, Denholm Horsburgh, and wished him well on his long road to full recovery, following a difficult year of health problems. The Committee agreed that the Harbour Trust should continue to support Denholm until he is able to return to work
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7 Harbour Improvement plan |
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A. Planning permission for harbour improvements Alastair Cook is unable at the present time to deal with the planning application, so it will now be submitted this month by AS |
AS |
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B. Toilets ELC Building Control has now looked at the application for a building warrant. We have received an apology but, unfortunately, the application has only just been sent to the structural engineers who have yet to check the calculations. ER confirmed that Blueprint have gone as far as they wish to. They have helped the Trust get to Warrant stage.
The next step is to get the names of contractors who could build the toilets, These contractors will then be asked to submit their ideas and costs for the project. Grant funding will then be sought. It was agreed that the toilets must be sufficiently attractive and robust to be seen as an asset for the harbour. They need to be maintained to a standard that does not bring the Harbour Trust into disrepute or interfere with the pleasure of the harbour residents. |
SA AS |
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As discussed earlier in the meeting, it was noted that the cost of running these toilets will be significant. It will reduce the Trust’s ability to pursue other harbour improvements. However, it is a facility that has long been asked for. It was recommended that the Trust look once again at the donation box (lighthouse) to raise extra revenue to mitigate against this additional cost. |
ER
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C. Storage |
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The Project initiation Document appointed the harbourmaster – Quentin Dimmer – as the champion who will be key to much of the project analysis and the communications to harbour users (in the manner agreed with the Board, and at the correct time). John Williams had volunteered at the last meeting to take a keen interest in this project, provided it was going somewhere |
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A review of the first phase – the analysis phase – showed that it had achieved the following:
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It was agreed that QD, JW and YW would meet to review the policy recommendations on Page 10 of the Project initiation document to determine whether these have been finalized or not |
QD/JW/YW |
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It currently seems unlikely that there is any pressing need to purchase additional land and even more unlikely that there are the funds to do so. Enjoyleisure kindly allow the Trust to use the land above the vaults for storage, and this arrangement works well. Unless the results of Stage 1 of the storage Project conclude otherwise, the project needs to proceed no further than this Stage. |
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D. Masterplanning |
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The long-term plan for the retail offering in the harbour will be revisited after the 2021 season, and will pick up lessons learned from the extended offering by Big Blu Sea |
YW |
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There is no immediate pressure to proceed with any extended plan for the site above the vaults. The fishermen are pleased with the arrangements for the nets that is now provided in the Maggie yard. Demand for storage has been reduced thanks to the work done by the harbourmaster with the fishermen. |
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The Master Plan is still contained in the three year plan. Anyone who wants to add any ideas to this may do so at any time. |
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8 Friends of Dunbar Battery |
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A. Dunbar Chapel |
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As a group of volunteers, it is difficult for the Trust to offer the Battery out as a wedding venue. There was concern that the Battery is valued by the people of Dunbar and excessive use for private weddings would not be popular. The Battery is extensively used during a normal year for events. |
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Notwithstanding the above, it was agreed that the Dunbar Chapel could offer exclusive use of Dunbar Battery as part of their Wedding Menu, for not more than one hour at a cost of £150, on the following conditions –
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9 Any other competent business |
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A. Appointment process for new Directors |
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There have been no new applicants to date.
It is proposed that the Chairman should approach Sharon Saunders and Elaine O’Brien to see if they will serve again on the Appointing Body |
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B. DHT ‘What If’ Event The Trust were delighted to present their ‘What If’ presentation at a virtual event on 28th January 2021. The purpose of this event was to promote the work we do, share our passion to make Dunbar Harbour the ‘go to’ place, and tell others about our ‘What If’ aspirations for the future. The event was well attended and well received. The Trust is grateful to Sustaining Dunbar for inviting us to hold this event and for their support with organisation and facilitation. We are also grateful to Tim Greene, one of our harbour volunteers, for his part as a guest speaker. Full details of the event can be found on Sustaining Dunbar’s website at: https://sustainingdunbar.org/2021/02/dunbar-harbour-trust-what-if-online-event/#more-10624 |
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C. Times and Tides Event This is now scheduled for 29th May 2022 extending to 4th/5th June 2022 |
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D. Fishermen’s Monument: It was noted that the Dunbar Shore & Harbour Neighbourhood Group had asked to pursue the repainting and improvement of the Trust area around the monument, and the residents’ group was authorised to seek the funding for any plan that might be developed. The Trust Board will be kept up to date with progress at future meetings and will have the final sign-off before any work is undertaken. |
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E. Wall repairs The Marine Scotland grant application (£117k) will be revisited after the short term grant is awarded. There is a need to inspect the walls after the recent battering which will be done in either the last few days of March or the last few days of April, depending on weather conditions. KM offered a drone service, but the best work is done of foot with a pole to identify the voids. |
RH
RH |
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F Harbour murals This initiative is still on the radar and will be picked up once lock-down has ended |
PI/RH |
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G Return of the Deputy Harbourmaster It was noted with great pleasure that Denholm is looking so much better after his ordeal. He hopes to return to light duties at the beginning of March and the Harbourmaster will ensure that he limits his activities appropriately. |
QD |
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Date of next meeting – Thursday 11th March 2021 |
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