Minutes of a meeting of Directors held on Thursday 8th July 2021
at Dunbar Battery
Directors:
Alasdair Swan (Chair); Paul Ingram; Kenny Maule;
David Nairn; Eric Robertson; Yvonne Wemyss
Associate Director: John Band
Apologies: Alastair Cook; Dave Dunbar; Paddy Crerar; Tania King;
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1 Minutes of the previous meeting The minutes of the meeting held on 10th June 2021 were approved. |
Matters completed –
Matters still in progress –
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2. Port Marine Safety Code Incident Log Review There was a recent incident when two young people got into trouble off the Dunbar Battery rocks. There was a harbour management team meeting going on at the time and fortunately James Bisset was able to rescue the young people.
It was noted that no-one inside the Battery was aware of the impending danger until one of the youths approached the Management Committee who were meeting inside the Battery to advise that the teenagers were in distress. Their shouts could not be heard from inside the Battery. Members of the Management Committee then leaped into action to help. The emergency procedure – namely to call 999 and inform the Coastguard – was not followed and it was agreed that it would have been better if it had been The risk of secondary drowning was very real and indeed one of the young people was admitted briefly into Accident & Emergency to be checked over after the incident.
A discussion followed as to what preventative action could be taken and, despite the difficulty of retaining a life belt in a position to the northeast of the Battery it was agreed that one should be fitted, together with a sticker highlighting the dangers of being washed off the rocks.
It was not many years ago when an angler lost his life, drowned in a pool of water, after he had slipped on these rocks, with the accident being unnoticed by his colleagues who were just round the corner.
It was also noted that three oils spillages, dating back several months had been recorded in the Incident Log.
Risk Assessment Review The following risks were assessed –
No changes are to be made to these risk assessments.
Fire Risk Review The report from the Fire Authorities dated 17th June 2021 has been circulated.
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3 Finance Report
A. June management accounts: The June report had been circulated prior to the meeting.
B. HMRC/ Gift Aid: AS has been in touch with HMRC who state there is nothing wrong with the Harbour Trust Account. Yet Virgin Money Giving are not being allowed to transfer money to the Trust. Virgin Money Giving has promised to sort this out with HMRC on our behalf.
Virgin Money Giving may prove to be a useful channel for donations and campervan contributions, easy for users to access, and easy for the Trust to administer.
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4. Harbour Management Committee |
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Applications for moorings |
The recommendation of the HMC was accepted with regard to commercial vessels, viz.
It has already been agreed that there can be no more prawn boats because of the proliferation of potato boxes that are considered to be essential storage for these boats.
There can be no more creel boats in the harbour while the problem of creel storage remains unsolved. |
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Victoria Harbour mooring chain A new chain could be procured for £25,000. It was agreed that the DHMC needs to work out a complete plan to address issues that include –
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Harbour Bridge |
The bridge is lifting at different speeds on either side. David Brady has reported that there is no electrical fault. MacScott Bond will be called in to investigate. |
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Dunbar Battery Garden |
Rope paths are to be introduced to protect grant-funded planting. |
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Double yellow lines |
The option of introducing double yellow lines at the entrance to Victoria Harbour has been taken up by Dave Anderson of the RNLI. |
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Dunbar Sea Cadets |
There was a request that the Sea Cadets boats should be moved back to the Unit when not in regular use. They are currently full of water. |
5. Land Extension Committee |
A meeting has been set up with enjoyleisure for Thursday 22nd July when we will better understand that charity’s views on the land under the swimming pool. |
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6. Retail |
Big Blu Sea hope to further extend opening hours week commencing 12th July, provided there are no exceptional circumstances which prevent planned opening. |
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Tasty Toastie The Board agreed to the transfer of the Tasty Toastie from Rhona Bell to James & Cheryl Bisset. |
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7. Events
A. Tides & Times; A celebration of Dunbar Fishing The preparations for this event are ongoing. A joint funding application between DHT and Paradise Palms will be made to the Dunbar Community Council for Community Windpower funding. A similar application will be made to Belhaven Brewery. Provisional dates have been booked with the Town House (ELC) for the talks and exhibitions.
B. RNLI Lifeboat Day The RNLI Lifeboat fete has been cancelled, with the main factors being the Covid measures needed to meet the requirements for social distancing and the safety of everyone involved. The RNLI have requested the use of the Battery to hold the crowning of the Lifeboat Queen. A summary proposal with details of the lead personnel, and a risk assessment have been requested.
C. Dunbar Music Festival Dunbar Music Festival (DMF) continue to develop their proposal for a weekend event of music and performance. Discussions are taking place with ELC to obtain permission to hold this public event and a professional Health & Safety assessment has been commissioned. They have requested an extension to the hire, to manage the number of performers, whilst retaining a safe environment for all. The H&S officer has advised that the point of entry/ exit, with a relevant number of stewards, should be the south side of the bridge. Harbour users will require to be notified in advance to ensure business is not disrupted and safe access and egress for participants and visitors in the event that the bridge needs lifted. Dates: Thurs 2nd Sep – Sun 5th Sep. DMF have been advised the deadline date for submission is no later than Weds 4th Aug to enable discussion at the DHMC at the meeting on 5th Aug and final approval of the Board on Thurs 12thAug. The Board approved the period of extension subject to receipt of ELC permission and a detailed risk assessment.
D. Battery dates Every Tues, 1-2pm – Fit Form UK Every Weds 10-11am – Fit Form UK Sat 31st July – Private event Sat 4th June 2022 – Private event |
8 Harbour Improvement plan The next harbour walkabout will take place on Monday 30th August at 2pm. A report will be provided in advance of the next Board meeting. |
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The following actions were agreed following the recent walkabout - |
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Enjoyleisure car park requires further attention (Items 6 and 7) |
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Vandalised Battery signage will be repaired and strengthened (Item 3) |
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Health & Safety items involving clear access will be addressed (Items 2,4,5 and 20) |
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There was concern at the large number of creels still sitting on the quayside. (Items 1,2,4,5,8,10,11,14,18,20) With the increased number of new creels in the water there is going to be a storage problem in the autumn. This will link to David Dunbar’s creel storage plan, but in the meantime the DHMC will be invited to consider whether a “use it or lose it” approach should be taken to creels, with fishermen asked to remove all quayside creels before the end of September to store them off site (until they are needed in future years) to provide space for the active creels. |
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The yard outside the Maggie’s stores (Items 8 and 9) is being abused, and equipment dumped in the yard should either be placed in a store or removed. The yard is to be kept clear for Safety reasons. |
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The light outside McArthur’s store needs to be referred to David Brady for repair (Item 13) |
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A. Cromwell Harbour electrical point |
This work has been commissioned but not yet actioned. |
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B. Fishermen’s Monument |
The planning application and building consent application have been registered. Grant funding has been secured. Orders for the work have been placed |
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C. Maintenance Bay |
Robin Hamilton has lodged a grant claim with Marine Scotland, together with a Blue Marine Business Plan |
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9 Any other competent business |
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Visibility of the Harbourmaster |
It was noted that the Assistant Harbourmasters are clearly visible with their hi-vis jackets. It was recommended that the Harbourmaster follow suit. |
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Time of the Board Meeting |
The current start time of 6:45 is an old throw-back to accommodate Directors who were coming off the Edinburgh train. Consultation will be started to see if there is a more suitable time for Directors to meet. |
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Date of next meeting – Thursday 12th August 2021 |