Mayor Marvin Rees has called Bristol's harbour 'a financial drain on the city' and says that its financial shortfall of around £500,000 is impacting the budgets for frontline council services. The comments were made in a blog post about the imminent and controversial decision to hike the fees charged for mooring in the city’s old docks.
Mr Rees sparked controversy when he labelled those living on the harbour as the 'privileged few' who are are 'abusing the system', which caused outrage among boat residents.
The mayor has previously said the amount of money the council has charged those mooring on the harbour has not increased sufficiently for years and that increased fees were only being brought into line with comparable costs in other cities in the UK to enable the council to run "an effective harbour service."
In his latest blog, he went into more detail. He said: "The harbour review will correct decades of neglect to its physical infrastructure, as well as the way it has been run.
Read More: 'Privileged' boat life? Bristol resident shares pictures to dispute mayor's comment
"It’s true that, since the floating harbour was built in 1809, little has been done to maintain it – particularly since the docks closed to commercial shipping in 1975. Recently we’ve invested millions in repairing the sluices at Underfall Yard and made progress on the harbour walls, but, unfortunately, despite being an iconic part of Bristol, the harbour has become a financial drain on the city.
"Under the current model, the harbour has a shortfall of around £500,000 – meaning that it impacts on the same budgets used for frontline council services. Recently, the fees and charges have been benchmarked to rates in comparable harbours in the UK."
He went on to discuss two further proposals relating to the harbour review, which will come to cabinet in March, including a plan to add 32 more berths to Capricorn Quay as well as new potions and washroom facilities.
The mayor's blog post in full
"Bristol’s historic harbour must become an asset for the benefit of our whole city, one which is financially sustainable, accessible, and contributes to our wider aims of climate resilience and biodiversity.
"To keep our harbour afloat, we’re reviewing its operations, updating the governance, and also looking for opportunities to invest in our offer and make it accessible for all communities. The harbour review will correct decades of neglect to its physical infrastructure, as well as the way it has been run.
"It’s true that, since the floating harbour was built in 1809, little has been done to maintain it – particularly since the docks closed to commercial shipping in 1975. Recently we’ve invested millions in repairing the sluices at Underfall Yard and made progress on the harbour walls, but, unfortunately, despite being an iconic part of Bristol, the harbour has become a financial drain on the city. Under the current model, the harbour has a shortfall of around £500,000 – meaning that it impacts on the same budgets used for frontline council services.
"Recently, the fees and charges have been benchmarked to rates in comparable harbours in the UK. Two other pieces of work which relate to the Harbour Review work will come to cabinet in March. They are steps forward towards a sustainable future of the harbour. These are:
"The funding of the Capricorn Quay project – making 32 more berths available for boats, we are investing in new pontoons and washroom facilities. We are also harnessing WECA’s green recovery funding to expand the project, to further strengthen the biodiversity of our harbour and waterways.
"Beginning the process to update the Bristol Harbour revision order – agreeing to submit an updated order through the Marine Management Organisation who manage the application on behalf of the Department for Transport after a 42-day period of public consultation. This will update the last Order completed in 1998. It’s expected to take 18 months to process. More details will be released in due course as part of the normal cabinet publication process."
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