Crouch Harbour Authority

tidclacy

tidclacy

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Bit browned off with the above

Sold my Boat end of April and had to pay full year Harbour dues with no question of rebate even though she was in the Marina and did not venture out until she was sold!. Boat now has left the River.

Rip Off.
 
tidclacy said:
Bit browned off with the above

Sold my Boat end of April and had to pay full year Harbour dues with no question of rebate even though she was in the Marina and did not venture out until she was sold!. Boat now has left the River.

Rip Off.
Click to expand...

Yes, sadly, that's the rules.

I quote:

"All vessels that are afloat within the CHA District must pay Harbour Dues".

from: https://crouchharbour.uk/dues/

No mention of rebates.

You could have avoided the dues by putting her ashore, but I guess lifting and storage might well cost more than the dues.

I must admit that I do rather resent having to pay these dues anyway, and I do not feel warm and cuddly about the CHA in general.

edit: the CHA staff that I have dealt with have always been polite and friendly. I'm just very far from convinced that I am getting value for money.
 
Last edited:
I guess it either that or on the 'rates' which probably is not considered fair. I think Maldon put the dues on the mooring owner - I could be wrong. Conversely Mersea has no Harbour Authority nor ever can but people don't like the visitor mooring charge. But otherwise there is no way of funding the buoyage.
 
tidclacy said:
Bit browned off with the above

Sold my Boat end of April and had to pay full year Harbour dues with no question of rebate even though she was in the Marina and did not venture out until she was sold!. Boat now has left the River.

Rip Off.
Click to expand...

People who arrive later in the year are given a "Latecomers Discount", reflecting the fact that they can't benefit from the full year charge. I reckon you could equally argue that you should receive a similar discount as an "early leaver". The CHA website actually states that "Charges must be fair and reasonable and any person affected has a right to object to the Secretary of State for Transport under S.31 of Harbours Act 1964."
 
tillergirl said:
I guess it either that or on the 'rates' which probably is not considered fair. I think Maldon put the dues on the mooring owner - I could be wrong. Conversely Mersea has no Harbour Authority nor ever can but people don't like the visitor mooring charge. But otherwise there is no way of funding the buoyage.
Click to expand...

I have generally found the buoys a hindrance rather than being helpful.
 
I don't think many locals need them but deep keel racers need where to avoid at LW springs. My last survey indicated that the Spit had very significantly moved and that was important for peeps wanting to go to Tollesbury. How come they are a hindrance?
 
tillergirl said:
I guess it either that or on the 'rates' which probably is not considered fair. I think Maldon put the dues on the mooring owner - I could be wrong. Conversely Mersea has no Harbour Authority nor ever can but people don't like the visitor mooring charge. But otherwise there is no way of funding the buoyage.
Click to expand...

No such rate applies to the moorings administered by the St Lawrence Fairway Committee & Maldon do administer moorings in the area around the bay as well. Point being that it is within their administration area. ( assuming you mean mooring rates as opposed to general rates that is)
 
Daydream believer said:
No such rate applies to the moorings administered by the St Lawrence Fairway Committee & Maldon do administer moorings in the area around the bay as well. Point being that it is within their administration area. ( assuming you mean mooring rates as opposed to general rates that is)
Click to expand...

I don't know. I know my winter berth in a mud berth (ie alongside) included a charge from Maldon and that charge was separate to the general business rate. Private moorings in Collier Reach are only authorised by Maldon and I was told it included in a charge by Maldon. When I had a commercial swinging mooring, the Maldon charge was included.
 
I asked CHA how much it costs to issue individual boat licenses to include the cost of registering each boat, issuing individual invoices, receiving payments inssuing boat license stickers and policing the whole process by way of inspecting boats.

Oddly enough they were not happy to oblige.

For a short while I served on the Maldon Harbour Board. At Maldon, the harbour is run on the basis of least possible cost and least possible bureaucracy. Their charges are levied against the commercial boats (barges doing tours from the hythe) only on the basis of numbers of passengers they take per year. That way the paperwork is kept to a minimum of about three invoices per year.

CHA could operate on a similar basis by only charging boat yards for the number of mooring contracts they let each year. It would reduce rhe paperwork from a thousand plus invoices to a handful. Saving thousands of pounds of admin costs and could recuce the charges by a huge amount. Of course they won't.
 
I believe that the Baltic Wharf are still operating with import and export cargoes of steel, timber and aggregate plus fertilizers and before that the Cross Rail Pontoon Berth at Ringwood Point would have brought in substantial funds for the CHA.

The short fall is on the Pilot's Pension Fund which the port operators (UK wide) wilfully ignored until the big word was put on them so they are still trying to catch up.

We are lucky that us rich yachties (irony mark here) have not been identified as a revenue stream...….yet.
 
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