Ownership of moorings

[DavidofMersea]

I was recently talking to a man that "owns" a mooring here in West Mersea. He told me that he has no documentation to show that he "owns" the mooring, but everybody knows that it is his.

It seemed to me that his predecessors had just laid a mooring and claimed this spot as theirs. Now he is letting "his" mooring to A.N.Other

I wonder how many other people that are claiming to own moorings, really have true title to "their" bit of seabed. I don't doubt that the ground tackle is theirs, but that area of sea bed?

When renting a mooring, it might be worth asking the "owner" for documentary proof that he "owns" this bit of sea bed - if he doesn't, you have as much, or as little, right to moor a boat there as he does.

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[tillergirl]

As I understand it here at Mersea, 'owning a mooring' means that you have the right to lay a mooring and nothing else.

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[DavidofMersea]

Who said that they have a "right to lay a mooring", and do they have any documentary evidence of this? Maybe they have, but the man that I referred to earlier didn't

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[aitchw]

This whole subject has been going through my mind, too.

I thought that the Crown owned area between high and low water and that the only element of private ownership in relation to the sea bed was in relation to the extraction of minerals.

I realise that all sorts of levels of control are given over to various authorities, like ports and harbour masters, and that a landowner can control access to the shoreline from the land but from the sea.....?

I would be very interested in knowing by what right ownership could be claimed for a piece of the sea bed.

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[Cornishman]

In harbours, ports etc there is nearly always somebody who owns the sea bed, or fundus as it is known. For example in Plymouth much of the fundus is owned by the Duchy of Cornwall and even the Navy has to pay for those parts where warships are moored. In some places it is the local authority such as harbour commissioners or local councils and they charge you harbour dues as well as a mooring fee.
Whoever administers your harbour should be able to tell you who owns the fundus.

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[DavidofMersea]

There is no harbour in West Mersea and many other places. In West Mersea various fishermen, and other odd bods claim to "own" the right to various parts of the sea bed. My friend that I mentioned in the initial posting has no documentation to prove any rights, and I wonder how many of the other people have anything to prove that they "own" any rights.

I suspect that long ago when West Mersea was little more than just a muddy creek with a few fishing boats, nobody bothered about sea bed "rights", and people just laid moorings and Oyster beds where they wanted.

About 30 or 40 years ago when someone was charging what was then thought to be excessive mooring fees, (what is new?) the question of ownership rights came up. I recall that a yachtsman called Harrison, who at that time lived in the Maldon area, produced a document (that proved to be genuine) from Henry 8th granting rights certain to parts of the seabed, which he was now claiming. Clarke and Carter (the local boat yard) bought these rights from Mr Harrison, and things carried on as before - but these rights were only for certain parts of West Mersea seabed - so what about the rest?

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[ashanta]

We boat owners on the Exe had a problem with this 10 years ago. We did not pay any dues for our moorings and we "owned" the mooring site. Lord |Courtney decided he would charge all moorings a ground rent which apparently is his right as it is for the crown. There were protests and a legal defense but he had his right confirmed and he now enjous revenue from all moorings placed in his area.
I pay around £250 a year and I have to show proof of insurance and legally I am not allowed to rent my mooring out but people do.
Still it's a lot cheaper than the MDL marina's in the area.

Regards.

peter.

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[oldharry]

I 'own' a mooring in Chichester harbour, for which I have to pay a licence fee to the Harbour Conservancy. My understanding of the legalities is that I own the mooring tackle and sinker outright, and am licenced by CHC to place it at a specific location. If I fail to pay the licence fee, the harbour board has the right to remove it - at my expense.

Before moving to the S Coast I had my own mooring in N Wales, which I laid and maintained myself. Local conventions allowed boat owners to do this, and Crown Estates who actually owned the foreshore were not interested in the activities of local boatowners at that time, so no permissions were ever needed. But presumably that also meant I had no actual legal right to keep my boat and its mooring tackle there.

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[Mudplugger]

David, Happy Christmas fom the upper reaches of the Colne, I suspect that on the Blackwater & tributaries therof, its just a question of who got there first! Whereas on the Colne courtesy of Henry 8, all the moorings are vested in Col. Boro. Council. Excluding Alresford Creek where there is some discussion as to whether it is vested in Christ's College , The Pilkington Estate or CBC. In the case of Alresford, very much a question of who got there first!.I suspect that it will cost a lot of dosh to prove who is entitled to what......

<hr width=100% size=1>Tony W.

 

[tillergirl]

You need to ask Mersea Haven for details

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[DavidofMersea]

> You need to ask Mersea Haven for details

No Tillergirl, you need to ask Mersea Haven for details, you are paying them mooring charges, and they may not even own the rights to the seabed in Salcot Creek

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