Minehead’s MP has accused Somerset Council of holding local boat owners to ransom by charging them extra to access their craft.
Amateur sailors who already pay hundreds of pounds a year in mooring fees to keep their boats in the council-owned harbour have now been told they will need to pay an extra £200 a year for a permit to launch their tenders from the slipway to reach them.
But Ian Liddell-Grainger says the charge is unjustifiable and should be scrapped.
The new levy is one of several increased fees the council has announced, including a charge of £120-a-year for a permit to launch a kayak from the slipway.
But boat owners say they are being unfairly penalised and that the £200 tender fee demanded is as much as 10 times what is charged at other harbours and marinas around the coast.
Mr Liddell-Grainger, MP for Bridgwater and West Somerset, said it was deplorable that the new charges had been imposed without any prior consultation.
“This is one of the most poorly-equipped harbours in the West Country,“ he said. “There are no electricity points for boats, no showers and the only ‘facility’ is a single cold tap. Yet rather than improving facilities for harbour users the council’s only aim appears to be to bleed them white. It’s no wonder the harbour is so under-used: people are simply taking their boats somewhere else.
“You cannot charge people money for mooring their boats and then tell them they have to pay again to get out to them: it’s outrageous - like selling someone a car and then announcing the engine is extra.”
The council is already in trouble with its management of the 17th century grade two listed harbour. Last year officials were accused of criminal damage after approving the removal of two 300-year old cannon which were sunk into the deck in the 1800s and used as mooring bollards .
And Mr Liddell-Grainger says the latest controversy places a large question mark over the authority’s entire management ability.
“The harbour is a tremendous local asset and a great draw for visitors. Any decent council would be looking to enhance the harbour area, upgrade the facilities and make it even more attractive,” he said.
“Instead Somerset Council’s only intention appears to be to squeeze every last penny it can out of anyone using it.
“The utterly crass way these charges have been imposed together with the scandalous incident with the cannons convinces me the council cannot properly run the harbour at all. In which case it should hand the job over to a new, locally-elected organisation which can.”
Photo: © Copyright Roger Cornfoot and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence
