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W.H.A.M. Newsletter Autumn 2024
WHAM Autumn 2024 newsletter
The WHAM committee are please to send you our newsletter edition 3. The intent of the newsletter is to let members know what WHAM have been up to on your behalf and to encourage general communication across our community.
Chair’s chatter
Welcome to the latest newsletter of WHAM, the purpose of which is to keep our membership updated on the work your committee has been undertaking and also to get feedback from the membership about how WHAM can help their associations and the sailing community generally on the west coast of Scotland.
I look forward to meeting our members at the AGM in January details of which are noted below.
Yours,
Jim Traynor, WHAM Chair
AGM
The last WHAM AGM was held in Oban on 20 January 2024. The minutes from the AGM can be downloaded here.
The 2025 AGM will be held on 18th January 2025 at 1000 hours with coffee ready for a prompt start at 1030 hours. The venue will be the Corran Halls in Oban, PA34 5AB, as usual. Please note that only members who have paid their 2024 subscriptions will be able to vote at the AGM, so, if your subscription is still not paid for this year we would appreciate your attention to this matter. Thank you.
Full AGM details and an agenda will be issued in late December.
What has been going on?
There has been much going on since our last newsletter issued in the spring, and listed below are the key issues for your information that your Committee has been involved with:
1. We have continued to debate the new proposed CMAL Harbour Revision (Consolidation) Order which is designed to have the same rules, regulations and charging structures across all CMAL managed ports. Part of our efforts have been to work with RYA Scotland who have now formally met with CMAL to discuss the rationale behind the changes proposed. This dialogue will continue to ensure that the interests of the leisure marine sector are listened to by CMAL.
2. WHAM Committee new members: In our last newsletter we advised that we had a vacancy on the WHAM committee. Since the Spring we have now appointed two new members and welcome Boyd Holmes and Jeremy Birnie to the committee.
3. Servicing moorings on an annual basis is a critical process for mooring associations and individual mooring holders and ensures that insurance cover remains valid. WHAM is aware that two diving companies that offer this service are withdrawing from the market leaving just one company to cover the west coast. You may already have experienced difficulties in contracting for such work this year and next year may be even more challenging. WHAM suggests that you make your 2025 mooring servicing arrangements as soon as possible.
WHAM will continue to gather information on this topic and indeed it will be on the agenda for the AGM for discussion.
4. We have been involved with the Scottish Government’s proposed Visitor Levy Scheme which envisaged yachts being charged a levy in home marinas and on home moorings. As previously noted, WHAM have been represented at meetings including the Government's Cross Party Working Group where this legislation has been debated. We directly lobbied Tom Arthur MSP, Minister for Community Wealth and Public Finances, to express our concerns on the unintended consequences impact on the marine leisure sector of legislation which was not relevant or competently drafted.
The good news is that the government have redrafted the relevant parts of the legislation to remove the marine leisure sector and other mooring and marina users. We know from speaking to small businesses affected by this new levy that the process of collecting the levy is significant and therefore the fact that our sector has been excluded from the levy and the need to collect the fee on behalf of local Councils is excellent news.
5. WHAM are pleased to confirm that we have access to some very limited funding for the development of mooring associations and similar facilities. This funding can be either a grant or a repayable loan up to a maximum of £500 and subject to your organisation match funding the amount you receive from WHAM.
Application should be made to Duncan Tannahill, WHAM Secretary on sec@whamassoc.org.uk
Applications will be reviewed at the next available WHAM committee meeting and processed on a first come first served basis.
6. During the season we helped Colonsay Community Development Company with an issue of commercial fishing boats using their moorings without payment and the risk of damaging the mooring gear which is not designed for the weight and size of the vessels that were picking them up. The moorings are out of sight from the main island community so, our help was invaluable and alerted them to the issue. In turn they were grateful to WHAM for the assistance.
7. Through the Coast Watcher scheme, we have been engaged and commented on 144 marine licencing applications this year to date. These vary from the depositing of new moorings to fish farm licences and even permission to stage a crash of a campervan into a loch for a scene in a film!
Our input is critical to maintaining a balance of usage of sea areas but most importantly to protecting recognised anchorages and mooring areas. This year we have had success in a number of fish farm, mussel farm and seaweed farm applications by having the applied for locations moved to protect access to anchorages.
8. Later this month David Vass and I are attending a meeting with the Northern Lighthouse Board where among other issues, we will be raising the issue of making marker buoys clearer and brighter especially on seaweed farm locations which sit very low in the water. Planners like grey coloured buoys but sailors like bright buoys to make them easier to see in stormy or darker conditions.
9. As secretary, I have attended several meetings including the Cross-Party Group on Recreational Boating and Marine Tourism, the RYA Scotland General Purposes Committee and the RYA Scotland Coast Watchers Conference. These meetings are useful for background knowledge but also for debating issues of concern and interest to leisure marine interests.
If any member has concerns on such issues, please let me know and I can raise either at these meetings or with the appropriate organisation / person. We have a very useful network of contacts.
News from partner organisations
WHAM works with a number of partners with similar interests and objectives, so we thought it would be useful to include the updates below:
- OCHDA and the Oban Bay HRO
The Oban HRO continues to be in the news and Transport Scotland have announced last week that Argyll and Bute Council have no further comments to make despite a significant number of objections remaining unresolved including the 12 objections raised by WHAM. Democracy and open government seem to be struggling with this whole process and the opportunities to achieve a mutually satisfactory outcome for all parties.
The email from Transport Scotland issued on 7/11/24 reads as follows
‘To whom it may concern:
I refer to the Written Representations procedure being carried out for the proposed application for the Argyll and Bute Council (Oban) Harbour Revision Order 2024.
The Council has informed us that they have no additional comments to make and, therefore, the Written Representations process has now concluded.
All comments received to date during both the statutory consultation period and Written Representations process will be fully considered before Scottish Ministers make a final decision. You will be informed of the decision in due course.’
OCHDA have issued a statement which is on their website.
- Scottish Canals
The Crinan Canal works of last winter were successfully completed and the canal reopened. The works were significant and will help ensure that the canal remains open and navigable for years to come. For more information and news about the Scottish Canals network, a read of their website is worthwhile. WHAM works with Scottish Canals when appropriate to help them maintain canal access for leisure users.
- RYA Scotland
WHAM continues to work closely with RYA Scotland on a range of issues that are relevant to the west coast. The RYAS website is worth a visit as it is packed with a range of useful articles, news and courses etc.
The WHAM website
Our website contains some useful information which you might want to check out including:
· Section on help and guidance
· Section on downloads including AGM minutes
· Section on news including notices to mariners
· Section with useful contact information
Coming soon
We are working with Crown Estate Scotland to produce a guide on setting up and running a mooring association. This guide will be packed with good ideas, best practice suggestions and useful template documents.
And finally…
The WHAM Committee hope you enjoy this newsletter and find it useful. If you have suggestions on how to improve it, please let us know and similarly if you have news or items to include, please forward to us.
Kind regards
Duncan
Duncan Tannahill
Secretary, West Highland Anchorages and Moorings Association
M: 07725 044061
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