Minutes:
Councillor R Pratt asked the Leader of the Council if she could give the Council an update in resolving the situation involving the vessel Llys Helig which has capsized on the foreshore at Burnham-on-Crouch. The Leader gave a detailed response attached at APPENDIX 1 to these Minutes. She concluded that after collating further information and seeking clarification on the legal position the next step would be to take a report to the Community Services Committee and Finance and Corporate Services Committee with a range of options for a decision as soon as practically possible.
Councillor R G Boyce asked the Leader of the Council if she would agree that the proposal just made was going to take a length of time and that this situation could potentially cost the District Council tens of thousands of pounds to dispose of the ship. Therefore, he asked if she agreed it would have been better if the Council had a proposal before it tonight to authorise, if necessary, the spending of money because the longer the Llys Helig sits there the longer it would take to dispose of. In response, the Leader of the Council agreed this would have been beneficial, but the Council had strong legal advice that it was not as clear cut as it first thought. Officers have a clear view of the situation and it was being monitored. Three courses of action were being pursued with a view to bringing it forward. If there was an urgent need the Director of Customers and Community would arrange for an emergency meeting to deal with matters. The Leader advised that she was confident that whatever can be done is being done at the moment. The Director of Customers and Community reported that the River Baliff had taken immediate action and was working alongside the Harbour Authority on this matter . He advised that he would be looking to discuss the matter with the Director of Resources who started the following day and bring forward a number of options to the relevant programme Committees.
Councillor B S Beale asked the Leader of the Council if she had a further update regarding the National Health Authority event in London concerning its strategy and it was important that the Council should have attendance and table as many questions to assist getting the needs of this Authority answered. The Leader of the Council advised that her Personal Assistant was pursuing concessionary places so that the Council could send two persons, one of which would be Councillor Beale and she would pursue the matter the following day.
Councillor M S Heard asked if the contract with Essex Police to take over space in the Council offices had been signed. In response, the Leader of the Council advised that it was signed on Friday 31 March 2017.
Councillor A S Fluker asked the Leader of the Council if steps were being taken to ensure that all properties on the Council’s foreshores were properly insured. He felt sure an incident like the one in Burnham-on-Crouch would happen again given the conditions of some of the vessels. Councillor Fluker advised that he was happy to get a written reply to be emailed to all Members. The Leader of the Council advised that she had spoken to Director of Customers and Community to seek the position with regards to salvage insurance or consequential insurance on boat owners and was awaiting an update. The Director of Customers and Community reported that he had requested that a piece of work on this be undertaken as soon as possible and on a risk basis. He agreed to respond to Members in writing.