Consultation outcome

Scarborough Borough Council (Removal of Pilotage Functions) Order; Whitby, Scarborough and Filey Coble Landing: summary of consultation responses

Updated 7 April 2021

Executive summary

This document summarises responses to the Department for Transport (DfT)’s consultation on the draft Scarborough Borough Council (Removal of Pilotage Functions) Order 2021 (the order) and notes the Secretary of State’s decision to bring the order into force.

Scarborough Borough Council (the council) applied to the Secretary of State for removal from the list of competent harbour authorities (CHAs) maintained by DfT in respect of the harbours of Whitby and Scarborough, as well as Filey Coble Landing. The application was supported by the local harbour user consultative group. Removal requires the Secretary of State to make a Pilotage Function Removal Order (PFRO) under section 1 of the 1987 Pilotage Act (as amended by the Marine Navigation Act 2013).

The consultation, which was held between 12 February and 12 March 2021, sought comments on the council’s proposal and a draft of the order to assist the Secretary of State in making a final decision on the application.

A total of 5 responses were received and, of those who expressed a preference, 2 responses supported the proposal and 2 raised concerns.

The concerns noted that pilotage had been used, and was still required, to ensure safe navigation around Whitby Harbour in particular. However, on further investigation and confirmation from the council that pilots were never formally engaged in these circumstances, they are not related to the current mandatory pilotage arrangements the council provides under its CHA powers but surround general safety issues for smaller vessels.

Removal of the council’s CHA status will not impact the existing arrangements in place to manage these issues. This includes, for example, provision of 24-hour advice and assistance to the masters of vessels unfamiliar with the harbour and a ‘follow me’ service with the harbour’s workboat. The council has confirmed these services will continue to be offered as part of its ongoing duties as a statutory harbour authority (SHA).

In light of this information, the Secretary of State has decided to bring the order into force as soon as possible.

About the consultation

The consultation:

• outlined the legislative background to maritime pilotage and the powers of a CHA
• summarised the council’s application
• explained the issues the Secretary of State had considered and why, subject to the views of stakeholders, he was minded to make the order
• contained a draft of the order to enable respondents to see the intended legislation

The consultation requested responses to 3 specific questions.

Questions

Question 1

Do you agree that it is no longer necessary for:

1. pilotage services to be provided at the harbours of Scarborough and Whitby?
2. a designated body to be charged with keeping pilotage provision under review at the harbours of Scarborough, Whitby and Filey Coble Landing?

Question 2

Do you have a view on whether the proposal to remove the council’s CHA status will have any impact (positive or negative) on the users of its facilities or the local environment either directly or indirectly?

Question 3

Are you aware of any quantifiable costs or benefits that could be attributed to the removal of the council’s CHA status?

Responses

Five consultation responses were received and, of those who expressed a preference, 2 responses supported the proposals and 2 raised concerns.

Question 1

Two respondents agreed that it was no longer necessary for the council to provide any pilotage services within the waters it manages.

Two respondents raised concerns with both suggesting that pilotage services were still required at Whitby Harbour, in particular, due to the hazardous nature of harbour approaches.

One response also flagged a concern about vessel grounding.

Question 2

Two respondents noted that the removal of the council’s CHA status would not have any impact on the users of these facilities or the local environment.

Two respondents raised concerns that the removal of the council’s CHA status would have a negative impact on the port of Whitby, although different reasons were given. These were:

• the possibility of hampering Whitby Harbour’s ability to attract potential offshore business
• the size of vessels that could be brought into the harbour being limited in future, which would potentially restrict commercial operations and business opportunities

Question 3

Respondents were not aware of any quantifiable costs or benefits that could be attributed to the removal of the council’s CHA status.

One respondent noted that, where consideration was being given to the withdrawal of other services offered by public bodies, the council was required to fully evidence the lack of need or cost-effectiveness of the service and did not feel that this had been done in relation to pilotage. They also suggested that the introduction of shared pilotage arrangements with other nearby ports could provide a potential solution.

DfT sought additional advice from the council in response to these concerns. It confirmed that the circumstances raised had never previously required the formal engagement of a pilot, since the vessels now using its harbours were all under the current mandatory pilotage length. It had, in consultation with its harbour users group, developed standard procedures and advice for dealing with these issues, which were considered to be matters its Harbour Master dealt with on a day-to-day basis unrelated to its CHA status.

These include, in particular, the provision of a 24-hour local port service, which was always available to provide advice to any vessels requiring assistance. That advice includes:

• all aspects of safe approaches to, and navigation within, harbour areas
• sharing of a detailed ‘Port passage plan’
• discussion with vessel masters about their needs prior to arrival
• a ‘follow me’ service provided by the council’s workboat if required

Whitby is a tidal port, so many vessels take the ground at the bottom of the tide and the Harbour Master insists, where appropriate, on high water and daylight entry to reduce the risk of grounding where masters are unfamiliar with the area.

One respondent sought advice about how a larger commercial vessel would be brought into dock at Whitby or Scarborough Harbours in future if a pilotage service was not available. The council noted that this scenario was only likely to arise in an emergency and its response would be the same as the many other similar harbours that do not offer pilotage. It already has provision in place, through the measures noted above, to ensure that this could be done safely and quickly to prevent loss of life if necessary.

The removal of the council’s CHA status does not change its role as a SHA. Its SHA duties will, therefore, continue to include responsibility for navigation and general safety, as well as powers to issue general or specific directions to control the movement of vessels within harbour limits. These powers will continue to be used to ensure that vessels that have not visited the harbour before are appraised of high water timings and only attempt entrance during daylight hours.

Decision

The Secretary of State has considered the council’s application, the support of the local harbour users consultative group, the consultation responses and the additional information provided by the council and decided to proceed with making the Scarborough Borough Council (Removal of Pilotage Functions) Order 2021 soon as possible.

Once in force, the order will remove Scarborough Borough Council’s CHA status.

The order will, once made, be available from www.legislation.gov.uk.