‘Mooring fee rise could make me quit’

BOAT owners are furious after Public Services dramatically increased mooring charges for this year.
Industry associations claimed the rise had been imposed without any consultation, but that was denied by harbour master Captain Peter Gill.
PSD defended the increase, saying the move would bring Guernsey more in line with other ports, help improve facilities and force owners of larger boats to pay more as their vessels caused more wear and tear to the marinas.
The way in which fees are calculated has been changed, meaning boat owners are faced with fees that are significantly higher than inflation - ranging from 10% to 150%, depending on the size of vessel.
Only those with vessels under seven metres long will pay an RPI increase.
John Le Noury, president of the Guernsey Boat Owners’ Association, said the rises were ludicrous.
‘The sorts of increases they have brought in are complete nonsense,’ he said.
Mr Le Noury, who has been a boat owner for 40 years, said he was thinking about quitting because of the charges.(from thisisguernsey)

Seems like a another way around the black hole, tax those who can afford it, if you want a big boat, then you have get used to the costs or downsize....

[quote="GD"]Industry associations claimed the rise had been imposed without any consultation, but that was denied by harbour master Captain Peter Gill. [quote]

So, who was consulted and how was that done? This is the first that I have heard of an increase and it has not previously been in the media that I have seen or heard of.

In terms of timing, is it right to put charges up when we are in a recession?

Won't affect me as I am not wealthy enough to own a boat! :wave1:

The problem is that it is a common perception that all people who own a boat are mega-wealthy which is not always the case. There are many local people who have old boats they have treasured for years that may be worth less than the price of some peoples' cars. These people might be pensioners or be on a low wage and can just about afford to own their boats. How are they going to be able to find the extra 70% that is being foisted upon them from the 1st April. It is ridiculous. There has been no warning of this and if these people cannot afford to pay the extra what do they do? It now costs about £180 to crane a boat out of the marina due to new health and safety regulations. Where do they put the said boat if they have to move it and if their only option is to sell the boat that could take ages as it is obviously not a good time at the moment to do this. No wonder people are leaving Guernsey if things like this are allowed to happen without any warning. We do have a boat and enjoy going to Herm but will need to pay another £1,370 per year extra. We could stay at the White House when we go instead of paying our mooring fee which will now be about £3,200 per year. We will be putting our boat up for sale but luckily enough can manage to pay the increased fees in the meantime although we are not happy about it. I feel very sorry for all the people who can't.

That is a disgusting rise.......totally unreal (no I don't have a boat but know my son had to give his up for lack of funds to moor it) - I can believe people will be leaving now (looks like they want us non mega rich Guerns out of here anyway) Hubby and I will be leaving a.s.a.p. as the States have done nothing to help us to help ourselves and as a pensioner the straw that broke the camels back was the £100 extra for waste water + £50 extra for luck!!!!! BTW does anyone know if this applies to finance houses - and if so is it just per bank or per head of staff!!!!!

I have to agree i do not have a boat anymore but it is a great cost to people that do , i too have not heard a mention of this massive increase it must be like that chap said on radio Guernsey a while back "there must be a door in custard castle which has written on it stealth tax office". They need to pay for 0/10 somehow and yes it is down to the workingman yet again.


Are they putting up the charges for visiting vessels in the summer ? if so another nail in the coffin for the few visitors we did attract. What do they think this island is Dubai or Monaco or something.

It would seem they are Digger, but not mentioned how much for visiting yachts.
Just worked out my mooring in the qe11 will now be £2435. That's just to park it there, electric is extra as we are all metered.
Mine will be gone shortly !!

The problem i can see on the horizon (pun not intended) is there will be so many on the market it may be difficult to sell them , but good luck Steve i bet you will be sad to see it go.

Methinks the Harbours will be suffering from a lack of revenue!!!!

thoughts anyone ?

and no all boaters cant afford it.

Yep, mines up to 2k a year and she is now on the market. My Dads is up for sale, my brother in law will move out the harbour for sure, and my brother will probably sell his or put it in a bay aswell.

alot of boats will be up for sale, bargains to be had and those on the waiting list should be getting a mooring very soon ( if they still want it of course )

cant wait to see GBOA members views on this.

id love to see a protest rather than just moan and take it like normal.

I expect that the majority will moan but continue to pay the new rates,i wonder how many boats actually never leave their moorings ?

I think the states have made a big mistake, the last two summers being very poor, has had a lot of boat owners thinking whether or not they can justify (not afford) the cost of owning there own boat. Now with the credit crunch and the rise in mooring fees, I think it will be to bitter a pill to swallow. I myself have already made altenative arrangements, so regrettably I will be giving notice to quit at the end of of the month. What is happening to our Island ?
:(

[quote="IARC" What is happening to our Island ?
:([/quote]


Paying the price for incompetence (dysfunctional administrative behaviors that hinder attainment of organization goals)and the belief "it wont happen to us" Reality Check Time.


And to quote Mr P Burtenshaw " It will get worse before it gets better"

It appears to me that this additional expense will have the opposite effect from what the "Custard Castle Mandarins" are seeking, i.e. to gain more revenue. If a number of people can no longer afford to own boats because of this prohibitive additional cost and sell them, then if there are less boats / boat owners to pay the tax the result will be a potential loss of income!! Duh...... really clever move CCM's!

Why has there been no apparent consultation? Why is there no appeal process against these poor and ill thought out decisions?
:Mad1:

Dell wrote:It appears to me that this additional expense will have the opposite effect from what the "Custard Castle Mandarins" are seeking, i.e. to gain more revenue. If a number of people can no longer afford to own boats because of this prohibitive additional cost and sell them, then if there are less boats / boat owners to pay the tax the result will be a potential loss of income!! Duh...... really clever move CCM's!

Why has there been no apparent consultation? Why is there no appeal process against these poor and ill thought out decisions?
:Mad1:

Who will they sell them to ?

Ha...... good point! Good time to buy if you can afford to...... and take out a second mortgage for the mooring fees!

Probably sell them to Jersey!!!!!!!

Listening to the Sunday Phone In - apparentely Bill Bell when he was
in charge had a law (or something like that) passed to say that the Harbour Authourites could put up rates without consulting anybody!!!!! (that was in between investing all the GEC's money into a bank the morning before it went belly up) and people still listen to him!!!!

As a community, do we ever learn?

Trouble is, who else is prepared to put themselves forward to become a States Deputy? We vote for those that we perceive as being honest and fair and then trust that what they say in their electioneering will be honoured if they get elected.

Digger wrote:The problem i can see on the horizon (pun not intended) is there will be so many on the market it may be difficult to sell them , but good luck Steve i bet you will be sad to see it go.

The boat has been sold, a chap in Norway bought it, will be leaving our shores soon !!

Has anyone got a comparison with Jersey's costs or even UK ports like Poole, Weymouth.

Salterns Marina - Poole

http://www.salterns.co.uk/pages/content.asp?PageID=93

If costs are going up for visiting yachts, will the UK and French visitors who used to come to Guernsey be advised or will they have a nasty surprise when they arrive here? Word will soon get around their local marina's and we will potentially see less visitors which does not just affect the St Peter Port marina income but will clearly have a knock-on effect on restaurants, shops etc, etc.!! When you sit back and look at it, it really does seem a very stupid decision by our wonderful States, they do not appear to have a vision of the 'bigger picture' do they?

did they ever.....on anything???? if so please tell!!!!!

steve 19 wrote:

Digger wrote:The problem i can see on the horizon (pun not intended) is there will be so many on the market it may be difficult to sell them , but good luck Steve i bet you will be sad to see it go.

The boat has been sold, a chap in Norway bought it, will be leaving our shores soon !!

Good news Steve (i think) are you going to take it there ? . No more Jersey , French trips that's the bad news.

four members of my family have boats, two are selling and two are going on to bay moorings.