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Sailors told: if you want slipway, pay!



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Published Date:
16 May 2008
Sailors are furious after being told to foot the bill for a slipway near their homes.
Portchester residents say they are being forced to travel miles to other parts of the borough just so they can get on to the water.

But Fareham Borough Council has refused to stump up the cash. And it told residents – if you want it, pay for it yourself.

Tim Chandler, who lives in Portchestser, said: 'We went to the council because we thought it would help us, but instead it has off-loaded the responsibility back on to the residents.

'I'm quite angry about it to be honest. Portchester really needs this slipway.

'There's kids with canoes and dinghies that just want to walk down to the water, but they can't and it's difficult for them to get to the other slipways in the borough.

'So many people have said they'd get a boat themselves or take up fishing, if a slipway was built. The residents want this but the council just isn't willing to help us out.'

Campaigners say a slipway is needed for both recreation and safety reasons, as erosion of the shoreline has made it dangerous to get in the water without a proper ramp.

Portchester Sailing Club has a slipway but refuses to open it to the public, instead reserving it for members who pay a yearly fee of £78.

The issue was taken to the council in December, when Portchester councillor Roger Price handed in a petition signed by 167 residents asking for the slipway.

But council leaders decided it would be too expensive to pursue.

Residents have since said they will fight on. Funding has already been offered by two local firms, Graham Moyse Contractors and Colin Stiles of Havencrest Properties Ltd.

The council said it would revisit the slipway plans when campaigners had secured funding and got permission from various agencies such as The Queen's Harbour Master, Natural England and the Marine Fisheries Agency.

Council leader Councillor Sean Woodward said: 'It's of great relevance that there are residents and businesses willing to get behind this project.

'But at the moment we are not in a position to pursue a slipway.

'The door is left ajar however; the ball is in the court of the applicant.'


The full article contains 387 words and appears in NS-City newspaper.
Page 1 of 1

  • Last Updated: 16 May 2008 8:23 AM
  • Source: NS-City
  • Location: Portsmouth
 
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xoxAnniexox,

Fareham 16/05/2008 09:10:02
I dont use the water and dont own a boat so why should my council tax pay for people to take part in a hobby? For once the council have done the right thing. There is a ramp available, and people have to pay to use it, just like if you want to moor a boat in a marina, you pay to moor it, you wouldnt expect the council to pay for that. Its the same thing.
2

this-isnt-news,

16/05/2008 10:50:00
Annie the council pays for the construction and upkeep of playing fields, tennis courts and the like. Why is this any different?
3

xoxAnniexox,

16/05/2008 11:16:57
Difference being these people have enough money to buy a boat, so i dont see why they dont have enough money to pay for the slipway, or membership to use the slipway already available. It just seems like a waste of money to spend on a service that would be used by very few people, whereas playing fields and tennis courts can be used by anyone.
4

Graham Wheatley,

Southsea 16/05/2008 13:49:01
this-isnt-news, I agree.

There are numerous areas where a facility is funded by the local authority that is not used by a large proportion of the population.

If I don't swim, why should I pay for a subsidy to The Pyramids Complex? If I don't use the skatepark, why should part of my tax preserve that facility?

Should we argue that cyclists ought to pay for their cycle lanes? Or that bus users pay for the construction of a bus lane?

If local authorities didn't waste such large sums of tax payers' money on hare-brained schemes that benefit nobody, then they might be able to find the funding for smaller projects that do actually benefit the local community. This slipway is obviously one of the latter.

Build it.

5

Another Whiteley Resident,

16/05/2008 21:44:55
Graham - you hit the nail on the head when you mentioned the word community. Taken to its logical conclusion, Annie's opinion would lead to people not paying for roads, schools or hospitals, since not everyone uses them either.

By the way, don't some councillors at FBC have watery connections, or is that conveniently a different kettle of fish to a few kids in a canoe?
6

Woodward is the messiah,

17/05/2008 21:02:29
So these sailors are too tight to pay £78 to join the sailing club, but expect the rest of them to pay for their hobby.
7

Another Whiteley Resident,

18/05/2008 09:46:47
"'There's kids with canoes and dinghies that just want to walk down to the water, but they can't and it's difficult for them to get to the other slipways in the borough.

'So many people have said they'd get a boat themselves or take up fishing, if a slipway was built. The residents want this but the council just isn't willing to help us out.'"

There's your answer, Woodward-admirer.

And you wonder why kids run amok. Hardly surprising if FBC is so intent on stifling their recreational creativity.
8

Woodward is the messiah,

18/05/2008 13:10:02
Never needed to use a slipway to get into a dinghy when I was a lad..
9

Another Whiteley Resident,

18/05/2008 14:28:37
Was that the only way your Mum could get you in the bath then? :O))))))))
10

Salior Girl,

Hayling Island 19/05/2008 09:03:41
I have a power boat myself down on hayling, we have to pay a marine fee, i think the counicl are right in not paying, if they ended up making one which is free to the public everywhere is going to want one free of charge, which mean by doing this one they could end up doing another 10.. how is this going to benifit other people within the community how either cant sail or dont sail. I Think the council have been fair about there decision.. SG x
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