The Whitstable Harbour Board is scheduled to meet on Friday 10 October 2025. The agenda includes a review of harbour charges, updates on the harbour and boat show, the annual harbour outturn report, and the Harbour and Foreshore Manager's report. The board will also discuss an engineer's report, property action plan updates, and any other urgent or exempt business.

Review of Harbour Charges

The Whitstable Harbour Board is scheduled to consider a report regarding proposed changes to the schedule of charges for 2026/2027. The proposed changes to fees and dues have taken into account current market trends and trading conditions, and benchmarking with other ports and harbours. Increases are expected across the board to account for increased operating costs such as dredging, repairs to fenders, access ladders and general quay maintenance works.

The report details some of the proposed increases:

• Harbour dues, which are essentially berthing fees and include access to the business parking area and fuel supply, are proposed to increase to £169.63/metre/annum. For a 10-metre boat, this would be an increase of £65.20 per year.
• The cost of a visiting craft per day is proposed to increase to £101.07.
• The cost of a pontoon berth for a leisure boat operator is proposed to increase by £176.30 to £4583.79, which includes a previously separate charge for maintenance of the pontoon infrastructure.
• The charge per storage bay at West Quay Compound is proposed to increase to £279.40 per year, and the charge for a freezer unit in the compound is proposed to increase to £465.64 per year. These charges will be added to each boat owner's harbour dues to give a consolidated charge.
• Dues for commercial ships when cargo is discharged, or ship visits are proposed to increase by £0.03 per tonne to £0.67 per tonne of cargo or per ship's GT¹. Based upon the average cargo tonnage from 2023/24 (1475 tonnes) the ship owner/operator will therefore see an approximate increase from £944 to £988.25 or £44.25 per ship's visit.
• Cargo wharfage fees are levied on the cargo receiver (normally Bretts). It is proposed to increase these charges to £0.99 and £0.65 respectively.
• A conservancy/pilotage fee is to be increased to £49.07 per voyage.
• Linesmen services are to increase to £161.24 per linesman.
• A rental increase for beach huts of 4% is proposed for the coming year, which the report says is in line with other proposed beach hut fees across the district.

The report states that these proposed charges have already been reviewed by Canterbury City Council Head of Finance. As part of the Council's Fees and Charging setting process, a copy of the proposed charges will be forwarded to the Whitstable Fishermen's Association, Brett Aggregates, Faversham Ships, Armac Shipping, and GSea8 for their information.

The report recommends that the proposed Schedule of Charges is approved.

Harbour and Boat Show Update

The Whitstable Harbour Board is scheduled to receive an update on the Harbour Day and Boat Show. The report notes that the 2025 show was the first since the Covid pandemic, and that the attendance of almost 8,000 was rewarding. The report states that all stall-holders were pleased with the attention they received, with some seeing it primarily as an opportunity to generate income, while others focused on raising public awareness or recruiting members.

The report highlights some of the attractions at the show, including the truck driving simulation, the Police display on and off the water, the model steam engine ride, the story-telling, the Thames Barge race, and the rope-making. The town's maritime heritage was also a strong feature, with Gamecock's viewing platform serving as a centrepiece. The Heritage Boat-building Centre, housed in a 90-foot marquee, provided an opportunity for master craftspeople to demonstrate their skills in designing and building wooden boats.

The report notes that appropriate measures were taken to maximise public safety, and that a new layout was possible thanks to the partnership with Brett Aggregates. By extending the attractions to the East gate, and with the majority entering by the West gate, there was less of a counterflow of visitors which lead to a more relaxed atmosphere.

The report states that the challenge was to restore the Show last held in 2019, pre pandemic, and that it was to be 'for the Community by the Community'. There was zero budget and no legal structure, only a promise of support from CCC Harbour Board. A team of nine Volunteers started meeting monthly in September 2024. Whitstable Maritime offered the use of a dedicated Bank Account and the team formed an 'Unincorporated Association' with guidance from a national Insurance company specialising in Events. CCC Harbour Board provided a meeting room in the Harbour Office.

The Team prepared a Budget Forecast based on previous experience and appointed the Whitstable Maritime Treasurer as Financial Controller. This proved to be an effective device that operated throughout the life of the project and following a detailed financial review in February 2025 the Team agreed to hold a Show on 9 August. The Budget Forecast was for an expenditure of about £18,000.

Funding has been through goodwill, both in kind and in cash. An early cash donation of £5,000 from the Whitstable Improvement Trust, and £1,000 from Dani (Cardium Shellfish), enabled the Team to start meeting critical purchases such as Insurance and First Aid Cover. The major contributor in kind, in addition to CCC Harbour Board, was Brett Aggregates who funded the Heritage Boat-building Centre amongst other items. However, smaller contributions were just as valuable: for example the Medical Consultant who spent the day on duty with the St. John's Ambulance Team; the Company that provided 40 crowd control barriers; the Club that built and operated the miniature railway; and of course the team of Stewards and Managers who attended a training session and were on duty throughout the day.

At the time of writing the report, the Treasurer was able to declare a cash surplus of about £3,000. The account will be examined by Accountancy Matters (Kent).

A random selection of Visitors, Presenters, Stall-holders, and Stewards were invited to say 'What worked well,' and 'Even better if,' with no guidance as to which topics would benefit from review. The responses were collected on the day and subsequently by e-mail. The report notes that the responses were overwhelmingly positive and a full list of comments can be found on www.whitstableboatshow.org.uk

The report gives some examples of the feedback received:

Examples of 'What worked well' include:

• 'I was impressed with how you used the available space, it was interesting to walk through' (Local resident)
• 'the Heritage Boat-building display inspired me to consider a course at Lyme Regis' (Female Visitor)
• 'the interest in my products was as high as when we have 3 staff on a stand at the Southampton Boat Show.' (Exhibitor - Hampshire Company, Marine Industry)
• 'I love listening to this brass band' (Visitor)
• 'the buzz, the mix of different things, people enjoying being involved' (Medical Staff)
• The Show 'was an extremely enjoyable occasion and we could see from our vantage point on the stage at Deadman's corner, the huge number of people enjoying the event'. (Useless Pluckers)

The responses to the second prompt 'Even better if,' were predominantly concerning operational detail, eg:

• 'Provide a drone above the barge/smack race so we can see the course' (Visitor).
• 'Negotiate delivery times with retailers' (Steward)

However there were also some interesting strategic proposals:

• extend the Show to a weekend and have the traditional boats on the water (Chatham Bargee)
• think regionally and work with the train and bus companies (London Visitor)
• the Heritage Boat-building Centre is an inspiring concept and should be developed regionally (Chair of the Wooden Boatbuilders Trade Association & Henley Boat-builder)
• the best organised and most welcoming Show I have attended but it needs to be over 2 days (Professional Story-teller)

The report notes that the Heritage Boat-building Centre has demonstrated that, as part of the Show, Whitstable can attract the trades and crafts associated with buying, building, restoring and sailing 'traditional' craft, with exhibitors coming from Dorset, Hampshire, Oxfordshire, Norfolk and Essex, as well as Kent.

The report states that during the 12 month planning cycle for the Harbour & Boat Show there has to be a viable cash flow. It is possible that by careful planning over time a sound cash reserve can be created but for 2026/7 and 2027/8 an initial investment of £5,000 per year is required. It is possible for the remainder of the expenditure to be borne by goodwill and what can be generated by way of income. The cost is likely to rise but so should the income.

The date selected for the 2026 show is Saturday 15 August 2026, and the report recommends repeating the format in 2026, keeping to a one-day event.

Annual Harbour Outturn Report 24/25

The Whitstable Harbour Board is scheduled to note the Annual Harbour Outturn Report for 2024/25. The report provides details of the provisional outturn position for the 12 month period to 31 March 2025, and includes the outturn for 2023/24 for information.

The 2024/25 provisional outturn report shows a net profit of £469,024 (excluding capital charges, depreciation & contribution to/from reserves) excluding the South Quay Shed. The net position profit for the South Quay Shed for 2024/25 was £10,060.

The report highlights some key points:

• Parking fees for 2024/25 have further increased from the previous years and generated additional income of £46,477 compared to the further increased budget target which is due to an increase in parking rates and increased usage.
• Employee costs show an underspend variance of £28,350 due to the reduced staffing costs from restructure savings as a result of combining the Harbour & Foreshore services. This has been reflected as an operational saving in the 2025-26 budget.
• Premises costs were higher than in previous years primarily due to the biennial dredging operation taking place as well as increased & backdated utility charges. The budgets have been realigned to include a budgeted contribution to the dredging reserve for the biennial dredging operation.
• The South Quay Shed and Unit 6 have made a small net profit but are showing a combined overspend of £61,197. Operating costs such as utilities, waste disposal and cleaning continue to rise with inflation but cost recovery on unit rental and bar sales has fallen due to lower footfall and vacant units. Officers are working with consultants and the Harbour Board on a review of the current operation. The 2025/26 budget reflects a reduced income expectation.

The report states that this report and all the detailed background data has been provided to the external auditors (East Kent Audit Partnership). The auditors are in the process of reviewing the accounts to ensure they have been prepared on a reasonable basis and are cast correctly.

The 2024/25 capital programme included a budget of £49,000 to fund capital maintenance/projects. Due to an overestimated accrual for the prior year, £56,000 has been carried over to the 2025/26 financial year to continue to help towards delivering the ongoing quay maintenance and the goals set out in the Whitstable Harbour Strategic Plan.

The Environment Agency has approved the council's business case for Flood Defence Grant in Aid (FDGiA) for the replacement of Section 3. £40,000 of grant funding was allocated for the study and business case development in 2024/25. A further £40,000 of grant funding has been allocated for detailed design, consents and Marine Management Organisation licence in 2025/26. £1,597,000 has been approved in total for the project, which has been split into 2 payments of £517,000 in 2025/26 and 1,080,000 in 2026/27. The Head of Engineering is investigating options to pre-purchase the steel sheet piles in advance of the works commencing on site.

The report also provides details of the reserves balances:

The report concludes that Whitstable Harbour has continued to be a valuable and thriving asset to the town, and that the overall provisional outturn for 2024/25 was a profitable net position of £469,024 (excluding capital charges, depreciation & contribution to/from reserves) excluding the South Quay Shed.

Harbour and Foreshore Manager's Report

The Whitstable Harbour Board is scheduled to note the Harbour and Foreshore Manager's Report. The report updates the Harbour Board on matters pertaining to legislation, management, harbour operations, staff, communications, publicity and general port marine issues.

The report provides an update on port marine legislation, codes of practice and safe working practises which the harbour complies with:

The report notes that Councillors Tom Mellish and Grace Paget have recently completed a tour of the Harbour Estate as part the introduction to their roles on the Harbour Board, and that to support this, both have been enrolled on the Port Marine Safety Code, Duty Holder Awareness webinar/training which takes place at the end of October 2025.

A Tier 2 Incident Management Exercise every 3 years, in accordance with the MCA International Convention on Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response and Co-operation (OPRC) Guidelines for Ports and Harbours, has been confirmed for later in the year.

The report states that all navigational aids are functioning with no issues to report.

The report includes shipping statistics in Appendix One.

The report notes that some minor repairs to the main lighting of the South Quay area have been completed.

The report states that enhanced safety signage is due to be installed along the safety chains on all quaysides, and that the safety signage will also be enhanced with some guidance on 'good crabbing' to provide the public with information on an environmentally friendly approach to the activity.

The report notes that some minor maintenance works have been completed to several beach huts, and that the huts are 100% occupied.

The report provides an update on Publicity and Communications:

• Harbour Annual Forum: The event will be taking place this year on 18 November 2025 and at The South Quay Shed. The list of speakers has been confirmed.
• Webpage: The page has been completed and published. There are still outstanding elements including the map of the Harbour to inform visitors about associated facilities such as parking and toilets.
• Whitstable Harbour Day: The event was a great success. Plans for next year's event are already being developed. Harbour and Foreshore Services will support the organising committee with elements of delivery, marketing and operations on the day of the event. Although all members of the committee should be thanked for their efforts in delivery of the day, a special mention should be given to the driving force behind the event, Gordon Vincent.
• Community Classroom: Alongside the construction developments, work continues to take place regarding the management and use of the facility. The South Quay Task and Finish Group have established the preferred approach to management, and a design brief has been provided to a community group to develop a visual identify for the space.
• Harbour Strategy: Working towards a reporting format that provides a regular update on the objectives of the Harbour Strategy. Officers meet regularly to review progress and ensure we are updating the plan and monitoring our performance against the objectives.

The report states that no incidents have occurred or been reported, and includes a Health and Safety Incident Log in Appendix Two. The report notes that the council continue to enhance their safety systems by developing quayside risk assessments, and that Zone 2 has been completed, and a list of control measures identified for implementation.

The report states that meetings have continued with the Whitstable Fisherman's Association with positive outcomes, and that concerns continue to be managed appropriately. The latest approved meeting minutes have been provided in Appendix Three.

The report notes that the South Quay Task and Finish Group have met on two occasions, have agreed a Terms of Reference and discussions have been productive with all actions to-date completed. Main actions and outcomes from the Task and Finish group will be updated to the Board in this report and more detailed reports will be presented separately to the Board for consideration.

Engineer's Report

The Whitstable Harbour Board is scheduled to note the Engineer's Report.

The report provides an update on the following:

• Solar array for Fishermen's huts and West Quay building: Following the successful installation of solar panels to Fishermen's huts 1-16, a second application for funding for huts 17-24 and the West Quay Building has been submitted to Neuconnect, and the council are currently awaiting the outcome of their bid.
• Continuation of quayside lighting along the South Quay: Four additional columns have now been installed to complete the lighting along the South Quay.
• Completion of Crab & Winkle strip out: The stripping out of the former Crab and Winkle Restaurant has now been completed.
• Cockle Shed Site: The harbour is lacking seating, and following feedback from stakeholders, a proposal to provide shaded seating areas, with lighting and a wet fish concession site with electrical connection has been developed. The area could also be used for pop-up events. This has been discussed with the WFA, and they are currently looking at the feasibility of using the concession site. This aligns with the goals in the council's Strategic Plan, and the proposal is supported by the South Quay Task and Finish group.
• Harbour dredging: Wyre Marine is fully booked for both dredging campaign windows in April and October 2026. The council are currently in discussion with Jenkins Marine, and the dredging is still on schedule to take place in April 2026. A hydrographic survey, used to inform the dredging operations, has been arranged for March 2026.
• East Quay Ballast Berth - Section 3: The project development for the replacement of Section 3 is continuing. The tender package has now been completed. Work with the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) to secure the construction licence is also nearing completion. Pre-purchasing the steel sheet piles for the project this financial year is ongoing. The works are estimated to take approximately 8 months, starting mid-September 2026.
• New Harbour Sea Wall: A new section of sea wall is being constructed as part of the council's continued sea defence improvement works. The new wall is located at the west entrance of the harbour, at the boundary between the car park and Harbour Street. The 33m long wall will be at the same height as the adjacent wall and connect to the corner of the Crab & Winkle building. The project also incorporates enabling works for EV charging and a power supply for a new concession adjacent to the south quay. Works are progressing well, with the steel reinforced foundations having already been poured and the brickwork well underway. The wall has a reinforced concrete core with a brickwork capping. The new section of wall will be completed in the next 2 weeks.
• Floodgate Improvements: Floodgates improvements along the Whitstable frontage, including within the harbour, are well underway. The existing heavy timber drop-plank gates are no longer serviceable and will either be replaced with swinging or sliding gates, which will make operation of the gates safer, quicker and easier.
• Drainage Maintenance: The surface water drainage channel in front of the south block of Fishermen's huts is due to be serviced. The grates will be removed, and the channel and connected pipework will be inspected and cleaned.
• Column Inspections - Section 10: Following on from the column repairs last year, inspections have been carried out at regular intervals to check on the condition of the columns. Everything looks good, with no further repairs needed this financial year.
• SQS Redecoration: The communal areas of the South Quay Shed have now been repainted to give them a refresh.
• Community Classroom – 'Ed Shed': Works are progressing well for the new community classroom. The access doors to the SQS have been installed, and works for the new flooring, lighting, storage area, projector wall, and acoustic panelling are all well underway. The South Quay Task & Finish group has agreed to engage the FAR Skate Academy to propose the graphic designs for the 'Ed Shed'.
• Beach Hut inspections: An asset inspection of the harbour beach huts and platform has been programmed for 17 October.

Property Action Plan Updates

The Whitstable Harbour Board is scheduled to note the Property Action Plan Updates. The action plan updates the Board on ongoing tenant related matters, for example lease negotiations. The Property department act as landlord on behalf of the Board and so manage the tenants and leases directly. Where any decisions by the Board are required a separate item will be listed on the agenda accompanied by a formal report to inform the decision(s).

The action plan contains information the disclosure of which is likely to prejudice the commercial interest of both the Council and other bodies (s. 43 Freedom of Information Act 2000²). The Council considers that at present the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing it.