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Guernsey Harbours should not be seeking to charge for what they do not provide

AS I BELIEVED the subject of leisure mooring fees was set to come back for consideration before the States again, I undertook a Freedom of Information request to discover the evidence that was put before the STSB and used as a basis for their decision to increase marina fees vastly ahead of inflation from April 2024. It transpires that this information was based largely on three PowerPoint slides, two of which were presumably based on information from the Marina Projects report. Two of these slides suggest that Guernsey is significantly less expensive than Berthon’s in Lymington, and Guernsey Ports seeks to put mooring fees in Guernsey in line with those of Jersey. This will be result in charges more than those of St Quay in France. The Guernsey Boat Owners’ Association (GBA) and the Guernsey Marine Traders’ Association have already pointed out that other nearby French ports offer better value for money than Guernsey, even before the proposed increases. Detailed submissions from both organisations were given to the STSB together with some, but certainly not all, comments from the consultation process, indeed several of mine appeared to be excluded. I believe that the relative value comparable evidence provided to the STSB was wrong on two counts. First, clearly Marina Projects did not have a good grasp on the facilities that are available to Guernsey berth holders. If you look at Appendix 1 of their consultant’s report it refers to facilities that simply do not exist, or are not available to local berth holders and their report is therefore materially inaccurate as a matter of fact. Second, their subjective judgements are highly questionable. For example, to compare Berthon’s (a premier tier marina in the Solent) to Guernsey Harbours is like comparing cheese with chalk. Berthon’s has 24 hour tidal access, car parking and security, showers, and other superb facilities. Moreover, as the gateway to the Solent, you can use your boat all year as it has access to the protected waters of the Solent, and there are a great number of harbours that one can visit. Outside of settled weather in the summer, cruising from Guernsey is highly restricted (as exacerbated by Brexit). As soon as one is out of the lee of the island one is out in the English Channel, and safe harbours are some way away. As someone who sailed there for many years I know that this is why the Solent is such a popular place as it is blessed with many marinas with excellent facilities that, quite frankly make our visitor facilities look poor, and of course these facilities are largely not available to local berth holders. The facilities in Jersey are also significantly better than those in Guernsey, and of course their market is also distorted as they allow people to live on their boats. To compare Jersey to Guernsey, as far as facilities available to local berth holders is concerned, is like comparing Jersey’s Longueville Manor to an outdated Guernsey hotel that has been devoid of investment for over 30 years and not even having en-suite facilities. The STSB consultant’s report is wrong in fact, and if you cannot trust an organisation to get the facts correct, can you trust them to make valued judgements? Hence, I do not believe that the information provided to the STSB supported the assertion that leisure mooring charges are below a correct market price, and question how that conclusion was reached. There is an expression that you get what you pay for in life. Looking at it another way you should not pay for what you do not get. We are now in a position that moorings are priced for the product that exists, and Guernsey Ports has received surplus income from leisure mariners for years that has been used to prop up the loss-making airport. I cannot see that Guernsey Harbours has the appetite or money to increase significantly the quality and range of services provided, and indeed there is not the demand or need from local berth holders for them, but Guernsey Harbours should not be seeking to charge for what they do not provide.

Readers' Letters|Mar 11
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