A Bristol ferry owner has said it would be unfair of operators to pass on the proposed massive cost increases in the harbour to ferry users. He described the increases which were approved by Bristol City Council earlier this week and to be implemented in April as the harbour “being mismanaged on a grand scale”.
The Mayor of Bristol, Marvin Rees has defended the proposed increases saying the council fees being charged in the harbour had not been sufficiently increased for years and were being brought into line with other harbours in the UK. His comments that boat dwellers in the harbour were “the privileged few” living cheaply in the city centre caused outrage this week among the boating community with the mayor issuing an apology over his remarks.
Ferry owner Richard Rankin, who has eight members of staff who run his ferries in the harbour, said his commercial rates are set to double which will be in addition to mooring fees and the additional 20p surcharge per passenger. He said : “But in an economic context, the public are suffering more now than in the last 40 years, people are going to foodbanks. How can I pass on these expenses to the public?”
“It’s a chaotic situation, it can’t be allowed to continue, I employ eight people and I’m trying to keep their jobs. This review was supposed to be done in 2024 or 2025, so why are they doing it now ? There’s been no investment or expansion during the last five years and we had Covid, during that time we still had to pay full commercial fees,” said Rankin.
Read next: Mayor ‘sorry’ over Bristol harbour fee hike after warnings boat dwellers could be made homeless
He added: “It’s been mismanaged on a grand scale. The Council are playing catch-up and doing it in a heavy handed style while they sit in their bunkers only coming out long enough to ruin everyone’s lives. It’s a poor state of affairs,” he said.
Another boat operator, Giles Thompson from Bristol Packet Boat Tours said the increases were going to triple their costs when factored in with other cost increases. He said: “I think the conversation starts now with the council and those concerned be allowed to put their grievances forward. That no harbour review has been done for 20 years is no fault of ours, but we have all these changes coming at once, possibly by April.”
Going down to Harbourside the morning after the council’s approval, there was a deathly silence as the fog hung over the water with boats shuttered along the piers and very little movement. A ferry operator, who did not want to be named, said he is putting plans in place to move his vessel.
“As I could see things happening even before all of this, I was thinking about moving as it is already expensive. People who live aboard also work in the harbour and are integral to the harbour, but when change comes they don’t have a say.”
He added that about a year ago, he saw developers in the area “mapping out the city to bring in outside money. They want this to be little London, by raising prices and pushing everyone away,” he said.
The Mayor of Bristol, Marvin Rees has defended the proposed harbour hikes, saying that the council has reviewed fees which were benchmarked against other cities and harbour authorities. He highlighted there were people living in the harbour who were abusing leisure licences which only allows for boat owners to stay on board for 15 days per year.
"As well as being a requirement under legislation, it’s also a moral one at a time when Bristol City Council faces a cost of operating crisis. We continue to protect frontline services, like libraries, children’s centres, and parks, at a time of severe pressure from high inflation, rising demand for services, and continued national austerity,” he said.
Read next:
- Warnings over Bristol harbour fee hikes which could ‘make boat dwellers homeless’
- People living on Bristol's harbour are 'abusing system' and are a 'privileged few' says Mayor Marvin Rees
- Flooding fears for Baltic Wharf apartments planned in place of caravan park
- Scale of Somerset pier collapse revealed in new, dramatic pictures
