Cowes Harbour Commission (CHC) launched a public consultation this summer to ascertain stakeholders’ initial views about a potential combining of CHC with Cowes Town Waterfront Trust (CTWT), with a possible application to the Charity Commission, among other proposals. The initial deadline for public comment was 3rd August 2020 and a large amount of feedback has been received, including a general request for more information.
After consideration of all feedback received, the Commissioners agreed at a Board meeting on 12th August to suspend further public consultation, allowing time for detailed further review of the views received. As a Trust Port, CHC has a duty to ensure all stakeholders have sufficient time to give their views during a consultation and originally, an extension to October was granted to enable further public comment. The Commissioners have now suspend the consultation and will review the position in 2021 based on the situation at the time, with a possibility of restarting the public consultation.
The priority for CHC is the safety of the harbour, but the publicly stated vision of CHC includes ‘for Cowes Harbour and the River Medina to fulfil their potential in delivering first-class port facilities and leisure services’. To enable this, CHC undertakes commercial activities in order to be self-financing, as is expected of Trust Ports. Any surplus funds raised through its activities are reinvested back into the harbour and its facilities, with the aim of benefiting the harbour users, or ‘stakeholders’ and continuing to develop Cowes Harbour as a thriving port, a centre for leisure sailing and a tourist destination.