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Rivers and Moorings

Guidelines and Conditions for Vessels Alongside Hythe Quay, Maldon, Essex

Definitions

In these conditions;

'The Council' shall mean Maldon District Council.

'The Owner' shall mean the person who owns the vessel or the holding company

'The Quay' shall mean the area of land known as The Quay or Hythe Quay which is owned by Maldon District Council

'Vessel' shall mean sail boat, motorboat, Thames Sailing Barge or similar

'Regular annual maintenance' shall mean that work which can reasonably be expected to be undertaken on the Quay to maintain the vessel such as sail dressing, painting, rigging, victualing etc.

'Static event' shall mean any event held on a vessel whilst that vessel is moored, tethered, tied or chained to Hythe Quay

  1. The owner agrees to indemnify the Council against all actions, suits, losses, damages, claims or demands which may arise in consequence of the breach or failure to observe, perform or abide by such conditions, rules or byelaws.
  2. Any damage to the Quay must be reported to the Council at the earliest opportunity.
  3. All navigational regulations must be observed at all times.
  4. No sewerage, oil, petrol or contaminated bilge water shall be discharged or allowed to escape into the River Blackwater at any time.
  5. Crews must be made available in the event a vessel is required to be moved
  6. Vessels may be used as accommodation for crews whilst alongside the Quay and engaged in operations
  7. The Council will only provide berths for fully rigged sea going vessels during the period April to October.  All other vessels shall require the consent of the Council prior to obtaining a berth.
  8. It shall be the owner's responsibility to maintain the seaworthy condition of the vessels under his/her control.
    1. The Council shall not be liable for any loss, damage or theft to any vessel berthing alongside Hythe Quay, property stored on, or vehicles parked on the Quay unless such loss or damage may be caused by the negligence or wilful act of the Council, its employees or its agents.
    2. the owner shall indemnify the Council against all loss, damage, cost, claim or proceedings incurred by or instigated against the Council which may be caused by the owners vessel or vehicle or by the owner his servants, sub-contractors, agents, crew, guests or customers except to the extent that such loss, damage, cost, claims or proceedings has been caused by the negligence or wilful act of the Council or from its employees or agents.
    3. The owner shall maintain third party insurance in respect of himself and each of his vehicles and vessels, crew, agents, visitors, guests, customers and sub-contractors, and in respect of his vessels adequate salvage insurance.
  9. No part of the Quay or vessel while situated therein or thereon shall be used by the owner for any full-time commercial purpose of a primarily static nature.
  10. The owner shall in all respects have responsibility for the safety of his crew, guests, customers, sub-contractors, visitors and agents whilst boarding, loading, unloading, cross-decking or transferring to or from other vessels whilst alongside the Quay.
  11. the owner/operator of the vessel shall provide evidence of insurance for all ancillary activities taking place upon that vessel prior to the event. I.e. discos, entertainers, caterers etc.
  12. It shall be the responsibility of the owner of each vessel to ensure his/her vessel is properly moored at all times to ensure public safety, furthermore, it shall be his/her responsibility to ensure all gangways, boarding ladders and means of access/egress to and from vessels moored alongside the Quay are secured to prevent tipping, sliding, collapsing or moving to ensure safe access/egress prior to use.
  13. during the hours of darkness, the operator of the vessel must provide lighting for guests using gangways for the entirety of the event.
  14. The Council reserves the right to remove any vessel from Hythe Quay, Maldon or terminate any wharfage or berthing agreement by giving 28 days written notice in the event of any breach by the owner of the berthing conditions or any failure by the owner to make payment in respect of berthing, wharfage or services provided by the Council further to the reasonable attempts by the Authority to secure settlement of that debt.
  15. Vessels engaged in static events must provide at least one crew member on call and available to assist for the duration of the event
  16. The owner/operator of the vessel shall take all reasonable steps to ensure trip hazards are removed and decks, gangways and stairways do not pose a significant risk to the public.
  17. Vessels shall be moored by the Owner or crew of the vessel in such a way as to ensure the safety of that vessel and not to impede damage or cause distress to other vessels in the vicinity.  All mooring warps, fenders and associated equipment shall be provided by the owner and shall be in a good and reasonable state of repair and shall be adequate to hold the vessel in all conditions.
  18. Nothing in this agreement shall entitle the Owner to the exclusive use of a particular berth.
  19. Any persons using any part of the Councils Quay premises or facilities for whatsoever purposes and whether by invitation or otherwise do so at their own risk, unless any injury or damage to person or property sustained within the said Council premises was caused by or as a result of the Councils negligence.
  20. Owners or operators of vessels are reminded that Hythe Quay is a residential area and that they are responsible for the conduct of their crew, guests, visitors, customers, agents and sub-contractors at all times whilst on-board vessels alongside the Quay or on Council premises and are asked to ensure they conduct themselves in a reasonable manner at all times when boarding or leaving vessels, leaving the Quay or whilst being entertained on the vessel or on Council premises.
  21. No refuse shall be thrown overboard, left on the Quay or pontoon and shall be disposed of in the bins provided. In the event the bins are full, Owners are reminded it is an offence to litter Council premises and must not leave sacks of rubbish, waste oil, large items or any other such waste materials on the Quay.  Recycling bins are provided at the Queens Head end of the Quay and the Councils main waste reception facility which is situated at the end of Park Drive, Maldon.
  22. Owners and their crew are required to park their vehicles in such a manner as shall from time to time be directed by the Councils representative.
  23. No work, with the exception of regular annual maintenance, may be undertaken on-board vessels alongside Hythe Quay or on the quay without first obtaining the consent of the Council.
  24. No large vehicles, cranes, trailers or other such vehicles may enter the Quay without first obtaining the consent of the Council.
  25. No items of boat gear, stores, fittings, supplies or equipment shall be left unattended on the Quay, gangways, jetties, pontoon or Council premises at any time.
  26. The Council does not permit advertising banners, hoardings, 'A' boards or any other form of advertising on its property without prior written consent.
  27. The Council recognises the need for vessels to refuel from time to time alongside the Quay. It shall be the Owners responsibility to ensure all necessary precautions are undertaken to prevent spillages, pollution or contamination of the River Blackwater, Quay area or Council owned premises. In the event of a spillage, contamination or pollution event all associated clean-up costs will be sought from the Owner by the Council.
  28. The Council reserves the right to introduce regulations or amendments to these Conditions from time to time as is deemed necessary.

Berthing Fees

  1. Berthing charges shall be displayed on the River Bailiffs workshop.
  2. Berth holders will be informed of any changes to berthing charges at least three months prior to any changes coming into effect.
  3. All invoices are strictly to be paid within fourteen days and accounts are required to be settled during that period.
  4. The Council reserves the right to remove any vessel from a discounted wharfage rate in the event accounts are not settled within the specified period without further notice.
  5. The Council may remove any vessel if any berthing fees remain unpaid for more than two months from the date of the invoice. Alternative means of payment may be sought by agreement with Maldon District Council Financial Services.

Quarterly Berthing

  1. 'Quarterly Berthing' shall be offered to any Owner who operates a fully rigged Thames Sailing Barge subject to availability and the Councils terms and conditions set out above.
  2. The Owner agrees to pay berthing rates for the vessel per quarter; regardless of the number of days that vessel is physically alongside Hythe Quay, Maldon during that particular quarter; in return, the Council shall guarantee the vessel a berth alongside the Quay.
  3. A 'quarter' is a period of three calendar months. The charging periods are as follows: April to June, July to September, October to December and January to March inclusive.
  4. The 'Quarterly Berthing' rate shall be given a discount of approximately 50% that of the daily berthing rate subject to the conditions set out above. Wharfage charges shall be applied retrospectively.

Waste Disposal

  1. The Council agrees to provide waste reception facilities for those vessels paying berthing fees to the Council.
  2. Waste reception facilities are for the disposal of domestic waste only. Large items shall not be disposed of by Maldon the Council contractors nor should they be left on the Quay for later disposal. Liquid waste such as oil, bilge water or solvents must be taken to the Civic Amenity point in Park Drive, Maldon. No waste should be left alongside or next to the waste bins.
  3. It is the barge operator's responsibility to remove any non-domestic waste from the Quay without delay. Please dispose of boxes and containers sympathetically and collapse or crush whenever possible. Glass can be recycled in the bins provided at the Queens Head end of the quay. Please do not leave waste material next to the bins provided. The River Bailiff may assist with the disposal of large or difficult items by prior arrangement.

Electrical Installations

  1. All electrical installations must comply with current legislation.
  2. An approved electrical contractor appointed by the Council shall carry out an annual inspection of fixed electrical installations. The Owner agrees to indemnify the Council for any costs in relation to the inspection and the costs of compliance works.
  3. Only approved type electrical cables and extension leads bearing the BS mark will be permitted for use on the Quay.
  4. 240v tools and equipment are not permitted to be used on the Quay. Current legislation applies.
  5. Operators are reminded that electrical supplies should be secured from public access at all times, and isolated when they are not required.

Static Events

  1. All barge operators holding events on a barge or barges alongside Hythe Quay will comply with Maritime and Coastguard Agency regulations, Health and Safety Executive guidance and all other regulations relating to events on-board vessels.
  2. Crews of vessels holding events will give a comprehensive briefing to all guests attending every event. The briefing shall address access, egress, use of gangways, safety equipment, fire precautions, emergency evacuation and actions in the event of falling overboard or injury.
  3. A crew member will be positioned at the gangway to assist guests disembarking from the vessel to the Quay
  4. A written risk assessment shall be undertaken for each static event alongside Hythe Quay. A copy of the risk assessment must be kept on-board and available for inspection if required.
  5. A crew member of each vessel holding an event will be required to be on-board that vessel for the duration of the event

Enquiries to:

River Bailiff
Maldon District Council
Princes Road
Maldon
Essex
CM9 5DL