The Fowey Harbour Revision Order 2001

Citation and commencement

1.—(1) This Order may be cited as the Fowey Harbour Revision Order 2001 and shall come into force on 18th June 2001.

(2) The Fowey Harbour Orders 1937 to 1980 and this Order may be cited together as the Fowey Harbour Orders 1937 to 2001.

Incorporation of provisions of the Commissioners Clauses Act 1847

2.  Sections 15, 48, 53, 56, 58 to 60, 62 to 65, 67, 69 to 83, 85 to 88 and 96 to 111 of the Commissioners Clauses Act 1847(1) (so far as applicable and not inconsistent with the Fowey Harbour Orders 1937 to 2001) shall be incorporated with this Order.

Interpretation

3.  In this Order—

“appointing body” means the Commissioners or the Restormel Borough Council;

“the Commissioners” means the Fowey Harbour Commissioners;

“the new constitution date” means 1st September 2001.

Constitution of Commissioners

4.—(1) On and after the new constitution date, the Commissioners shall consist of—

(a) six appointed by the Commissioners;

(b) three appointed by Restormel Borough Council after consulting with Cornwall County Council, Caradon District Council, Fowey Town Council, Lanteglos Parish Council, Lostwithiel Town Council, St. Sampson Parish Council, St. Veep Parish Council and St. Winnow Parish Council; and

(c) the Chief Executive for the time being of the Commissioners.

(2) Each Commissioner appointed under paragraph (1)(a) and (b) above shall be a person who appears to the Commissioners or the Restormel Borough Council to have special knowledge, experience or ability appropriate to the efficient, effective and economic discharge by the Commissioners of their functions including in particular (but without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing) special knowledge, experience or ability in one or more of the following matters—

(a) commerce;

(b) maritime activities;

(c) health and safety;

(d) management;

(e) public relations and community issues;

(f) industrial relations;

(g) shipping, fishing or cargo handling;

(h) accountancy or financial management;

(i) boating and other water related leisure activities;

(j) environmental matters affecting harbours; and

(k) any other skills and abilities considered from time to time by the Commissioners to be relevant to the discharge by them of their functions;

and each appointing body shall secure, so far as reasonably practicable, that the Commissioners appointed by them will, between them, have special knowledge, experience and ability in a broad and complementary range of matters relevant to the efficient, effective and economic discharge by them of their functions.

(3) In making an appointment under paragraph (1)(a) or (b) above or article 8 below, each appointing body shall act in accordance with any guidance issued by the Secretary of State from time to time with respect to the exercise of such functions.

Appointment and terms of office of first Commissioners

5.—(1) The first appointments under article 4(1)(a) or (b) above shall be made on, or as soon as reasonably practicable after, 18th June 2001.

(2) The Commissioners shall appoint the persons who are, at the date when they make the first appointments under paragraph (1) above, the chairman and vice-chairman of the Commissioners to be two of the first of such appointed Commissioners and they shall hold office as Commissioners from the new constitution date until 30th April 2004; and on and after the new constitution date shall be the chairman and vice-chairman respectively of the Commissioners.

(3) Of the remaining first such Commissioners appointed by the Commissioners—

(a) two shall hold office from the new constitution date until 30th April 2002;

(b) two shall hold office from the new constitution date until 30th April 2003;

as the Commissioners shall specify when they make each of those appointments.

(4) Of the Commissioners appointed by Restormel Borough Council—

(a) one shall hold office from the new constitution date until 30th April 2002;

(b) one shall hold office from the new constitution date until 30th April 2003;

(c) one shall hold office from the new constitution date until 30th April 2004;

as the Council shall specify when they make each of those appointments.

Terms of office of subsequent Commissioners

6.  A Commissioner appointed under article 4(1)(a) or (b) above (other than a Commissioner appointed under article 5 above) shall, unless appointed to fill a casual vacancy and subject to articles 7 and 9 of, and paragraph 10 of Schedule 2 to, this Order, hold office for the period of three years from 1st May next following his appointment.

Declaration to be made by Commissioners

7.  No person shall act as a Commissioner until he has made the declaration set out in Schedule 1 to this Order (or a declaration to that effect); and a person shall cease to be a Commissioner if he fails to make that declaration within three months of the date of his appointment.

Casual vacancies

8.—(1) A casual vacancy arising in the office of a Commissioner appointed by the Commissioners or the Restormel Borough Council shall, unless it is not reasonably practicable to do so, be filled by the appointment of a Commissioner by the Commissioners or the Council (as the case may be) in accordance with article 4(2) and (3) above and, in the case of an appointment by the Council, after consulting in accordance with article 4(1)(b) above.

(2) A Commissioner appointed to fill a casual vacancy under this article shall, subject to articles 7 and 9 of, and paragraph 10 of Schedule 2 to, this Order, hold office during the remainder of the term for which the Commissioner whom he replaces was appointed.

Disqualification of Commissioners

9.  If the Commissioners are satisfied that a Commissioner—

(a) has without the permission of the Commissioners been absent from the meetings of the Commissioners—

(i) for a period during which three such meetings have been held; or

(ii) for a period of three consecutive months,

whichever of these periods is the longer; or

(b) has become bankrupt or made an arrangement with his creditors; or

(c) is incapacitated by physical or mental illness from discharging the functions of a Commissioner; or

(d) is otherwise unable, unwilling or unfit to discharge the functions of a Commissioner;

the Commissioners may declare his office as a Commissioner to be vacant and thereupon his office shall become vacant.

Indemnity insurance for Commissioners

10.  The Commissioners may enter into, and pay premiums for, a contract of insurance to indemnify the Commissioners jointly or severally against personal liability arising from any act or omission of the Commissioners or of any of them; not being an act or omission which the Commissioner or Commissioners in question knew to be a breach of his or their duty or, concerning which, he or they were reckless as to whether it was such a breach.

Incidental provisions relating to Commissioners

11.  On and after the new constitution date the provisions of Schedule 2 to this Order shall have effect with respect to the Commissioners.

Publication of Commissioners' annual statement of accounts

12.  As soon as reasonably practicable after their annual statement of accounts is prepared, the Commissioners shall—

(a) make available a copy of the statement for a period of three months at the offices of the Commissioners for inspection free of charge by members of the public and shall, subject to the payment of a reasonable charge, supply a copy of the statement to any person who requests to be supplied with a copy; and

(b) send a copy of the statement to the Restormel Borough Council.

Borrowing powers

13.—(1) Subject to paragraph (2) below, the Commissioners may from time to time borrow upon the security of their assets for the time being or of their revenues or both their assets and their revenues, by any methods they see fit—

(a) such sums of money as they think necessary not exceeding two million pounds (or that sum as adjusted in accordance with article 15 below); and

(b) with the consent of the Secretary of State, such further sums of money as they may require.

(2) In calculating the aggregate sums of money borrowed by the Commissioners under paragraph (1) above, there shall be excluded any sums borrowed for the purpose of repaying within twelve months of the date of borrowing any sum for the time being outstanding by way of principal on any amount previously borrowed.

(3) Moneys borrowed by the Commissioners under this article shall be applied only to purposes to which capital money is properly applicable.

(4) For the purposes of paragraph (3) above, but without prejudice to the generality of that paragraph, purposes to which capital money is properly applicable shall be deemed to include—

(a) the payment of any interest, falling due within five years immediately following the date of borrowing, on any sum of money borrowed by the Commissioners under this article; and

(b) the repayment, within twelve months from the date of borrowing, of any sum for the time being outstanding by way of principal on any amount previously borrowed.

Temporary borrowing powers

14.  The Commissioners may borrow temporarily, by way of overdraft or otherwise, such sums of money as the Commissioners may require but the total amount outstanding at any one time of money so borrowed shall not exceed two hundred and fifty thousand pounds (or that sum as adjusted in accordance with article 15 below).

RPI adjustment of borrowing limits

15.—(1) On each anniversary of the new constitution date the sums mentioned in articles 13(1)(a) and 14 above shall be adjusted in line with any movement (calculated to one decimal place) in RPI which occurred during the year ended on 31st December immediately preceding the anniversary in question.

(2) Any adjustment referred to in paragraph (1) above, shall be recorded in the next following annual statement of accounts prepared by the Commissioners.

(3) In paragraph (1) above, “RPI” means the general index of retail prices for all items published in the monthly publication of the Office for National Statistics known as “Monthly Digest of Statistics”, or any successor from time to time of that index.

Consultative bodies

16.—(1) The Commissioners shall establish one or more consultative body or bodies which the Commissioners shall consult on all matters substantially affecting the management, maintenance, improvement, conservation, protection or regulation of the harbour and its navigation.

(2) The Commissioners shall make arrangements for every such consultative body to meet not less than twice a year.

(3) The Commissioners shall take into consideration any matter, recommendation or representation which may from time to time be referred or made to them by such a consultative body whether or not that consultative body has been consulted by the Commissioners on the matter, recommendation or representation so referred or made.

(4) The consultative body or bodies established pursuant to this article shall consist of such number or numbers of persons appointed by the Commissioners as the Commissioners shall from time to time consider appropriate.

(5) Appointments to a consultative body established under this article shall be made by the Commissioners in accordance with a scheme prepared by them for that purpose and the scheme shall provide for the appointment of persons who, in the opinion of the Commissioners, are representative of persons having an interest in the functioning of the harbour.

(6) Any such consultative body may determine its own quorum and procedure and shall appoint a chairman.

(7) An individual member of any such consultative body may, on giving notice in writing to the chairman of that body, send a substitute to any meeting of the body.

(8) A member of such a consultative body shall hold office for the period of three years from the date of his appointment and at the end of that period shall be eligible for reappointment.

(9) A member of such a consultative body may resign his office at any time by notice in writing given to the chairman of the Commissioners.

(10) In this article “the harbour” has the meaning given in section 3 of the Fowey Harbour Order 1937(2).

Repeals

17.  On the new constitution date the enactments mentioned in the first and second columns of Schedule 3 to this Order (which include spent enactments) shall be repealed to the extent specified in the third column of that Schedule.

Signed by the authority of the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions

Stephen Reeves

Head of Ports Division

Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions

14th June 2001