Scarborough borough harbour staff praised despite being on low pay
Staff give up their personal time to ensure the smooth running of the harbours
Last updated 1st Nov 2022
Scarborough Council has praised the “tremendous” work of its harbour staff despite being on “some of the lowest pay” within the authority.
The borough’s harbour master, Captain Chris Burrows, presented his report to the council’s audit committee on Thursday October 28 and set out incidents that had occurred in the past year as well as commending the work of the harbour staff.
Speaking at the audit committee’s meeting, the harbour master presented a report on the port marine safety code, which sets out nationally agreed standards designed to ensure that marine facilities operate safely and efficiently.
Although the code is “voluntary”, statutory harbour authorities have been prosecuted in recent years with the code cited to support prosecutions, according to Captain Burrows.
The harbour master said that “everything cited in the report is progressing well” which keeps the authority in line with “quite a complex legal situation” locally and nationally.
He also praised the dedication and hard work of the harbour staff who he said often give up their personal time to ensure the smooth running of the harbours in Scarborough, Whitby, and Filey.
“Our front-line staff are on some of the lowest pay bands within the council but they are a dedicated team who I can rely on to come out at a moment’s notice to respond to whatever is going on,” said the harbour master.
He added: “Now you might say that that is their job and indeed it is, but it isn’t their job to drop whatever they are doing on a Saturday morning when they’re not supposed to be on shift or are on leave.
“But they turn out, often with a smile on their face, and deal with any situation we are facing.”
Cllr Mike Cockerill echoed Captain Burrow’s comments, stating that as a previous long-time cabinet member responsible for the harbour, he agreed that “the work of the staff is tremendous”.
Members of the audit committee heard that between April 2021 and March 2022, a total of 10 incidents were recorded by the harbour authority across the three harbours in Scarborough, Whitby, and Filey, including one collision, one capsizing, and two groundings.
However, the 10 incidents were only a fraction of the more than 55,000 annual vessel movements, which the harbour master described as a “positive number” overall.
There was also an update on the Filey RNLI lifeboat building’s extension, with councillors told that more space for pedestrian access would be created on Coble Landing with some vessels set to be moved.