East Suffolk Council’s rejection of the commercial hire of personal watercraft on the Deben Estuary (a decision with NO effect on the private use of personal watercraft) brought into focus several issues regarding the use of the estuary.
A survey was constructed by the River Deben Association and Deben Estuary Partnership that concentrated on everyone’s use of the estuary and in particular how its leisure users and wildlife can best coexist.
The results are now in! (Detailed Survey)
450 individuals plus three organisations returned questionnaires, a volume that indicates the high level of interest/concern which also enables some firm conclusions on what to do.
The survey shows different interest groups with different perspectives; with concerns about
- Noise, wash, safety on the water, restrictions of freedoms
- There are some important insights about injury concerns amongst vulnerable users, and surprisingly, yacht users
- There is strong support in this sample of respondents for restriction or banning of Personal Water Craft on the Deben
The majority of respondents believe we should focus on THREE ACTIONS
- Change the byelaws:
- Ban Personal Water Craft upstream of the ‘no speed limit’ area
- Reduce the speed limits to 8 knots or less; the average suggested speed limit is about 7 knots
- Allow the existing no-speed-limit zone to continue, though a sizeable minority want to abolish it
- Make the byelaws apply year-round
- Provide more publicity & signage of the byelaws so users are aware of their responsibilities
- Have more enforcement of byelaws and some call for more general ‘policing’ of poor behaviours by some empowered body
So, what next… THREE NEXT STEPS
- The survey results and conclusions will be circulated to the four Fairways Committees and main clubs (sailing, rowing etc.) together with draft changes to the Byelaws, seeking their buy-in prior to meeting East Suffolk Council
- The East Suffolk Council Cabinet Member for Coastal Management has agreed to a meeting with the RDA and ESC’s Suffolk Coast RAMS* Delivery Manager to work together on delivering the THREE ACTIONS.
- Discussions have begun with the four Fairways Committees on implementing Go Slow/International Wash Sign buoys at the beginning and end of each of their mooring areas.
And finally…
A BIG THANK-YOU to all those who took the trouble to complete the questionnaire. The RDA will keep everyone informed on progress on the RDA website and Facebook pages.
* RAMS stands for Recreational Disturbance Avoidance and Mitigation Strategy, see link for more information