Gloucester Harbour Trustees
The Gloucester Harbour Trustees are the Competent Harbour Authority (CHA) for the tidal part of the River Severn from the Gloucester weirs (Llanthony & Maisemore) down to just below the Second Severn Crossing, on the Welsh side of the Severn Estuary (north of Denny Island) from the Second Severn Crossing as far as Goldcliff, and on the River Wye up to its tidal limit (Bigsweir).[1]
History
Pilotage of vessels approaching the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal was the responsibility of Bristol and Trinity House, but these functions were transferred to the Gloucester Pilotage Board in 1861. After a new dock was built in Sharpness in 1874 that was capable of handling larger vessels, the amount of cargo using the port of Gloucester declined and the customhouse was moved to Sharpness. The Sharpness Lighthouse Trustees were set up in 1898 to provide lighting in the dock area so that ships could enter the port both by day and night.[2] The following year this became the Gloucester Harbour Authority which, as well as being responsible for lights in the estuary, were tasked with controlling navigation there. Gloucester Harbour Authority later evolved into the Gloucester Harbour Trustees, which later relocated to Sharpness; it is responsible for all pilotage in the estuary.[3] The trustees also established moorings at Northwick Oaze south of Aust and created a deeper channel so that larger vessels could reach Sharpness more easily.[2]
Responsibilities
The Trustees have responsibilities for navigational safety in that part of the estuary, and maintain a number of navigation aids (beacons, buoys and lighthouses), and a special 'Pilotwatch Radar' with portable sets for use by pilots. They also arrange the provision of pilots which are compulsory for most commercial shipping and other vessels over 30m l.o.a. in the GHT area. The main commercial traffic within the GHT area is to the port of Sharpness, and some sand dredging. The harbour, which has one of the world's highest tidal ranges, includes both the present road crossings and two riverside nuclear sites (one at Oldbury decommissioning, one at Berkeley decommissioning).[1]
The Trustees were originally constituted in 1890 and initially comprised some 22 Trustees. Today the board consists of 10 members, who are appointed in line with the principles of the ‘Guide to Good Governance’ drawn up as part of the DETR’s Review of Trust Ports and in accordance with the provisions of the Gloucester Harbour Revision (Constitution) Order 2002 (which also sets out the boundaries of the Gloucester Harbour). The Gloucester Harbour Trustees, as competent harbour authority for this part of the river, have issued safety guidance for surfers, canoeists, small craft and river bank users in relation to the Severn bore, a phenomenon of the Severn Estuary and lower parts of the river under certain tidal conditions.[4]
The Gloucester Harbour Trustees area
The Gloucester Harbour Trustees area, especially above Sharpness, includes many areas of interest to environmentalists. These include extensive mud flats and grassland areas on which migrating and resident birds feed and include a number of Sites of Special Scientific Interest. The estury experiences one of the biggest tidal ranges in the world and a Severn Barrage is often under discussion to harness the energy generated by the tide.[3]
References
- 1 2 GHT: Limits of the Gloucester Harbour
- 1 2 Hugh Conway-Jones (2013). The Gloucester And Sharpness Canal Through Time. Amberley Publishing Limited. p. 250. ISBN 978-1-4456-2580-5.
- 1 2 Jan Dobrzynski (2016). River Severn: From Source to Sea. Amberley Publishing Limited. p. 164. ISBN 978-1-4456-4905-4.
- ↑ "Severn Bore guidance" (PDF). Gloucester Harbour Trustees. Retrieved 27 August 2016.