Agenda item

Cabinet considered recommendations for supporting maintenance dredging at the Port of Ramsgate. The report discussed by Cabinet described the proposed plan for maintenance dredging at the Port of Ramsgate for this financial year. The dredging plan would require Cabinet to make a key decision to undertake a single dredging campaign with an estimated value of £362k. The proposed dredging would be undertaken via an existing 4+1 year maintenance dredging term contract that was awarded to the marine contractor Van Oord in 2021.

The total value of the 2024/25 dredging plan was £477k. However the budget value was currently £325k and the report therefore also recommended a one-off General Fund revenue budget virement from the Corporate Contingency budget to fund the estimated £152k shortfall. The proposed dredging was via a method known as hydrodynamic dredging which mobilised deposited sediments back into the water column. The suspended sediment would then leave the harbour on a falling tide. This was more financially efficient than methods such as grab dredging.

The dredging planned this year would focus on the port turning circle, port entrance, harbour entrance and the approach to Berth 4/5. The Council had a contractual obligation to provide vessels with access to Berth 4/5 for the purpose of discharging cargoes to the Brett Aggregates site. The volume of sediment to be removed during this dredging campaign was approximately 124,000m³ which for context was roughly the same in volume as the water held in 50 Olympic size swimming pools.

In order to secure the dredger in June, an order had been placed for a smaller 75,000m3 dredging campaign at an estimated cost of £228k. This would improve vessel access but without the increase in volume to the more substantial dredge campaign, there was a greater chance that there would be a need to undertake further work later in the financial year. It was important that dredging at the port was undertaken within the next one to two months to maintain an acceptable depth of water in the port at all states of the tide. It also made sense to plan this work over the summer to avoid the increased bad weather risk associated with winter dredging.

Environmental monitoring would be undertaken alongside the dredging operation to mitigate the risk of adverse effects on nearby receptors. This was important as the port was in close proximity to multiple designated sites that were rich in biodiversity. The dredging planned for the port in June would take two to three weeks to complete. Engagement would take place with stakeholders at the port and the harbour and updates would be provided as required via usual communication channels including Notices to Mariners

Councillor Davis spoke under Council Procedure Rule 20.1.

Councillor Everitt proposed, Councillor Kristian Bright seconded and Cabinet approved:

1.  The key decision to order works with the marine contractor Van Oord for hydrodynamic dredging with a value in excess of £250k. This work will be undertaken via an existing 4+1 year maintenance dredging term contract that was awarded to Van Oord in June 2021;

2.  A one-off General Fund revenue budget virement from the Corporate Contingency budget, to fund the estimated maintenance dredging budget overspend of £152k in the 2024/25 financial year.