Oban Bay Stakeholders Group
Background
Recent increases in the number of vessels entering and leaving Oban Bay have highlighted the need to establish a Harbour Authority which not only has responsibility for the infrastructure improvement, maintenance and management of the port but also has the powers to manage safety and respond to incidents in the Bay and its approaches. At present there is no such body in Oban, and therefore the Oban Bay Management Group has been working with the Oban Bay Stakeholders Group (OBSG) and other interested parties to identify the preferred means of bringing this about.
After extensive public consultation it was agreed in March 2019 that the preferred option was to form a Trust Port for Oban - an independent body that would be responsible for managing the unregulated waters of the Bay and its approaches, balancing the needs and interests of all stakeholders. A Trust Port is defined in legislation as a non-profit-making organisation without shareholders, with a formally-constituted Board responsible for managing and safeguarding the port as a valuable local asset, and whose duty it is to hand it on in the same or better condition to succeeding generations. Any surplus generated by a Trust Port becomes a “Stakeholder Dividend” which, after funding necessary operational, infrastructue, maintenance and management costs, must be invested into the Harbour and surrounding area.
Oban Community Harbour Development Association
OCHDA's own website is now live at https://ochda.scot and there is public consultation on the proposed new Harbour Area limits running till mid-December, at https://ochda.scot/consultations/
In order to facilitate the formation of a Trust Port the OBSG identified the need to set up a community-based Association. To this end, the Oban Community Harbour Development Association (OCHDA) was formed, meeting for the first time in April 2019. By this time the OBSG had already completed a preliminary financial evaluation which demonstrated that the Trust Port was economically viable, and which is available here: (link to document below, already on site in Stakeholder submissions).
OBSG Trust Port financial evaluation summary.pdf
Harbour Order
OCHDA have formed a number of subordinate working groups in order to address the wide range of issues that are needed to bring about the creation of a Trust Port. Central to these is the drafting of a Harbour Order which will form the basis for the legislation under which the new Trust Port will operate. The Harbour Order will build on work which has already been undertaken by both the OBSG and OBMG that identified and reviewed the legislative history of the port, together with confirming the current areas of jurisdiction that are associated with each of the piers. This is summarised in the document below:
The OCHDA Constitution
OCHDA Management Committee
Chair - Ross Wilson
Co-vice Chair - John MacAlister
Co-vice Chair - Fergus Gillanders
Secretary - Phil Hamerton
Treasurer - Peter Tosh
Committee Members - Robert Kincaid, Duncan Martin, Keith Miller, David Vass, Tony Hammock, Donald Robertson, John Peden
OCHDA membership is open to anyone who lives or works in the Oban area or has an interest in the development of the Oban harbour area. Please send a brief note of application to ochda@obanharbour.scot.