| MAYA (MArinas and YAcht harbours) is a project funded through the EU Interreg programme, and concerns marinas and yacht harbours in the Lower North sea and the Irish sea. Colchester Borough Council is a partner along with 13 others who are located in UK, France, Belgium, Netherlands and Ireland. The project has 'common' and 'pilot' actions. The common project is a report looking at the environmental and planning constraints, at an EU level, on leisure boating development and how these issues can be addressed. It also looks at the market potential of the sector, its link to economic development and regeneration, and considers how the partners might |  |
| work together in future to promote leisure boating development and associated waterside regeneration. | |
MAYA and the Colne Estuary
The Colne Estuary Strategy identified the need for a comprehensive review
of policies for leisure boating on the Colne Estuary and around Mersea
Island. In particular the potential of the river for leisure boating development
following closure of the harbour was recognised. However, it was also
recognised that the Habitats Regulations place potential constraints on
development, and recent experience by the council in West Mersea had shown
that the Regulations posed questions which were difficult to answer for
all concerned. The MAYA project provided the opportunity to consider these
issues in more depth.
The Colne
Estuary Leisure Boating study has delivered CBC's pilot action and
was conceived as 'modernising the use of the river'. The objectives of
the pilot study were to:
- Develop improved planning tools to support decision-making.
- To provide guidance for developers (e.g. on the scope of Environmental Impact Assessment).
- To investigate the market factors operating locally, to provide a balanced context for policy making.
The project reported in two stages,
and the Phase I and Phase II reports.
The Phase I report presents a market analysis
of the leisure boating sector on the Colne and at Mersea, and also proposes
a methodology for assessing applications and guidance regarding EIA and
appropriate assessment.
The Phase II report develops case studies of development options. These
are evaluated using the methodology developed in Phase I, and the results
are developed into policy recommendations. It also further develops the
market analysis, providing a comprehensive overview of the economic value
of the sector locally.
Overall the reports provide valuable pointers to the council's
role in supporting the sustainable development of the leisure boating
sector. Particular points of note are:
- The need to restrict development to less environmentally sensitive areas.
- The identification of suitable locations for development and the suggestions as to the appropriate nature and intensity of development at various locations.
- The contribution, by employment in the sector, of over £5 m per annum to the local economy.
- The importance of marine events as an economic development tool.
- Possible future trends towards more motor cruisers in the leisure boating market.
The future work required to gain the best value from the Colne Estuary leisure boating study and from the overall MAYA report will address:
- Council Operations - A moorings policy, provision of services/facilities for leisure boating, River Patrol for policing the council's byelaws for the regulation of powered craft in the river.
- Planning Policy - For Moorings and Marinas and Shoreside Development .
- Regeneration - Recognition of the economic benefits from the development of the leisure boating sector and the future regeneration of Colne Harbour.
For more information on the EU project please visit www.maya-net.org