The Crown Estate seldom manages moorings directly; currently the one exception to this is on the River Hamble in Hampshire. In the majority of cases we grant a block lease or licence to an appropriate body, such as harbour commissioners, a local authority, boat club or fairways committee and in parts of Scotland, a moorings association. These bodies provide local administration and sometimes the mooring tackle and other facilities and make appropriate charges to the boat owners.

Examples around the country include the various fairways committees on the River Deben in Suffolk, Lymington Harbour Commissioners, Yarmouth and Cowes Harbour Commissioners, East Devon District Council, Gwynedd County Council and North Down Borough Council.

Rents and Charges

It is important to understand the difference between Crown Estate rents and charges to boat owners. Boat owners pay the local market rate for a mooring, which depends on the type of mooring, the length of boat, the location of the mooring, costs in neighbouring areas, etc. They pay this to the mooring operator. The mooring operator pays a ground rent to The Crown Estate. The rent simply grants the right to lay moorings.

The ground rent is set with regard to charges made by both Crown Estate lessees and by other landowners for similar mooring facilities. Each mooring area is treated individually. The Crown Estate takes into account a number of valuation factors such as:

• Location
• Catchment area
• Geographic advantages and disadvantages (e.g. distance from cruising grounds)
• Environmental / scenic considerations
• Ease of access from sea and land
• Tide
• Shoreside facilities
• Security
• Popularity

The Crown Estate does not set charges for boat owners. That is a matter for the moorings operator. However, by leasing areas to responsible local bodies we do everything we can to ensure that the needs of all sailing enthusiasts are met, whatever the size of their boat or income.

In practice, the overall effect of our policies has been to continue to provide some of the most competitively priced and best run moorings in the country. We believe this situation reflects the fairness of our policies and the sensibility of our approach to moorings leases and rents.

Marinas

As with moorings, The Crown Estate does not manage marinas directly but instead leases land for their development and management. Our current practice is to assess the rent on the basis of a percentage of turnover of the marina. The marina operator sets its own charges based on the location, facilities provided and prevailing market rates. Not all marinas are on Crown Estate land but those that are include Haslar and Gosport Marinas in Portsmouth Harbour, Neyland Marina in Pembrokeshire, Conwy Marina in North Wales and Bangor Marina in Northern Ireland.

In 2008 we acquired three marinas as part of our marine diversification investment policy.

Deganwy Marina

Located in Conwy, north Wales, the marina was acquired from Interguide Investment Holdings in January. The 165-berth marina nestles in the beautiful north Welsh coast in the village of Deganwy and has superb sailing waters. The site has been leased to Quay Marinas and will operate as Deganwy Quay Marina, with the office and retail space leased to Majestic Yachts.

The on-site facilities include:

• 165 fully serviced pontoons
• Marine diesel and petrol available
• Toilets, showers, bathrooms and laundry facilities in marina building
• Water and electricity supply available on all pontoons
• Boatyard service and 20 tonne mobile hoist
• Hardstanding area
• Chandlery / boat sales on site (Majestic Yachts).

Rhu Marina

We acquired Rhu, one of Scotland’s best known marinas, in April 2008. It currently provides 175 berths and related facilities on a 2.6 ha (6.5 acre) site on the Firth of Clyde, and is recognised as one of the finest sailing areas in the world.

The site purchased includes the moorings, boat storage areas, marine workshops and chandlery as well as the RNLI station with slipway and HM Coastguard. The marina is fully let in the summer and the site is earmarked in the local plan for development.

The marina has also been leased to Quay Marinas.

Burnham Yacht Harbour

Located on the north bank of the River Crouch outside the Essex town of Burnham-on-Crouch, this was acquired in November 2008 from East Coast Marinas Ltd.

The 350-berth marina is home to the famous Burnham Week, the longest running annual yachting regatta on the UK mainland.

Burnham Yacht Harbour includes 350 fully serviced pontoons, boatyard, chandlery, yacht brokers and ‘The Swallow Tail’ bar and restaurant overlooking the marina. The acquisition constitutes all the land, buildings, seabed, fixed assets and pontoons that form part of the marina. Burnham Yacht Harbour Marina Ltd has entered into a fifty-year lease with The Crown Estate to operate the marina.