BOAT owners face being hit with charges of up to £450 with the completion of Rhyl’s controversial £9.9 million harbour re-development.
Councillors are set to decide this week whether to charge Foryd Harbour users up to £450 a year for mooring and up to £100 yearly harbour fees for the first time.
Retired charter boat owner, Carl Davies, whose business is now being run by his son after his 40 years at the helm, said: “I’m thinking of selling it now. With diesel and insurance and now mooring fees, we can’t do it any more.
“We’re being squeezed like a toothpaste tube.”
John Povah, founder member of the Rhyl Fishermen’s Association and member of the original Harbour Forum, said the move would discourage harbour users.
Mr Povah said: “It doesn’t surprise me. After all, they have taken over the harbour and have spent an awful lot of money on it. “It was inevitable they were going to.
“But there’s no history of charges being levied, and we have never had a harbour master.”
"Only about 50 per cent of the moorings are being used. Once they start charging, they are not going to get more boats in the place.”
Mr Povah said another concern was the council’s decision to pull up existing moorings and replace them, as private boat owners had invested hundreds of pounds in the equipment.
He said: “The rest of the boat men are not happy. The council have not discussed this with us.”
In November it was announced Denbighshire Council had agreed to foot a £500,000 bill after the cost of remodelling the harbour and creating a cycle bridge across the entrance had increased.
A pre-meeting council report states: “It is recognised that to achieve a sustainable harbour facility there is a need to generate an income to contribute towards both its operating and maintenance costs in the long term.”
Under the proposals, visitors and residents would also be charged on a sliding scale, with temporary harbour users paying a minimum of £10 per night for mooring from April.