About Brightlingsea Harbour

The Harbour was formerly established by Act of Parliament in 1927 as a Trust Port. It is a non-profit making statutory body with a board of 8 Trustees known as commissioners. The Chief Executive and the Harbour Master are commissioners. The Chairman and the other five non-executive commissioners are appointed every four years by a selection panel after the positions are publicly advertised. The commissioners are all volunteers and their appointment is based on the skills and knowledge they bring to the organisation.

The Statutory Harbour includes all the waters in Brightlingsea Creek to the east of a line drawn between the Martello Tower at Point Clear and Bateman’s Tower in Brightlingsea. The regulation of these waters is governed by the Harbour Byelaws enshrined in the Act of Parliament.

Within the defined harbour limits the Commissioners have been created by Statute to serve the public interest. The public interest is wider than that of harbour users and includes the local community and natural environment. There is a public right to use the Harbour for the shipping and unshipping of goods and passengers, and there is also a public right of navigation.

Brightlingsea Harbour Commissioners have a general obligation to keep under formal and active consideration the overall safety of the Harbour and to apply all available statutory powers as appropriate to secure the safe use of the Harbour by all craft. This includes the maintenance of navigation marks and the use of byelaws and directions with regard to the use of the Harbour.

In 2001 Colchester Harbour closed and Brightlingsea Harbour Commissioners became responsible for the safety of navigation and Pilotage on the River Colne from the Inner Bench Head buoy to the entrance to Roman River between Wivenhoe and Rowhedge.

Brightlingsea Harbour Commissioners is publicly accountable for the execution of its duties and has the power to raise Dues for the discharge of its statutory obligations. These Dues are payable by all users of the Harbour.