Personal watercraft on river sparks consultation

A consultation on licensing private hire personal watercraft is to take place after a new business opened up offering tours on the river Deben.

A report to East Suffolk Council has raised concerns over the use of water scooters, such as Jet Skis, and the impact it might have on wildlife, pollution and other users of the river.

The firm offering the tours, Suffolk Jet Ski Limited, was co-founded by local businessman Daniel Mayhew.

He said they were all for "legitimising any business in the local area, but only for the right reasons".

Mr Mayhew added that he believed his new businesses, which started using the river between Woodbridge and Felixstowe Ferry in the summer, meant the waterways "benefited from another set of trained and safety conscious eyes".

A council must licence water scooters for private hire or they can no longer be used in the district.

East Suffolk's licencing committee agreed unanimously to go ahead and consult on the issue.

In an email seen by the committee, Sally Noble, councillor responsible for the environment, called the use of such watercraft on the river "dangerous" and "a terrible idea".

The council said: "Commercial providers are currently unregulated and a consultation would seek to consider the safeguarding and wellbeing of anyone who uses craft supplied commercially.

"This would not, however, affect privately-owned jet skis. Unsafe use of privately owned jet-skis is under the jurisdiction and policing of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency."

The River Deben is an internationally recognised Ramsar site due to its importance for birds and habitats and is also a site of special scientific interest, giving it legal protection.

Mr Mayhew said his firm was a family-run, safe and legitimate concern operating for up to three months of the year, using a three-seater extra buoyant personal watercraft and not the more noisy, stand-up stunt water scooters.

"We went to great expense in time and money to ensure the safety through risk assessment of the business," he said.

He added they benefitted the wider economy by attracting visitors to the area, and they abided by speed limits and adopted "strict procedures" to avoid other water users and wildlife on the estuary.

Mr Mayhew said a number of river user groups and harbour masters were contacted when the new business was started including the River Deben Association (RDA).

Colin Nicholson, RDA chairman, said it "supported all usage and enjoyment of the river, provided local byelaws are adhered to".

He went on to add that operating personal watercraft above the "speed limit of eight knots brings safety to the fore” and "thus, fast water bikes are an accident waiting to happen”.

He went on to say the association was working with Mr Mayhew to produce a "personal watercraft good practice guide” for users on the Deben.

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