Agenda item

            (Councillors Lavery and Mullaghan declared an interest in this matter in that they were Members of the Board of the Belfast Harbour Commissioners and took no part in the discussion.)

            The Committee was reminded that, at its meeting on 15th February, it had been advised that the HMS Caroline, which had been docked in Belfast Harbour since 1924, would be decommissioned on 31st March, 2011, and then transferred to the National Museum of the Royal Navy.  Given the considerable historical significance of the ship to the maritime heritage of Belfast, it had been agreed that officers within the Department would seek, in the interim period, to secure the ship in the City until the end of 2012, when the long-term viability of keeping the vessel in Belfast could be assessed.  This would be subject to clarification of a number of issues, including the following:

(i)         that the Committee be apprised of the outcome of an economic appraisal of the ship which was being undertaken on behalf of the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure, together with the consideration of an associated report by the Strategic Investment Board;

(ii)        that clarification be received on the estimated costs to the Council of keeping the ship in Belfast until the end of 2012, and that those costs be deemed reasonable; and

(iii)       that funding be secured from the Royal Navy towards the costs associated with keeping the ship in Belfast until the end of 2012, together with an indication from other statutory bodies and agencies in respect of funding which they might contribute towards the costs of this extension.

            The Director of Development informed the Members that he had met with representatives of the Royal Navy in this regard.  At that meeting, he had pointed out that the Council could not commit financially to the proposal to keep the ship in Belfast until it had considered the current outcome of, amongst other things, the economic appraisal being undertaken on behalf of the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure.  The Director had suggested also, given that the Council was just one of many potential stakeholders in the project, that a lead agency should be appointed by central government to oversee the proposals to retain the ship in the City.  Therefore, the Royal Navy had agreed to defer, until the end of September, consideration of the matter.  However, the Director reported that the representatives from the Royal Navy had requested that, in the interim period, a request could be made by the Council to the Belfast Harbour Commissioners asking that the docking fees for the HMS Caroline be waived until the end of September, 2011. 

            After discussion, the Committee agreed that a letter be forwarded, on behalf of the Council, to the Board of the Belfast Harbour Commissioners requesting that the docking fees chargeable to the HMS Caroline be waived until the end of September, 2011.  In addition, the Committee authorised officers within the Department to continue discussions with various bodies and agencies to outline the new timescale and request that they contribute to the decision on the future of the HMS Caroline which was to be reached by the end of September.