Marine / Crown Estate marina fees set for huge increase across isles
MOORING fees at marinas around Shetland are set for an almost 30-fold increase in a controversial increase from Crown Estate Scotland (CES).
Boat owners are set to be charged £55 a year – a huge increase from just £2 a year – in a move that has been heavily criticised by MP Alistair Carmichael.
CES met with marina associations in Lerwick and Brae earlier this month to explain the increases and are believed to have met with strong pushback from the associations.
However CES said the move was necessary to achieve “market value” for the seabed leases, and that marinas in Shetland had been paying far less than the rest of Scotland previously.
It said an independent valuation of seabed rents was carried out, and that District Valuer Services (DVS) recommended an increase from £2 to £55 per berth per annum.
“The DVS report concluded that £55 per berth – which equates to £1.06 per berth per week – meets Crown Estate Scotland’s statutory duty to obtain ‘market value’,” it said.
“Crown Estate Scotland is acutely aware of the crucial role of marinas and boating in the lives of thousands of Shetlanders.
“We were determined to ensure we gathered all relevant information before coming to any decision, which is why we asked independent valuer to carry out this survey.
“The decision to raise fees to the same levels as elsewhere in Scotland takes into account both the overarching issue of parity of treatment and the needs of islanders to continue to be able to berth their boats at a reasonable cost of little more than £1 per week.”
CES added that its surplus revenue is passed back to the Scottish Government to benefit the people of Scotland, and that Shetland Islands Council had received £4.5 million since 2020 as a result.
Northern Isles MP Alistair Carmichael however strongly condemned the mooring fees hike.
He said there was a stark contrast to CES’ claim to need to get “market value” with the ScotWind leasing round in 2022, which he said was “mismanaged”.
Carmichael claimed CES and the Scottish Government capped bids at £100,000 per square kilometre, resulting in “significantly less funding” being secured than other projects.
The “market value” quote was “a bit rich from an organisation which was happy to squander tens of millions of pounds of potential revenue from the ScotWind leasing round, with the SNP government’s blessing,” he added.
“Where was the duty to seek value for money at that time?
“They were happy to throw away far greater sums on seabed leasing so to pinch pennies over islander mooring rights is very literally ‘penny smart, pound foolish’.
“It is starting to appear that after some initial promise, the Crown Estate Scotland is not much different from the Crown Estate as it used to be.
“With the organisation under the thumb of the SNP we are unlikely to see much improvement – something is going to have to change here.”
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