What are the Brightlingsea Harbour Commission's responsibilities?

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Brightlingsea Harbour Commissioners (BHC) is a statutory trust port — a body created by Parliament, independent of local government, and funded entirely by harbour users. This page draws primarily on BHC's own website (brightlingseaharbour.org) and the relevant legislation. It focuses on what BHC's responsibilities mean in practice for Brightlingsea residents and harbour users.

What is Brightlingsea Harbour Commissioners?

Brightlingsea Harbour Commissioners is a trust port — a statutory body created by Parliament, with no shareholders and no owner. It was originally established by an Act of Parliament in 1927, and its constitution was most recently revised by The Brightlingsea Harbour Revision (Constitution) Order 2002. It operates under the framework of the Harbours Act 1964 and the Port Marine Safety Code.

A trust port is self-funding: BHC receives no public subsidy and is financed exclusively from charges to harbour users (mooring fees, dues, etc.). It does not receive any Council Tax income.

BHC is not part of local government. It sits alongside — but entirely separately from — Essex County Council, Tendring District Council, and Brightlingsea Town Council. It reports to the Department for Transport.

The harbour sits in Brightlingsea Creek, where the River Colne meets the broader Colne Estuary — a short distance from where the estuary meets the Blackwater. The harbour describes itself as "a small mixed leisure and commercial port with a rich heritage," located "within a nature conservation area of international importance."

Sources: brightlingseaharbour.org | Harbour Revision Order 2002 | British Ports Association

BHC's responsibilities

Navigation safety

BHC's primary statutory duty is the safety of navigation in its area. This means:

  • Maintaining navigational marks (buoys, lights, etc.) in Brightlingsea Creek and the relevant stretch of the River Colne
  • Enforcing byelaws governing the use of the harbour
  • Issuing Notices to Mariners and Range Notices
  • Enforcing speed limits on the water

BHC is also the body responsible for pilotage on the River Colne. Since 2001, when Colchester Harbour closed, BHC became responsible for navigation safety and pilotage on the River Colne from the Inner Bench Head buoy to the entrance to the Roman River (between Wivenhoe and Rowhedge) — a stretch reaching approximately 7 miles upstream towards Colchester.

Under the Port Marine Safety Code, "Brightlingsea Harbour Commissioners collectively and individually are the Duty Holder" for safe marine operations.

Moorings and harbour management

BHC manages mooring arrangements for both leisure and commercial vessels in Brightlingsea Creek — this is the harbour's main day-to-day operational role for local boat owners:

  • Harbour and marina moorings (applications, allocation, billing)
  • Visitor moorings for boats arriving from outside
  • Maintenance of harbour infrastructure

Commercial and leisure port operations

Brightlingsea is a mixed-use harbour. BHC oversees both:

  • Commercial port activity — fishing vessels, cargo
  • Leisure boating — the harbour is a popular sailing destination, described as "a day sail from most ports on the Thames Estuary"

Ferry and water taxi services

BHC operates or supports ferry and water taxi services from Brightlingsea:

  • Ferry to Point Clear and East Mersea — a passenger ferry service across the Colne Estuary
  • Water taxi
  • Boat trips including pub lunch river cruises, afternoon tea on a Thames sailing barge, harbour tours, and private charter

Environmental stewardship

The harbour operates within an area of international nature conservation importance (the Colne Estuary). BHC has a duty to take into account the interests of "the natural environment" alongside harbour users and the local community.

Stakeholder engagement

BHC holds regular stakeholder meetings (most recent documented: November 2025) and publishes reports, accounts and meeting minutes. It is required by law to manage the harbour in the public interest, which includes a public right to use the harbour for the shipping and unshipping of goods and passengers.

Governance

BHC is governed by a board of commissioners. As of 2026, the board comprises:

Commissioner Role / notes
Andrew Scott Chairman (appointed 2016)
James Thomas Chief Executive (appointed 2016)
Owen Evans Harbour Master (appointed 2026)
Tony Curzon Price Commissioner (appointed 2025)
Robert Dorey Commissioner (appointed 2025)
Ali Johns Commissioner (appointed 2023)
Daniel Stoker Commissioner (appointed 2022)
Colin Watkins Commissioner (appointed 2022)
Patric Foley-Brickley Commissioner (appointed 2022)
Karl Lumbers Commissioner (appointed 2024)

Commissioners are appointed for four-year terms. The appointment process is set out in the Harbour Revision Order 2002.

Source: BHC — Our Commissioners

Contacting the harbour

  • Address: 4 Copperas Road, Brightlingsea, Colchester, Essex, CO7 0AP
  • Phone: 01206 302 200
  • Email: mail@brightlingseaharbour.org
  • VHF: Channel 68 (monitored 0800–2000 in season; 0800–1700 out of season)
  • Office hours: Weekdays 9am–5pm; Saturdays & Sundays 9am–1pm (April–September only)

Source: BHC — Harbour Office

What BHC does NOT cover

BHC's remit is the harbour and navigable waterways. The following are not BHC responsibilities:

Matter Who is responsible
Roads and car parks near the harbour Essex County Council / Tendring District Council
Coastal flood risk (tidal) Environment Agency
Surface water / drainage flood risk Essex County Council (LLFA)
Planning applications for harbour-adjacent land Tendring District Council
Commercial fishing licensing Marine Management Organisation (national)
Lifeguarding on beaches Tendring District Council

Notes on sources

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