Delayed repairs to the Hayling Ferry and the continuing row over fees recently went from bad to worse.
After publishing an open letter Hayling Ferrys owner Tina Edwards has publicly criticised the Langstone Harbour Board for unfair treatment.But rather than take this on the chin the chairman of the board has hit back.
Councillor Jackie Branson has said theyve done all they can to resolve ongoing issues. She also explained that the large pontoons are only kept in place because of the ferry. The harbour doesnt actually need them.
In Mrs Edwards letter she added remarks about subsidies the ferry had been receiving which have now been withdrawn: The subsidies have been vital for the public transport service to continue this long and should HCC (Hampshire County Council) cut its subsidy there is no doubt we would probably cease to exist. That is unless there is a review of the fees and a total turn around by LHB (the harbour). This is what we are calling for.
She also wanted to know why the harbour board has taken so long to carry out repairs which Cllr Branson also responded to: The harbour board arranged a meeting between an engineer the harbour manager and the ferry company to talk about the pontoon situation and no one from the ferry company turned up.
Since then we have asked them to come in at least three times but they ignored our invitations. We are happy to talk about it.
A replacement ferry has been found and should be in operation from today.
