Council bans hiring of personal water craft

East Suffolk Council voted against commercial hiring of personal water craft

Commercial businesses will no longer be allowed to hire out personal water craft (PWC) over fears a district could be turned into a "Mecca for jet skis".

East Suffolk Council took the decision not to license commercial operators after hundreds of people objected during a consultation.

At a meeting on Monday, councillors voted against licensing, although private owners can still use them as that does not fall within the authority's jurisdiction.

which began hiring out PWC on the River Deben last summer, prompted the initial debate, saying it was a "legitimate" business providing a "unique" tourist attraction.

'Big hammer'

Objections raised during the consultation included "public safety, public nuisance and concerns over the impact on wildlife".

Conservative councillor Keith Robinson said a blanket ban across the district was "too much of a big hammer", but the decision to support the recommendation not to issue licences was passed with five votes for, and four against.

Businesses can still apply for licences, but the council will refuse them unless there is evidence of "exceptional circumstances".

Following the decision, Jan Candy, the council's Liberal Democrat lead for community health, said: "We are, I think, quite proudly saying we don't want this damage down any of our rivers, not just the Deben.

"If you encourage one business to hire out jet skis you also say that we're open for business for other jet ski users. What I think we don't want to be is the Mecca for jet skis.

"We're doing the best we can here to protect our rivers and our estuaries and our delicate ecosystem."

Daniel Mayhew, co-founder of Suffolk Jetski, said: "It's a sad day for Suffolk to lose a 'unique' tourist attraction that was set up at the owners' personal expense."

He said the business would have delivered a "safe and attractive offering of diversity into the tourism revenue in Felixstowe and the surrounding areas", in line with the government's mandate to promote growth, enterprise and entrepreneurship.

The private use of PWC is regulated by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency.