Hayling Ferry Explained

Hayling Ferry
Locale:Hampshire, England
Waterway:Langstone Harbour
Began Operation:1850 or earlier
Vessels:1
Terminals:2
Operator:Baker Trayte Marine
Website:http://www.haylingferry.net

The Hayling Ferry is a foot passenger ferry across the mouth of Langstone Harbour linking the Ferry Point on the west tip of Hayling Island with Eastney, Portsmouth on Portsea Island. The current owner, Baker Trayte Marine Ltd, has operated the ferry since August 2016 following a period of cessation when the previous operation fell into administration in March 2015.

The ferry operates throughout the year and conveys schoolchildren, commuters, tourists and cyclists and is busy in the summer. In winter, there is a significant reduction of use. The ferry is scheduled to run hourly but will run more frequently in peak times and if the ferry becomes full. Bicycles are conveyed subject to space.

The tidal currents at the Ferry point are extremely treacherous and have claimed many lives over the years.[1]

History

It is claimed that a regular ferry service has run since before 1850, possible even from the 18th century.[2] [3] Rights to run a ferry had passed to the Duke of Norfolk to whom the rights as Lord of the manor of Hayling island had passed on dissolution of the monasteries. The rights were sold to a Mr. William Padwick Esq. in 1825.[4] [5]

Hayling Island Steam Ferry Company was formed in 1901 the venture bought the ferry rights but folded soon after due to the unsuitability of the steam vessel. While a Mr. Sandeman (members of the Sandeman (port wine) family has resided on the Island since 1824) had prepared significant infrastructure including pontoons and the construction of Ferry Road across Sinah Common and The Kench on the Hayling side he discovered the vessel was unable to transport a carriage and was restricted to foot passengers.

At some point after the demise of the earlier enterprise utilising the pontoons built for the steam vessel, George Spraggs, the licensee of the tavern on the Hayling side, began operated the ferry using motor boats with his sons until his drowning in 1922.[1] Following their father's death the sons Cecil, George and Jack continued the operation until 1961,.[1] They seem also to have been joined by an Alan Spraggs, and Cecil was the engineer. They typically used 3 boats, two in service and one in the boatshed.

The Spraggs were also proprietors of The Ferry Boat Inn and its predecessor the Norfolk Lodge (Inn) which was mutually beneficial to the Hayling Ferry operation. Even as early as 1901 they were rebranding the Norfolk lodge Inn as the Hayling Ferry Tavern.[6] [7] [8]

Portsmouth Council took over and operated the route from 1960, introducing the Iris in 1968 and the Irene in 1974 to the service. In 1978 they also briefly introduced a tourist service direct from Southsea using the Folkestone Belle. The service closed in April 1981.

The Hayling Island Ferry company took over operation of the ferry in 1985 using the Hayling Enterprise and Hampshire County Council wished the service to be re-instated and was prepared to provide a subsidy. Initially the pontoon on the Eastney side had deteriorated so badly it was necessary to run onto the beach. After the restoration of the pontoon the company purchased the 65 seat Pride of Hayling which entered operation in 1989.[3] In 2009 after 28000 hours of service the Pride of Hayling had its engines renewed.[3] Various maintenance, subsidy, operating and financial difficulties and incidents accumulated to bring the company into receivership.

The Pride of Hayling went in for what proved to be extensive maintenance repairs at the end of 2013, with the 12 seat Tina Marie sourced to continue the service in the interim from January 2014. Repairs took over 10 months and money was owed to the repairers.[9] [10] This ferry ceased operating in March 2015 with the company going into receivership.[11]

Receivers sold the boats to realise compensation for creditors. It was hoped that someone would purchase the Pride of Hayling and get the service running again quickly.[10] [12]

In August 2015, Baker Trayte Marine, an established marine contractor, purchased the Pride of Hayling ferry with the intention of reinstating the ferry service from Ferry Point on Hayling Island to Eastney Point on the Portsmouth side.[13]

The new service was launched on 5 August 2016 following strenuous efforts to attain the required subsidies needed by the Baker Trayte Business Plan including £15155 by the Hayling Ferry Trust and £5000 from Richard Branson among others.[14] [15] [16]

In 2018 it was reported that while the ferry was popular and financially viable over the summer months the winter patronage was low and unprofitable. The public funding reserves of £20.000 had almost been fully used up and it might be necessary to curtail services in the remaining winter months. The owners and a fundraising group hoped a County Council subsidy could be re-instated and stated the difficulties that were arising because a bus-link could not be re-established on the Hayling side.[17] [18]

Boats

Incidents

Alternative route

When the ferry has been closed the only public connection between Hayling Island and the mainland is a single carriageway road linking Northney to Langstone, Havant. Particularly in summer this road can become very congested rendering the journey between the bridge and South Hayling (the most populated area) anything from 30 minutes to an hour.[26] When the ferry has been closed this has been found to impact businesses on South Hayling.[27]

In 1886 there was a proposal to construct a branch off the Havant to Hayling railway line and to cross Langstone Harbour with a 900 ft road and rail swing bridge.[28] [29] In 1903 a scheme for a 720 ft Traveller Suspension Bridge conveying a 60 ft by 30 ft suspended car from one side to the other.[30] A proposed Millennium project to create a new shared pedestrian and cycle bridge was unsuccessful.[26]

Connecting services

There is a bus service on the Portsmouth side however the bus service to the ferry point on the Hayling side ceased in 2004. Efforts to re-instate a bus service to the ferry on the Hayling side have taken place at various times and have proved unsuccessful until in July 2018 Havant Councillors approved a £20,000 community bus trial planned to commence shortly thereafter with funding from the Community Infrastructure Levy.[31] [32] [33] In September 2018 after months of discussions arrangements have been made for connecting bus services by First Hampshire & Dorset at Eastney and by a twenty seater community bus on Hayling. The connecting service on Hayling commenced on 24 September 2018 and the trial is to run for six months.

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: Brown, Ron. When It Was Just Fields – The Story of Hayling Island. 0903852179. milestone. 1984. 37.
  2. Book: A Look Around HAYLING ISLAND. June 1984. 4. Havant Borough Council.
  3. News: Ferry goes for repairs. 24 March 2009. 9 April 2017. The(Portsmouth)News. https://web.archive.org/web/20170416045357/http://www.portsmouth.co.uk/business/ferry-goes-for-repairs-1-1229169. 16 April 2017. live. dmy-all.
  4. Web site: A history of Hayling Island holiday camps. 10 April 2017. 1 April 2012. Karen. Walker. University of the 3rd age.
  5. Web site: A brief history of The Kench. 10 April 2017. 2007. Dorothy. Pullen. University of the 3rd age.
  6. News: Havant Brewster Sessions. 31 August 1901. Portsmouth Evening News. 6.
  7. Book: Nicholson, Nita. Hayling Island a Pocket Companion. 1996.
  8. Book: Hayling Island Voices. 0752420496. 2 . Baxter . Pat . August 2000 . History Press Limited .
  9. News: Hayling Island Ferry Returns After Turbulent Times. 27 January 2014. 11 April 2017. Williams. Jeeves. Team Locals(Portsmouth).
  10. News: High hopes that Hayling ferry will be back in action soon. 4 May 2015. 9 April 2017. The(Portsmouth)News.
  11. News: Hayling Island's only ferry stops crossings . BBC News . 31 March 2015 . 22 June 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180112061045/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-32131350 . 12 January 2018 . live. dmy-all .
  12. News: Community group could revive lost Hayling ferry service. 28 April 2015. 9 April 2017. Team Locals Portsmouth and Southsea. https://web.archive.org/web/20160318173856/http://teamlocals.co.uk/community-group-could-revive-lost-hayling-ferry-service/. 18 March 2016. dead. dmy-all.
  13. Web site: LANGSTONE HARBOUR BOARD ANNUAL REPORT 2016. 11 April 2017. Langstone Harbour Board.
  14. Web site: We did it!. 9 April 2017. The Hayling Ferry Trust. https://web.archive.org/web/20170416222106/http://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/haylingferry. 16 April 2017. live. dmy-all.
  15. News: ~Richard Branson comes to the rescue of Hayling Ferry. 16 June 2016. 7 April 2017. The(Portsmouth)News. https://web.archive.org/web/20170916140440/http://www.portsmouth.co.uk/news/richard-branson-comes-to-the-rescue-of-hayling-ferry-1-7433628. 16 September 2017. live. dmy-all.
  16. News: Huge cheers for Hayling Ferry's glorious return. 6 August 2016. 7 April 2017. The(Portsmouth)News. https://web.archive.org/web/20170416221932/http://www.portsmouth.co.uk/our-region/havant/huge-cheers-for-hayling-ferry-s-glorious-return-1-7514420. 16 April 2017. live. dmy-all.
  17. News: Hayling Ferry 'running out of money'. 5 January 2018. 6 January 2018. BBC. https://web.archive.org/web/20180110052858/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-42576310. 10 January 2018. live. dmy-all.
  18. News: Hayling Ferry boss says service 'can get bigger and better' with subsidy investment. 8 March 2018. 10 March 2018. The News (Portsmouth). }
  19. Web site: Folkestone Belle now Southsea Belle. Association of Dunkirk Little Ships. 7 April 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170709115359/http://www.adls.org.uk/t1/node/634. 9 July 2017. live. dmy-all.
  20. Web site: Folkestone Belle. 13 August 2010. 8 April 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20141230003239/http://www.nationalhistoricships.org.uk/register/291/folkestone-belle. 30 December 2014. live. dmy-all.
  21. Web site: HISTORIC BOAT. 18 May 2015 . 8 April 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20150518002814/http://www.bidspotter.co.uk/en-gb/auction-catalogues/hickman-shearer/catalogue-id-hi10007/lot-646781ea-83e2-4904-8fe3-a4920110a4c9. 18 May 2015. live. dmy-all.
  22. News: Hayling Island ferry fails second safety inspection. 22 June 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20160622101728/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-11902700. 22 June 2016. live. dmy-all.
  23. News: Hayling Island ferry back in service – Ferry failed two successive safety inspections. 4 January 2011. 9 April 2017. Meakin. Ben. Practical Boat Owner. https://web.archive.org/web/20180917071752/https://www.pbo.co.uk/news/hayling-island-ferry-back-in-service-5706. 17 September 2018. live. dmy-all.
  24. News: Too many passengers lands ferry company in court. UK Government. 7 April 2017. 14 September 2014.
  25. News: Hayling ferry's return delayed by inspection. Hayling Islander. 1 November 2014. 9 April 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170416222131/http://www.haylingtoday.co.uk/news/hayling-ferry-s-return-delayed-by-inspection-1-6392104. 16 April 2017. live. dmy-all.
  26. http://www.havant.gov.uk/havant-2875 Hayling Billy Project history
  27. Web site: New owners of Hayling ferry have hopes of re-instating service. 28 November 2015. 9 April 2017. Hayling Islander. https://web.archive.org/web/20160803001041/http://www.haylingtoday.co.uk/news/business/new-owners-of-hayling-ferry-have-hopes-of-re-instating-service-1-7089924. 3 August 2016. live. dmy-all.
  28. Book: Piers of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. Easdown. Martin. Sage. Linda. 9781445603551. 2011. Amberley Publishing. 9 April 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170416222917/https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=TT2IAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA1835&lpg=PA1835&dq=%22Hayling+Enterprise%22&source=bl&ots=Y8ES2TX30n&sig=D498Lk3JKatTwa9qAgxmNKcNX_o&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj5ue_8hpjTAhUP5mMKHc44DnYQ6AEIMzAB#v=onepage&q=%22Hayling%20Enterprise%22&f=false. 16 April 2017. live. dmy-all.
  29. Web site: Hayling Ferry. 7 April 2017. Simplonpc. https://web.archive.org/web/20160308202811/http://www.simplonpc.co.uk/Hayling-Ferry.html. 8 March 2016. live. dmy-all.
  30. News: The proposed Hayling Island Aerial Bridge. 12 April 2017. 3 April 1903. Evening News(Portsmouth). https://web.archive.org/web/20170416231321/http://haylingbillyheritage.org/industry/transport/the-proposed-conveyor-bridge/. 16 April 2017. live. dmy-all.
  31. News: Public meeting set to discuss Hayling Ferry bus service. 29 March 2017. 9 April 2017. The(Portsmouth)News. https://web.archive.org/web/20170410220849/http://www.portsmouth.co.uk/our-region/havant/public-meeting-set-to-discuss-hayling-ferry-bus-service-1-7888485. 10 April 2017. live. dmy-all.
  32. News: Further setback for Hayling Ferry supporters after bus meeting. 8 February 2018. 10 March 2018. The News (Portsmouth). }
  33. News: Councillors approve £20k bus trial serving Hayling Ferry landings. 12 July 2018. 29 July 2018. The(Portsmouth)News. https://web.archive.org/web/20180712090522/https://www.portsmouth.co.uk/news/travel/councillors-approve-20k-bus-trial-serving-hayling-ferry-landings-1-8564968. 12 July 2018. live. dmy-all.

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