The chairman of Newlyn's troubled harbour commission believes the turmoil it has faced in the last two months has had no impact on the running of the port.
The board has not met since June 1 and is yet to discuss a disputed secret ballot in which three commissioners were evicted from their posts on May 31. Since then the commission has had one meeting on July 6 postponed and then cancelled, and a second on August 3.
But chairman Gilbert McCabe said the commission did not have to meet more than six times a year and the port was able to run without it meeting once a month.
"It hasn't had any impact on the running of the port," he said. "It was regrettable that we had to ask fellow board members to go. Still, don't think we have been sitting round and doing nothing for two to three months."
He said he believed that, outside a core group of six or seven individuals, the troubles faced by the commission had been of little concern to the people of Newlyn.
Since their last meeting on June 1, two of the members who were apparently ousted at that meeting, Nick Howell and John Lambourn, have been listed as commissioners. The third, Juliet Taylor, was not despite her claims to still be a valid member of the port authority.
Mr McCabe explained that the legitimacy of their complaints hinged on the interpretation of the Harbour Revision Order, a set of guidelines laid down to help the running of a port authority.
He said: "The commission maintains that it has acted within the spirit of the HRO in taking this decision."
Ms Taylor's term expired on May 30, along with Kevin Bennetts and Dave Munday, who resigned from the board in early June. The term of a fourth board member, Elizabeth Stevenson, expired on June 8.
Cornwall Council-appointed commissioner Ray Tovey, who stepped down from his position as vice-chairman in June, will sit on the board until a suitable replacement for the post of commissioner is found by council leader Alec Robertson. In the meantime, the board is actively seeking new commissioners.
Mr McCabe said: "A number of expressions of interest have been received and we will be recommencing our advertising campaign in coming weeks.
"It is unfortunate that the matters to which I have referred have considerably slowed the progress of the commission, but I look forward to working with all the commissioners in a constructive way."
article copyright THE CORNISHMAN