GOVERNMENT officials should step in to fully investigate the troubled Newlyn Harbour Commission, according to two of its members.
The Department for Transport (DfT) has maintained that it will not interfere in the running of the harbour commission since troubles began at the end of May this year.
But John Lambourn and Nick Howell, who were controversially ousted then reinstated as members earlier this year, have called for the Government to investigate the problems faced by port authority at first hand.
Mr Lambourn said: "The Government should take a more active role in this matter instead of shrugging its shoulders and having nothing to do with it. We want the authority to take a closer look at the problems. The Government should investigate what's going on. We want it to see whether this commission is viable or whether the answer is dissolution and then reconstruction."
Following a meeting with Newlyn Harbour Commission chairman Gilbert McCabe earlier this month, the DfT said it was agreed the constitution provided the tools for the commissioners to manage the port effectively.
In a statement, ministers added that the management of any trust port was for its board to decide and that it was accountable for its decisions to both the public and the courts.
St Ives MP Andrew George said this week that Department for Transport minister Mike Penning was continuing to monitor the situation.
He said: "What I want to see is the commissioners start to look to the future of the port and hold ambitions for its future and the future of the fishing industry."
Newlyn Harbour Commission has not met since June 1, following a disputed secret ballot in which Mr Lambourn and Mr Howell, along with Juliet Taylor, were apparently ousted from their posts. A fourth commissioner, Dave Munday, resigned in protest.
Since then Mr Lambourn and Mr Howell have apparently been reinstated after complaining that their removal from the commission was not in line with the Harbour Revision Order – a set of guidelines laid down to help the running of the port authority.
"All we are trying to do is make sure the Harbour Revision Order is implemented as it was intended," added Mr Lambourn.
Mr McCabe said the legitimacy of their complaints hinged on their interpretation of the order, which was introduced by the Secretary of State for Transport in May 2010. The next meeting is scheduled for September 7.
article copyright THE CORNISHMAN