Leisure users of Weymouth, Lyme Regis and West Bay harbours are likely to be paying three per cent extra in fees next year, although some visitors will pay more.

Each of the harbours is reporting a turn around in fortunes after earlier falls in business caused by Covid restrictions.

Berth and mooring occupancies remain high with waiting lists for spaces and visiting boat numbers also up with Lyme Regis having a windfall from the filming of 'Wonka' on the Cobb earlier in the year.

The joint harbours committee has backed the proposed fee increases which will see both fees for local users go up by three per cent with a limited number of specific charges rising by five per cent or more, mainly to keep up with rising costs, including extra costs for electricity. At Weymouth some fees for visitors and commercial vessels not based in the harbour will go up by 10 per cent.

Councillors were told at a meeting on Wednesday that each of the harbours is preparing for maintenance and repairs before the new season gets underway.

At West Bay the delayed work to replace some of the timbers on the eastern side of the harbour entrance has been switched from a December start until the second week in January. It had previously been planned before the summer season.

Lyme Regis harbour staff are to look again at the eco-friendly product used for slipway cleaning as it has failed to make the impact the previous bleach-based cleaner did.

The slipway also saw a near-miss with a runaway trailer narrowly missing the town gig crew. The incident has resulted in the club putting extra safety measures into place.

Both West Dorset harbours have removed their pontoons for the winter and are currently preparing plans for dredging works. Both have recently seen a boat sink, on each occasion the vessels were recovered successfully by the harbour staff.