Dear Editor I would appreciate the opportunity to respond to the letter from Mahalah Fransham published in the March 28th edition of the “Western Telegraph” regarding launching fees at harbours in North Pembrokeshire.

In respect of Porthclais I would like to point out that all of the fees charged have been decided by a committee which is comprised of volunteers that are elected annually by the local boat owners to manage the harbour.

Contrary to the suggestion in Mahalah's letter the harbour is not cheap to run. In the past five years the committee has spent £34,000 on repairs and maintenace works at Porthclais. A further £3,700 has been spent on insurances, £2,500 on leases and £2,700 on security equipment. There are also charges in respect of electricity, etc.

We charge fees for mooring, launching, car parking and commercial use. The money raised is invested back into the harbour.

Some readers may remember when the harbour at Porthclais was rather derelict with the harbour wall collapsed and no slipway to launch. Without many years of work by the committee and the co-operation of the National Park, National Trust and City and County Councils the facilities we have at Porthclais would not exist.

I am sure that we can all sympathise with Mahalah's brother losing his job and the increasing costs of fuel, etc. However, to maintain the harbour as Mahalah sees it today costs money and so we have to charge people for using the facilities. However, we have not increased our fees for the last 4 years.

David John Honorary Secretary Porthclais Harbour Authority St Davids