There was fulsome praise for our own Stephen Bracewell as he completed his two years as chairman of the influential British Ports Association towards the end of last month (March).

Stephen, who is chief executive of Harwich Haven Authority and deputy chairman of the Haven Gateway Partnership, has been, and will continue to be, a strong and clear voice speaking out on behalf of our ports industry. He is a straight talker, and not afraid of upsetting people if something needs to be said!

And the past two years have thrown up numerous “issues” on which his voice has been heard: the crisis over backdated business rates hitting port companies around England and Wales; the government’s proposed increases in light dues; proposals to charge for the use of radio and radiospectrum frequencies, used by ships and ports to communicate for safety purposes; the hideously long planning process that port developments have to plough through; the introduction of the new Marine Management Organisation (MMO) to handle future planning applications; and the government’s new National Ports Policy and its proposals to modernise “trust” ports, an ownership model which demonstrably works so well for the Harwich Haven Authority to the satisfaction of its stakeholders.

“Stephen Bracewell’s energy and dedication and his knowledge of the industry have been an inspiration to us,” said incoming BPA chairman Jim Stewart, chief executive of Poole Harbour, at the BPA’s annual meeting and lunch in London.

Of course, it can only be positive for our sub-region to have had a “local” person leading a national body and having influence in high places.  All the better to raise the profile of the Haven Gateway and its ports, the most important ports cluster in the UK.

Clearly Stephen played a central role in drawing up the BPA’s “Blueprint for Ports Policy 2010”, which, among other things, urges the government to take a “pragmatic and flexible” approach to port ownership in the UK and “build on the successes achieved so far”.

The UK’s mixed system of privatised, trust and municipal ports is unique, says the document, and the BPA supports all three models together with the flexibility and choice they provide.

As to development matters, here in the Haven Gateway we have seen first-hand the UK’s planning quagmire, in relation to gaining consents for both Felixstowe South and Bathside Bay.

The guest speaker at the BPA lunch was Chris Parry, chairman of the newly formed MMO, based in Tyneside. All eyes are on him and the new organisation; as Jim Stewart said, “The build-up to the establishment of the MMO has created a lot of expectation.”

The industry has been crying out for an efficient regime to put to an end months or even years of planning delays, he said.

For his part, Chris Parry said the MMO would have to balance environmental, commercial, social and economic aspects of the UK’s use of the sea.

He promised port owners “simplicity, a shortage of gobbledegook and more predictability” in making planning decisions on port developments. The members of the BPA and the rest of the UK ports sector will certainly welcome that!