Membership voted on a new Standing Order Scheme to be implemented from January 1st 2008.

The approved Scheme means that Members can now pay their Club subscription monthly, for Full Diving Members this will be £10 per month, Minors £5 per month and Social Members £3 per month. BSAC Fees continue to be paid annually in advance - see Fees section.

MARINE CONSERVATION SOCIETY (MCS) BEACH WATCH & CLEAN

on SOUTHSEA BEACH (INCLUDING SOUTH-PARADE PIER )

Several sites were suggested by both MCS and Portsmouth Council as suitable locations to conduct a Beach Watch and Clean both above and below the water. All of the sites were examined by chart and then visited so as to judge their suitability for not only a beach clean but also future monitoring. Several sites suggested by the Council were unsuitable for cleaning below the water by recreational divers; we got the impression that the reason they were pressing for these areas was to avoid them having to pay a commercial company to clean up in difficult conditions. After much discussion with both the MCS and the Council it was agreed that SSAC would conduct a beach clean on Southsea Beach close to and including South-Parade Pier and adopt this area for future monitoring and beach cleans. This beach is adopted by another party but due to the size of the location and after consultation with MCS it was agreed that SSAC would adopt this area. This was the location of choice for the Branch due to our shared name and better chance of publicity and therefore aid recruiting. Once the site had been confirmed, a detailed risk assessment was carried out by the SSAC Coordinator for the event prior to any work being done.