A plan to start charging for the use of slipways on the north Down coast and Ards Peninsula is to be put out to consultation. Ards and North Down Borough Council officials have proposed charging £50 per year, or one-off payments of £5 per launch, for vessels entering and leaving the Irish Sea and Strangford Lough. The council is responsible for slipways at Portaferry, Holywood, Groomsport, Donaghadee, Millisle, Ballywalter, and Ballyhalbert. Groomsport is the only one that has a yearly fee of £103, or £8.40 per launch. A council report on the matter said several of the slipways faced problems. At Portaferry, for example, a padlock and chain was put across the slipway because of an increased use of jet skis during lockdown.