Boat owners will still have to pay fees to use Portland Harbour, despite efforts to have the charges scrapped.

Campaigners had lobbied the Department of Transport to overturn the right of Portland Port Limited (PPL) to charge small vessels for entering, using or leaving the harbour.

But Colin Morris, Secretary of State for Transport, dismissed the objections and supported the legal right of PPL, which is the statutory harbour authority, to collect harbour fees.

Steve Davies, Portland Port's general manager, was satisfied with the Government's decision.

He said: "We never had the least doubt that we were in the right. Indeed, any other decision would have called into question the entire fabric of harbour legislation in this country."

The objections largely revolved around small vessels that were using the harbour to gain access to the open sea and they were first lodged back in March 1998 following the introduction of the Portland Harbour Revision Order.

Although the company said they fully respect the rights for individuals to use the democratic process, they were disappointed that it had taken so long to resolve.

Mr Davies said: "It really is time to stop going over the arguments of the past and look to the future.

"Those who persist in pursuing such clearly perverse causes are doing a disservice to the community."

Rupert Best was the director responsible for promoting the new legislation when it came into force five years ago.

He believes the campaigners are just going over issues that were discussed extensively when the new rules were brought in.

He said: "It is disappointing to see a couple of organisations, which should have known better, using the objection procedure to go over old, lost ground."