NABO members have brought to our attention yet another loss of visitors mooring.

It is understood that CRT have given permission for a trip boat to use the visitor moorings at Upton on Severn to pick up and drop off passengers.

NABO is alarmed that one of the most popular visitor moorings on the Severn, giving access to Upton on Severn, will now not be available for significant amounts of time to both private and hire boaters. From our personal experience we know how high the demand is and there is no doubt that this restriction will have an immediate effect on the number of visitors to the town and, hence, to its economy.

The NABO Council has become increasingly aware of a number of key visitors moorings being withdrawn (often without any consultation with users) and made available for other purposes, typically of a commercial nature.

In this light, we have been alerted to a planning permission application on the K&A to change of use a visitor mooring to a permanent trade mooring near to the middle of Bradford on Avon in Wiltshire. We have officially expressed our opposition to this application.

SE VISITOR MOORINGS  - NABO RESPONSE TO THE CANAL AND RIVER TRUST (CRT) REPORT ON THE PUBLIC CONSULTATIONS OF SPRING 2013

CRT has confirmed that it was taken aback by the strength of boaters opinions: for example 700+ signed a spontaneous online petition spread by word of mouth against the proposals (not the principle of consulting as implied in the CRT report). Some 360 boaters wrote feedback in response to the CRT email, of which at least 50% was negative. In addition both NABO and RBOA, representing many thousands of members wrote detailed feedback, again rejecting specific aspects of the proposal. CRT decided to focus on the minority that gave positive feedback as the green light to proceed.

This is the Editorial from the April NABO News

In  the April issue (of NABO News) CRT features promi­nently, not always for the right reasons: it seems to be increas­ingly confused between what consti­tutes consultation with its ‘custom­ers’—boaters like you and me—and what is a simple reporting of devel­opments. Many, if not most, boaters are still unaware of the detail of what CRT is about and what its policies are, so I welcome the boaters’ meet­ings that are taking place all over the country by Head of Boating, Sally Ash, and Trustee, John Dodwell.

A recent judgement in the High Court of Appeal may have implications for boaters living on a boat at a fixed spot on the canal system whether at an official mooring or not and irrespective of whether the mooring is classed as residential. A précis of the circumstances and the judgement is explained below.

The Canal & River Trust has appointed appoints new chief executive to replace Robin Evans.

Richard Parry is to swap trains for boats as he takes up the role of chief executive of the Canal & River Trust starting this summer.