River Thames Alliance closed down

The directors of RTA Co. Ltd. held a board meeting on 19^th December and agreed to cease trading and wind up the company. This followed the AGM in October, which set up an independent Review Task Group to consider all aspects of the objectives, management and governance of the company and to propose a course of action to determine the future of the Alliance. The Group met on 8^th November and concluded in a report that it was necessary to wind-up the company. RTA supported the Thames All Party Parliamentary Group (TAPPG), an independent organisation registered in Parliament, and this will be re-registered with the new parliament. The current chair, John Howell (MP for Henley) invited interested MPs to support the new TAPPG at a meeting on 13^th January and to find a way to bring forward issues for future meetings. These include the challenge of addressing illegal moorings along the Thames, with actions going through the courts, and a continuing conflict between river users and the EA. RTA was the only organisation on the Thames that was in a position to take an overarching view of the entire Thames to deliver a united view to decision makers. For Thames boaters, the remaining group is the Thames User Group (Navigation).