This is the resolution passed, nearly unanimously, by a well-attended meeting of boaters at the Tithe Barn at Garstang on the Lancaster Canal last night. It is being sent to Chantelle Seaborn, the NW Waterways Manager and copied to Richard Parry.

This meeting of resident and visiting boaters on the Lancaster Canal calls on the Canal and River Trust's NW Waterways Manager Chantelle Seaborn to immediately reverse the imposition of 48-hour moorings on the Lancaster Canal, removing all signage and reverting to the previous situation.

We do so because:

1. The restrictions have been introduced without proper research or consultation, with either local or visiting boaters;

2. The restrictions will not achieve their stated objective of 'fairness' as there is insufficient usable mooring space for the number of boats wanting it, so moorings will remain first-come-first-served regardless of timing restrictions;

3. CRT has failed to measure and establish an existing problem and therefore has no means of measuring the failure or success of the 48-hour mooring experiment;

4. CRT has admitted it has no prospect of enforcing a 48-hour mooring restriction and it is pointless to make rules which cannot be enforced;

5. Introducing 48-hour moorings destroys the relaxed nature of the Lancaster canal and is already deterring visiting boats from returning, to the detriment of canalside businesses;

6. These restrictions have clearly been made at the urging of unelected members of the waterways partnership who should have no role in boating issues.

Instead, this meeting urges Chantelle Seaborn to focus on the creation of many additional mooring spaces around the most popular parts of the canal, along with a programme of dredging throughout the length of the canal as this will do most to enable resident and visiting boats to enjoy the Lancaster Canal.