We have heard from CRT that they have launched the first stage of their consultation on customer service facilities (CSF). This consultation is focused on helping agree a minimum standard of CSF that the Trust will provide. The standard will include;

• The type of facilities that would be considered the minimum standard of essential and should be provided by the Canal & River Trust (for this we are suggesting water, refuse, Elsan and pump out)
• The maximum cruising distance between CSF*
• What facilities we would not consider minimum standard, and therefore would not be provided by the Trust
• *What factors should be taken into consideration if we were to provide a higher or lower level to this standard

There are also questions in the consultation about how we could reduce vandalism and misuse and whether there is demand for paid for bulky waste services.

This consultation is open for anyone to respond to and I’d be grateful if you would share it with your members. The consultation survey link can be found on our national consultation web page but here is a direct link to the consultation survey https://online1.snapsurveys.com/CSF. The consultation survey will run until 21 November. Below are some FAQs about the consultation.

Frequently asked questions

Is this consultation about removing or closing facilities?

No, this consultation is about agreeing the minimum standard of customer service facilities (in terms of type and distance between facilities) that boaters can expect. Once we have an agreed standard we will consider how our current provision meets the standard and there will be further local consultation if any location specific changes are proposed.

Are you planning to improve customer service facilities?

We want to make sure that the facilities we provide are the right ones, in the right locations, work and meet the customer’s needs. Once we have agreed a minimum standard, we will look at the facilities we currently provide and then decide what we need to do to make sure we meet the standard. This could mean some facilities are improved, new ones are created or some consolidated or removed.

Is the aim of this review to save money?

No. We want to make sure that the £3.5million+ we spend on customer service facilities each year is spent efficiently, in the right places and on the things boaters need. The intention is not to spend less on the provision of facilities but rather to spend better in a more cost-effective way.

Who can take part in this consultation?

This consultation is open to anyone, but we’re particularly keen to hear from those who use the customer service facilities we provide.

What will you do with the consultation results?

We will use the consultation responses to help us agree a minimum standard, then using this we anticipate further consultation on any location specific CSF changes in 2023.