Notes from Anne Husar

As this will be my last chair’s column for 2024, it’s so good to be able to finish on what looks to be a high note.

Back in September I received, out of the blue, an email from CRT’s Matthew Symonds to meet him, not for one of our regular NABO/CRT meetings but face to face as soon as possible to talk about NABO’s priorities. At the time, we had the boat out on the slipway at Stafford Boat Club busy blacking, but that was ok, he’d meet me and editor John there. It was prompted of course by the dire Boater Satisfaction survey results and, for what I think was the first time for a very long while, CRT were genuinely interested in what we had to say.

Council had decided that top of the list was navigation as if CRT got that basic requirement to be reliable for boating, many other aspects would also fall in to place. It was then that Matthew told us about his commitment to repair all the failed paddles on the system within a year. He’d done a number crunch and had been appalled at how many there were. We both tried not to say “Told you so” and that we have been highlighting all the maintenance issues for years. To be honest, I think we were too taken aback by this unexpected response to say much at all!

Well, the meeting continued in this positive vein, it really was very reassuring that at last, the directors at CRT were responding and recognising that with the system having been allowed to get in to the state that it has, action at last needed to be taken. I went back to blacking with a lighter heart.

CRT’s new Plan for Better Boating is the result of this recognition that they have to put in measures to save our beloved canal system before the tipping point is reached. Thank you to all the boaters who filled in that damning survey, please now familiarise yourselves with what this plan is committing CRT to and let us, as well as CRT know if they are failing in their pledges. NABO council will of course be watching, waiting and hopefully enjoying their improvements when we too are out there boating next year.

In the meantime, thank you for your continued support and I do hope that you all have a wonderful Christmas and here’s to a very Happy New Year.