CRT SE region have launched a mooring consultation seeking comments by 1st March 2013.
CRT say that over the past two years the South East (SE) waterway team has been consulting via its local user group meetings on proposals for refining time limits and improving facilities at its most popular visitor mooring sites. (NABO member Val Fletcher took part in this work.) This focused on a priority list of 22 locations
More recently, CRT have a new policy commitment from the Trust’s new governance bodies on reducing overstaying on visitor moorings and improving compliance with rules for boats without a home mooring.
The Consultation paper takes as a starting point the proposals on which the SE team has already consulted with those represented at user group meetings. To these, it adds the new dimensions introduced in the policy briefing endorsed by Council and Trustees in September 2012. The scope of the consultation is also extended to reach directly as many boaters as possible who are likely to be affected.
CRT say that increasingly, they are looking to the boating community to work with us to plan improvements to visitor mooring arrangements throughout the country, but ask for understanding that achieving agreement and implementing changes takes time and money and we have to prioritise.
They want to ensure that all boaters, and particularly those making regular use of visitor moorings in the area in question, have the opportunity of considering the proposals for the 22 sites (see below) and registering their comments. We are prepared to modify local proposals where a good case is made for change which is consistent with national policy.
CRT are asking for feedback on the proposals before 1st March 2013. A pro forma is available for written feedback – using it will reduce the amount of manpower needed to collate and digest responses.
The CRT consultation paper can be read here.
The pro forma response and online response can be accessed here.
Boaters who have local knpowledge of the moorings are asked to respond.
