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Category: NN Editorials
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Gently down the stream

Editor Peter Fellows sees rivers featuring prominently in this issue.

Since the last issue, NABO Council members have had a series of meetings with senior CRT staff and it is refreshing to note that the dialogue has improved since 12 months ago when, as Mike Rodd says in his Chair’s column: “we felt that CRT was deliberately ignoring us!” This is good news because, as Mike and Mark Tizard report, CRT (and for that matter, the EA) needs boaters to get behind it for the forthcoming negotiations over renewal of its government grant in a few years’ time.

Read more: Editorial, Feb 2020

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Category: Latest News
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River Thames Alliance closed down

The directors of RTA Co. Ltd. held a board meeting on 19th 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 8th 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 13th 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).

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Category: NABO Responses
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A qualified pat on the back

Mark Tizard digs into the detail of CRT’s first monthly waterway experience survey.

CRT recently published the headline results of its new Waterway Experience Survey, distributed monthly between April and September to a sample of boaters sighted in each waterway region, to get their feedback on the waterways they cruised. It is designed to complement the annual Perception Survey (formerly Boat Owners’ Views).

First the good news: boaters appeared to be more satisfied; more likely to recommend the Trust’s waterways; and had a more positive opinion of the overall upkeep of the waterways when their answers were compared to the annual Perception Survey. It should, however, be remembered that the level of satisfaction had fallen in the annual survey.

A total of 28,695 boaters were sent the survey so, given that there are only approximately 34,000 licensed boats, it’s likely that a reasonable number of boaters were sampled more than once. This may help to account for the low response rate, as an average of only 14% of the boaters contacted responded.

Read more: A qualified pat on the back

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Category: Canal and River Trust
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CRT have said that they are starting a winter tree and hedge manangement programme. They say that the works will focus on preserving navigation and ensuring sightlines are kept clear, rather than cutting back every metre of overgrowth. We actively manages vegetation all year round, but large-scale activities are best suited to winter when the waterways are quieter and disturbance to wildlife is minimised..

We have a list of the target areas and you can see it here, with the accomanying qualifications. If you know of other places, pleas elet us know and we can follow up.

Dont forget that all towpaths should be cut to edge and woody growth removed by the end of March 2020.