NABO Home

Details
Category: NABO Regional Reports
Hits: 326

From Mike Rodd

I met Jon Horsfall, the interim CRT Director in Wales & South West, on 2nd October in Gloucester. Jon was appointed to take over from Richard Thomas, who left suddenly in July. The meeting proved to be a most useful, frank exchange of views and resulted in an agreement to continue to meet on a regular basis. This is especially important as Jon develops suggestions on how best to bring the various boater organisations back closer to CRT. It was also agreed that I would take Jon on my boat on the Mon & Brec and also on the K&A Canal Trust’s trip boat, The Rose of Hungerford.  

Sadly, though, the Mon & Brec’s Boaters Liaison meeting scheduled for 6th November was cancelled, largely due to the retirement of Kevin Phillips, CRT’s most valued Customer Operations Supervisor for Wales & South West. This was deeply regretted by those involved on the Mon & Brec, as it was felt that these meetings were the best working example ever of how CRT can work with its users.

Mark Evans has been appointed as Director for Wales & South West, taking up the role in January 2020. Mark is currently head of Waterside Moorings, CRT’s directly managed moorings business and interim head of museums at Gloucester and Ellesmere Port. He joined CRT over four years ago as waterway manager for the K&A.  

Details
Category: NABO Regional Reports
Hits: 348

Howard Anguish attended the Yorkshire & NE Local Waterway Forum on 23rd October, held at Fearns Wharf, Leeds.

 

National Issues:

The introduction was given by Regional Director, Sean McGinley, who talked us through the Regional Structure Update, which included a map showing boundaries, together with an organogram showing role allocations within the region. Two of the seven managerial posts, Licence Support and the Regional Towpath Fundraising Co-ordinator, show a shared function with the NW.

A short section on boater reports drew attention to boater income and expenditure, which has previously been demonstrated using various pie charts and histograms at the CRT AGM, which I am sure most boaters are familiar with. Sean also pointed out that the Visitor Centre and general attraction of Standedge Tunnel was losing money and that this may be somewhere which requires a rethink to make it more attractive.

Read more: Yorkshire & NE Local Waterway Forum on 23rd October

Details
Category: NN Editorials
Hits: 336

Editor, Peter Fellows has a plea for members to help the association operate effectively.

As 2019 fades into winter with deluges raising river levels across the country, NABO says farewell to Chair, Stella Ridgway and East Midlands Rep., Joan Jamieson, who we thank for all their work over the years. I have also said goodbye to NABO News proof-readers, John and Marion Pearse and Janice Steckerl, who I thank for all their help in correcting my wayward grammar. If you are able to spend a couple of hours, three times per year, proofreading an issue of the magazine in the comfort of your favourite armchair, please get in touch.

Reading Howard Anguish’s Rewind from 15 years ago, support for NABO Council by members was an issue then – and it still is. The Council needs more support for its work in 2020, outlined by Mark Tizard and Mike Rodd as they look at what is likely to arise next year, especially with CRT and the EA. As you will see from the new list of councillors on page 2, many have multiple roles and need help to share the workload. There are also four vacancies for regional reps., to keep an eye on what’s happening in a particular waterway area. The role involves attending local forums and letting the Council know when something important is happening. Again, please consider helping.

Read more: New Year, New Faces?

Details
Category: Canal and River Trust
Hits: 1781

The Canal & River Trust has announced that headline private and business boat licence fees will rise by 2.5% from 1 April 2020.

As previously announced, in March 2018, following the Trust’s national boat licence consultation, a number of changes will be made to licence fees over five years.

From 1 April 2020, a 2.5% ‘prompt payment’ discount (reduced from 5%) will apply for those who pay on time in full, and a new 2.5% discount will apply for those who manage their payments online including, for the first time, for boaters paying by direct debit.  This means that boaters who may not be able to afford to pay in one lump sum will also be able to benefit from a small discount on the full licence fee.

In addition to the current length-based pricing, from April 2020 the Trust will start the phased introduction of additional pricing bands for boat widths over 2.16m (7ft 1”), as announced in March 2018, with a surcharge of 5% applied until March 2021 (when it will increase to 10%).  This means that boats over 2.16m wide will be subject to an increase in licence fees of 7.6% overall from 1 April 2020.

Read more: CRT Boat Licence costs for 2020-21