Chair Anne Husar writes:
Today’s the day, 27th October, queues of boats have built up on parts of the UK’s canal system ready for release. After months of being caught up in ‘low water’ canal closures following a year of feast and famine rainfall, some locks will have their padlocks removed for a few days and hours. Then closed again, what a year.
Today’s also the day for me to stop prevaricating and get on with this column. It’s a difficult write as I have decided it’s time for another boater to take over the chair of NABO. Two years is enough I feel of trying hard to work enthusiastically and conscientiously with monopolistic navigation authorities. It’s not always a rewarding task but I want to mention a couple of positives.
Firstly the on-going development and growth of the Fund Britain’s Waterways campaign which NABO can rightly claim to have initiated when Mike Rodd was chair. Its enthusiastic banner adorned boats have featured all over the inland waterways, reaching the media news and, more importantly, noted by MP’s. Government currently are choosing to remain intransigent, the fight continues.
Secondly, looking back over two years of Q&A’s from NABO’s regular meetings with CRT’s Matthew Symonds, three themes among the many disparate items recur: unplanned stoppages, facilities and vegetation. They could all be seen as boaters expressing their continuing feeling they are not getting licence value for money and this fed in to the poor Boater Satisfaction survey results. But then, out of the blue, Matthew wanted to talk to us again. He had listened and come up with the Better Boating Plan, what did we think of it? It was at last an acknowledgement that improvements had to be made and a year on, there are statistics to show that this plan is helping.
So, to my successor, I suspect your list of problems that boaters have asked you to bring up with CRT at these regular meetings might not become any shorter than mine ever did but I’m sure you will continue to hold all the navigation authorities’ feet to the fire. It has become what is expected from NABO!
Finally, with thanks to NABO Council for their unwavering support and guidance, it’s been a privilege.