CRT proposing to change Islington Visitor Moorings to residential moorings

[Lady Muck]

Via London Boaters-

 

''It appears that CRT have plans - not yet published - to convert the Angel visitor moorings to residential moorings.

It doesn't look like planning permission has yet been applied for.

 

This is apparently a response to the ongoing complaints of (a v small number) of residents of Noel Road about noise / smoke etc.

Obviously residential moorings at this location will also bring in the £££ for CRT.

 

Friends of Regent's canal are writing to the leader of Islington Council to make objections at these plans - they want to see these kept as visitor moorings. This is useful as they are quite influential on local planning issues.''

 

My opinion - I'm all for more residential moorings, but this is a visitor mooring and in central London there are barely any. I think it needs to remain as it is. If this happens, what next? Will central London consist of £10k p.a moorings and nowhere for visitors to moor?

 

What do we think?

[CV32]

I agree with you - whilst more people want residential it is important to have a percentage of visitor moorings in locations of interest.

[Lady Muck]

There seems to be a lot of this in London, making life difficult for cruisers, thus making it impossible for visitors.

 

They've removed or failed to replace water taps, rubbish facilities - they've even said, (in the case of Feildes Weir on the Lee) that this was in order to move on cruisers - but what about everyone else?

 

If the cruisers can't access services then chances are, you won't be able to either.

 

 

clicky

Edited August 19, 2012 by Lady Muck

[Higgs]

This is apparently a response to the ongoing complaints of (a v small number) of residents of Noel Road about noise / smoke etc.

 

Can't see how changing the status of visitors moorings to residential will answer the complaints of the Noel Rd residents. Either way, 'noise and smoke' is possible.

 

Maybe it's just a ploy to help C&RT with the objections.

[Lady Muck]

I remember asking someone at the Pirate Club why the visitor moorings in Camden were so short. Apparently a boater moored there for months and burned house coal, stinking out the people in the flats.

 

BW answer was to shorten the moorings so the bit next to the flats had no mooring (the rest is overlooked by a school), why couldn't they have just moved him on? Why do we all have to suffer because of lack of enforcement?

Edited August 19, 2012 by Lady Muck

[Higgs]

Why do we all have to suffer because of lack of enforcement?

 

Aren't we just on the raw end of staffing shortages all over the place. It always places me on two sides, when wanting to support volunteers and not wanting to see full-time staff reduced.

Edited August 19, 2012 by Higgs

[nicknorman]

As a very occasional visitor to the SE/London I am amazed at the canal-unfriendliness in terms of visitor moorings, facilities etc compared to say Birmingham. London really turns its back on the canals which is a pity. Maybe we should all write to Boris?

[PiRSqwared]

The moorings need to be enforced more rigorously at the Angel not turned into residential. London needs more visitor moorings, not fewer.

[Higgs]

As a very occasional visitor to the SE/London I am amazed at the canal-unfriendliness in terms of visitor moorings, facilities etc compared to say Birmingham. London really turns its back on the canals which is a pity. Maybe we should all write to Boris?

 

What would help, I think, is an energetic bunch of.......say four people. Who could have some dialogue with boaters. Can't for the life of me think how that could happen.

 

These people, I envisage, could make some kind of a noise - backed by lots of boaters. Kind of like a bit of pressure leaning. Pain in the arse stuff.

 

Not going to happen - is it.

[Phoenix_V]

Via London Boaters-

 

''It appears that CRT have plans - not yet published - to convert the Angel visitor moorings to residential moorings.

It doesn't look like planning permission has yet been applied for.

 

This is apparently a response to the ongoing complaints of (a v small number) of residents of Noel Road about noise / smoke etc.

Obviously residential moorings at this location will also bring in the £££ for CRT.

 

Friends of Regent's canal are writing to the leader of Islington Council to make objections at these plans - they want to see these kept as visitor moorings. This is useful as they are quite influential on local planning issues.''

 

My opinion - I'm all for more residential moorings, but this is a visitor mooring and in central London there are barely any. I think it needs to remain as it is. If this happens, what next? Will central London consist of £10k p.a moorings and nowhere for visitors to moor?

 

What do we think?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It just gets worse, when I complained 2 years ago about unavailablity of visitor moorings I was told the matter was in hand.

from this it would appear that the solution is not to have visitors.

Edited August 20, 2012 by Phoenix_V

[WJM]

Islington moorings, just east of the tunnel? You mean they are visitor moorings now? I have never seen an empty space there ever! They are permanently hogged by continuous moorers! CaRT are only formalising what already exists. Making them residential will have no effect on the availability of visitor moorings.

[Cosmic]

Islington moorings, just east of the tunnel? You mean they are visitor moorings now? I have never seen an empty space there ever! They are permanently hogged by continuous moorers! CaRT are only formalising what already exists. Making them residential will have no effect on the availability of visitor moorings.

I presume you mean that a) the moorings are permanently occupied by people who stay more than 14 days at a time and b: this is not reasonable in the circumstances. What evidence do you have of this? I suspect that you have none (particularly in relation to the second criterion), in which case your use of the term "continuous moorer" is simply an expression of unjustified prejudice against CCers. However, if you do have evidence of that, would it not be reasonable of the CaRT to enforce the law so that the moorings could be used by genuine visitors rather than making moorings residential so that they can't?

[WJM]

All I have said is that in the many many times I have passed those moorings there has never been an available space. The moorings seem to be occupied by the same group of boats and the towpath is covered in clutter - to me those are the hallmarks of a permanent mooring. As a regular user of visitor moorings in London, reclassifying these moorings will make no difference to the available stock of visitor moorings.

[Cosmic]

That's an important distinction.

 

There's a great shortage of visitor moorings in central London. That means that whatever moorings that are there are often crowded, if not overflowing. That doesn't mean that any individual boater is overstaying. I'm becoming increasingly sensitive to the use of the term "continuous moorers", particularly in the plural, to tar all CCers with the same, generally unjustified brush. This is particularly since I saw the BW management report to the Transition trustees attempting to pass on this prejudice to the CaRT.

[alan_fincher]

The reality is that, whilst it may sound like the thin end of a wedge, changing the status of these particular moorings is hardly likely to be denying anything to any visiting boat passing through.

 

In my experience there is never ever the possibility of mooring there casually for the night anyway.

 

Note: That is making no judgement on who/what is moored there, and whether they are within any rues or not, but the reality is that it is permanently full, isn't it ?

[Cosmic]

I've never moored there. In fact I never set off in the hope of mooring there because it does always seem to be full - in fact I've very rarely seen spaces there even if I'd wanted to stop. And yet I'm always meeting other boaters who tell me they're moored at Islington, so it must be possible. I think there's a kind of knack to it. Maybe some people know the best time of day to go, the best day of the week or whatever. That would mean that the moorings are only really available to people who know the trick. This tends to give those who don't get in the impression either that there's some kind of conspiracy or that everyone is overstaying. ISTM that the reality is simply that it's very busy and very popular.

[WJM]

There is no shortage of genuine visitor moorings in London. I regularly pass through London as a genuine moving visitor and I never have any problem getting a nice mooring. But I have absolutely never seen a space available in Islington - ever! The boats that moor there are not genuine 'Visitors' they are boats which are permanently based in London.

Edited August 20, 2012 by WJM

[Cosmic]

Without wanting to open the predictable can of worms, I'm not sure whether there's anything specific stating what exactly a visitor mooring is for, as distinct from any other stretch of towpath. It seems to be something that is very poorly defined, and this presumably leads to different types of users having different expectations.

[carlt]

Are visitors not allowed to moor on the towpath, on the London canals?

[Cosmic]

There are long stretches that are just concrete, with nowhere to drive pins in. Other places have big lumps of concrete underwater at the edge, making it difficult, if not impossible.

Edited August 20, 2012 by Cosmic

[CanalWalker]

So the plans havent been published and no planning permission asked for, how does anyone know what the plans are let alone make an informed objection to them?

[carlt]

There are long stretches that are just concrete, with nowhere to drive pins in.

Isn't that what mud weights are for?

 

If there are no mooring restrictions in place then there are always ways of making a boat stand still.

[Cosmic]

So the plans havent been published and no planning permission asked for, how does anyone know what the plans are let alone make an informed objection to them?

It seems that the Friends of the Regents Canal have heard something, so they are complaining. The rest of us will just have to wait, I guess.

 

If there are no mooring restrictions in place then there are always ways of making a boat stand still.

A boat mooring on its own in London is often seen as just waiting to be burgled, by boaters and burglars alike. Outside of town, I like to moor in the middle of nowhere. In London, I stick with the crowds, and I don't know anyone else who doesn't, for exactly that reason.

[carlt]

A boat mooring on its own in London is often seen as just waiting to be burgled, by boaters and burglars alike. Outside of town, I like to moor in the middle of nowhere. In London, I stick with the crowds, and I don't know anyone else who doesn't, for exactly that reason.

One of the great advantages with mud weights is that the burglars need to bring their own boat to rob you.

[Cosmic]

But how do I let the cat out?