Search the Community

CANAL & RIVER TRUST PUBLISHES RESPONSE TO KENNET & AVON TOWPATH MOORING PLAN CONSULTATION We are today publishing our response to the consultation on the towpath mooring plan, proposed by our Kennet & Avon Waterway Partnership, to encourage fair use of the busy stretch of the Kennet & Avon (K&A) Canal between Devizes and Bath. Large numbers of moored boats, complaints about boats moored in one area for long periods of time, and concerns from boaters and other stakeholders about the continued growth in boat numbers, led the Trust to support the development of a local plan for this part of the network. We had worked extensively with local partners over many years to try to reach an agreed way forward, and over the past 12 months our K&A Waterway Partnership made up of a group of local stakeholders developed and consulted on a towpath mooring plan for the area. We are very grateful for the work that the Partnership has done and the contributions made by the many people who responded to the Consultation. With some modifications, discussed with the Partnership, we will implement the bulk of the proposed plan from 1 May. Boaters without a home mooring on the western end of the canal between Bath and the bottom of the Caen Hill flight, who adopt the range of movement and mooring described in the response published today, will not face enforcement action by the Trust for a 12 month interim period. Overall, we believe that this offers the best way of achieving the long-sought improvements to the canal that will benefit all users. We will work with the Partnership to monitor the impact of this plan over the 12 month period. We are now working on the steps needed to put the new arrangements into practice. These include developing communications materials for boaters, adjusting monitoring systems and updating signage. We aim to be ready for the measures to come into effect on 1 May 2014. To read the Trusts full response, please visit: http://canalrivertrust.org.uk/about-us/consultations/completed-consultations

Not sure it is in the correct 'folder' - mods please feel free to move. Good morning below is a press release issued today regarding the review of elections to the Canal & River Trusts governing Council. Attached is a copy of the consultation paper. Comments can be made to roger.hanbury@canalrivertrust.org.uk by 15 February 2014. Regards Joe PRESS RELEASE Issued: 20 November Consultation launched to strengthen Canal & River Trust Council elections A consultation will begin this week to ask people for their views on strengthening the electoral process to the Canal & River Trusts governing Council. The Council was formed 18 months ago ahead of the launch of the Canal & River Trust and has an important role in helping to shape policy, raise and debate issues, provide guidance and perspective, and act as a sounding board for Trustees. The Council also has the responsibility of appointing and, if necessary, dismissing Trustees. A review of the 2012 election which was overseen by the Electoral Reform Services is now underway to identify any changes that could strengthen the planning and running of the elections in 2014 and 2016. The consultation paper will be available on the Trusts website and seeks general feedback on the election process and 12 specific issues. Among the suggestions the consultation is asking people to consider are: · Eligibility to vote should the current rules for eligibility change? For example, in the boater election, should the first two people named on the boat licence be eligible to vote for their boating representative (rather than one) and should votes be open to boaters holding three and six-month licences · Online election would it be beneficial to take the elections online to improve turnout and reduce costs? · Sponsors should the number of sponsors people require to put themselves forward for election be changed? · Timescale the first elections were conducted against a tight deadline. Could the length of the electoral process be increased to improve opportunities for people to take part? Roger Hanbury, head of governance services at the Trust, said: The Council brings together a wide range of people with interest and passion for the nations waterways, and it has a vital part to play in determining how they are looked after. We want to ensure that the democratic process for selecting elected Council members is widely understood and respected as we extend the number of elected places on Council in future years. The 2012 elections went very well and we want to do even better in future elections. Weve listed a range of options in the consultation, were very much open-minded at this stage, so would encourage people to let us know their thoughts. The Appointments Committee, a joint committee of three Council Members and three Trustees, are leading the electoral review process. The consultation will be available at http://canalrivertrust.org.uk/about-us/governance/the-council Comments can be made to roger.hanbury@canalrivertrust.org.uk by 14 February 2014 The current Council is made up of 34 members from a variety of backgrounds. Fourteen members are nominated by stakeholder organisations. The Chairs of the Trusts Waterway Partnerships, All Wales Partnership and Museums & Attractions Partnership, make up another 13 members. Two members are co-opted members and seven individuals were elected in 2012 to represent boaters, boating businesses and the Canal & River Trusts staff. The Trust aims to increase the number of elected council members. In 2014 the Trust will hold an election, amongst the Friends of the Trust, for one of the Friends to serve as a member of Council from September 2014. In 2016, when the members representing boaters, boating businesses and staff are up for election, there will also be an election for a member to represent volunteers. ENDS Notes to editors For more media information please contact Joe Coggins on 020 3204 4410 joe.coggins@canalrivertrust.org.uk The Canal & River Trust is the guardian of 2,000 miles of historic waterways across England and Wales. We are among the largest charities in the UK, maintaining the nations third largest collection of Listed structures, as well as museums, archives, navigations and hundreds of important wildlife sites. We believe that our canals and rivers are a national treasure and a local haven for people and wildlife. It is our job to care for this wonderful legacy holding it in trust for the nation in perpetuity and giving people a greater role in the running of their local waterways www.canalrivertrust.org.uk Joe Coggins National Press Officer Edited to change date from 15-February to 14-February on advice of CRT Press Office

And another one. Reforming Business Boat Licensing: Consultation Response Today (22 November) the Canal & River Trust has published a report setting out the outcome of its consultation on business boat licences. It has announced modifications to many of its proposals to reflect the comments received during the consultation. Chief executive, Richard Parry, said: Weve taken the time to listen to our customers and have significantly changed our proposals in light of this. The result is a revised set of prices with proposed changes to community boat fees shelved and holiday hire fee proposals substantially amended. I hope this decision will help support our valued community and business boating partners in the year ahead. The changes have been made as a result of listening to feedback from 113 respondents representing every kind of boating business from holiday hire sector to those running charity boats. The main changes, which take effect from 1st April 2014, are: · Community and charity boats wholesale changes will not be implemented. Instead, licence fees for these craft will increase by 2.8% in common with the increases for private licence holders. The Trust will now carry out further detailed work to address its wider relationships with charitable and community organisations with a view to developing proposals for April 2015 by next autumn. · Holiday Hire: the consultation proposals have been substantially amended. The current structure will be largely retained for 2014. The part of the fee that equates to the length of the boat has been increased by 2.8% in line with the increase that is being applied to private boat licences, whilst the remainder will be frozen. The result is increases of typically 1.5%. · Day Hire: the Trust is retaining a length-based licence fee for these boats rather than implementing the proposed seat-based fees it consulted upon. Following discussions during the post-consultation period, day hire rates will be set at a rate just above the cost of a private boat licence. · Discounts: the 75% without locks discount and the 25% Disconnected Waterway Discount will both be phased out in even steps by 2018. · Skippered passenger boats: the proposed carrying capacity-based proposals will be adopted, with the key change that, as the effect on the boats carrying larger passenger numbers is quite significant in some cases, increases will be phased in by 2017. The pricing structure has also been simplified by presenting it in clear price-bands. · Roving traders: instead of the two types of trader as proposed there will be just a single category of roving trader priced at the lower of the two price lists previously published. · Annual increase: other than the changes noted above, there will be no additional annual business boating licence fee increases in April 2014. A full report on the outcomes of the consultation can be viewed at canalrivertrust.org.uk/completed-consultations. Phil Spencer, head of business boating, said: Were very grateful to everyone who took the time to share their views with us and are looking forward to working with all of our business boating customers in the year ahead. Ends For further media requests please contact: Jonathan Ludford, Canal & River Trust