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Starting a canal boat “hotel”


BuckRodgers

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Hi everyone,

 

I have recently purchased a property which backs onto the Brecon and Monmouthshire canal.

 

I want to start an air B and B style hotel business with a boat moored on the mooring in my canal.

 

Does anyone have any experience in this? I am little lost where to start to be honest.

 

I have found some fees on the canal and rivers trust website but I’d still really love some guidance.

 

thanks so much in advance

Jack

 

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Welcome to the forum. I'm sure I've heard your name before.

You'll receive plenty of advice and  guidance on your plan. Some of it may not be what you want to hear, but do give it a chance.

Some waterside properties have automatic mooring rights attached, but many don't. As Caelmiri says, it would be prudent - indeed essential - to make sure before progressing any further.

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1 minute ago, Athy said:

Welcome to the forum. I'm sure I've heard your name before.

You'll receive plenty of advice and  guidance on your plan. Some of it may not be what you want to hear, but do give it a chance.

Some waterside properties have automatic mooring rights attached, but many don't. As Caelmiri says, it would be prudent - indeed essential - to make sure before progressing any further.

No property backing on to CRT water has automatic rights

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1 minute ago, Tonka said:

No property backing on to CRT water has automatic rights

I've heard different views about certain canals and I don't know the situation on the Mon & Brec, but it's certainly essential to check. Our property does, but then we aren't CART here.

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6 minutes ago, dor said:

Is it on the towpath side?  If so you don't stand a chance.

No the towpath is the other side my garden backs directly onto the canal.

So it sounds like a good starting point is to confirm if I can get a commercial mooring. 

 

Is is there any websites dedicated to listing canal boat “hotels”?

 

thanks

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Being as much of the B & M is in the Brecon Beacons National Park you will also need to approach them over running a business of that type in that area, since you will need to apply for a "Change of Use".

From experience they are not the easiest people to deal with.

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1 minute ago, Graham Davis said:

Being as much of the B & M is in the Brecon Beacons National Park you will also need to approach them over running a business of that type in that area, since you will need to apply for a "Change of Use".

From experience they are not the easiest people to deal with.

That’s an interesting point, further complicated by the fact that the canal is the boundary of the Brecon Beacons National Park. 

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1 minute ago, BuckRodgers said:

That’s an interesting point, further complicated by the fact that the canal is the boundary of the Brecon Beacons National Park. 

And which side are you?
I seem to remember from way back that where their boundary was along the canal they considered the whole canal was inside the BBNP.

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Just now, BuckRodgers said:

My house and mooring are in the side which is in the Brecon Beacons National Park.

 

 

In that case you will have to apply for Planning Permission for "Change of Use". 
I would suggest you need to get in touch with them as well as CaRT in that case.

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Just now, Graham Davis said:

In that case you will have to apply for Planning Permission for "Change of Use". 
I would suggest you need to get in touch with them as well as CaRT in that case.

Thanks very much, when you say change of use are you talking about the change of use of my property from residential to commercial? I would have thought that as my house is only being used for access to the mooring which is technically owned by the trust that this wouldn’t be the case. As you said worth speaking to them anyway.

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In some ways putting a hotel boat at the bottom of your garden is akin to building a hotel IN your back garden, various authorities might get upset if you don't have their permission. In general you need to apply for permission from various organisations and a lot of time, effort and money can be involved. CRT will not talk to you about any business venture until you have paid them a fee. You might need an independent approved survey to establish that you are not evicting any wildlife from your canal bank etc etc. You need to do some investigation and balancing of risks to avoid paying lots of fees and then hitting an insurmountable obstacle. The boat will need to meet a suitable safety specification and not all boats will easily do this.

 

Its probably nicer and easier if you live on the boat and rent your house out :)

 

..............Dave

  • Greenie 1
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2 hours ago, BuckRodgers said:

Hi everyone,

 

I have recently purchased a property which backs onto the Brecon and Monmouthshire canal.

 

I want to start an air B and B style hotel business with a boat moored on the mooring in my canal.

 

Does anyone have any experience in this? I am little lost where to start to be honest.

 

I have found some fees on the canal and rivers trust website but I’d still really love some guidance.

 

thanks so much in advance

Jack

 

I dont have experience but I know at least two airbnbs which are boats. You can contact them and see if they can share any knowledge. Best of luck.

Edited by restlessnomad
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2 hours ago, Tonka said:

No property backing on to CRT water has automatic rights

I have no doubt that you are right, but interestingly and looking at your location, there is one house on the Basingstoke Canal that does.  My father in law fought for it when he owned the Old Boathouse at Frimley Green.  The building was originally the property of the canal owner and mooring was covenanted in the land deeds.  The Canal Authority did not want to hear it, but gave in eventually.

 

I wonder if there are more like this on the network, at least ones where the British Waterways acts haven’t removed it?

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45 minutes ago, The Dreamer said:

I have no doubt that you are right, but interestingly and looking at your location, there is one house on the Basingstoke Canal that does.  My father in law fought for it when he owned the Old Boathouse at Frimley Green.  The building was originally the property of the canal owner and mooring was covenanted in the land deeds.  The Canal Authority did not want to hear it, but gave in eventually.

 

I wonder if there are more like this on the network, at least ones where the British Waterways acts haven’t removed it?

 

CRT are not the navigation authority for the Basingstoke Canal. It is jointly owned by Hampshire and Surrey County Councils.

Edited by cuthound
CRT not CRT, although my autocorrect makes me want to.
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3 hours ago, BuckRodgers said:

Thanks very much, when you say change of use are you talking about the change of use of my property from residential to commercial? I would have thought that as my house is only being used for access to the mooring which is technically owned by the trust that this wouldn’t be the case. As you said worth speaking to them anyway.

So your house will have absolutely NO function in the business?
No office space?
No reception of guests?
No cooking, since you are doing B & B?
No disposal of waste or rubbish?
And don't forget that Planning Consent does not just include the buildings but it's grounds as well. I suspect that you will first need Planning Consent even to moor the boat there. The fact that CaRT owns the water doesn't make a difference.

 

Also remember that the boat will have to be built or modified to meet the more stringent safety standards. That probably isn't going to be cheap.

 

I suggest that you contact both CaRT and BBNP Planning before you do anything else.
Good luck!

And a warning in case you think you might be able to do this "on the quiet", BBPN are very stringent and have a habit of checking adverts in places on the web, and they can clamp down hard.

Edited by Graham Davis
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4 minutes ago, Graham Davis said:

So your house will have absolutely NO function in the business?
No office space?
No reception of guests?
No cooking, since you are doing B & B?
No disposal of waste or rubbish?
And don't forget that Planning Consent does not just include the buildings but it's grounds as well. I suspect that you will first need Planning Consent even to moor the boat there. The fact that CaRT owns the water doesn't make a difference.

 

Also remember that the boat will have to be built or modified to meet the more stringent safety standards. That probably isn't going to be cheap.

 

I suggest that you contact both CaRT and BBNP Planning before you do anything else.
Good luck!

And a warning in case you think you might be able to do this "on the quiet", BBPN are very stringent and have a habit of checking adverts in places on the web, and they can clamp down hard.

Some good points thanks for taking the time to reply and offer assistance. Here’s my thoughts:

 

NO function in the business?  Not really
No office space? Nope, but even if there was office space it wouldn’t make my house a commercial property, I work form home sometimes in my employment and this doesn’t make it a commercial property.
No reception of guests? Nope
No cooking, since you are doing B & B? Nope self catering
No disposal of waste or rubbish? Potentially, this is a consideration.

 

I think speaking to the relevant authorities would do no harm as suggested. Regarding doing things underground, I really don’t intend to significant capital in an unregistered business and then advertise it online :)

 

 

 

 

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Just now, BuckRodgers said:

Regarding doing things underground, I really don’t intend to [spend] significant capital in an unregistered business and then advertise it online :)

You'd be surprised how many try to on the canals!

 

Good luck with your new venture, and I would recommend you contact CRT business boating team and talk to them in the first instance - you will need to submit a new operating proposal to them, but the form they send you will give you a lot of points to consider. 

 

They very strongly recommend that you don't spend any money at all on your new venture until you have an agreement in principle that your venture is acceptable to them.

 

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4 hours ago, BuckRodgers said:

when you say change of use are you talking about the change of use of my property from residential to commercial?

It’s not so much change of use, but that you would need planning consent for a residential mooring.

 

From the CRT guidance on static letting:

 

Planning permission

Residential or use of a mooring for accommodation usually needs planning permission. You should contact your local planning authority (LPA) at an early stage. They can tell you if planning permission is needed for your intended use and offer guidance on preparing your application, advice on what the application will cost and how long it will take to determine.

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