Jump to content

Family Evicted from Bristol harbour - living on a 'leisure mooring'


Alan de Enfield

Featured Posts

1_JMP_SWA_230920house_boat__020_JPG.jpg

 

More info https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/bristol-news/we-could-now-lose-everything-4541363

 

A family living on a boat on the Harbourside in Bristol say they could be made homeless after being told to leave the vessel by the city council.

Molly Petts and her partner Trevor Gray have been living on a boat moored on the Wapping Wharf side of the Harbourside for several years and, back in 2016, they bought a bigger boat in order to start a family.

However, the couple is now having a dispute with the council over building works carried out to the new boat which the council says were not approved

 

The boat, the council has said, is also sitting in the harbour under a leisure licence, not a residential licence.

 

 
Link to comment
Share on other sites

We were there last weekend, it looks like there may be a floating pontoon underneath the construction somewhere.  There is a story behind this which appears the family on there now purchased this and expected to be able to build their home on it but it seems the harbour master has refused permission for their development. Having seen it up close I'm not surprised as it can't possibly be called a boat.

  • Greenie 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

13 minutes ago, Scholar Gypsy said:

There's a Thetford porta potti inside, so it must be a boat .... (or a caravan, I know...)

See, I don't normally take sides or express opinions in all these arguments about boaters rights, etc, but clearly floating shed of that magnitude ought to have a composting loilet...

 

;)

 

  • Greenie 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Rob-M said:

We were there last weekend, it looks like there may be a floating pontoon underneath the construction somewhere.  There is a story behind this which appears the family on there now purchased this and expected to be able to build their home on it but it seems the harbour master has refused permission for their development. Having seen it up close I'm not surprised as it can't possibly be called a boat.

Are the rest of the moorings occupied by boats or "boats" like this one? When you say "purchased" do you mean they purchased the mooring outright? One does wonder how they could think a harbour would be completely lawless with regard to what you may and may not do. 
 

It surprisingly looks like it might be OK looking when it's finished but I do wish they would stop referring to the structure as a "boat", it makes the article quite hard to follow because I keep wondering what boat they are talking about.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

25 minutes ago, Nightwatch said:

Think the key word here is ‘ leisure’. As dmr as mentioned Ieisure and low profile, If you want to live on a mooring, are to be closely kept together.

Even if it is a residential mooring it is fair that there are some regulations about what you can build on it. Are there restrictions about how much of your time you can spend on a leisure mooring? Keeping a low profile is one thing but having clear rules is probably the best way to make good neighbours...

  • Greenie 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

42 minutes ago, ivan&alice said:

Are there restrictions about how much of your time you can spend on a leisure mooring?

 

Every mooring provider interprets the law their own way.

 

BWML for example were very clear.

 

 

To have a leisure mooring

 

1) you must provide a Council Tax bill in your name for your 'main residential property'

2) you must spend 1 night (at least) per month either not on board, or take your boat out of the marina for the night.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 hours ago, dmr said:

So, reading between the lines, they had a boat (a boat) moored on a leisure mooring and lived on it, the sort of thing that lots of people do and get away with by maintaining a low profile, though maybe a bit risky in a highly controlled place like Bristol. At some stage they got rid of the boat and decided to replace it with a large house like structure without getting planning permission or formal approval from the harbourmaster. Now they feel that by emphasising that they have a young child it will all be ok????

 

If this is ok  then the ultimate conclusion would be to fill in the harbour and build a housing estate. Many years ago that's what Bristol council wanted to do (though to build a road rather than houses) but luckily that did not happen.

 

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

 

I have to agree Dave. Some people bring this sort of thing upon themselves and then use their own children like "human shields" in an attempt to prevent action being taken against them and to gain media/public sympathy.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

35 minutes ago, blackrose said:

 

I have to agree Dave. Some people bring this sort of thing upon themselves and then use their own children like "human shields" in an attempt to prevent action being taken against them and to gain media/public sympathy.

 

There was a very similar scenario in Manchester where a boater had built his 'boat' to such a height it couldn't even get under the bridge.

 

0_CJH_MEN_Ben_Sharratt_Narrowoat_201118_12.jpg

 

0_JS168647109.jpg

 

 

A craftsman who spent months and tens of thousands of pounds building his dream 'houseboat' is being kicked out of a city centre marina by bosses who say it's not a boat at all.

Ben Sharratt, 28, brought his new handmade barge into the New Islington Marina in Ancoats on the outskirts of town in August.

However those who manage it say the fact it cannot navigate the waterways on its own means it is not a canal boat and have ordered him to leave.

Ben says he is being penalised because of its unusual design and the fact it 'it doesn't look like a Rosie and Jim boat' and is taking legal advice as he fights the decision.

The wrangle dates back to February this year when Ben, who has lived in the Marina for around four years on what he describes as a 'traditional' canal boat, decided to build himself a new boat he could call home, from scratch.

 

Despite it not being completely finished, he says he will eventually spend around £80,000 on the 'houseboat' which is the same width as a traditional narrow boat and he says is only a couple of metres taller.

He already had mooring from his previous boat and so brought the new house boat, which is still unfinished inside, into the Marina in August.

However he says when he tried to transfer the mooring to his new boat, he was told he couldn't, and has now been ordered to leave.

 

https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/inside-80000-house-boat-thats-15426220

Edited by Alan de Enfield
Link to comment
Share on other sites

34 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

There was a very similar scenario in Manchester where a boater had built his 'boat' to such a height it couldn't even get under the bridge.

 

0_CJH_MEN_Ben_Sharratt_Narrowoat_201118_12.jpg

 

0_JS168647109.jpg

 

 

A craftsman who spent months and tens of thousands of pounds building his dream 'houseboat' is being kicked out of a city centre marina by bosses who say it's not a boat at all.

Ben Sharratt, 28, brought his new handmade barge into the New Islington Marina in Ancoats on the outskirts of town in August.

However those who manage it say the fact it cannot navigate the waterways on its own means it is not a canal boat and have ordered him to leave.

Ben says he is being penalised because of its unusual design and the fact it 'it doesn't look like a Rosie and Jim boat' and is taking legal advice as he fights the decision.

The wrangle dates back to February this year when Ben, who has lived in the Marina for around four years on what he describes as a 'traditional' canal boat, decided to build himself a new boat he could call home, from scratch.

 

Despite it not being completely finished, he says he will eventually spend around £80,000 on the 'houseboat' which is the same width as a traditional narrow boat and he says is only a couple of metres taller.

He already had mooring from his previous boat and so brought the new house boat, which is still unfinished inside, into the Marina in August.

However he says when he tried to transfer the mooring to his new boat, he was told he couldn't, and has now been ordered to leave.

 

https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/inside-80000-house-boat-thats-15426220

That floating shed was indeed moved out of New Islington Marina, and left on the towpath outside, where, last year, it occupied much of the central channel, with deeper draughted boats going aground as they squeezed past on the offside. It had gone by this year.

Edited by David Mack
Link to comment
Share on other sites

how wide are traditional narrowboats in Manchester for god's sake?   the man's either a liar or a midget. 

 

ONLY a couple of metres taller?    does he comprehend when the word only is appropriate unless he is being sarcastic?

 

"boats" like that should be offered a free lifetime mooring on the tidal mudflats of the Isle of Sheppey, so that the tossers cannot claim to have been left homeless.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's so curious to me that these people who have acted obvioulsy in a selfish, entitled, disingenuous or at least thoughtless way are always represented in the papers as the victims.

 

5 minutes ago, Murflynn said:

how wide are traditional narrowboats in Manchester for god's sake?

Well, I have heard of widebeams being referred to as "widebeam narrowboats" as much of a oxymoron as that sounds to me.

 

I also laughed at the "couple of metres taller" comment, considering most boats aren't quite a couple of metres tall.

 

1 hour ago, David Mack said:

That floating shed was indeed moved out of New Islington Marina, and left on the towpath outside, where, last year, it occupied much of the central channel, with deeper draughted boats going aground as they squeezed past on the offside. It had gone by this year.

A happy ending then..

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Its all very difficult, I quite liked the piano boat and a bit of novelty on the cut is good, but the New Islington shed was just an ugly box. I believe there is a rule, rarely if ever enforced, that boats should be appropriate to their waterway, but who would be the arbiter of this?

 

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

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.