CONSULTATION ON MANAGING MOORING SPACE IN INNER LONDON

[Ray T]

CRT PRESS RELEASE

 

21st  December 2021

 

CONSULTATION ON MANAGING MOORING SPACE IN INNER LONDON

 

The Canal & River Trust is inviting boaters and local stakeholders to take part in a consultation on ways to improve the management of mooring space on central London’s busy canals[1] to balance the needs of local and visiting boats.

 

With boat numbers across the whole London waterway network remaining at around record levels (c.4,000 boats[2]), amongst the proposals included in the consultation is an increase in pre-bookable paid moorings at ten central London short-stay visitor sites. Pre-bookable paid moorings have been successfully operating at an initial two locations since 2019, offering the assurance of a mooring spot to both residential and leisure boaters in and around London as well as boaters visiting the capital. Combined, the pre-bookable paid moorings will account for around 40 berths with the majority of short-stay visitor moorings, and all the 14-day towpath moorings, remaining unchanged.

 

Views are also being sought on a proposal to make access to short-stay visitor moorings fairer by a more active management of the sites, limiting the amount of time individual boats can use them in a year and increasing the overstay charge if they stay longer than permitted.

 

Finally, to reduce the risk of blocking the channel and to make navigation safer, the consultation proposes preventing triple mooring and mooring against a widebeam on the busiest central London waterways.

 

The Trust’s 2018 London Mooring Strategy, which set out plans to improve the experience of boating in London and make the waterways a place that can be shared safely and fairly, highlighted the need to make moorings more accessible for all boats visiting and navigating through the capital, as well as those boats that predominantly cruise in London. This consultation is aimed at balancing the needs of boaters without permanent moorings with those of boaters who want to visit the capital.

 

The Trust has sought suggestions from boaters about how to fairly manage the space and has ruled out several options, including a ‘congestion charge’, a ‘London Licence’, and a limit to the time boats can spend in central London on top of existing continuous cruising guidelines.

 

Ros Daniels, Canal & River Trust regional director, said: “Boats and boaters bring so much to London’s waterways and are an intrinsic part of the capital’s canal culture. Our proposals recognise and protect that and will help make the waterways accessible to boaters who want to visit them, and who have previously been put off because they don’t think they’ll be able to find a place to moor.

 

“After a lot of discussion with boaters, we’ve identified proposals that we believe will offer a balanced solution, giving boaters the option of guaranteeing a space, ensuring our short-stay sites are being used fairly, improving safety, and preserving all our existing 14-day towpath moorings.

 

“We must find a way to manage this finite space to keep the canals safe and shared fairly between liveaboard, leisure and trade boaters. I’d urge every boater to take part in the consultation and share their views.”

 

The consultation is running until March 2022. To take part, please visit: canalrivertrust.welcomesyourfeedback.net/London

 

Other London Mooring Strategy strands include installing more mooring rings, upgrading boater facilities and scoping locations for new facility sites, identifying ways to make the waterways safer for powered and unpowered boats, and reviewing short-stay mooring sites. The Trust will be providing an update on work to install new towpath mooring rings and customer service facilities improvements in January 2021.

 

The Trust is also introducing Water Safety Zones on the Lee Navigation as part of the Strategy. Following independently facilitated consultation with stakeholders, it is currently following the first recommendation in the independent report – to ‘explain and enforce the existing rules and regulations’ – putting up clear signs and walking the towpaths daily, speaking to boaters about the existing ‘no mooring’ areas, with the Trust’s existing Improper Mooring Process due to come into effect from January 2021.

 

More information about the Trust’s work to manage London’s increasing busy waterways can be found here: canalrivertrust.org.uk/about-us/where-we-work/london-and-south-east/managing-boats-on-londons-busy-waterways.

 

[1] Waterways covered by the proposals include the Grand Union Canal east of Kensal Green, the Regent’s Canal, the Hertford Union Canal, and the Limehouse Cut.

2 4,274 boats at the last full national boat count in 2019, with weekly sighting data over the past 18 months showing numbers remain high.

 

Ends

 

For further media requests please contact:

Fran Read, Canal & River Trust

m 07796 610 427 e fran.read@canalrivertrust.org.uk

 

---

[1] Waterways covered by the proposals include the Grand Union Canal east of Kensal Green, the Regent’s Canal, the Hertford Union Canal, and the Limehouse Cut.

[2] 4,274 boats at the last full national boat count in 2019, with weekly sighting data over the past 18 months showing numbers remain high.

[doratheexplorer]

Thanks for this.  It's important that a wide range of boaters respond to this, not just London cc'ers.  The canal network should be available for all licence payers but many see London as a no-go area due to expected mooring issues.

[matty40s]

The bit below has had signs stating these return limits and charges in various London areas for the last 10-15 years. The big  challenge will be 'more actively managing ' it with volunteers and a few moorings liaison officers.

 

, limiting the amount of time individual boats can use them in a year and increasing the overstay charge if they stay longer than permitted.

[Steilsteven]

Another consultation that few people will bother responding to.

Not taken my barge on the waterways mentioned for over 12 years now and not likely to so I shall pass on this one.

 

 

Keith

[Mike Adams]

Yet another inept press release from CaRT! No wonder the press gets confused. It tries to differentiate between local and visiting boats and then residential and leisure boaters, those boats that 'predominately cruise' in London and then liveaboard and leisure boaters. Yet if you read the document they have 'issues' with over 1000 of the 4000 boats in London. The only thing that is going to come out of it is a mooring charge for a bookable mooring. I don't see why leisure boaters should have to may extra on top of a license for a stop over for 24 or 48 hours when others live for free the whole year.

[matty40s]

We shouldnt, but if planning a holiday with time constructions and a Thames passage booked, wouldnt you rather fork out a £10 in advance to know you have a mooring available at the end of a  6/8/10 hour cruise into the filthy but exciting capital.

[ditchcrawler]

16 minutes ago, Mike Adams said:

Yet another inept press release from CaRT! No wonder the press gets confused. It tries to differentiate between local and visiting boats and then residential and leisure boaters, those boats that 'predominately cruise' in London and then liveaboard and leisure boaters. Yet if you read the document they have 'issues' with over 1000 of the 4000 boats in London. The only thing that is going to come out of it is a mooring charge for a bookable mooring. I don't see why leisure boaters should have to may extra on top of a license for a stop over for 24 or 48 hours when others live for free the whole year.

Which basically is what I put.

[David Mack]

41 minutes ago, Mike Adams said:

Yet another inept press release from CaRT! No wonder the press gets confused. It tries to differentiate between local and visiting boats and then residential and leisure boaters, those boats that 'predominately cruise' in London and then liveaboard and leisure boaters. Yet if you read the document they have 'issues' with over 1000 of the 4000 boats in London. The only thing that is going to come out of it is a mooring charge for a bookable mooring. I don't see why leisure boaters should have to may extra on top of a license for a stop over for 24 or 48 hours when others live for free the whole year.

So what it needs is a free bookable mooring for boats that can demonstrate they have been more than say 30 miles from Little Venice for 5 of the last 6 months.

[Tuscan]

Charges being introduced over large areas in London. If boaters accept this no doubt these charge zones will be introduced on the K&A , Oxford and other popular areas Stoke Breune, Foxton etc. it’s the future I suspect as CRT will already have decided the outcome of this consultation as they have done with the others. 

[doratheexplorer]

37 minutes ago, Tuscan said:

Charges being introduced over large areas in London. If boaters accept this no doubt these charge zones will be introduced on the K&A , Oxford and other popular areas Stoke Breune, Foxton etc. it’s the future I suspect as CRT will already have decided the outcome of this consultation as they have done with the others. 

It's been that way in Llangollen for years.  In principle I don't really object to this as a way of managing the most popular mooring places.  But it should only happen where demand significantly exceeds supply, and the charges should be nominal - £2 for 24 hours would seem fair. 

[Alan de Enfield]

C&RT certainly have the powers granted to them to allow them to make any charge they wish for mooring :

 

Section 43(3) of the Transport Act 1962 ("the 1962 Act") provides "... the [British Waterways Board and the Strategic Rail Authority] shall have power to demand, take and recover [or waive] such charges for their services and facilities, and to make the use of those services and facilities subject to such terms and conditions, as they think fit.

 

Certainly 'improved' moorings that are the norm for visitors moorings (additional dredging, rings, bollards etc) would fall under the term 'services and facilities', and I could well envisage that longer term charges for the use of sani-stations and waste bins could also come under the same justification and legislation.

[David Mack]

12 hours ago, Mike Adams said:

I don't see why leisure boaters should have to may extra on top of a license for a stop over for 24 or 48 hours when others live for free the whole year.

This is a key issue. But while it is practical to have a booking and charging system for a small number of designated mooring spots, doing the same for the whole London area is not. So the only way to address the issue is some broader change to the way CCers are managed in London. And attempting to do that is going to be like poking a hornets nest!

[Alan de Enfield]

20 minutes ago, David Mack said:

This is a key issue. But while it is practical to have a booking and charging system for a small number of designated mooring spots, doing the same for the whole London area is not. So the only way to address the issue is some broader change to the way CCers are managed in London. And attempting to do that is going to be like poking a hornets nest!

 

Have not C&RT already signalled their intentions to have seperate charging regimes for CCers with their launch of a 'Continuous Cruising Licence' differentiated from other licences ?

 

 

British Waterways Act 1983

.....Notwithstanding anything in the Act of 1971 or the Act
of 1974 or in any other enactment relating to the Board or their
inland waterways, the Board may register pleasure boats and
houseboats under the Act of 1971 for such periods and on payment
of such charges as they may from time to time determine:
Provided that the charge payable for the registration of a
pleasure boat shall not at any time exceed 60 per centum of the
amount which would be payable to the Board for the licensing of
such vessel on any inland waterway other than a river waterway
referred to in Schedule 1 to the Act of 1971 as that Schedule has
effect in accordance with any order made by the Secretary of
State under section 4 of that Act.

 

And, following some long detailed discussions with Nigel Moore (RIP) his final thoughts on the subject :

 

I have argued back and forwards on this in my own mind, but currently conclude that CaRT can legally do whatever they wish in respect of licence categories and charges, subject only to that percentage discount for PBC’s. The only [purely implicit] further restriction on the creation of yet more categories would be the restriction on charging more for such categories than for the ‘standard’ licence. Easily subverted, as Alan has suggested, by making the ‘standard’ licence category sufficiently costly, with discounts tailored to suit the managerial aspirations.

Edited December 22, 2021 by Alan de Enfield

[zenataomm]

1 hour ago, Tuscan said:

CRT will already have decided the outcome of this consultation as they have done with the others. 

 

Many people make the mistake of thinking "Consultation" means nothing is settled yet and we're open to alternatives.

Others' views and ideas will be heard in case the army of working parties, consultants and management teams have overlooked a way they can save even more money.

However, the outcome will be synonymous with the reason for the change in the first place. 

Its role is to broadcast what you're doing, why and by when, it's not to ask permission.

[matty40s]

....and the reason for publishing this on the 21st December is to let it hide under Christmas, Covid and "Closed Season" when most peoples thoughts are far from boating.

[doratheexplorer]

2 hours ago, zenataomm said:

 

Many people make the mistake of thinking "Consultation" means nothing is settled yet and we're open to alternatives.

Others' views and ideas will be heard in case the army of working parties, consultants and management teams have overlooked a way they can save even more money.

However, the outcome will be synonymous with the reason for the change in the first place. 

Its role is to broadcast what you're doing, why and by when, it's not to ask permission.

And with that attitude you'll never get anywhere.  Rather like those who don't vote and then moan about the government.  I have to listen to this sort of cynicism frequently as part of my job. 

 

"What's the point of saying anything, it's already all decided!!!"

 

"Well actually no.  That's the exact reason why we're asking you."

 

Then the person doesn't bother to put anything into writing.  Then things don't go their way.  Then they moan.  Go on any local facebook or nextdoor group and it will be awash with moaners, just like this forum.  But how many of them actually take their gripes to the people who can do something about it?  A tiny fraction.

[zenataomm]

There's no point in my telling you where it did get me, as you'll only belittle that as well in order to substantiate your half arsed opinion.

Merry Xmas.

[doratheexplorer]

7 minutes ago, zenataomm said:

There's no point in my telling you where it did get me, as you'll only belittle that as well in order to substantiate your half arsed opinion.

Merry Xmas.

My opinion may be half-arsed (thanks for making it personal), but your opinion may be childish.  Just because you didn't get the outcome you wanted, does not mean it's never worth trying.  I also, have to explain this simple fact to people all the time.  Sometimes life isn't fair, sometimes we don't get what we want, sometimes the system is rigged, but sometimes our actions yield results.  Imagine where the human race would be if after any set back, we simply stopped trying.

[Tuscan]

In January (presumably after this survey closes) they are going to update on the mooring and facilities improvements. If you go back 5 years and compare with now I wonder if there will be more or less facilities given the increase in users especially liveaboards. No doubt the forthcoming PR will not reference this.

[wandering snail]

1 hour ago, Tuscan said:

In January (presumably after this survey closes) they are going to update on the mooring and facilities improvements. If you go back 5 years and compare with now I wonder if there will be more or less facilities given the increase in users especially liveaboards. No doubt the forthcoming PR will not reference this.

The consultation is running until March 2022

[Bristolfashion]

Very happy to pay, say £10 for a guaranteed pitch and £20 for the odd "premier" location (right next to the major attractions etc) in these extremely busy areas. It's got to be enough to pay for the admin & control of the situation and, if the CRT generate a few extra quid as well, excellent.

[matty40s]

One problem with the 7/14 day limit and then an overstaying charge of £25 a day for more than this is it actually works out quite cheaply if you compare it to an official London Z1 mooring...less than £10k...and you could do that with a 70 x14 foot boat....

[ditchcrawler]

For bookable moorings in London this is what its really like Eco Mooring – Where There's Brass (wordpress.com)

[pearley]

13 hours ago, ditchcrawler said:

For bookable moorings in London this is what its really like Eco Mooring – Where There's Brass (wordpress.com)

We've been through London 3 times by boat, 1990, 2009  and 2016 and always enjoyed it. 2016 we spent Christmas there. 

Even though we had no real problems with mooring it was harder each time and I recognise a lot of the issues he remarked on. If I was going again would certainly book.

[Midnight]

On 22/12/2021 at 10:04, matty40s said:

....and the reason for publishing this on the 21st December is to let it hide under Christmas, Covid and "Closed Season" when most peoples thoughts are far from boating.

I don't think they are that clever. 🤔🤔