George ward eviction taking place

[magnetman]

2 minutes ago, john.k said:

Similar situation here,different outcome .....H&M issue notices to 80 + boats to move from an anchorage called locally "Bums Bay"............at the expiry of the notices ,a large excavator appears on the shore ,and remaining boats are reduced to landfill and trucked away.......the media are calling it "Paradise Lost" .....local residents are calling it a miracle ......some of the  boats have been there for 17 years .

This sort of shocking behaviour never happens in Wiltshire or Somersetshire. 

[MtB]

24 minutes ago, magnetman said:

Also I don't quite see how the CRT would actually know if someone lived on the boat.

 

This is something that interests me greatly but few people seem that interested in discussing what it actually means. 

 

As far as I can tell there is no way for any external authority to determine or define where someone lives. It seems to be wherever the person declares it to be, should they actually choose to declare such a thing at all.

 

Let's imagine I split my time between several boats and several houses and several caravans and several countries. Who is to say I "live" in any particular location?

 

I might have an address I give out for correspondence, but that is clearly not 'where I live'. 

 

 

Edited April 20, 2023 by MtB

[Tonka]

2 minutes ago, magnetman said:

This sort of shocking behaviour never happens in Wiltshire or Somersetshire. 

Unfortunately 

[magnetman]

12 minutes ago, john.k said:

H&M issue notices to 80 + boats to move from an anchorage called locally "Bums Bay"........

 

I heard they were in trouble with the clothing industry and internet sales but never knew they had diversified into harbour management. Clever !

[Naughty Cal]

You can tell the "poor" chap is taking "advice" from  the person with the worst track record of keeping their boats on CRT waters by the language he is using.

 

"Today, Mr Ward is demanding the Canal & River Trust return his ‘stolen property’ following the nine-hour stand-off yesterday.

 

He told the Wiltshire Times he was “in no mood to be bullied” and had contacted the Trust to demand the return of his ‘”stolen property”.

 

He added: “The row is set to carry on for some time by the look of it. We will have to wait and see. It is my turn to take them to court now.

 

“I’m not going anywhere until my stolen property is returned. I am in no mood to do anything. I’ve had just one hour’s sleep and was still buzzing at 4am this morning.

 

“I’m not in a frame of mind to be bullied by anybody today.”

 

Now who else do we know who was demanding that CRT return their "stolen" property? And who else keeps emptily threatening that they are going to take CRT to court?

 

There is really only one way this is ending 

[magnetman]

Tony will be living the dream for a while. 

 

One would hope the bloke on the boat has done his due diligence. 

[Paul C]

It’s weird if it was “stolen”, that the police were there yesterday but didn’t do anything about it. So….I suspect it’s not. Tony Dunkley is probably the worst person to ask advice of, his track record has got to be 100% or thereabouts?

[magnetman]

He did stick his oar in apparently but probably caught a crab. 

[David Mack]

41 minutes ago, magnetman said:

Did they turn up again today or have they gone away to consult with the oracle?

Doesn't look like it.

https://www.wiltshiretimes.co.uk/news/23467745.canal-trusts-bid-evict-boater-ends-nine-hour-standoff/

 

[Chris Lowe]

1 hour ago, Iain_S said:

The Wiltshire news mentioned one armed officer: probably one qualified on a Taser, who always carries one. Although technically "armed", the same could be said of any officer. Baton and (nowadays) CS spray are also "arms".

If it were Northamptonshire, all officers are allowed by the chief constable to carry a taser if they wish to do so, with training of course.

[magnetman]

They really should only use "armed police" if someone is walking around with a gun. I must admit this was my first assumption but I have now been disabused of this. 

 

 

 

To be fair it is a relief that nobody actually is walking around with a gun. 

 

I knew a bloke yars ago on a boat who had a 410 ratting gun. One day he showed it to subhuman scrotes who were annoying him and shortly afterwards his tiny little boat was raided by armed police. Real ones with guns. 

 

If a rumour gets out that someone has firearms on a boat it can rapidly escalate and become quite a serious situation. He got a council house in the local area and sold the boat. 

Don't have guns on boats. Even air rifles. If you discharge an air rifle across a public footpath someone -will- notice it and it could go bad quite quickly. 

Edited April 20, 2023 by magnetman

[Jerra]

3 hours ago, Paul Biddy said:

...having possessions is not a good reason to enforce homelessness upon a person. That does seem prejudice.

If you could find a council house and you filled the front garden with the sort of things I see piled on the towpath pressure from your neighbours would soon have the council evicting you.   I grew up in a council house so I have seen these things happen.

[Paul Biddy]

2 minutes ago, Jerra said:

If you could find a council house and you filled the front garden with the sort of things I see piled on the towpath pressure from your neighbours would soon have the council evicting you.   I grew up in a council house so I have seen these things happen.

Boats are not Council Houses.

[MtB]

1 minute ago, Jerra said:

If you could find a council house and you filled the front garden with the sort of things I see piled on the towpath pressure from your neighbours would soon have the council evicting you.   I grew up in a council house so I have seen these things happen.

 

 

I was wondering if CRT finally making a show of 'doing something' about Mr Ward was a result of the local ratepayers kicking up a stink about him with CRT, rather than CRT actually raising the will to enforce their own regulations just for the sake of it. 

[Jerra]

27 minutes ago, magnetman said:

They really should only use "armed police" if someone is walking around with a gun. I must admit this was my first assumption but I have now been disabused of this. 

 

Sorry if this is hijacking the tread but do Tasers class as a policeman being armed?    I have found a quote that says "police forces have issued Tasers to Authorised Firearms Officers for use against armed assailants which are considered by the authorities to be a less-lethal alternative to conventional firearms.

 

If so they might send people with Tasers to events where there may be a weapon of some sort e.g. a knife.

[Paul Biddy]

Just now, MtB said:

 

 

I was wondering if CRT finally making a show of 'doing something' about Mr Ward was a result of the local ratepayers kicking up a stink about him with CRT, rather than CRT actually raising the will to enforce their own regulations just for the sake of it. 

There are many peole in Bath and Bradford non Avon who love the boats and enjoy walking the towing path chatting to boaties (&CRT staff). Most are not prejudiced although a few individuals stir tropuble on www chat sites. 

[Jerra]

4 minutes ago, Paul Biddy said:

Boats are not Council Houses.

Nobody other than you has suggested they are so a bit of a daft reply.  However, the point, which was clearly too subtle, is if evictions take place because of things looking untidy in a private garden then the same is likely to happen when the items are in a public place e.g. a towpath.

[haggis]

3 minutes ago, Paul Biddy said:

There are many peole in Bath and Bradford non Avon who love the boats and enjoy walking the towing path chatting to boaties (&CRT staff). Most are not prejudiced although a few individuals stir tropuble on www chat sites. 

Not surprising really that local people who want to walk along the towpath and  are faced with piles of rubbish and the stink of toilet waste down the bank are not too happy. 

 

[Alan de Enfield]

16 minutes ago, Jerra said:

Nobody other than you has suggested they are so a bit of a daft reply.  However, the point, which was clearly too subtle, is if evictions take place because of things looking untidy in a private garden then the same is likely to happen when the items are in a public place e.g. a towpath.

 

If they are piling up their 'rubbish' (prized possesions ?) on the bank side maybe they are guilty of 'fly-tipping' and the council has told C&RT to 'sort it out'.

[magnetman]

9 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

If they are piling up their 'rubbish' (prized possesions ?) on the bank side maybe they are guilty of 'fly-tipping' and the council has told C&RT to 'sort it out'.

Fly tipping on CRT land is definitely a relevant and rather interesting topic. 

 

Looking at the photos from the news paper arrrtickle I think one could reasonably take the view that fly tipping has occurred here. 

 

Whether this is something which the navigation authority should deal with is an interesting question. It is "their land" so presumably the answer is yes. 

 

One wonders what would happen if there were hazardous materials or dead somalis without passports interspersed with the nackered generators and unuseable bikes. 

 

It could get naughty. There may even be brown asbestos. 

 

 

[Arthur Marshall]

35 minutes ago, Paul Biddy said:

Boats are not Council Houses.

That's about the first thing you've written that makes any sense, though it is of course irrelevant.

I note that you say Ward is a traveller. Can you confirm this is his ethic status - were his parents travellers, or are you just waving this label around like a flag? He certainly isn't a traveller in the travelling sense.

He's essentially a squatter, which on land has been made a criminal offence. I do wonder whether it can apply to the water, too.

[Jerra]

Having read back through the Wiltshire Arms web article I see the gentleman has said he would be armed with a garden fork.  That might explain the presence of armed police, just in case.

[nicknorman]

2 hours ago, Iain_S said:

The Wiltshire news mentioned one armed officer: probably one qualified on a Taser, who always carries one. Although technically "armed", the same could be said of any officer. Baton and (nowadays) CS spray are also "arms".

Well let's face it, if a policeman doesn't have any arms, how would he salute and say "'evenin' all"? Or feel someone's collar?

[magnetman]

2 minutes ago, Arthur Marshall said:

 

He's essentially a squatter, which on land has been made a criminal offence. I do wonder whether it can apply to the water, too.

 

They will get there eventually. 

 

Curious coincidence CRT set up in 2012. Squatting made a criminal offence 2012. 

 

Of course these idiots have other things to do so not at all interested in the ongoing availability of living on boats.

If living on boats off grid was made a criminal offence they would be laughing all the way to the next loophole.

 

It is just a political scene driven by people who have genetic and generic inbuilt grievances but no interest in boats. 

 

 

 

 

 

[LadyG]

So, has he been evicted ?

Will the boats be removed? will the rubbish be removed?