Upton on Severn moorings

[Chris Pink]

I expect they will put the signs out the day before the first trip of the week and leave them to the end.

 

do they float?

[FadeToScarlet]

What happens if a boat suffers a mechanical breakdown and can't move for the trip boat?

[ditchcrawler]

What happens if a boat suffers a mechanical breakdown and can't move for the trip boat?

£25 per day probably

[Hawkmoth]

I've just sent my letter to Sue Mercer as I expect many more have.

Is there any chance of a protest mooring there?

I know it's easy for me to suggest as I can't get there at present. Just an idea to be kicked around.

[Steilsteven]

.

 

Principle of a ‘Visitor Mooring’ being used by a trip boat

There are many examples of visitor moorings being used by trip boats across the network. In some cases, this has our express consent, in others it has just developed over the years and is now accepted practice. Our current position on this is that a trip boat should have all of its pick up and drop off points agreed by us and so use of a visitor mooring is subject to our consent, rather than on an ‘ad hoc’ basis. In this case, the operators have obtained our consent.

 

.

​The above is a typical standard response from S.M., just because it happens elsewhere it will be perfectly alright anywhere else.

I dare say most of the ''many examples'' are on canals where other boaters are able to moor along the towpath.

 

Keith

[upton]

There are people in Upton who aren't happy with this.

 

"The official excuse for needing to use the visitors pontoon is that coaches aren't allowed down the road immediately adjacent to their mooring any more." It's not that they're not allowed; Dunns Lane is narrow - 1 vehicle wide.

 

Avonbelle will be mooring on the section where the small cruiser is moored; approximately 1/3rd of the pontoon.

 

 

The pontoon at the beginning of May, during the Folk Festival:

 

The town steps with the pontoon upriver from the bridge. Again, during Folk Festival.

 

Please don't let this put you off coming to Upton, we'd love to see you!

Edited May 15, 2013 by upton

[Chris Pink]

Is it beyond the wit of man (or CRT or Ms Mercer) to put in another bloody pontoon?

[Tony Brooks]

Emailed this morning before I saw her "reply" and requested she forward it to the Ash woman (I could not find her email address). I got a reply in which she (Mercer) seemed keener on forwarding my email to her commercial operators boss rather than anyone remotely concerned with private boats and the majority of paying customers. Makes me think this is a local decision with not thought for national ramifications. I also a few questions but she ignored them.

 

It is also clear from her reply on here that using the VMs was her first thought and little else was even discussed.

 

In my view its typical BW action and as such makes any pretence of CaRT wanting to work with their paying customers the sham it seems to be.

 

I am thankful that I expect to sell the boat in the next few years - infirmity and lack of money.

 

 

Edited to add - any local boaters familiar with the action of UK trawlers during the cod wars? Only half in jest. Piss enough people off and revenge is likely.

Edited May 15, 2013 by Tony Brooks

[magpie patrick]

First, welcome to Upton, I've enjoyed your town from our boat several times. Val and I left mum and dad on board and celebrated our wedding anniversary at a local hotel (big, half timbered, four poster) a few years ago.

 

Second, Chris, I assume your question is rhetorical. The moorings here have been oversubscribed on busy days for some years.

[keble]

There are people in Upton who aren't happy with this.

 

 

 

The town steps with the pontoon upriver from the bridge. Again, during Folk Festival.

 

Please don't let this put you off coming to Upton, we'd love to see you!

That's my friends' boat Scott'y in the middle!

 

Welcome aboard Upton. We love the place, hope to get to one of the festivals this 'summer'

[TUGBOAT]

Are we all going soft? Why do we put up with this crap, I for one will carry on using this mooring as I have in the past. What is this boat going to do when it see's boats doubled and trebled up on the pontoon?... untie them all? no, they will just find somewhere else to use ( the marina perhaps, plenty of parking there! )

.

Don't be bullied by people like this stand up and be counted if enough people do she will be out of a job

 

John

[PaulG]

There are people in Upton who aren't happy with this.

 

"The official excuse for needing to use the visitors pontoon is that coaches aren't allowed down the road immediately adjacent to their mooring any more." It's not that they're not allowed; Dunns Lane is narrow - 1 vehicle wide.

So you are saying that this quote from the original C&RT announcement is BS then?

"Newly introduced restrictions on coaches passing through the town mean that the operators can no longer take coach parties at their home mooring downstream of the town centre."

i.e they never could take coach parties at their home mooring on Dunns Lane?

[sueb]

The original mooring isn't far from the coach park. Indeed if the river is low getting down the gangway at the pontoon is difficult, especially for wheelchairs.

[upton]

PaulG - there is nothing to say coaches aren't allowed to go down Dunns Lane, but they would find it very difficult. There are notices just beyond the Dunns Lane turning saying no coaches in Lower High Street, but if they are carrying disabled passengers they can go down. These are usually passengers going on the MV Conway Castle.

 

We have looked at getting more pontoons, but there really isn't anywhere to put them. The Picnic Area, on the opposite bank by the bridge - Highways won't allow anything near the bridge. Further down, the Village Green (opposite the Conway Castle) - we looked at that, and then the Town Council had two fishing platforms built there. In addition, the Edward Elgar moors there once or twice a week during the summer.

 

The Swan moorings can't be used as the river is full of stones brought by lorry from Leicester to support the bank & road whilst the flood defence wall was being built. The Environment Agency were going to remove them before the wall was finished, but they didn't, so they are still there. January 2011 is when they had the stones delivered. They are going to use them to build up river banks - don't know where, or when.

[ditchcrawler]

PaulG - there is nothing to say coaches aren't allowed to go down Dunns Lane, but they would find it very difficult. There are notices just beyond the Dunns Lane turning saying no coaches in Lower High Street, but if they are carrying disabled passengers they can go down. These are usually passengers going on the MV Conway Castle.

 

We have looked at getting more pontoons, but there really isn't anywhere to put them. The Picnic Area, on the opposite bank by the bridge - Highways won't allow anything near the bridge. Further down, the Village Green (opposite the Conway Castle) - we looked at that, and then the Town Council had two fishing platforms built there. In addition, the Edward Elgar moors there once or twice a week during the summer.

 

The Swan moorings can't be used as the river is full of stones brought by lorry from Leicester to support the bank & road whilst the flood defence wall was being built. The Environment Agency were going to remove them before the wall was finished, but they didn't, so they are still there. January 2011 is when they had the stones delivered. They are going to use them to build up river banks - don't know where, or when.

So how did they get their customers to the boat last year if the lane is too narrow, or am I missing something. I had a great meal in one of the pubs there but walked out of the other one.

[PaulG]

So how did they get their customers to the boat last year if the lane is too narrow, or am I missing something. I had a great meal in one of the pubs there but walked out of the other one.

It's too narrow for coaches, so their customers already had to walk there anyway.

This makes a mockery of C&RT's argument that this is somehow to do with coach access to their mooring.

The suggestion that us boaters are somehow being selfish by wanting access to the only public mooring pontoon in over 15 miles of river seems a bit thin, too.

Especially when the boaters get to use the pontoon on a "first come first served" basis, while the trip boat already has exclusive use of a mooring that is only a short distance away.

Edited May 16, 2013 by PaulG

[dor]

As I mentioned before, we stopped at Upton last summer and were extremely grateful for space on the rising pontoon.

Most small towns like Upton would be delighted with their riverside location yet the town seems to turn its back on it. Coach trips to the river cruises might bring in lots of people, but anyone with experience knows that apart from a few ice creams they don't buy much. Narrowboaters by contrast will often spend quite a bit in the local town. Meals out, stocking up with provisions, drinks, laundry, hardware etc. The five (enforced) days we were there I reckon we spent about £250 in the town. We were far from alone and there must be loads of potential, especially when a spot like Upton would be a popular weekend destination as well as being one of the few overnight stops in quite a long stretch.

 

Yet when we were there there were hardly any safe moorings. It looked as though there had been a lot more moorings in the past but they had been knocked down. No facilities for boaters (where are the water points, Elsan disposal etc shown in Nicholsons?). The marina is not the answer as they are a commercial concern and extract as much cash as they can from any boaters soft enough to go in there.

 

It could be a very popular destination which could bring a lot of money into the town but it seems they don't really want boaters to stop.

[keble]

Dor, CaRT have an arrangement with the marina. You can use elsan and water at the marina for free.

Its not exactly well publicised. I think I saw it on a boaters guide from BW

[AdRem]

I'm not a boater but a resident / business owner in Upton and I think that this is just ridiculous. Why is this business being given preferential treatment from C&RT's? Did anyone from C&RT's actually come down and carry out a site visit, checking the facts about the new flood defence & road layout altering the working practice for this business? There never has been any coach access to the Avon Belle mooring it has always been accessed by foot, nothing has changed. This same operator tried to get the same rights to the Old Bridge Abutment public mooring in Upton but was refused by the Town Council who know the area and problems caused by the lack of moorings.

 

I hope that all you boaters out there stand your ground and moor your boats where you want to and continue using our great town without being pushed off what is your public mooring. We need visitors to Upton and this will just drive people away because they will be forced to move their boats.

 

I also don’t understand and question C&RT's argument that it will help the business in Upton? Surely having the people dropped off at the car/coach park and then having them walk through the town, past the shops, pubs, cafes and restaurants would be of more benefit to the towns traders? If C&RT's get their way visitors will be dropped off in the car park, walk straight onto the boat and then after their trip straight back onto the coach, I cannot see this being any help to the well being of the town.

 

Let us all hope that common sense prevails and the C&RT's reverse this hasty and idiotic decision.

 

In reply to "dor" who posted that we don't want the boaters here in Upton I can assure you that the vast majority of us traders welcome you with open arms and wish that there were more facilities provided for you to moor here. Not less which is all this C&RT's decision will create. There will always be a bit of small town mentality and jealousy in any small town across the country but please don't let that taint your view of the rest of us, we realise the great effect that the boating fraternity have on our small town and long may it continue.

[RLWP]

{snip}

 

visitors will be dropped off in the car park, walk straight onto the boat and then after their trip straight back onto the coach, I cannot see this being any help to the well being of the town.

 

{snip}

 

Welcome to the forum

 

Your point is a good one, and I'm sure this is precisely what will happen. The boat trip will be a part of a package including a trip to a stately home or a garden centre or some other place the coach company has an arrangement with. I'm afraid Upton will get nothing from this deal

 

Richard

[Rebotco]

Hi AdRem

That's a useful and informative post.

It might be helpful if you email a copy of that to the person concerned at CaRT

That's susie.mercer@canalrivertrust.org.uk

[Tuscan]

Unfortunately I suspect this is not about the town and more about Susie's need to bring more income to CRT , I assume she is bonuses in this way.

[the grinch]

Welcome AdRem and thanks for such a brilliant post, whilst not owning a boat at the moment we do sometimes pass through on route to Bristol (wife is a deal or no deal fan!!) will make sure future stops on route include the town.

[oboat]

See below

Edited May 17, 2013 by oboat

[magpie patrick]

Welcome to AdRem, and a first class post. Val and I stopped in Upton frequently when we owned "Ripple", in fact, I think we only went past without stopping once, on our way to Droitwich for the "soft reopening" in 2010. We stopped on the way back though on that trip. Upton is more than just the only mooring between Diglis and Tewkesbury, it's "offer" probably beats both those places in terms of facilities and charm.

 

With regard to Susie Mercer, I don't actually know her, and would not accuse her of malice aforethought. However I suspect she is not qualified to make a judgement of this sort. I suspect her background has nothing to do with tourism management and the complexities of visitor econimics, it is also unlikely she understands the material differences between mooring at Upton and mooring at say, Alvechurch. AdRem has hit the nail firmly on the head over the nature of coach visits, and many towns have a seething resentment over the behaviour of this sector of the tourism market, dropping passengers in exactly this way whilst having cosy deals with stately homes and garden centres where parking is free and drivers get free or subsidised refreshments, whilst small towns get shafted by the local authority for parking charges.

 

I suggest AdRem and other traders protest as well, even get the chamber of trade involved (although if the boat operator is part of that this may be difficult). It isn't just about bald revenue to CRT, it's about goodwill. As things stand, I suspect CRT have blown any hope of getting assistance and cooperation from traders in Upton.