South East Partnership, Boating Sub Group Meeting Agenda 21st March 2016

[alan_fincher]

I was previously advised agenda for the above meetings would in future appear in the CRT meetings calendar in advance of the meetings.

 

However although I can find tomorrow's meeting in the meetings calendae, I can't find the agenda attached.

 

I am therefore pasting it below, as agreement had already been reached that they can be pre-published. (I will ask at the meeting why it was not).

Title: South East Boating Sub-Group
Date: 5:30pm- 8:00pm, Monday 21st March 2016
Venue: Canal & River Trust offices, First Floor North, Station House, 500 Elder Gate, Milton Keynes, MK9 1BB
Attendees
Members –Lynda Payton, via Skype (LP), James Griffin (JG), Alan Wildman (AW), Alan Fincher (AF), David Daines (DD), Judy Clegg (JC)
CRT Staff - Matthew Symonds (MS), Vicky Martin (VM), Aiden Johnson-Hugill (AJH), Amy McEleney (AM),
Apologies- John Best (JB)

1. Introductions & apologies ALL
2. Declarations of interest ALL
3. Previous meeting notes/matters arising (15 mins) ALL
4. Marsworth/ Bulbourne development update (15mins) AJH
5. Berkhamsted/Marsworth moorings consultation (30mins) MS
6. Review of customer service data (1.5 hour) ALL

 

 

[Mike Todd]

I was previously advised agenda for the above meetings would in future appear in the CRT meetings calendar in advance of the meetings.

 

However although I can find tomorrow's meeting in the meetings calendae, I can't find the agenda attached.

 

I am therefore pasting it below, as agreement had already been reached that they can be pre-published. (I will ask at the meeting why it was not).

 

 

 

Regarding the mooring consultations - we have just come up from Packet Boat (Cowley Peahey Junction) and are now at Marsworth.

 

In most of the areas being considered for new rules for mooring we found long stretches with few spaces - on the other hand we did not see anywhere that it would not have been possible to moor within half a mile or so, just not at the immediate hotspots. We were not ourselves tied to locations close to transport links.

 

For example, all the way from Stockers Lock up to Batchworth was full.

 

Another, we were fortunate at Apsley to find one of the two 24 hour spaces outside Sainsbury, as the two or three pounds either side wee completely full.

 

However, at Berko we had no difficulty - we needed to be closer to the Waitrose car park to fulfil a pre-arranged meet with new crew!

 

At a number of places the stretches had been marked as Winter Moorings with a clear sign saying that these came to an end at 29 Feb (and I presume that the previous condition that no further 14 day period was permitted is still the case)

 

In any event by the time we passed they were well over even a 14 day and it was hard to feel tht most had been there for much of the winter.

 

If certain stretches are over-subscribed at this time of the year, is it through a lack of enforcement or excess demand? It may also be interesting to consider whether the proposed restirctions should be assessed on the basis of experiecne at high summer or at other times of the year?

[jenlyn]

Regarding the mooring consultations - we have just come up from Packet Boat (Cowley Peahey Junction) and are now at Marsworth.

 

In most of the areas being considered for new rules for mooring we found long stretches with few spaces - on the other hand we did not see anywhere that it would not have been possible to moor within half a mile or so, just not at the immediate hotspots. We were not ourselves tied to locations close to transport links.

 

For example, all the way from Stockers Lock up to Batchworth was full.

 

Another, we were fortunate at Apsley to find one of the two 24 hour spaces outside Sainsbury, as the two or three pounds either side wee completely full.

 

However, at Berko we had no difficulty - we needed to be closer to the Waitrose car park to fulfil a pre-arranged meet with new crew!

 

At a number of places the stretches had been marked as Winter Moorings with a clear sign saying that these came to an end at 29 Feb (and I presume that the previous condition that no further 14 day period was permitted is still the case)

 

In any event by the time we passed they were well over even a 14 day and it was hard to feel tht most had been there for much of the winter.

 

If certain stretches are over-subscribed at this time of the year, is it through a lack of enforcement or excess demand? It may also be interesting to consider whether the proposed restirctions should be assessed on the basis of experiecne at high summer or at other times of the year?

Let me tell you. I cruised that area this winter, and the "marked winter moorings were empty. Apsley only had two boats moored 3 weeks ago. I moored in Rickmansworth just before Xmas, easily. I also moored in croxley, easily. Your "assumption" that boats have moored in these areas all winter is wrong, but more importantly, very misleading.

I also spoke to the eo for the whole area you have just cruised a few weeks ago, who was pleased to state he was having no overstay problems.

I left Berkhampstead two weeks ago. The whole stretch had only 5 boats.

I was previously advised agenda for the above meetings would in future appear in the CRT meetings calendar in advance of the meetings.

 

However although I can find tomorrow's meeting in the meetings calendae, I can't find the agenda attached.

 

I am therefore pasting it below, as agreement had already been reached that they can be pre-published. (I will ask at the meeting why it was not).

 

 

 

Thank you for posting the agenda. Much appreciated.

[KroSha]

Regarding the mooring consultations - we have just come up from Packet Boat (Cowley Peahey Junction) and are now at Marsworth.

 

In most of the areas being considered for new rules for mooring we found long stretches with few spaces - on the other hand we did not see anywhere that it would not have been possible to moor within half a mile or so, just not at the immediate hotspots. We were not ourselves tied to locations close to transport links.

 

For example, all the way from Stockers Lock up to Batchworth was full.

 

Another, we were fortunate at Apsley to find one of the two 24 hour spaces outside Sainsbury, as the two or three pounds either side wee completely full.

 

However, at Berko we had no difficulty - we needed to be closer to the Waitrose car park to fulfil a pre-arranged meet with new crew!

 

At a number of places the stretches had been marked as Winter Moorings with a clear sign saying that these came to an end at 29 Feb (and I presume that the previous condition that no further 14 day period was permitted is still the case)

 

In any event by the time we passed they were well over even a 14 day and it was hard to feel tht most had been there for much of the winter.

 

If certain stretches are over-subscribed at this time of the year, is it through a lack of enforcement or excess demand? It may also be interesting to consider whether the proposed restirctions should be assessed on the basis of experiecne at high summer or at other times of the year?

 

I've been at Batchworth for a while (reasonable circumstances). The winter moorings were indeed almost empty; only a handful of boats took them up. Then there were works, replacing the gates at Stockers for the whole of February, so the navigation was closed. At the start of March that finished and it's been chocka ever since. Although strangely it's been fuller further down towards Stockers than the end opposite Tesco.

 

If things go to plan, there'll be a good size space there from Sunday, after we've moved.

Edited March 22, 2016 by KroSha

[alan_fincher]

I asked about the fact the agenda was not published.

 

The explanation seemed to be the same one as I have heard before.

 

Everything that is going to appear on CRT's Internet has to go through an independent internal approval by a specific "Web" team.

 

So although the person attempting to publish stuff about the meetings has followed all the correct steps, and passed it to the Web team, if the approval doesn't happen quickly, then the stuff will not have appeared.

 

Not entirely ideal, but I have no reason to doubt the explanation.

I have the OK that if this happens again, I will try and make the agenda available at least on CWDF.

 

To restate what I said in another thread, the SE Waterways Manager Vicky Martin hopes to announce her final decision on the short term visitor moorings proposals for Berkhamsted and Marsworth by the end of March.

[Bettie Boo]

Hi Alan,

 

Do you have any information on the June meeting? I did a search, but couldn't find anything. Could yo let us know if you have anything as of yet?

 

Ta

 

B~

[Allan(nb Albert)]

Hi Alan,

 

Do you have any information on the June meeting? I did a search, but couldn't find anything. Could yo let us know if you have anything as of yet?

 

Ta

 

B~

Agenda and meeting notes are here -

 

https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/meetings/17915-south-east-boating-sub-group-meeting

Edited July 24, 2016 by Allan(nb Albert)

[alan_fincher]

Hi Alan,

 

Do you have any information on the June meeting? I did a search, but couldn't find anything. Could yo let us know if you have anything as of yet?

 

Ta

 

B~

 

Agenda

 

Meeting Notes

 

To my way of thinking the meeting notes are now more detailed than some of the very scant ones produced in the past, which I think was much needed, so I thank Amy McEleney for taking this point on board.

 

What may be of interest to some is that the sub-group finally has a continuous cruiser on its strength again - he is called Neville Reeves.

[Bettie Boo]

Thanks for the links Alan