Another Rose-Tinted Article on CCing in London

[David Mack]

http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20161205-why-young-londoners-are-moving-to-houseboats

 

And according to the article CRT tell CCers they only need to move 20 miles per year.

[Machpoint005]

Singularly fails to address the cause of the problem -- vastly over-inflated London house prices stoked by a concentration of employment in the capital. No major employer is prepared to relocate to somewhere sensibly priced, and no developer wants to build "affordable" housing when it can make a fast buck on shoe-boxes inside the M25.

 

The older I get, the more of a revolutionary I become. But I can afford to be.

[Alan de Enfield]

In 2010, there were just 413 CC-ers in London. Now, including Winters, there are 1,615 – and the Canal & River Trust (CRT), who issue the licences and police the waterways, says there’s a new CC-er arriving every day in London. Over a third of all of the UK’s CC-ers now reside within London’s 60-mile (97km) canal network.

 

Question :-

 

How do C&RT know how may CCers there are in a particular area - they don't have to declare where they 'reside', so is it purely done by 'Enforcers' checking to see if the boat has a 'home mooring licence' or a 'no-Home mooring licence' ?

[Machpoint005]

In 2010, there were just 413 CC-ers in London. Now, including Winters, there are 1,615 – and the Canal & River Trust (CRT), who issue the licences and police the waterways, says there’s a new CC-er arriving every day in London. Over a third of all of the UK’s CC-ers now reside within London’s 60-mile (97km) canal network.

 

Question :-

 

How do C&RT know how may CCers there are in a particular area - they don't have to declare where they 'reside', so is it purely done by 'Enforcers' checking to see if the boat has a 'home mooring licence' or a 'no-Home mooring licence' ?

 

50% of statistics are made up

 

Including this one

[Athy]

I don't see anything "rose-tinted" about this article (which appears to be aimed at American readers). It suggests advantages of living aboard, yes, but also mentions crowded moorings, cramped interiors, crime, bog-emptying and other potential problems of boating in London. MP005, yes, the piece does indeed mention the very high prices of property in the capital.

 

Mind you, perhaps if I were to try living in this way, then I would think that the article was "rose-tinted".

[BilgePump]

All sounds dreamy and easy but that article is appallingly researched. £600 for 15yrs of electricity because that is what he spent on solar panels. Errrm, I bet he will go through more than £600 worth of batteries on top of that for a start. Also, I don't know what he's running in the winter but it can't be a lot if he's claiming that all power generation comes from solar. It notes that the he's triple moored but then seems to suggest that the lifestyle is easy, there's room for everyone to moor up and remain compliant and its tone encourages the naive to think that living on a boat will solve their London accommodation costs.

 

Each of these articles seem to be written by jobbing journalists not people with any knowledge of our canals and rivers, CRT, EA etc. We may read them and see through the BS, that it's not that easy, but people who have never had a boat before will read them and see an instant quick fix and cosy home. Yep when over winter the alternator packs up, loo is full, batteries and lights failing, engine won't start and CRT on your back to move along, will it still all seem just as idyllic?

 

I've never considered working and living in London but family do have a boat that could be lived aboard, currently marina berthed on a northern ditch. The article seems to suggest I could save money by heading down to London for a job in the big smoke and shuttling just 20miles each year. Simples! Or not as the case may be. I strongly suspect that each of these articles is responsible for at least one person to make the most catastrophic financial and housing decision imaginable for them, one that will have ramifications for years to come.

[blackrose]

Singularly fails to address the cause of the problem -- vastly over-inflated London house prices stoked by a concentration of employment in the capital. No major employer is prepared to relocate to somewhere sensibly priced, and no developer wants to build "affordable" housing when it can make a fast buck on shoe-boxes inside the M25.

 

There are plenty of major employers who've relocated outside the M25 and I fail to see how the problem of house price inflation stems from too much employment in the capital. But I think any employment argument misses the point. The problem of house price inflation in this country (not just London) stems from an inflation in the population of London and the country as a whole.

 

https://www.google.gm/search?q=population+of+England&client=ms-android-om-lge&prmd=inv&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiOtYKylOfQAhUKBBoKHRwaA-wQ_AUIBygB&biw=360&bih=511#tbm=isch&q=population+of+uk+graph&imgrc=sL7DkO6uPPmgeM%3A

Edited December 9, 2016 by blackrose

[Athy]

A thought about London mooring has just occurred to me: if these boats are triple-moored, how do CART's staff check the ones in the middle row? Their numbers will not be visible from either side of the canal, and I shouldn't think that they have carte blanche to clamber around other people's boats in order to get a better view.

[Geo]

The older I get, the more of a revolutionary I become. But I can afford to be.

I think that is the point as we get older and secure we no longer have to fit society's boxes and conform to its mythical rules to keep jobs or customers. I know when I reach the stage when my income and house were secure I said bugger it and life became a lot more relaxed and pleasant. I spend a lot of my time now advising those without the money to get good advice, so much nicer and they do appreciate being helped. I was supposed to retire in September, but didn't instead I work as I wish and everyone seems happy. I am not bored which keeps me alive. Rebel it is good for the soul.

[matty40s]

In 2010, there were just 413 CC-ers in London. Now, including Winters, there are 1,615 – and the Canal & River Trust (CRT), who issue the licences and police the waterways, says there’s a new CC-er arriving every day in London. Over a third of all of the UK’s CC-ers now reside within London’s 60-mile (97km) canal network.

 

Question :-

 

How do C&RT know how may CCers there are in a particular area - they don't have to declare where they 'reside', so is it purely done by 'Enforcers' checking to see if the boat has a 'home mooring licence' or a 'no-Home mooring licence' ?

They don't, I was in that statistic but travelled from Leighton Buzzard to the ends of the L & Stortford. Hardly London as they would wish it.

[b0atman]

i can see a point when the wide beams will end up having nowhere to moor as the narrowboats increase and double and triple moor.

[Bee]

Surely having hundreds of boats crammed into a limited amount of canal just shows an imbalance in supply and demand. the answer in a free market system must be to supply the demand and generate some wealth. Most of us who have (very) small businesses are desperate for more demand. CRT have enormous demand, lucky them. More Canals maybe? As an old socialist maybe capitalism has an answer. Maybe I'll just get my coat.

[Catnip King]

Wrong post...

Edited December 9, 2016 by Catnip King

[Alan de Enfield]

I shouldn't think that they have carte blanche to clamber around other people's boats in order to get a better view.

 

O' yes they have - and you signed up to it when you licenced your boat :-

 

7.7 You agree that:

(i) we can board the Boat, and/or enter any land you own or occupy which is adjacent to the Boat, in order to affix or place on the Boat, correspondence, contractual or statutory notices or court papers; and

(ii) we can come on board the Boat to inspect it where we need to check you meet these Conditions and we can cross the Boat for the purpose of accessing any adjacent boat that cannot reasonably be accessed from the bank. We will give you reasonable notice if we consider it is practical to do so.

 

This gives them more powers than the Police have, and was one of the arguments (put very strongly by NABO) when the new T&Cs were issued.

 

Edit to add :

 

A lot like 'Vampires' who can only access your property if the are 'invited in', you have given C&RT an open invitation to access your property in 7:7(i) & 7.7(ii)

Edited December 9, 2016 by Alan de Enfield

[She25]

All sounds dreamy and easy but that article is appallingly researched. £600 for 15yrs of electricity because that is what he spent on solar panels. Errrm, I bet he will go through more than £600 worth of batteries on top of that for a start. Also, I don't know what he's running in the winter but it can't be a lot if he's claiming that all power generation comes from solar. It notes that the he's triple moored but then seems to suggest that the lifestyle is easy, there's room for everyone to moor up and remain compliant and its tone encourages the naive to think that living on a boat will solve their London accommodation costs.

 

Each of these articles seem to be written by jobbing journalists not people with any knowledge of our canals and rivers, CRT, EA etc. We may read them and see through the BS, that it's not that easy, but people who have never had a boat before will read them and see an instant quick fix and cosy home. Yep when over winter the alternator packs up, loo is full, batteries and lights failing, engine won't start and CRT on your back to move along, will it still all seem just as idyllic?

 

I've never considered working and living in London but family do have a boat that could be lived aboard, currently marina berthed on a northern ditch. The article seems to suggest I could save money by heading down to London for a job in the big smoke and shuttling just 20miles each year. Simples! Or not as the case may be. I strongly suspect that each of these articles is responsible for at least one person to make the most catastrophic financial and housing decision imaginable for them, one that will have ramifications for years to come.

 

Worth a real boater writing up an article for publication?

[Athy]

 

O' yes they have - and you signed up to it when you licenced your boat :-

 

7.7 You agree that:

(i) we can board the Boat, and/or enter any land you own or occupy which is adjacent to the Boat, in order to affix or place on the Boat, correspondence, contractual or statutory notices or court papers; and

(ii) we can come on board the Boat to inspect it where we need to check you meet these Conditions and we can cross the Boat for the purpose of accessing any adjacent boat that cannot reasonably be accessed from the bank. We will give you reasonable notice if we consider it is practical to do so.

 

 

Ah, thanks for pointing that out. That should make their job easier.

No doubt someone will find a law which will say the opposite!

[Dave_P]

http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20161205-why-young-londoners-are-moving-to-houseboats

 

And according to the article CRT tell CCers they only need to move 20 miles per year.

That's been edited. When the article first went up it said 15 miles! I nearly spat out my morning cuppa!

[mrsmelly]

 

50% of statistics are made up

 

Including this one

 

Statistics are always a nonsence. Its a fact that 25% of road deaths have alcohol as a main contributary factor, either pedestrian, rider, driver etc etc in 25% of cases has had some alcohol. That means 75% of fatalities are caused by or attributed to people who havnt had a drink so obviously if we were all pissed there would be far fewer fatalities.

[Athy]

Its a fact that 25% of road deaths have alcohol as a main contributary factor, either pedestrian, rider, driver etc etc in 25% of cases has had some alcohol. That means 75% of fatalities are caused by or attributed to people who havnt had a drink so obviously if we were all pissed there would be far fewer fatalities.

How pleasing to know that I am at low risk.

[Hawkmoth]

 

Statistics are always a nonsence. Its a fact that 25% of road deaths have alcohol as a main contributary factor, either pedestrian, rider, driver etc etc in 25% of cases has had some alcohol. That means 75% of fatalities are caused by or attributed to people who havnt had a drink so obviously if we were all pissed there would be far fewer fatalities.

Love it!

[Peter X]

 

Statistics are always a nonsence. Its a fact that 25% of road deaths have alcohol as a main contributary factor, either pedestrian, rider, driver etc etc in 25% of cases has had some alcohol. That means 75% of fatalities are caused by or attributed to people who havnt had a drink so obviously if we were all pissed there would be far fewer fatalities.

I don't love it at all.

 

Statistics are very worthwhile indeed when produced by an impartial statistician whose only motive is to present the truth. In the hands of politicians, or someone (such as yourself if you can't see the flaw in your argument, but my guess is that you can) who doesn't understand the concept of conditional probability, they are useless.

[Drayke]

 

O' yes they have - and you signed up to it when you licenced your boat :-

 

7.7 You agree that:

(i) we can board the Boat, and/or enter any land you own or occupy which is adjacent to the Boat, in order to affix or place on the Boat, correspondence, contractual or statutory notices or court papers; and

(ii) we can come on board the Boat to inspect it where we need to check you meet these Conditions and we can cross the Boat for the purpose of accessing any adjacent boat that cannot reasonably be accessed from the bank. We will give you reasonable notice if we consider it is practical to do so.

 

This gives them more powers than the Police have, and was one of the arguments (put very strongly by NABO) when the new T&Cs were issued.

 

Edit to add :

 

A lot like 'Vampires' who can only access your property if the are 'invited in', you have given C&RT an open invitation to access your property in 7:7(i) & 7.7(ii)

But do they have the right to cross a boat that does not have a licence thereby not having agreed to the T/Cs. Just asking.

[MtB]

 

Statistics are always a nonsence. Its a fact that 25% of road deaths have alcohol as a main contributary factor, either pedestrian, rider, driver etc etc in 25% of cases has had some alcohol. That means 75% of fatalities are caused by or attributed to people who havnt had a drink so obviously if we were all pissed there would be far fewer fatalities.

 

 

There are about 3,000 deaths a year on the road, which is why it is safer to drive on the path.

[Ex Brummie]

Surely having hundreds of boats crammed into a limited amount of canal just shows an imbalance in supply and demand. the answer in a free market system must be to supply the demand and generate some wealth. Most of us who have (very) small businesses are desperate for more demand. CRT have enormous demand, lucky them. More Canals maybe? As an old socialist maybe capitalism has an answer. Maybe I'll just get my coat.

CaRT have an excess of supply. The demand does not want to pay for it.

[cuthound]

There are about 3,000 deaths a year on the road, which is why it is safer to drive on the path.

One person is run over every two minutes (and he's getting pretty fed up with it now).