District enforcement mooring fine Reading

[Athy]

Blimey. Have they clamped any boats yet?

[Mike Todd]

24 minutes ago, Athy said:

Blimey. Have they clamped any boats yet?

I've no idea but  someone spent quiet a bit of money making and erecting the various signs! They obviously expect to make a profit from it.

[john6767]

2 hours ago, Mike Todd said:

I was not best pleased to see DE notices (in the form already described) at the top of the Hatton flight. As both a business and a PR exercise, the content is about as bad as it can get. It left even me feeling more than a little intimidated.

 

Two specific points:

 

1. Although it referred to boats not authorised to moor there, there was no mention of how such authority might be obtained.

 

2. These notices seemed to apply to the short stretch of long term moorings between the service point above the lock and the stretch marked as two days max. I was somewhat unsure whether DE knew that they could not apply their authoritarian tactics to anyone who moored on the 2 day (note not 48 hours!) They may not even realise that nearly all boaters are already authorised to stay on such moorings for the specified time as part of their general licence.

 

To me the notices felt extremely uncomfortable. I support the principle of taking action against boaters manifestly abusing mooring facilities but this looks like something that is about to go horribly wrong. I hope that our boater representatives will lobby CaRT in the strongest possible terms to get this changed. I suspect that 'someone' felt that this was a simple and soft option to the fuss about long term overstayers without looking too closely about the wider implications and  probably unintended consequences. Since I was under the impression that CaRT (and BW before them) had stated that unused LT moorings could be used temporarily, so long as the space is immediately yielded if a rightful moorer turns up, so I am not sure about whether the Hatton scheme is even consistent with this position. Needs urgent clarification in the strongest terms. What about winter moorings?

Whilst I don’t exactly relish the idea of cowboys like this being involved, in the CRT case this is only on long term mooring as far as I see it, am I wrong?  So as long as you don’t moor on an empty long term mooring you are fine.  In the EA case at Reading it prevents you stopping at all to do shopping etc, so has impact on all passing boaters.

[Wanderer Vagabond]

4 hours ago, Athy said:

Blimey. Have they clamped any boats yet?

I don't think there is any threat of that from DE, although I did pass some private moorings, I think it was a boat club somewhere who had a sign displayed saying,'Prop locks in operation' although whether there was any truth in that I don't know since it would possibly contravene Section 54 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 depending upon how a 'vehicle' is defined. I'm afraid you'll have to take this as anecdotal however since I can't remember exactly where the Boat club was that displayed the sign.

[ditchcrawler]

1 hour ago, Wanderer Vagabond said:

I don't think there is any threat of that from DE, although I did pass some private moorings, I think it was a boat club somewhere who had a sign displayed saying,'Prop locks in operation' although whether there was any truth in that I don't know since it would possibly contravene Section 54 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 depending upon how a 'vehicle' is defined. I'm afraid you'll have to take this as anecdotal however since I can't remember exactly where the Boat club was that displayed the sign.

If I remember correctly its somewhere near Gailey 

[Wanderer Vagabond]

1 minute ago, ditchcrawler said:

If I remember correctly its somewhere near Gailey 

You could well be right, we have passed through Gailey a couple of times over this last winter so it is a distinct possibility. My other thought was it may have been somewhere between Middlewich and Preston Brook but as I think you are a regular on that section, you would have identified it if it had been.

[Horace42]

14 hours ago, Wanderer Vagabond said:

I don't think there is any threat of that from DE, although I did pass some private moorings, I think it was a boat club somewhere who had a sign displayed saying,'Prop locks in operation' although whether there was any truth in that I don't know since it would possibly contravene Section 54 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 depending upon how a 'vehicle' is defined. I'm afraid you'll have to take this as anecdotal however since I can't remember exactly where the Boat club was that displayed the sign.

I am curious about the 'mechanical' design' of a prop-lock ?

....... or any clamp to immobilise a boat!

[Cheese]

14 hours ago, Wanderer Vagabond said:

.... I think it was a boat club somewhere who had a sign displayed saying,'Prop locks in operation' ....

Are you sure they don't mean they have fitted something like those spinning collars, to stop anyone easily removing the prop - rather than the boat - particularly if they store some boats out of the water?

[cuthound]

1 hour ago, Horace42 said:

I am curious about the 'mechanical' design' of a prop-lock ?

....... or any clamp to immobilise a boat!

 

Well, for steel boats a submerged electromagnet would work if it was big enough. Just like mag-lock doors. ?

[Horace42]

4 minutes ago, cuthound said:

 

Well, for steel boats a submerged electromagnet would work if it was big enough. Just like mag-lock doors. ?

un-immobilising them would be interesting...

[cuthound]

1 minute ago, Horace42 said:

un-immobilising them would be interesting...

 

Just cut the power to the mag-lock.

 

Same as with any magnetic door lock used in any high security site.

[Alan de Enfield]

1 hour ago, Horace42 said:

I am curious about the 'mechanical' design' of a prop-lock ?

....... or any clamp to immobilise a boat!

Pillings Marina managed to immobilise boats (where the owner owed money), by removing parts of the engines.

[ditchcrawler]

I think its just a wind up like then notices about crocodiles and swimming

[tree monkey]

19 hours ago, john6767 said:

Whilst I don’t exactly relish the idea of cowboys like this being involved, in the CRT case this is only on long term mooring as far as I see it, am I wrong?  So as long as you don’t moor on an empty long term mooring you are fine.  In the EA case at Reading it prevents you stopping at all to do shopping etc, so has impact on all passing boaters.

We have one of these signs on our mooring and as long as I've been here unauthorised mooring has never been a problem.

What it does do is stop friends from using the free spaces and therea plenty, to moor overnight to share a beer and curry/BBQ.

So in effect for what was a none exsistant problem here, it's made the world a slightly more unpleasant place to be

[Sir Nibble]

A big thank you to all those free spirit bargee travellers ?

[Jim Batty]

On 09/05/2018 at 20:23, francois wilton said:

I  need more of these recent photos ( no signs on railing next to pontoon) please Jennifer McM. Thank you

Any recent photos showing no signs opposite pontoon on railings please send tracy.wilton@btinternet.com  Thank you.

It's difficult to photograph what isn't there.

 

I walk this stretch fairly regularly down from Reading Station to Kennet Mouth. As of last week there was only one sign indicating all the legal details about mooring there, and this single sign is about 50m upstream of the end of the new moorings, opposite a section of the river so shallow that you could only tie a kayak up there, if that.

'

There seem to be a couple of things in your favour of not paying any fee or 'fine':

1. There is nothing indicating payment is required beside any part of the riverbank where a boat could possibly tie up
2. There is a history of welcoming boaters to tie up there to shop at Tesco, (there are ornamental gates with 'Tesco' over them facing the official moorings)
3. There is a history of welcoming boaters to tie up overnight on those moorings
4. The mooring fee of £100 (for 1 minute - 24 hours) seems excessive and not in line with local mooring fees, or anywhere in the country for that matter!
5. I wonder at the legitimacy of demanding almost instant payment upon arrival only via a phone call -- because some people have no mobile phone, or can't get a signal on their network, or have no credit facility. Surely a way of paying in cash should be an option, with an opportunity to get a signed receipt.

I'm not a lawyer, but common sense would seem to dictate you don't owe them anything.

[cuthound]

1 hour ago, tree monkey said:

We have one of these signs on our mooring and as long as I've been here unauthorised mooring has never been a problem.

What it does do is stop friends from using the free spaces and therea plenty, to moor overnight to share a beer and curry/BBQ.

So in effect for what was a none exsistant problem here, it's made the world a slightly more unpleasant place to be

 

Can't they just breast up alongside you? They aren't mooring on the mooring then ?

[OldGoat]

1 hour ago, Jim Batty said:

It's difficult to photograph what isn't there.

 

I walk this stretch fairly regularly down from Reading Station to Kennet Mouth. As of last week there was only one sign indicating all the legal details about mooring there, and this single sign is about 50m upstream of the end of the new moorings, opposite a section of the river so shallow that you could only tie a kayak up there, if that.

'

There seem to be a couple of things in your favour of not paying any fee or 'fine':

1. There is nothing indicating payment is required beside any part of the riverbank where a boat could possibly tie up
2. There is a history of welcoming boaters to tie up there to shop at Tesco, (there are ornamental gates with 'Tesco' over them facing the official moorings)
3. There is a history of welcoming boaters to tie up overnight on those moorings
4. The mooring fee of £100 (for 1 minute - 24 hours) seems excessive and not in line with local mooring fees, or anywhere in the country for that matter!
5. I wonder at the legitimacy of demanding almost instant payment upon arrival only via a phone call -- because some people have no mobile phone, or can't get a signal on their network, or have no credit facility. Surely a way of paying in cash should be an option, with an opportunity to get a signed receipt.

I'm not a lawyer, but common sense would seem to dictate you don't owe them anything.

Since when did common sense have anything to do with the Law??

Although your points are valid they wouldn't stand up in court (what about parking in city areas - London - that have to be done by 'phone?

 

The moorings use to be frequented 'only' by shoppers, even so Tesco couldn't care less, it the CMers who have screwed it up for everyone else, and they don't bother to have EA licences either!

 

[tree monkey]

Just now, cuthound said:

 

Can't they just breast up alongside you? They aren't mooring on the mooring then ?

The offer had been made

[Wanderer Vagabond]

5 hours ago, Cheese said:

Are you sure they don't mean they have fitted something like those spinning collars, to stop anyone easily removing the prop - rather than the boat - particularly if they store some boats out of the water?

Does the word 'easily' ever come before the phrase 'removing the prop'?.

[OldGoat]

35 minutes ago, cuthound said:

 

Can't they just breast up alongside you? They aren't mooring on the mooring then ?

Nice try, sadly Riparian rights - which the landowner has extends to the middle of the stream, so being connected to the shore via another boat or anchoring 'trespasses on those rights - so you're stuffed (don't tell RBC, though...) 

[cuthound]

14 minutes ago, OldGoat said:

Nice try, sadly Riparian rights - which the landowner has extends to the middle of the stream, so being connected to the shore via another boat or anchoring 'trespasses on those rights - so you're stuffed (don't tell RBC, though...) 

 

I was replying to Treemonkey who moors on a canal.

[matty40s]

2 hours ago, tree monkey said:

We have one of these signs on our mooring and as long as I've been here unauthorised mooring has never been a problem.

What it does do is stop friends from using the free spaces and therea plenty, to moor overnight to share a beer and curry/BBQ.

So in effect for what was a none exsistant problem here, it's made the world a slightly more unpleasant place to be

Only if you report them...-doubt they will have any spotters about in deepest Grendon at BBQ and beer time.

Edited May 15, 2018 by matty40s

[tree monkey]

4 minutes ago, matty40s said:

Only if you report them...-doubt they will have any spotters about in deepest Grendon at BBQ and beer time.

Oh absolutely,  I wouldn't report anyone and was perfectly happy for the friend to moor up, problem is the sign worries people and its pointless

People have moored overnight with no problems

 

 

 

 

Oh and stop giving away my top secret mooring spot

Edited May 15, 2018 by tree monkey
Silliness

[Mike Todd]

20 hours ago, Wanderer Vagabond said:

I don't think there is any threat of that from DE, although I did pass some private moorings, I think it was a boat club somewhere who had a sign displayed saying,'Prop locks in operation' although whether there was any truth in that I don't know since it would possibly contravene Section 54 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 depending upon how a 'vehicle' is defined. I'm afraid you'll have to take this as anecdotal however since I can't remember exactly where the Boat club was that displayed the sign.

If that's the one on the Staffs and Worcester (?) I have believed it to be a local joke! It's onbly becoming in poor taste as a result of the fears engendered by developments as reported in this thread.