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CRT rebranding - because YOU demanded it!

magictime

By magictime
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magictime

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Looks like CRT are 'rebranding' again. From some of the discussion on here lately, this should cheer a lot of people up:

 

PRESS RELEASE

 

CANAL AND RIVER TRUST

Putting Boaters First

 

The Canal and River Trust, the charity responsible for more than 2000 miles of the UK's historic inland waterways, today announces what it describes as a major refocusing on its core purpose.

 

Chairman Allan Leighton said: "The waterways are a national treasure, and enjoyed by millions of people every day. The vast, vast majority of those people, of course, are walkers, runners, cyclists, anglers, and simply people popping down to the water's edge to feed the ducks or enjoy a drink or a bite to eat.

 

"But our figures suggest that as many as 0.01% of the people enjoying our waterways are actually boaters - and it's to this group of particularly special, important people we want to renew our commitment today."

 

CRT's repositioning will involve significant changes to the way it raises donations from 'Friends', and pursues other important sources of income such as grants and Government funding.

 

"In recent years,' Allan explains, 'we've tended to take a pretty broad perspective of our responsibilities in relation to the waterways, focusing a small proportion of our spending, and a large proportion of our publicity, on their importance to wildlife and their appeal to non-boating visitors."

 

Now that is all set to change, says Allan, as boaters are restored to their rightful position - front and centre in everything the Trust does.

 

"Take the 'Friends' magazine,' says Allan. "A typical past issue might have had an attractive wildlife picture on the front, and articles inside about educational or arts projects as well as our work in maintaining the infrastructure needed for navigation.

 

"From now on, the magazine will have a very different feel. The message will be: the canals are for boaters, and the rest of you can pop along and gawp in admiration and envy if you like, but at the end of the day we're a navigation authority and you shouldn't expect us to take any interest in anything else."

 

So does Allan think there's a risk that some supporters will be turned off by this new approach?

 

"I don't care, to be honest,' he says. "Boaters contribute about 15% of our income anyway, so if everybody else gets the idea that we exist purely and simply to maintain the canals as a leisure facility for a wealthy elite, and/or a floating caravan site for a bunch of Council Tax-dodging dropouts, I don't see what can really go wrong."

 

And does the same apply to other sources of funding - Sustrans, say, or the Government?

 

"Don't talk to me about bloody Sustrans,' fumes Allan, foaming at the mouth slightly. "The towpaths can go to hell if it keeps the bloody cyclists out of the way, as far as I'm concerned. As long as boaters can get on and off at lock landings and pubs, what does it matter? As for the bloody Government, why should we be mucking about trying to persuade them that looking after the waterways is in the interests of the wider public, or supports their objectives in terms of public health or whatever? The message should be: boaters are far too small a group to fund the running and upkeep of the waterways by themselves, but their small numbers belie the tremendous importance of their interests. So you're just going to have to cough up the shortfall out of taxpayers' money."

 

ENDS

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Athy Veteran II

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Posted
Posted
21 minutes ago, magictime said:

Looks like CRT are 'rebranding' again. From some of the discussion on here lately, this should cheer a lot of people up:

 

PRESS RELEASE

 

CANAL AND RIVER TRUST

Putting Boaters First

 

 

 

 

Is this thing thine own?

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Athy Veteran II

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Posted
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2 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

The man that never made a mistake never made anything.

Oh, I don't know. Geoff Boycott made quite a few centuries, but he never made a mistake - or at least, if he did, I have never heard him mention it.

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Horace42 Rising Star

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But aren't boaters the only class of users that specifically pay for the use of the waterways ? - all other users get it for 'free' - except via national taxes - that boaters pay as well.

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Alan de Enfield Veteran II

Alan de Enfield

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Posted (edited)
4 minutes ago, Horace42 said:

But aren't boaters the only class of users that specifically pay for the use of the waterways ? - all other users get it for 'free' - except via national taxes - that boaters pay as well.

No.

The water utilities pay for water extraction and surface water discharges out of / into the canals.

Farmers & industry pay extraction licence fees.

The Elect and phone companies pay for using the tow-path to run cables.

 

C&RTs income from the utilities is greater than that from Boat licences.

 

If push comes to shove I'm sure C&RT would rather lose the licence fees than the utility income.

 

Sustrans pay for allowing their cycle routes to become race tracks.

Edited by Alan de Enfield
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furnessvale Influencer

furnessvale

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5 hours ago, Alan de Enfield said:

No.

The water utilities pay for water extraction and surface water discharges out of / into the canals.

Farmers & industry pay extraction licence fees.

The Elect and phone companies pay for using the tow-path to run cables.

 

C&RTs income from the utilities is greater than that from Boat licences.

 

If push comes to shove I'm sure C&RT would rather lose the licence fees than the utility income.

 

Sustrans pay for allowing their cycle routes to become race tracks.

I don't see a private individual in that list.

 

George

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Alan de Enfield Veteran II

Alan de Enfield

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40 minutes ago, furnessvale said:

I don't see a private individual in that list.

 

George

What has that got to do with the price of fish ?

 

The question was :

 

6 hours ago, Horace42 said:

But aren't boaters the only class of users that specifically pay for the use of the waterways ? - all other users get it for 'free'

No mention of 'private individuals'.

 

There are several other user groups who pay directly for their use of the waterway.

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furnessvale Influencer

furnessvale

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12 hours ago, Alan de Enfield said:

What has that got to do with the price of fish ?

 

The question was :

 

No mention of 'private individuals'.

 

There are several other user groups who pay directly for their use of the waterway.

Fish is virtually  free, as long as you dangle your worm in a canal.

 

Private individual WAS mentioned, by ME.  I introduced it. 

 

I will continue to point out just how much boaters, as individuals, pay towards our canal system as opposed to how much boaters, as citizens of this country ADDITIONALLY pay towards our canal system.

 

I will also continue to point out that boaters uniquely have been selected, from amongst  all off road users, to pay full diesel duty for propulsion.

 

If some boaters wish to bend over and take it, saying "it is only fair that we pay", they can get on with it, I won't!

 

George

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mrsmelly Veteran II

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19 hours ago, Alan de Enfield said:

No.

The water utilities pay for water extraction and surface water discharges out of / into the canals.

Farmers & industry pay extraction licence fees.

The Elect and phone companies pay for using the tow-path to run cables.

 

C&RTs income from the utilities is greater than that from Boat licences.

 

If push comes to shove I'm sure C&RT would rather lose the licence fees than the utility income.

 

Sustrans pay for allowing their cycle routes to become race tracks.

I have a bro in law who live near the Oxford canal. He is a keen cyclist and marathon runner. He uses the towpath both for running training and for cycling and personaly doesnt pay a penny. Cyclists are unique well just about in that they use roads/towpaths etc etc and never have to pay diddly squat. I was on the Ashby last month and its towpath is completely destroyed and deeply  rutted by cycle tyres and you will not see a cyclist with a CART sticker on its frame having paid for its licence.

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canalboat Community Regular

canalboat

Posted
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On ‎25‎/‎05‎/‎2018 at 14:55, Horace42 said:

But aren't boaters the only class of users that specifically pay for the use of the waterways ? - all other users get it for 'free' - except via national taxes - that boaters pay as well.

But that nice Mr Leighton is on the CRT website right now proclaiming

" Eight million people live within 1km of our canals and the best thing about them, in my opinion, is they’re free for everyone to use and enjoy". 

So unless he includes boaters in "everyone", then he must mean that we can use and enjoy the eight million people for free!?

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Alan de Enfield Veteran II

Alan de Enfield

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1 minute ago, canalboat said:

But that nice Mr Leighton is on the CRT website right now proclaiming

" Eight million people live within 1km of our canals and the best thing about them, in my opinion, is they’re free for everyone to use and enjoy". 

So unless he includes boaters in "everyone", then he must mean that we can use and enjoy the eight million people for free!?

I think I might have to share - I couldn't manage them all on my own.

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