British Waterways Press Update
24 September 2008
The latest round up of stories for the the waterways press.
Waterways Press Update – September 2008
CONTENTS
1. Licence fees
2. Waterways Excellence Awards winner announced
3. New BW website goes live
4. Annual meeting
5. Residential boating survey – Living life in the slow lane
6. Stoppage programme error: K&A correction
1. Licence fees
During 2007 British Waterways (BW) undertook an extensive consultation on future boat licence fees. Many boaters and representative groups contributed to this and some good suggestions were made. The result was that BW moderated the 2008 licence fee increase and asked the independent British Waterways Advisory Forum (which comprises representatives of the leading national waterway organisations) to examine each of the suggestions in closer detail.
By studying the 2007 public consultation responses, analysing data and debating options, BWAF members gained a full understanding of the challenges involved in determining a 'fair' boat licensing system and presented their report to BW at the end of August 2008.
Some feel BWAF’s proposals to be controversial so BW is now canvassing support from the leading waterway organisations. Most immediate are the proposals to introduce supplementary charges for boats having no home mooring, and wide beamed boats. This would effectively re-distribute the boaters' burden for contributing to waterway maintenance costs.
The BWAF report is published with BW's response at www.britishwaterways.co.uk/current-consultations.
There has since been some useful discussion on internet user groups pointing out that the distinction between broad and narrow beam should be set at 2.3 rather than 2.1 metres to reflect the sizes of some historic Grand Union and other boats, and should BW decide to go ahead with the wide beam charge, it will adopt the wider of these measurements.
This final phase of consultation will end on 7th November, and BW is asking that, wherever possible, boaters direct their views through their boating user group of choice.
2. Waterways Excellence Awards winner announced
The team in charge of repairs to the Drakeholes Tunnel on the Chesterfield Canal has been crowned winner in BW’s annual Waterways Excellence Awards which highlight individuals and small groups who demonstrate extraordinary levels of ingenuity, innovation, commitment and hard work.
"The end result is a repaired tunnel portal that will last for another 200 years, but such is the skill with which the work has been undertaken, the casual observer would only notice we had been there by the excellent clearance of vegetation from around the site."
There were almost 100 entries to the awards across BW, and in addition to the Drakehole Tunnel project, other work commended included the BW vegetation team’s clearance of Cowley Cutting on the Shropshire Union Canal and the introduction of handheld technology (Q1s) for length inspections.
3. New BW website goes live
A new BW website is now online, offering even more information and news in a more user-friendly format. It’s now easier for people to get in touch with BW and read the latest about projects and activities across the network, as well as finding out the standards that are expected of BW and its waterways. The web address remains the same: www.britishwaterways.co.uk. A new area of the site, www.britishwaterways.co.uk/license-it, includes a new complete guide to boat licensing that replaces the old fees and conditions booklets and contains all the information and BW forms required to boat on BW’s canals and rivers.
Marketing and customer services director Simon Salem says: "The new site features all the most up-to-date information, BW contacts and documents of interest, making it easier to find out about the range of BW’s work and objectives, and know what standards you can expect as you cruise the waterways. We have tried to ensure the site is intuitive to navigate, making it a great first point of contact with BW."
General boating information and stoppages can still be found at BW's leisure website www.waterscape.com.
4. Annual meeting
The BW Annual Meeting is taking place at Austin Court in Birmingham on Wednesday 8 October, and should offer up some fascinating points of discussion in a historic anniversary year.
Robin Evans said: "This year's meeting marks the sixtieth year since nationalisation and the fortieth since the Transport Act, and it's heartening that the nation’s waterways are still a national icon and inspire passionate views from across a broad spectrum. At the meeting we’ll be looking at what the future holds and are looking forward to hearing the views of our leisure customers and other stakeholders."
5. Residential boating survey – Living life in the slow lane
BW and the Residential Boat Owners Association (RBOA) are still appealing for those living afloat or with an interest in becoming residential boaters to have their say in helping BW to understand preferences for different types of residential moorings. The information will be used to help influence local authority planning policy and to encourage the inclusion of residential moorings in new marina developments.
Sally Ash, BW’s head of boating development, comments: "We’ve had a good response to the survey so far, but the more views and comments we receive from boaters, the greater weight will be given to our conversations and lobbying of planners and marina developers. This is an opportunity for residential boaters to have their say about where they want residential moorings and what facilities they prefer."
The survey will identify waterways and regions in highest demand plus preferences for locations in rural or urban areas. It asks participants to consider the importance of issues such as access, parking and proximity to local services, and gauges attitudes towards the provision of facilities such as water, electricity and waste disposal which can either be available on site or, for some, within walking or cruising distance.
The survey is available online at www.rboa.org.uk and www.britishwaterways.co.uk/residentialmoorings until the end of October.
Participation is completely anonymous and confidential. Online participants' email addresses will only be known to the survey agency who will delete them once they have logged responses.
6. Stoppage programme error: K&A correction
There is an error in the published national stoppage programme for the Kennet & Avon Canal. The first item "Devizes & Caen Hill Locks No 20 to 21" is an erroneous entry and should be ignored.