Boaters furious at CaRT's new spending spree for visitors

IN THE 19 years that narrowboatworld has been published we have never had so many complaints about CaRT's ludicrous spending.

It is now spending on prime time ITV advertising, the first(?) appearing during the screening of the series Wild Bill on Wednesday evening, with over 30 complaints received mostly from boaters on the sheer waste of money.

The cost

Prime time advertising on ITV can be in the region of £200,000 to £300,000 and of course there is the cost of the production of the advertisement.

But what has so infuriated boaters is that the advert is such a waste, having absolutely nothing to do with boating but aimed solely at walkers and cyclists, telling how 'healthy' it is by the canals!

Waste of money

Every single email we received complains not only of the waste of money, but that it is being taken away from the spend on the waterways, that CaRT is primarily responsible for, but attempting to interest walkers and cyclists to the towpaths. This of course whilst the waterways themselves are in the worst condition they have ever been allowed to fall into, compounded by millions of pounds yearly underspend on maintenance.

But the money is now going on the 'Making Life Better by Water' campaign and its self-aggrandisement including massive banners now springing up all over and not forgetting its further spend on its new 'half sunk tyre' logo, that too has taken hundreds of thousands of pounds, and rising.

Replaced

All the workwear had to be replaced with new notices also springing up with the new logo, and even it's vehicles are getting a very expensive make-over, as David Hymer's photograph clearly shows.

Where will it all end? That is the worry, as boaters licence money is further and further wasted, not on boating, but on those all important, to CaRT, visitors. It must surely be approaching a million by now, if it hasn't passed.

One thing is definitely for sure—this lot is not fit for purpose.