Email: Tumbling Bay sanitary station

Sometime in the past British Waterways decided to rent the mooring spot for this Sanitary Station. Both the station and mooring spot were paid for and is still maintained by BW out of our licence fees but is now for the personal use of the handful of BW rented moorings at this site.

Hertford Sanitary station is not the nearest alternative as those who had paid out for winter moorings at this site, when the owner decided to close the station to BW licence holders (changing the lock).

Contacting BW, the winter mooring occupiers were told 'It's nothing to do with BW', and offered no help to their licence paying, 'managed' winter mooring customers to resolve the issue.

Their nearest alternative was (or rather wasn't) Tumbling Bay, (two miles), and as the Station indicated in Nicholson's at Stansted Lock (four miles) has long not existed. Stansted Abbots Marina (four and half miles) for which they would be charged. The first free Sanitary Station is Feilde's Weir Lock six miles and five locks.

To remove the right to use a paid-for facility from all but a few, because someone has misused that facility (and who could say it wasn't one of the privileged) is like London Transport closing a tube service cos someone spat on the floor.

Chip Smith