Defer proposals says NABO

FOLLOWING an earlier press release, the National Association of Boat Owners (NABO) has now provided details of its full response to Canal & River Trust (CaRT) proposals to further restrict moorings and impose charges/fines at 22 locations in the South East, writes Allan Richards.

NABO's response calls on CaRT to defer its proposals and questions the legality and fairness of some of the restrictions.

Recommendation

NABO has recommended that any changes to the visitor moorings be undertaken only when a better evidence-based case is available. It suggests that the current proposals should at least be deferred until CaRT has carried out a period of daily observations both in the Spring and high summer to enable them to quantify the periods that boaters are currently spending on the 22 visitor mooring sites and also with a focus on enforcing the existing regulations.

It further recommends that these observations should be the basis for any new proposal for altering current mooring durations or alternatively extending visitor moorings to meet the observed need.

NABO has also questioned the validity and fairness of the proposed explicit no return rule, and the overstay charge rate of £25 which is above market rate.

Scrap it?

CaRT says it has about 300 responses to its proposals, some of which have been positive. However, more than 630 boaters have signed a petition saying that the consultation is fundamentally flawed and should be scrapped.

NABO does not put it quite as bluntly as the 630. However, its message is very clear and very similar. CaRT should not propose changes until the need for those changes is established and measured. It also needs to be shown that any changes will produce a desired outcome.

Hillmorton

In commenting on individual sites, NABO mentioned that a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request had determined that no complaints had been received by CaRT concerning difficulty in finding space to moor at Hillmorton (near Rugby, North Oxford Canal).

It would seem, however, that NABO submitted its response just before CaRT made 11th hour replies to two other FOIA requests.

22 sites—no complaints

The facts of the matter are that the consultation document gave no reasons for the changes proposed. Questioned by boaters, CaRT's Head of Boating, Sally Ash, belatedly attempted to justify the proposals by saying it had received a 'surprising number of complaints' concerning difficulty with mooring at the 22 sites.

However, three FOIA requests made by Alan Fincher and Allan Richards (both boaters with home moorings on the Grand Union), have confirmed that during 2011 and 2012 British Waterway or CaRT did not receive a single complaint whatsoever for any of these 22 sites.

The 'surprising number' was zero!

Not helpful

It says much that Alan Fincher was asked to withdraw his complaint not only by Sally Ash but also by CaRT trustee John Dodwell as 'not helpful'.
....but then the the Head of Boating being caught out misleading boaters is not helpful to the Trust.

....and having a trustee implicated in the withholding of information is not helpful to the Trust.

Perhaps an apology from Ms Ash and Mr Dodwell is now in order!