Saving Rod from eviction
THE Poplar Dock Community Association has issued a progress report concerning the possible eviction of Rod and Annie Taylor from Popular Dock Marina, which we reproduce:
Firstly, thank you so much to everyone who has signed the petition to save Rod & Annie. In less than a week, more than 1,500 people have signed (still growing by the day), and this is a progress report on what's been achieved in such a short, hectic few days.
Ball began to roll
Tuesday: After we issued a Press release on Tuesday, the ball began to roll slowly at first. Baroness Jenny Jones (Green Member of London Assembly) tweeted: 'Boaters unite to support @BoatersRightsUK against the dastardly BWML the dysfunctional arm of @CanalRiverTrust!'.
Then narrowboatworld ran the story, (More vulnerable evictions) linking it to the 38 Degrees campaign and adding, 'With over 5,000 having signed a petition asking CaRT to ‘Stop evicting disabled elderly and vulnerable boat dwellers', the Derek Newton letter represents a spectacular own goal'.
The topic even reached a Crystal Palace Fan Forum where the Palace fans generously showed their support.
Fill up with discussions
The comments sections of various boating publications began to fill up with discussions. There were, initially, a few negative comments as people took the Termination Notice at face value. Neighbours and supporters of Rod and Annie spent a lot of time pointing out that:
Rod is not a 'serial complainer'—he has simply followed the complaints process that BWML advertises as a benefit of its marina berths. CaRT has a policy for 'persistent complainants'.
Not aggressive
Rod is not 'aggressive—if he had been so, would BWML management not have some documented proof of previous warnings? Would they have renewed his mooring contract in January 2014 if they were in fear for their lives from this 'aggressive' 75 years old heart patient? Could this be BWML trying to manage comments about their own aggressive staff in Yachting and Boating World forum?
Rod is not trying to avoid paying his mooring fee. He has paid a full year's fee in advance.
Eviction would go ahead
Wednesday: Following our public pressure on CaRT via social media, BWML issued a statement that the eviction would go ahead as a 'necessary business decision'.
Rod replied with a personal statement: 'Basically Mr. Bramhall's statement to CaRT has avoided most of the key issues. This is nothing new...'.
This was followed by a further statement from Poplar Dock Community Association:
'...Residential boaters are unique in that they have no statutory protection, and do not have recourse to independent bodies such as the Residential Property Tribunal. This is a fact that BWML has exploited in introducing terms and fees to berth holders that would be explicitly illegal if applied to other forms of property...'.
Dim chink of light
Friday: Then there was a dim chink of light. BWML issued a Media Statement concluding: 'If he wants to remain moored at this location then we would need his written assurance that he would stick to the agreement he has signed with us, just as all our other customers do'.
But this introduced new allegations against Rod. BWML now were saying that he has been 'consistently in breach of... ...the terms and conditions'. The goalposts move again, and BWML simply ignore the uncomfortable questions that they can't answer. Welcome to our world, where we're constantly trying to get answers from a management which seems to treat our genuine questions with contempt—because it can. Just so long as we keep paying up.
Another eviction
While we were fighting to save Rod and Annie, yet another eviction case came to light, and narrowboatworld again saw the big picture: (Sending the wrong message) 'A million pounds worth of bad publicity that due to the longevity of stories on the internet will turn up again and again whenever someone does a web search on the 'canal and river trust'.
Despite the conditional reprieve for Rod and Annie, questions remain unanswered, further allegations have been made by BWML to shore up a weak case. If BWML can evict Rod and Annie simply for following the prescribed complaints procedure, all their customers live with a '28 day' cloud hanging over them. BWML customers from other marinas have contacted us in support, but they are so fearful of reprisals and retribution from BWML that they will not identify their real names. This is the trading arm of a charity, not Stalin's regime of control through fear.
Urgent meeting with Richard Parry
After two years of BWML deafness to our genuine concerns, we again call for an urgent meeting with Richard Parry, CEO of Canal & River Trust. We desperately want to move forward in a spirit of co-operation and mutual respect, but cannot waste any more time negotiating with an intransigent BWML senior management that refuses to answer for its broken promises and maladministration.