EA Charges Consultation

[boatone]

Just received update from EA re number of responses received to their charges consultation.

“As of yesterday we have received a total of 669 responses, broken down as follows:
Thames: 329
Anglian: 277
Medway: 22
Other: 41
Commercial (of the above): 5”

As you will see there are now just 329 from Thames. When we started the campaign to encourage boaters to respond that figure was 250.
So, if all the effort made to encourage boaters to get involved and respond has so far resulted in just 79 additional responses why am i bothering ?
Seems whinging about management of the river is as far as boaters are prepared to go when it cones to grasping an opportunity to make a positive contribution to effect change.
The consultation closes on 16th September - DO IT !!!!!

 

[Fjord John]

Thanks for promoting this Boatone. I agree we should all take part and at least make our views clear. My gripe is the lack of enforcement against unregistered and unnamed boats. I’ve submitted my response and made the above clear. The Thames cannot and should not become a place where some pay their way and some choose not to, particularly as I understand housing benefit now covers registration costs. So where is the excuse for not paying?

 

[TrueBlue]

Another thanks for your reminder.
I tried to complete the HUGE set of questions on a previous day but lost the will to live.
I am sure there were good / bad / indifferent / reasons for making the consultation so long - but the likely (and actual) outcome is that peaple give up - as I did on a previous attempt.
Suitably admonished - I have spent 5 minutes answering all questions and urge others to follow.
I people do reply then EA might be stirred to take notice of users in the future. If silent they will continue to treat boters with contempt.....

PLEASE DO RESPOND TO THE CONSULTATION (even if you think it's a waste of time)

 

[Chris_d]

Another thanks for your reminder.
I tried to complete the HUGE set of questions on a previous day but lost the will to live.
I am sure there were good / bad / indifferent / reasons for making the consultation so long - but the likely (and actual) outcome is that peaple give up - as I did on a previous attempt.
Suitably admonished - I have spent 5 minutes answering all questions and urge others to follow.
I people do reply then EA might be stirred to take notice of users in the future. If silent they will continue to treat boters with contempt.....

PLEASE DO RESPOND TO THE CONSULTATION (even if you think it's a waste of time)

Yes I gave up on the first attempt too, have since completed it but you have to tick a lot of not applicable boxes to get past all the Anglican waterways questions etc...
Whilst some of the increases in charges seem very insignificant I objected to all of them on the grounds of degraded services all round.

 

[Chris_d]

Have to say 329 responses out of 8000 Thames boaters though is pathetic, but there has to be a reason for this I simply don't believe that many can't be bothered they simply can't even be aware of it.

EA clearly not promoting it properly or are deliberately burying it, if it was a proper campaign with maybe an entry into a draw for ones years free registration or something, they could get a much better response if they really wanted it

 

[Mark26]

I gave up as well.

 

[Mark26]

As an aside, during a full days cruise today, I spoke to a few boaters at locks, two of which were moaning and groaning about the EA and the marina where I’m berthed.
One of said boaters told me how the politics of the river and the marina spoilt his pleasure of boating.
For me, it’s hearing the non stop complaints, which spoils my pleasure of boating.
I go boating because I enjoy it and have no desire to get involved with the politics of the EA or the marinas.
I simply vote with my feet. If I don’t like the marina, I’d go elsewhere. If I didn’t like the thames I’d either take the boat elsewhere or give up and do something else.

So here I sit at the end of a nice day on the river, sharing a beer with another solo boater ive never met before, talking boats with not a single moan or complaint about the EA, just swopping boating stories. How nice.

 

[Outinthedinghy]

Always nice to natter with other boaters about this and that.

Thinking about the increases in registration fees perhaps there is a strategy here.

I am "rich beyond the dreams of everest" so any likely increase in yearly payments makes no difference. In fact I would welcome it as it potentially reduces the number of boats on the River as people are gradually forced to no longer be able to afford to go boating in their floating sheds so will have to stay at home.

Ok so some may argue that this will result in a huge number of unregistered craft littering the waterway but the point is that once us gentry get to be in charge we can take them out willy nilly by whatever means seem appropriate at the time.

I don't think things like the HRA are going to be all that important in the January floods.

 

[Parabordi]

Always nice to natter with other boaters about this and that.

Thinking about the increases in registration fees perhaps there is a strategy here.

I am "rich beyond the dreams of everest" so any likely increase in yearly payments makes no difference. In fact I would welcome it as it potentially reduces the number of boats on the River as people are gradually forced to no longer be able to afford to go boating in their floating sheds so will have to stay at home.

Ok so some may argue that this will result in a huge number of unregistered craft littering the waterway but the point is that once us gentry get to be in charge we can take them out willy nilly by whatever means seem appropriate at the time.

I don't think things like the HRA are going to be all that important in the January floods.

What is the HRA?

 

[Big John]

Another thanks for your reminder.
I tried to complete the HUGE set of questions on a previous day but lost the will to live.
I am sure there were good / bad / indifferent / reasons for making the consultation so long - but the likely (and actual) outcome is that peaple give up - as I did on a previous attempt.
Suitably admonished - I have spent 5 minutes answering all questions and urge others to follow.
I people do reply then EA might be stirred to take notice of users in the future. If silent they will continue to treat boters with contempt.....

PLEASE DO RESPOND TO THE CONSULTATION (even if you think it's a waste of time)

I gave up on the first attempt but with guidence from B1 who told me that there was an "online" form that just required a click of the mouse to answer the questions it was easy. Also with B1's crib sheet it was done in no time and automatically sent to the EA.

 

[Chris_d]

I gave up on the first attempt but with guidence from B1 who told me that there was an "online" form that just required a click of the mouse to answer the questions it was easy. Also with B1's crib sheet it was done in no time and automatically sent to the EA.

There was an even worse version! I only do the online one and that was bad enough

 

[boatone]

As an aside, during a full days cruise today, I spoke to a few boaters at locks, two of which were moaning and groaning about the EA and the marina where I’m berthed.
One of said boaters told me how the politics of the river and the marina spoilt his pleasure of boating.
For me, it’s hearing the non stop complaints, which spoils my pleasure of boating.
I go boating because I enjoy it and have no desire to get involved with the politics of the EA or the marinas.
I simply vote with my feet. If I don’t like the marina, I’d go elsewhere. If I didn’t like the thames I’d either take the boat elsewhere or give up and do something else.

So here I sit at the end of a nice day on the river, sharing a beer with another solo boater ive never met before, talking boats with not a single moan or complaint about the EA, just swopping boating stories. How nice.

Ensuring access to fresh drinking water - politics.
Ensuring access to sewage pump-outs - politics.
Ensuring enforcement to collect registration income from everybody, not just the honest folk - politics.
Managing moorings - politics.
Holding a government agency to account for their mismanagement of public money - politics.
Many more but I’m sure you get the drift.

 

[Mark26]

Ensuring access to fresh drinking water - politics.
Ensuring access to sewage pump-outs - politics.
Ensuring enforcement to collect registration income from everybody, not just the honest folk - politics.
Managing moorings - politics.
Holding a government agency to account for their mismanagement of public money - politics.
Many more but I’m sure you get the drift.

LOL. Exactly. If they don’t get it right, they end up with no customers.

 

[Mark26]

The first two on your list are available from any marina.
I no more worry about others paying their licence fee, than I worry about all those who don’t pay road tax on their car, and from a recent van going around clamping them near home a while ago, there are quiet a few.
Nor do I want to hold government accountable for all the taxes they take from me.
We are all a part of the system, we should have faith and trust in those that run things on our behalf to do a good job. If they don’t we can collectively vote a different party into power with different ideas and aims, but that privilege isn’t available to us with the EA.
What I do know is that it costs much more to maintain the river than we put in, and it’ll never be perfect. They do their best with the resources available, and quite frankly, after a global pandemic where the government has burrowed billions to keep us safe and the country has more debt that it’s ever had in peacetime, the Thames has to be very low on the priority list.
I am very grateful we are having a large maintenance program this winter, but it’s just a drop in the ocean . The river will never be perfect.
Now see what you’ve gone and done. I’ve gone all political.
The Thames is great, enjoy it.

 

[Mark26]

I’m in Henley.
Paid my mooring fees online.
Nothing to display on the boat.
Overhead people on the bank pointing at my boat, saying he’ll get fined.
One person even came to warn me that other boats have been fined.
I know, I know, it’s not a fine.

But alas, this is the result of people looking at others and deciding for themselves whether someone has paid, in this case, mooring charges, but it equally applies to river licences.

 

[boatone]

I’m in Henley.
Paid my mooring fees online.
Nothing to display on the boat.
Overhead people on the bank pointing at my boat, saying he’ll get fined.
One person even came to warn me that other boats have been fined.
I know, I know, it’s not a fine.

But alas, this is the result of people looking at others and deciding for themselves whether someone has paid, in this case, mooring charges, but it equally applies to river licences.

Many boats apparently not displaying a reg plate are, in fact, registered.
However, last time i checked registrations of private powered boats up to June 21 were down by 25% on the 2019 figure of approx 8200.

 

[Northern Star]

I am at Hampton Court and yes I have feck all to say that I have paid and three weeks ago the DE dickhead claimed I was not on his list so I have to take pictures to prove I have been here and spent £8.

As for the river licence I understood that it is a condition of issue you display it at the front of the boat so the EA people can check it at locks.

 

[Mark26]

I am at Hampton Court and yes I have feck all to say that I have paid and three weeks ago the DE dickhead claimed I was not on his list so I have to take pictures to prove I have been here and spent £8.

As for the river licence I understood that it is a condition of issue you display it at the front of the boat so the EA people can check it at locks.

It’s a condition of issue of your driving licence that you obey all the rules of the road all the time, but 99.9% of drivers do not. We do not live in a perfect world.

 

[boatone]

We don't live in a perfect world, but that doesn't mean we should simply shrug our shoulders and accept poor performance and antisocial behaviour.
The Thames is not just for boaters and should be regarded as a national recreational asset to be valued and cared for. Putting up with mediocre will do nothing to improve matters.

 

[Scapegoat]

I’m in Henley.
Paid my mooring fees online.
Nothing to display on the boat.
Overhead people on the bank pointing at my boat, saying he’ll get fined.
One person even came to warn me that other boats have been fined.
I know, I know, it’s not a fine.

But alas, this is the result of people looking at others and deciding for themselves whether someone has paid, in this case, mooring charges, but it equally applies to river licences.

That’s weird - how can anyone “display” something now that payment is only online?
Did you see anything displayed on other moored boats about mooring fees?
When I used Henley‘s own online parking system in the past (MiPermit) I put up a hand written note “ paid on line” and saved a screenshot of the confirmation to show the Moorings guy if he asked.