Enforcement above Teddington

[boatone]

Looks like time for popcorn and lemonade

Cant you manage something a little stronger?

 

[watson1959]

Cant you manage something a little stronger?

oh ok then...perhaps a Dandelion & Burdock

 

[watson1959]

Jeremy Vine, Radio 2 now. At some stage during the remainder of the programme the phone-in is about people deciding to live on boas instead of houses in order to reduce costs....

Who will be bold enough to use that as a forum to discuss this thread?

 

[teddington_lock]

See my earlier comment re being licensed. A lockie can't refuse passage just because they think someone might be intending to moor illegally somewhere upriver. In fact, I think I am right in saying that a Lockie can't refuse passage at all, even if a craft is unlicensed or refuses to pay. All they can do is issue an unregistered craft notice and report the details to Reading. Perhaps TL can confirm?

Broadly speaking , this is pretty much right. In theory , we can turn a boat away on H&S grounds ( barrels of petrol on deck , sort of thing ) to my knowledge its never happened though.

We do a one day course with the BSS guys on what to look for , but are in no way qualified.

We are pretty sharp at Tedders to be honest , if we suspect a boat will become itinerant , and we are pretty good at spotting them ( they usually buy a very short licence to get them through for a start ) we will pass on the licence details to our team leaders who will then forward it to enforcement. There aren't that many coming off the canals though at the moment.

 

[jaws]

About time!!

 

[Actionmat]

I often ask my self the same question. I "defend" them in the same way that I will defend anybody that I think is being unreasonably accused of something that is not their responsibility. In this case the mooring issue is a local authority matter and nothing to do with the EA.

The EA is the only authority that charges me for the privilege of using the same river that the long stayers are occupying. I do appreciate the complexities if the problem, but it's not a new situation anywhere on the Thames and the EA and all the other authorities have had years to sort it out. We are their customers/clients whatever you want to call it so they are the target, not the council who don't charge me an annual fee and bump it up every year above the rate of inflation.

You are not inconvenienced or "out of pocket" because of failure on the part of the EA. You do not have to pay to moor on the EA Moorings, you could find somewhere else if you wish. Personally, I am happy to moor on the Lock moorings and do not begrudge the £6.50 which goes directly into the running of the river.
The EA are currently running a trial enforcing compliance with mooring requirements on the moorings they directly control e.g. Weybridge, Walton, Oxford etc. I certainly don't want to see EA money and resources being taken up in areas that have no benefit to the agency and reduce their ability to give me, as a boater, better value for my licence fee..

I don't begrudge the lock a mooring fee. They're proper moorings and there are some facilities (and a friendly lock keeper). I said it was my EA licence that I was beginning to begrudge paying. My point is that 3 years ago there were plenty of places to stop the night by banging a couple of stakes in and now there is only the lock. So as a customer of the agency that controls the water they're floating on, I feel justified in venting at the EA.

 

[boatone]

The EA is the only authority that charges me for the privilege of using the same river that the long stayers are occupying. I do appreciate the complexities if the problem, but it's not a new situation anywhere on the Thames and the EA and all the other authorities have had years to sort it out. We are their customers/clients whatever you want to call it so they are the target, not the council who don't charge me an annual fee and bump it up every year above the rate of inflation.
I don't begrudge the lock a mooring fee. They're proper moorings and there are some facilities (and a friendly lock keeper). I said it was my EA licence that I was beginning to begrudge paying. My point is that 3 years ago there were plenty of places to stop the night by banging a couple of stakes in and now there is only the lock. So as a customer of the agency that controls the water they're floating on, I feel justified in venting at the EA.

Vent away, but I don't think it will achieve anything - in fact it is almost a dead cert it is going to get worse.

 

[boatone]

Jeremy Vine, Radio 2 now. At some stage during the remainder of the programme the phone-in is about people deciding to live on boas instead of houses in order to reduce costs.... Who will be bold enough to use that as a forum to discuss this thread?

Available on BBC iPlayer from 1hr40 to approx 1hr50 - http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b03jdvkq/Jeremy_Vine_Fatherhood_and_asbestos/
Also some coverage on BBC News website: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-25114599
Won't learn much !

 

[Flynnbarr]

If they didn't take so much money from me with yr on yr rises you could almost feel sorry for them!

They are inept toothless tigers,WHY HAVE THEY NOT asked for more powers to deal with a situation that anyone with half a brain knew was going to get worse....the Olympic park scattered a lot of liveaboards to tidy the park up and combined with BW/CRT clamp down on 'continuous cruisers' what did they expect?
They cannot use the excuse they don't own the land,EA 24hr moorings at chertsey meads has illegal liveaboards,if I had one of the legit liveaboard moorings next door I would be extremely peeved..
More money,more patrols will not solve bad management.
Maybe if the sewage issue was publicized more(little Johnny is sailing rowing in raw sewage/the reason David walliams got a bug)it might get resolved or at least looked at a bit closer by the people in power?
I'm sure if the people on 'millionaires row' on the maidenhead reach knew what went past on a daily basis they'd be up in arms about it?
Boatone.
You are so right,it's gonna get worse.
So what are the waterways management,the EA,going to do about it?


Did someone say this forum was dead

 

[Flynnbarr]

And the authorities can act quickly when called upon.
The wooden pile moorings on the island just above maidenhead road bridge where removed in double quick time because it portrayed the wrong image/reflected badly on the town in the run up to and during the Olympics.

 

[Actionmat]

Exactly. How long would they last if they stopped on the Crown Estate on the run up to Windsor?

Some 'permanent cruisers' are quite snooty towards us weekenders, especially at that time of year that some consider out of season. If I found myself single all of a sudden I could quite see myself moving on my boat, but I'd have to keep moving about. I couldn't bring myself to squat or hog for fear of being selfish towards the other river users, but that's just me (and the majority of others I've met on the river).

 

[boatone]

We are where we are. Whatever should or could have been done in the past is irrelevant, it's what can be done now that is important. Government largesse for the river has already been substantially reduced and further reductions in the Grant in Aid are looming for next year so, unless some other source of income can be brought on stream quickly further reductions in service levels are a foregone conclusion.

I have spent many hours trying to understand the various factors that determine income available for the management of the river and the arithmetic is very basic but stark - there ain't enough money and, due to restrictions placed on them by the Treasury, EA Thames are virtually impotent when it comes to raising extra cash to balance the grant in aid cuts. Users are adamant that they will not pay any more and government is determined to contribute less - go figure!

It took over ten years to get the legislation in place for the latest Inland Waterways Order and it is still not clear whether it is watertight. I am told it could easily take three years or more to get further legislative powers to enable Fixed Penalty Notices to be levied for not displaying a valid licence when navigating the river! A few catering concessions and some low key sponsoring opportunities at locks are not going to balance the books.

And, just in case you haven't noticed, there are a lot more causes clamouring for money than a (relatively) few motoboaters on the river.
Its not as if most boat owners actually seem to want to do anything about it. The TMBA is not the only user group trying to fight our corner but we all suffer from apathy when it comes to trying to demonstrate support for our representations.