FEES GOING UP IN JANUARY!

Just the extension of my BW licence to make it a gold licence was £320. I havent bothered this year will get a 15day or monthly licence if I come onto the Thames.
You will all be pleased to hear that from what I have learnt the uptake on Gold licences is down by about 20%........

Julian
 
Read the Enviroment Agency riverviews page 6
I quote Our funding shortfall was created by
Fewer craft using the Thames
was this because the fee is too high
 
[ QUOTE ]
Read the Enviroment Agency riverviews page 6
I quote Our funding shortfall was created by
Fewer craft using the Thames
was this because the fee is too high

[/ QUOTE ]
They lost around 20% the year they brought out the soppy BSS scheme. Boats just left and went coastal. By the time they re-worked the test criteria too many didn't want to come back and pay licence fees.
 
My license is now £436, that will be approaching £500 next year, must admit i've started thinking it would go someway towards paying for a coastal mooring.
 
A few crumbs from the Thames high table gratefully accepted.

Can only state that things down here on the Medway have improved after years of decline.The complete refurbishment of the moorings a year or so ago at Yalding was very welcome as was the replacement of the little lifting bridge by the Anchor pub.The latest improvements of new landing stages above and below four of the locks has made navigation much very much easier for us poor mariners who actually have to push our gates open.Also welcome the bridge profile thingy on the EA website recently.
Room for improvement on some of the leaky lock gates and and bit of dredging to actually achieve some of the alleged depths of water available between Allington and East Farleigh would be nice.Final moan we really do need some more public mooring on the river after Maidstone.
Having a crafty moor by tying up to somebodies "NO MOORING" sign is not the way to spend a relaxing snoozy lunchtime. /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif
So 8/10 for effort especially the four or so staff who look after <span style="color:red"> ALL THE LOCKS </span> on the river,they have been unfailingly helpful and good humoured during all my trips on the navigation.
From all on Sarah T.
 
I didn't buy a licence last year, (just a collection of day licenses) and I'm doubting whether I will again unless the charging structure changes.
I love to walk to the boat and go out for a few hours on crisp winter days, and also some after work trips in May and June. However the licence is too expensive for it to be worth it just for this as I go coastal in the summer.
In any business, action would be taken when take up of the product declines. What will happen tot he river?
 
That's an interesting view with respect to those that moor below Teddington. For those on the non-tidal Thames we have only a few choices: give up, pay up, or move the boat tidal and give up the friendly non-tidal areas.
It's a grey area that the EA needs to look at when they analyse the drop in license numbers.
 
Indeed - I took the "move" option having previously moored in Bray, as well as Harleyford, Shepperton and Penton Hook. Bray's my wife's favourite and only a short drive from our house. Not any more worth a year's ticket for 8-9 months minus stoppages.
 
[ QUOTE ]
The Agency is also considering whether it might sell off some of its lock houses.

[/ QUOTE ]

To some twat that loves the river but wants you to stop the boaters using the locks with the squeaky handles after five o clock because it upsets him no doubt . If you stopped pissing money up the wall on [--word removed--] mags and sending them to every one you might be able to do some more work on the river rather than keeping a few tossers that are on to a good thing in work . The lock keepers are the river !
Rant over /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
What i am trying to say is you are making changes because of the extra money you are spending on rubbish that no one needs . Just MHO and thanks for posting here /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif
 
In Southampton at the mo, as I ran out of time after a trip to France and the Channel Islands in September - before heading there last year I was just upstream of Richmond Lock so I could come through Teddington for the day fairly easily when I wanted to without having to cough for the annual licence. Didn't much like the mooring as there was far to much pigeon poo but it was cheap!
 
Hear Hear!

Also, don't send two lots of stuff to the same address just because the tender is licensed too!
SERIOUSLY look at adding an extra box to the main boats' licence for the tender and reduce the exorbitant fee for it.
Don't treat boaters as a cash cow, boats can and will go elsewhere.

Happy New Year.

Rich
 
Have to agree, although my tender and main boat papers arrived in the same envelope. £70.35 this year for a tender I only used 2 or 3 times on the river (and that was just to get to the boat in the floods) I would have thought a nominal £30 or something would be more appropriate.
 
Why not join the other 99% of boat owners and dont license it then!

How many times have you been through a lock in your tender?? Thought not. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
 
LOL maybe a couple of times max in the last few years. It seems I am just too honest /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif . I wonder if the unlicensed would pay a nominal fee or not, perhaps the revenue would actually increase rather than decline if the EA considered that.
 
Is there a penalty if tender caught without a licence?

If it's just a case of making you buy one if you're caught it might be worth a punt!

I don't like to break the rules but if they are unreasonable I'm prepared to make a stand on principle.

Rich.
 
You can only be caught if your using it, if its just hanging from the back of your boat you don't need a license anyway, it only needs one when its in the water.
To be honest I got one about 5 years ago, but haven't bothered since as I rarely launch it in the river, its only there for coastal stuff. At the current price I doubt I shall even get it out the bag this year, £70 is more than some tenders are worth /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
Life will go on(without lockeepers to hold your hand.)

"wants you to stop the boaters using the locks with the squeaky handles after five"

Down here all the lockkeepers cottages were sold when the "Her Maggieness" flogged the old Waterboards to our french cousins over 20 years ago.
Life,suprisingly,has managed to struggle on since then and the cottages are kept as pretty as ever by their new private owners.
Looking forward to coming round next summer and enjoying lots of nice moorings and having to do zilch when passing through a lock.Absolute heaven. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
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