November gloom - is navigation sustainable?

[Alan ashore]

OK I'm in bad mood for many reasons. Perhaps the fact that my trusty old 1GM10 started backwards yesterday and smothered me in evil smoke hasn't helped (It's fine now, I was being impatient with it on a cold damp morning).

I love the river. I have messed about in it and on it in all sorts of boats for six decades. I have lived on its bank for much of that time. I walk its towpath. I have repeatedly traveled its navigable length. The river is an asset like no other. I have never questioned the value to society of all its many facets.

Like others here I believe that there are missed opportunities for funding, and I am frustrated that the EA has its hands tied and cannot pursue new revenue sources. But, you know I'm beginning to wonder if it's realistic to expect navigation to continue at all in this cash-strapped world.

What's prompted this gloomy view?

This week I've been watching the start of refurbishment work on the launch lock at Teddington, and the number of people, vehicles and pieces of equipment bring home the scale of the work. EA's press release says £450k have been budgeted for this, out of £2.1m for this winter's lock works altogether. It's a lot of money.

Now we all know that there is very little true commercial traffic on the river these days, and let's face it, apart from fine bank holiday weekends it's not exactly crowded with pleasure craft any more.

So can we really afford to keep the river going? - perhaps it's time for the towel to be thrown in.

Talk me out of this melancholy, if you can.

 

[Actionmat]

I see plenty of boats and people come down to the river to watch boats. People don't open Riverside eateries so their customers can admire the moving water.

If the use of the river was more actively promoted as a leisure activity and viewed as 'affordable', more people would head to the non tidal on a bank holiday rather than clogging up the roads on the way to the coast. It's our greatest inland leisure facility and local to millions, but only boat owners, rowers and Anglers seem to take advantage. With one group paying the lions share.

 

[oldgit]

With one group paying the lions share.

nice to see the taxpayer getting a thank you.

 

[Actionmat]

nice to see the taxpayer getting a thank you.

I think it's fair to say that boat owners pay tax, or have paid a lot of tax. A lot of rowers look too young to pay tax and a lot of Anglers look like they prefer the black market

 

[oldgit]

I think it's fair to say that boat owners pay tax, or have paid a lot of tax. A lot of rowers look too young to pay tax and a lot of Anglers look like they prefer the black market

OK..... as theres nuffick else going on ...............

30.30 million taxpayers in UK.......and 8000 thousand boaters enjoying the river .
Would work out the ratio but its all a bit to challenging this early in the morning.

Your turn

 

[Actionmat]

Millions of people live in towns along the river, it's not (barely)maintained for 8000.
London and the South East contribute more to the Treasury than the rest of the country.
The SE contributes 1/3 of all UK tax and the biggest contributor? Elmbridge; Molesey Lock to Chertsey.
Looking at the country as a whole, where there are areas that are subsidised I can't think of any group that contributes more individually than boaters.
Failed cycle super highway anyone?

 

[kmatt]

Don't get me started on Kingston's cycle paths... Are they still pushing that daft pontoon idea under Kingston Bridge?

 

[Actionmat]

Don't get me started on Kingston's cycle paths... Are they still pushing that daft pontoon idea under Kingston Bridge?

I'm unsure if that still forms part of their cycling plan, which is costing £30million of tax payers money to fund somebody else's hobby.

 

[kmatt]

Worst value case ever, and I love cycling. Let's see what the 'benefit' will be once they finish all the work around the centre, how many people will use it, and how much slower it will be... The money would have been better spent on people who need assistance in the community.

 

[Actionmat]

If only LBKuT would use a tiny fraction of that budget on tourism, they could have trebled the visitors moorings by reinstating the finger pontoons.
Instead, roadworks for bicycling projects and traffic chaos for Christmas shopping and nowhere to moor a boat to avoid it. Looks like I'll be shopping online instead.

I have mailed the council and TVM, no answer.

 

[kmatt]

If only LBKuT would use a tiny fraction of that budget on tourism, they could have trebled the visitors moorings by reinstating the finger pontoons.
Instead, roadworks for bicycling projects and traffic chaos for Christmas shopping and nowhere to moor a boat to avoid it. Looks like I'll be shopping online instead.

I have mailed the council and TVM, no answer.

I agree with that, there's nowhere easy to moor up on the Surrey side. Perhaps they just don't want to pay the EA fees...