Quick 'How far up the Thames' question.

[billskip]

The "registration fee" goes nowhere near the cost of maintaining the navigation, the vast majority of the funds for all navigations come from DEFRA who have cut EA funding by 50% over the last 15-20 years.
Fees gathered from leisure boaters go nowhere close to the cost of providing sufficent funding to keep up with current requirements, let alone stuff not done over the last decade.
Thames boaters were quietly warned years ago that whinging about the EA buying a new uniform or two was just ignoring the elephant in the river.
There is no money .
The public at large have shut the largesse lid and sat on it with their X on a voting slip. ?

That makes it ok then..

 

[oldgit]

That makes it ok then..

How and who and where the cash will be raised to fund our non Tidal navigations will have to be addressed at some point .
The EA and the watery Wunderkin "The Canal & River Trust" are both well up a creek without a paddle.

 

[billskip]

How and who and where the cash will be raised to fund our non Tidal navigations will have to be addressed at some point .
The EA and the watery Wunderkin "The Canal & River Trust" are both well up a creek without a paddle.

I cant see what you say justifies a charge for inferior service...always people are trying justify their failure being due to financial circumstances......too many chiefs...

 

[oldgit]

......too many chiefs...

Why no lockeepers ?
Lock and Weir Keepers * £28,607 + an outer London weighting of £2,117 per annum * Teddington * Permanent Full Time/Part Time, Roster system, weekend working required, 6 days working, 2 days off, in rotation.

"The majority of properties sold in Teddington during the last year were flats, selling for an average price of £458,869. Terraced properties sold for an average of £887,634, with semi-detached properties fetching £1,301,591."

Average salary to mortgage ratio 4.5. £30K = £135.000.

Average price of Thames marina mooring 10m £ 6000.00 ?
EA. Registration licence fee 10m boat. £350.00 PA 95p a day for 150 miles and 45 locks. ?

 

[billskip]

Why no lockeepers ?
Lock and Weir Keepers * £28,607 + an outer London weighting of £2,117 per annum * Teddington * Permanent Full Time/Part Time, Roster system, weekend working required, 6 days working, 2 days off, in rotation.

"The majority of properties sold in Teddington during the last year were flats, selling for an average price of £458,869. Terraced properties sold for an average of £887,634, with semi-detached properties fetching £1,301,591."

Average salary to mortgage ratio 4.5. £30K = £135.000.

Average price of Thames marina mooring 10m £ 6000.00 ?
EA. Registration licence fee 10m boat. £350.00 PA 95p a day for 150 miles and 45 locks. ?

I still don't see what you are trying to say..
The river Thames needs upkeep and maintenance boats or no boats
The boats get charged a fee for being on the Thames, if you think the fee for boats should cover the whole expense for the Thames then say so, if you believe the licence fee should be increased and policed with non-payment resulting in confiscation ok, then they should do it.
What I disagree with is they have responsibility for upkeep and maintenance then they should sort it out, not change a fee for a service that is below par.

 

[oldgit]

River Thames waterways annual review: 1 April 2021 to 31 March 2022

We can agree there is no way that the 8000 or 16.000 ? (pick your figure) of licensed craft on the Thames navigation could possibly fund the entire cost of running the infra structure on the river which includes the locks and weirs required to maintain the flow of the river, for both navigation and flood control.
At the moment the public purse is providing the vast majority of the funding for the river via DEFRA and the EA.
Would suggest that the amounts raised by the leisure boating community are drop in the bucket compared to the service they still enjoy in the 21st century.
Every other navigation in the UK would love to have to put up with everything the Thames boaters enjoy and ......moan about.
Its 2026 not 1960. ?
There are 5000 miles of navigable waterways in the UK of which the Thames is only one, all the others accessible via Teddington Lock.

 

[Flynnbarr]

EA. Registration licence fee 10m boat. £350.00 PA 95p a day for 150 miles and 45 locks. ?

As with most things you post OG you are somewhat wide of the mark

2026 EA License is length x beam (rounded down) x £27.31…….

 

[oldgit]

As with most things you post OG you are somewhat wide of the mark

2026 EA License is length x beam (rounded down) x £27.31…….

Me Bad......obviously looked at a very out of date website.
£810.00 PA
£2.25 a day. Think the navigable length or number of locks has not changed.
Will buy you 1/3 of a pint of beer ?

 

[Wjj]

I understand that they need money, I do wonder if they might make a bit more out of visitor fees if they were a bit lower though. Taking a boat in the top band on the river for 2 weeks costs over £400, this covers things like wide beam narrow boats (we're an old dutch barge so we're used to haemorrhaging money). That's a big chunk before paying anything for moorings etc. We went up last year in the summer holidays, but at that rate a half term cruise (a week and a day is over £300!) is less tempting than it might otherwise be, which is a shame

 

[oldbloke]

I think that in the UK the various authorities are much less likely to take, or be allowed to take , the bigger picture into account. More boats = more visitors = more money spent = more wealth in the area. But to what extent are the EA allowed to factor that in to their equations. It's hard enough to get our various levels of council here in South Devon to accept it, let alone the EA

 

[Anibal]

I understand that they need money, I do wonder if they might make a bit more out of visitor fees if they were a bit lower though. Taking a boat in the top band on the river for 2 weeks costs over £400, this covers things like wide beam narrow boats (we're an old dutch barge so we're used to haemorrhaging money). That's a big chunk before paying anything for moorings etc. We went up last year in the summer holidays, but at that rate a half term cruise (a week and a day is over £300!) is less tempting than it might otherwise be, which is a shame

Not sure how big is your boat and that obviously has an effect on the fees due but I pay £700 pa for a 30ft boat in the Thames.

 

[oldgit]

Visitor Fees.
Our club are regular visitors to the Thames, usually spending a minimum for a week to make the trip worthwhile, while some spend 3 or 4 weeks on the navigation.
Due to nature of getting round to the Thames very few of our sub 8 metre boats do the trip due to lack of accomodation and sea passage comfort on the way round.
The majority of boats will be in the 10m to 15m range . Normally at least 10 boats up there on good season 15 +
The cost in fuel alone getting round to the Thames (@ 8-10 knots) probably amounts to about £500.00 and this is probably not the biggest bill encountered if you factor in the costs of moorings/food plus the odd refreshment enroute up stream.
Cannot recall the exact cost of my last licence but doubt it more than £150 for two weeks ?
And for what you get amazing value for money.