Well done Alister Trotman

This looks interesting for anyone considering copying the slum boat model. Moored just the other side of the bridge from Gallions.
It will fit through teddington and molesey locks. Seeing as the existing vessels never needed to pass Sunbury lock this does not appear to be a problem in terms of business viability.

I reckon £10k will buy it.

Big barge. Engine but no rudders.
https://m.apolloduck.com/boat/barges-kempenaar/593770
 
Actionmat said:
That link looks like it could refer to gallions point. I certainly wouldn't describe Trotmans business as a boating community
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From a post on another site it would seem that the 'land grab' is by EA on the gathering of boats at West Molesey - just upstream from Platt's Eyot.

And from the Telegraph via Facebook - so a cut and paste job:
cross the country, rows between homeowners and boat-dwellers have been breaking out for decades.
But a family in Surrey is fighting with one group of boaters who fear being forced from their homes on the River Thames in Surrey, as locals say noisy Summer boaters are to blame for the issues.
On the Thames riverbank in West Molesey, Surrey, around 10 boats are moored on a stretch of unregistered land, meaning the group which includes a serving policeman and a months-old baby, have not been obliged to pay mooring fees or council tax.
Some of the residents have lived there with little disruption from the authorities for nearly 13 years.
But local mother-of-three Lara Seal, 36, whose house is metres from the riverbank, claims that a small group of antisocial temporary boaters prompted complaints from other locals in July.
She told The Telegraph: “Two or three boats last Summer gave the good ones a bad name. They were drinking, shouting, they have a lot of dogs.
“The permanent group are my neighbours, we have a community and all look after each other.
“They have all been tarred with the same brush.”
Following complaints over the "eyesore" stretch of river, the Environment Agency began removing 20 abandoned boats in the area in October and November last year, using its powers as the navigation authority of the non-tidal River Thames.
It owns the riverbed and has applied to the Land Registry for the rights to the land at the side, which could see the permanent community disbanded and moved on.
The residents, who claim to have all the valid relevant registration certificates, are now fearing “eviction” and are locked in a battle with the Environment Agency as they fight to have the land registered to them.
According to Inside Out London, they are now putting in measures to secure the land around the bank, installing posts and gates at the recommendation of a squatters’ advisory service, in the hope they will win rights to the land.
“We seem to be acting well within our right,” Paul, a police field intelligence officer and one of the West Molesey riverbank residents, told Inside Out London. “I certainly wouldn’t feel comfortable doing anything that was improper”.
However local pressure group, Reclaim Our Riverbank 2 still think the group’s behaviour is unfair, and believe they should be paying their way.
In an email seen by The Telegraph, campaign founder David Garrett wrote: “The boaters’ permanent community inevitably attracts a wide selection of itinerant moorers all looking for the same free parking, and the present community have all been demonstrably unable to control the antisocial element of these.
“For the group to claim that the presence of a liveaboard police office has a beneficial effect is clearly complete nonsense.”
But Ms Seal fears that freeing up the space could attract even more antisocial people to the moor in area, causing more disruption to her family.
A spokesperson for the Environment Agency said: “It is not correct to say this is an eviction. A number of boats have been moored at West Molesey for a considerable length time without consent from the landowner, which is required for stays of more than 24 hours.
“By doing so they’re obstructing the other 20,000 boaters who pay to use the Thames. We have taken action out of consideration for all licenced boat owners.”
A film about the West Molesey boaters airs on Inside Out London, BBC1 at 7.30pm on Monday.
 
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oldgit said:
at about 160ft long and 25 ft wide probably drawing 6ft it will be a bit of a challenge to find a mooring anywhere for that
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It wouldn't need a mooring. You just tie if wherever you like. Outside John Lewis in Kingston, barge walk etc.

Its actually a very shallow boat. Probably 3ft.
 
Outinthedinghy said:
It wouldn't need a mooring. You just tie if wherever you like. Outside John Lewis in Kingston, barge walk etc.

Its actually a very shallow boat. Probably 3ft.
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The EA are being very accommodating. The new owner can moor on a lock lay by for six months or more free of charge. And if you move either side of the lock on a rotational basis it's free moorings for ever.
No council tax, but waste bins provided. On a sunny day you can relax on a chair in the Lock Keepers garden as an intimidating tactic or just for fun. Yes, Trotman actually did this!
 
Hahaha.. Just read this.. Priceless

BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY

In this uncertain and expensive world, why take advantage of this fabulous opportunity and start your own business for minimal outlay and effort and maximum profits?

Follow the well-established Houseboat model (as seen on Google Earth) on the spectacular river Thames in Molesey, close to Hampton Court benefiting from:
• Free Moorings
• Rapid return on investment
• No Council Tax
• Sunny location and clean rural surroundings maintained at no cost to yourself
• Free legal Aid
• Free safety and support from Police and Fire services
• Free labor from like minded off grid, friendly young tenants and volunteers
• Help to show you how to market for free labor and promote your business with no initial outlay
• Full support from the authorities with only occasional ‘admin and legal fees’
• No business rates or income tax on earnings
• Advertise on reputable platforms for your bookings offering cheap accommodation, guaranteeing to attract business and selling out fast.
• Free assistance from the EA and Police when you need to relocate
• Stay long enough and you can even own the land for free
• And much more!

You too, can bypass and navigate the bureaucratic jungle with ease and live below the radar in this amazing part of the world, affording you regular travel, minimal effort and the opportunity of scalability and creating an international property portfolio with no income tax, business rates or council tax to pay and minimal social responsibility.

For further information, please either:
• Visit the permanent barges opposite the world famous ‘Astoria’ Houseboat https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astoria_(recording_studio)
• Visit us in our new location in Hurst Park on the once transient moorings conveniently near Tesco’s Hurst Park

Or follow the links below:

https://hippohelp.com/…/sunny-sustainable-off-grid-houseboa…

https://barges.apolloduck.co.uk/b…/barges-river-barge/569140

http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthread.php…

https://www.booking.com/…/house-boat-quot-ror-quot.en-gb.ht…
 
So, with the help of the Police and the EA (en force), he's done it again... Free towing service to the 24 hour stop in Hurst park.. Awesome work from the free spirited Kiwi. . All the while, offering rooms for rent on Bookings.com at £25 x 8 times how many boats? per night upwards, fully booked. Damn that's awesome with no taxes to pay. You could buy a new boat every two month! i'm in the wrong business.

53402697_332392017410215_4845752553419309056_n.jpg:ambivalence:
 

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He's put his prices up to £39 per night on booking.com and he has 24 beds available across the 3 boats. Full occupancy would be £1K per night. He must still be reeling from the devastating £710 fine he had to pay in 2016 though ...

Probably a question that it's a waste of time asking, but does anybody know why the EA and Police aided and abetted him to relocate his floating lodgings?

If there is a sensible and reasonable explanation, then the EA could score an easy PR win by making it known. I'd rather imagine the Friends of Hurst Park would like to know as well.
Trotman_Booking_001.JPG
 
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Lower Limit 1909 said:
He's put his prices up to £39 per night on booking.com and he has 24 beds available across the 3 boats. Full occupancy would be £1K per night. He must still be reeling from the devastating £710 fine he had to pay in 2016 though ...

Probably a question that it's a waste of time asking, but does anybody know why the EA and Police aided and abetted him to relocate his floating lodgings?

If there is a sensible and reasonable explanation, then the EA could score an easy PR win by making it known. I'd rather imagine the Friends of Hurst Park would like to know as well.
View attachment 76447
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Methinks there's not an easy solution.
Wasn't Trotman towed away some year(s) ago to a holding place near Penton Hook and was then inexplicably released to carry on.
All EA concerned about is "has a licence been purchased".
It's up to the riparian landowner to remove 'whoever' from their land / mooring thereto.
Towing costs the land owner and a savvy boat owner could claim 'damage' and damages, which (I think) only relate to a specific incident, thus the perpetrator can move back again and the whole cycle starts again.
LAs don't have the funds to repeatedly sue - via civil action - those who take advantage - thus they don't
EA can't police bylaw breaches (dumping your poo in the River) which are actionable - IF they can catch him in the act - but then what are the penalties??

From my untutored knowledge of the Law, methinks most of civil law relies on everybody playing the game - it's too easy for those who hold the system in contempt and weather what little is thrown at them and carry on.

I wish it was otherwise
Star Chamber has long gone and I suspect those who rattle cages on here are not prepared to ask EA direct.
 
TrueBlue said:
Methinks there's not an easy solution.
I suspect those who rattle cages on here are not prepared to ask EA direct.
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EA response on any Trotman (not that he can be named!) query is usually a refusal to comment on 'on-going enforcement activities'
 
I hope it never happens but Trotman's doss houses:

- have been described by a surveyor as 'a bonfire waiting to happen'
- booking.com reviews report smell of gas
- propane cylinders stored on deck above bedrooms
- open flame fires feature as part of the attractions in his adverts

I'll say again - I hope it never happens - but the extraordinary risks being taken suggest it's more a 'when' than an 'if' that some tragedy that could involve multiple loss of life will occur.

I really hope the EA Management that aid and abet Trotman's business by helping him to move etc., and the Local Authority bosses that wilfully ignore these illegal rented premises on their doorstep are fully held to account when such a predictable and avoidable tragedy happens and an inquiry is held.
 
I looked at HMO regs before and they only mention 'houses' rather than 'premises,' otherwise it might be applicable.

Hotel/B&B accommodation safety regs are enforced (or not) by local councils and fire authorities. Having been on board two of AT's boats, I was surprised that they complied with the BSSC requirements; were they to fail on that point, the registration licence would be invalidated and then the EA could remove them from the river.

Like other forumites, I expect a serious fire or explosion with casualties is looming. It will be the council and fire authority that will shoulder most of the blame for their inertia but the EA should be checking the BSSC status.
 
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