News

CRT says you haven’t travelled far enough

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There is no where in law which states how far a boat must travel, however the Canal and River Trust (CRT) has started it is using distance you have travelled to say if you are using your boat for navigation or not. CRT has stated that they believe boaters without a home mooring should travel more than 15-20 miles over their licence period. This has been stated here; https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/boating/licensing/enforcement/boaters-without-a-home-mooring-how-far-is-far-enough. Nevertheless, CRT says 20 miles might not be enough. Click here for link Ltr_Pamela Smith_NBTA_Level 1 Complaint_26.10.2015 (1).

If CRT thinks you have stayed too long in one area, even if you have done much more than 20 miles, they might still take enforcement action against you. They would be following their own policy. However, sometimes CRT will concede to your argument that you have moved ‘far enough’.

The first thing you should do is get all the sighting data that CRT have of your boat. To do this email the following email address to request your sighting data: information.request@canalrivertrust.org.uk. Here is a template letter request-sighting-data (2).

Then compare CRT’s sighting to where you believe you were. To understand what CRT sightings mean, use this link below. Click on a lock or a bridge to see what the code is and work it out from there:

https://canalrivertrust.maps.arcgis.com/apps/MapTools/index.html?appid=b46e3e0bda4a44a0be267df7674139a5

If CRT has got it wrong, email them saying they have got it wrong and show them the evidence that they are wrong. Here is a template letter Sighting data is wrong. Evidence can include the following but are not necessary exclusive to:

  • Log book of where your boat was

  • Dated pictures of your boat in an area

  • GPS of your boat

  • Receipts from local shops/ boat yard etc

  • Tube/train tickets from the local area

  • Witness statements

After submitting the evidence to CRT, they may then take your sightings into account and this might prove to them that you have travelled ‘in the correct manner’.

This website before could help with finding out now big your range is in miles over your licence period.

https://canalplan.org.uk/cgi-bin/canal.cgi

CRT might take it more seriously if you make a formal complaint. Also if your complaint goes far enough in the complaints procedure then it will go to the ‘independent’ Waterways Ombudsman. Click here for a template complaint letter if they get your sighting data wrong. Click here for a template complaint letter for your restricted licence Level 1 Complaint_Restricted licence . And here is CRT complaint procedure https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/contact-us/making-a-complain

And here is a help sheet for writing complaints https://nbtalondon.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/how-to-use-crt-complaints-procedurev2-26-2-15.pdf

If you would like any help with any of this, you can contact a caseworker by emailing nbta.london.caseworker@gmail.com or ring 07459354163

News

FORM OF AUTHORITY

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This is for, if you want a NBTA caseworker to talk to CRT on your behalf.

FORM OF AUTHORITY
I, ____________________________________
of Boat Name:_________________________________________,
Boat Number:___________________,
hereby give authority for members of the National Bargee Travellers Association (NBTA) caseworkers to represent me and act on my behalf with regards to my dealings with the Canal and River Trust (CRT). In regards to these dealings, I hereby give consent for the NBTA Caseworkers Group to the disclosure of my records with CRT.
Signed:
____________________________
Dated: ______________________

 

Download form of authority here;

FORM OF AUTHORITY

 

News, winter warmer

Boats are Homes, National Demonstration

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There is demonstration to demand that the Canal and River Trust (CRT) stops evicting or threatening to evict travelling boat dwellers based on their pattern of travel or distance traveled. It is also to stop the reduction of the 14 day rule, to stop the sale of our waterways and to demand the maintenance of the waterway banks, to install more mooring rings and more facilities.

On the Saturday 16 April at 12.30am in Central London, Gower Street / Euston Road, London NW1

Boats Are Homes - Towpath Gathering April 2015
Boats Are Homes – Towpath Gathering April 2015

For more info read on.

It’s coming up to a year since Canal & River Trust (CRT) rolled out its policy of refusing to renew or shortening the licence periods of boaters without permanent moorings who CRT deem not to have travelled in the ‘correct’ manner. Many in our community have been affected by the threat of losing our homes and some boat dwellers have already been evicted by CRT.

CRT has not just gone after boaters who have travelled in a very small area. CRT has also shortened or refused to renew the licences of boat dwellers who have travelled up to 100 miles. It seems CRT’s aim is to get rid of a certain number of boat dwellers without a home mooring and they are not too bothered about who they get rid of.

There is already a law that states we mustn’t stay longer than 14 days in one place. We don’t need CRT making up unlawful extra ‘rules’. We must step up the campaign to stop CRT restricting or refusing to renew the licences of boaters whose travelling pattern is completely lawful.

In addition to this, CRT has reduced the stay times in some areas from 14 days to as little as 24 hours. They have concreted over canal banks making it impossible to moor in large areas of London and other urban areas, have failed to maintain the canal bank and in some cases CRT even plan to sell off stretches of waterway contrary to assurances given to Parliament in 2012.

CRT made a surplus of £39.4 million in 2014/15 and hold a reserve fund of £660 million. CRT can easily afford to install more facilities for boaters and repair waterway banks that are currently impossible to moor on. Instead, CRT has taken away or failed to repair water taps, sewage and rubbish disposal facilities.

Boat dwellers will be joining the People Assembly demo which one key demand is for housing on 16th April 2016 to demonstrate that our community deserves better. We will not be alone. We will march with others demanding decent housing. We will hand in a petition to Parliament demanding that the Government pressures CRT to stop its attack on boat dwellers without a home mooring.

We plan to take a picture of all the boat dwellers on the march to bring to another demonstration at CRT offices a few weeks after. We demand:

Stop Evictions of Boat Dwellers!

Defend the 14 day rule!

Stop the Sale of our Waterways!

Maintain the Waterway Banks and More Mooring Rings!

More Facilities!

 

This is the petition which we will be handing in

https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/boats-are-homes-prevent-the-eviction-of-boat-dwellers

It has more than 23 000 signatures, please sign and share it. Let’s get 25 000 signing it!

For the facebook event; https://www.facebook.com/events/503828719817975/


Please contact secretariat@bargee-traveller.org.uk or 07710160340 for more information

We are also on twitter @nbtalondon

News

Solidarity against the Bill

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On the 30th January, a delegation of NBTA members went to show solidarity to the people affected by the Government’s Housing and Planning Bill by joining a demo against the bill. The Bill doesn’t attack bargee travellers, however due to the level of attack on other housing tenures, we believe we must show our solidarity with the people fighting it. The housing attacks range from making councils forcibly sell off council homes to making it harder to stay in traveller sites as Gypsies or travellers.

For more details of the Bill click here

http://www.defendcouncilhousing.org.uk/dch/resources/KtHBbriefingJan2016_web.pdf

Due to our involvement in the campaign against the Bill our demand for more mooring spaces has been taken up by the campaign as well.

housing bill demo

This kind of solidarity will see the different communities benefit and we will keep it up.

News

Useful emails

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Useful emails

NBTA London

nbtalondon@gmail.com

Caseworker NBTA London group

nbta.london.caseworker@gmail.com

 01615431945

Monday to Saturday 8:30am to 9:30pm and on Sundays 8:30am to 5pm

Campaign against the surcharge email address: stopboatlicencediscrimination@gmail.com

National NBTA

secretariat@bargee-traveller.org.uk

0118 321 4128

CRT

The chief executive of the Canal & River Trust

richard.parry@canalrivertrust.org.uk

CRT Welfare Officers

sean.williams@canalrivertrust.org.uk

michelle.simmonds@canalrivertrust.org.uk

Acting Head of Customer Services

Matthew.Symonds@canalrivertrust.org.uk

Head of Boating (acting)

dan.noakes@canalrivertrust.org.uk

CRT’s Relationship, Policy and Strategy Manager

Matthew.Symonds@canalrivertrust.org.uk

Subject Access Requests/ sighting data 

information.request@canalrivertrust.org.uk

Complaints

customer.feedback@canalrivertrust.org.uk

https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/contact-us/ways-to-contact-us

customer.services@canalrivertrust.org.uk

Customer Service Co-Ordinator

Sarina.young@canalrivertrust.org.uk

Enforcement (what CRT now calls Boat Licence Customer Support)

Head of Enforcement

matthew.aymes@canalrivertrust.org.uk

Enforcement Operations Manager

paul.griffin@canalrivertrust.org.uk

Non-london enforcement officers:

https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/enjoy-the-waterways/boating/buy-your-boat-licence/boat-licence-customer-support-team/contact-your-local-officer

Case.management@canalrivertrust.org.uk

Licence.Support@canalrivertrust.org.uk

Licence Support Advisor (Boating Co-ordinator)

Aileen.O’Connor@canalrivertrust.org.uk.

Rachel.Hayward@canalrivertrust.org.uk

Kelly.Shields@canalrivertrust.org.uk

UmaKalshum.Rab@canalrivertrust.org.uk

Deborah.Figueiredo@canalrivertrust.org.uk

Dan.Noakes@canalrivertrust.org.uk

joyce.atkins@canalrivertrust.org.uk

London

Enquiries.londonsoutheast@canalrivertrust.org.uk

London@canalrivertrust.org.uk

enquiries.london@canalrivertrust.org.uk

Boating and Customer Service Manager for London and South East

Sarah Lee

Head of London & South East Operations at Canal & River Trust

charlotte.wood@canalrivertrust.org.uk

Boating Manager for the London & South-East Region

Enforcement now called Licence Support

Enforcement officers change from time to time, check here for changes: https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/enjoy-the-waterways/boating/licence-your-boat/boat-licence-customer-support-team/contact-your-local-officer#London

Email enforcement officers

case.management@canalrivertrust.org.uk

licencesupport.lse@canalrivertrust.org.uk

Equalities Adjustments

adjustments@canalrivertrust.org.uk

Issues relating to boater welfare, safeguarding or Equality Act

welfare.mailbox@canalrivertrust.org.uk

Enforcement Supervisor (London Region)

Simon.Cadek@canalrivertrust.org.uk

Supervisor London & South East region – West London & Grand Union and South Oxford canals

phillip.brogan@canalrivertrust.org.uk

Enforcement Officer (Upper Lee & Stort from Fields Weir)

nicholas.wattam@canalrivertrust.org.uk

Enforcement Officer ( Lee Navigation (Fieldes Weir to Pickets lock )

Vacant

Enforcement officer (Limehouse Cut, Limehouse Basin, Lee Navigation(Three Mills to East Wick) 

Andy.Philips@canalrivertrust.org.uk

Enforcement officer Lee Navigation (Homerton Wharf to Springfield Park)

Anthony Wilson

Enforcement Officer  (Paddington arm)

laura.hudson@canalrivertrust.org.uk

Enforcement Officer (Picketts Lock to Marfield Park)

Cheryl.Radley@canalrivertrust.org.uk

Enforcement Officer (Regents and Hertford Union (aka Ducketts)

Mustafa Rahman

Enforcement Officer (Grand Union Canal (Hunton Bridge to Uxbridge)

Rachel.Sharp@canalrivertrust.org.uk

Enforcement Officer (Grand Union Canal (Fenny Stratford to Hunton Bridge, Aylesbury Arm, Wendover Arm)

Anthony.Jenkins@canalrivertrust.org.uk

Boating Coordinator (Brentford)

Kelly.Shields@canalrivertrust.org.uk

Boating Coordinator (Enfield)

Viktorija.collins@canalrivertrust.org.uk

Conor Duffy – Data Collector (Central & West London)

John Camfield – Data Collector (East London)

Past Events

Facilities meeting

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On Wednesday 9 December NBTA London chaired a conversation in public with CRT and London based boaters. Thank you to those of the 40 people that came and contributed. It was a productive forum with some direct questions asked by us and some straight answers given by CRT.
Facilities meeting 2
Now that plans have been announced and public conversation has begun in such a forum with the NBTA London, you can join the Facilities Working Group found at http://nbta.boaterpedia.co.uk/
The deep scepticism towards CRT among many boaters who live aboard without a home mooring is a result of the past sabotaging, blocking and discriminating action from Canal & River Trust and British Waterways before them.
Whilst this scepticism is founded, we also need an openness to possibility – the possibility of negotiation, discussion, focused demands, clear questions and relentless seeking of transparency from CRT.
At the public facilities meeting CRT’s Customer Operations Manager Sam Thomas and   Boaters’ Liaison Officer, Sorwar Ahmed  demonstrated a willingness on the part of CRT to be in ongoing direct communication with boaters and to listen to and work with us in getting what we want. I recorded the entire meeting. This is one of the things that Sorwar said:
“…the Trust is not trying to get continuous cruisers off the waterway in any shape or form. We are fully behind you as a new group of boaters – the growing number of continuous cruisers –  you might look at it as the future of the waterway.”
The Trust needs to work harder at gaining trust.
There was still vagueness in some answers, and much more discussion is warranted particularly around navigation and mooring facilities. With mediation and continued pressure from NBTA, we can strive for transparency, for boaters to be heard, for CRT to follow things through and work together with CRT and the wider boating community.
Facilities meeting 2
CRT was asked prior to the meeting – what was going to be different this time that CRT are opening up discussions of ideas that had previously been mooted at Better Relationship Groups and other meetings. Sam Thomas said at the meeting that the difference is that their “priorities have now changed”. What’s the real different is that CRT are now pressurised by NBTA.
After years of taking our facilities, taking our mooring spaces and an enforcement policy which puts some boaters under threat of eviction, we need action from CRT, not words alone.  We will keep the pressure on the Trust to ensure they keep their promises.
The minutes from this meeting will be available soon.
facilities 4
Photos taking by Dave Roberts
News

Boater Eviction Stopped

1 Comment

Victory! We have won in getting CRT to re-licence Jeff!

The campaign for Jeff has only been going for 6 days and we’ve won! I believe that CRT was worried about their draconian actions getting into the wider press.

This was due to the pressure we put on CRT and it’s thanks to all those that signed the petition and the ground work that the NBTA have put in.

However, the licence which Jeff has accepted is a 6 month licence rather than a full 12 months licence. CRT gave him a 6 month licence because they are still saying that he did something wrong but ‘has made some effort to improve’. But improved what?? He did nothing wrong!

Although Jeff has accepted the 6 month licence this is not to say that we agree with CRT that he did something wrong. And we must be clear that NOT travelling in a straight line is NOT a reason to punish boat dwellers.

We need to keep on campaigning and supporting boaters so that CRT doesn’t get away with evicting boat dwellers from the waterways.

From May to October this year, CRT has issued 826 reduced licences and there are many more boats that could be getting a reduced licence in the upcoming months. Of these, many will be refused a licence and we will need to be there to support them.

CRT would not have given Jeff a licence if it was not for the National Bargee Travellers Association (NBTA). And it shows how important the NBTA is in fighting for our homes. The NBTA campaigns in the defence of boat dwellers, and if you haven’t already, please join the NBTA by following this link:

http://www.bargee-traveller.org.uk/membership/

https://nbtalondon.wordpress.com/

For more info about Jeff’s case:

https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/don-t-evict-jeff

Advice, Campaigns

March Against Surcharge – Organised Transport Info

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Car share whatsapp group

Here is a group for discussing and organising car shares to the Birmingham protest:

https://chat.whatsapp.com/ILqAoOiuJEw2VvqxpMUeNQ

If you don’t have whatsapp, email us on stopboatlicencediscrimination@gmail.com

Coach from London

Please get a ticket for a coach to Birmingham from Hackney here:

https://buytickets.at/nbtaprotestsurcharge/1048376

Transport from Pewsey and Bradford On Avon (K&A)

Protest bus from Pewsey and Bradford On Avon (K&A)

Here is where you can get tickets for the bus:
https://buytickets.at/nbtaprotestsurcharge/1053926

More info about this march can be found here

A volunteer organisation formed in 2009 campaigning and providing advice for itinerant boat dwellers on Britain’s inland and coastal waterways