In the London borough of Islington, there have been more restrictions to boaters pushed by the Council. It has been argued by Sukky Choongh-Campbell, the Air Quality Officer at Islington Council that the trial period for Islington visitor moorings should be ‘extended to all parts of the canal in Islington’. It was also argued that the trial period, which took place earlier this year, should be introduced permanently.
Continue reading What’s that bad smell coming from Islington?
The Canal and River Trust have recently made a further move towards enclosure of the London waterways, by attempting to define “place” with the use of boundaries and labels on maps. Intended only as “guidance” for continuous cruisers who may be unsure of how far they need to move every 14 days in order to be using their boats bona fide for navigation. Many new boaters may agree that this is a useful tool to help them stay on the right side of CaRT, but the more seasoned continuous cruiser may argue the necessity. Within a short while of living on the cut and moving around in our floating coffins, one gets a clear sense of locality. An ethereal definition of “place” emerges naturally as the sum of our individual experiences.
Continue reading Privatisation with a Needy Smile: a CaRT History
Boaters may have received two letters from CRT recently, posted direct to their boats. One, dated 8 August 2014, states “The canals and rivers in London have seen a 36% rise in boat numbers over the last five years to 2,964 boats in March 2014. In the past year alone, overall numbers have increased by 14%, while numbers of continuous cruisers in East London has [sic] increased by 85%.”
For a number of reasons, the legal rights meeting planned for tonight is severely oversubscribed. We have been overwhelmed by the response and if everyone who has booked turns up, it will simply not be possible for everybody to get in.
However, we are doing everything we can to make sure that we get the information to as many people as possible. We are planning a second meeting for the new year, in a much bigger venue. Also, we are going to broadcast the meeting on Ustream for anybody who cannot make it. This will also be available online after the meeting.
The meeting is scheduled to start at 7pm. To watch the live broadcast, go to http://www.ustream.tv/channel/nbtalondon
National Bargee Travellers Association - London Branch 