Tag Archives: NBTA London

Article, Local issues, nbta london, News, Newsletter

BIG Boater’s BASH

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If the UK is a country of villages, then its canal network is the longest village of them all. Our 250-year-old itinerant boating community stretches all the way from Bristol to York. And the community spirit of our shifting village is stronger now than ever. The world’s longest village got together on the 14th June to celebrate life on the water at the Boaters’ Big Bash, held on the Paddington Arm in West London. In what can best be described as a village fair, the Boaters’ Big Bash brought together live music from boater musicians; rousing speeches; a raffle; arts, crafts, and entertainment for boating families; and, of course, a classic tea and cake stall.

Big Boater’s Bash Summer 2025

It took two four-banners stitched together to display the “Welcome to the Longest Village in the World” poster. Land-dwelling local residents came to join the celebration of life on the water, with many telling boaters how glad they were to see the once-abandoned waterways brimming with life again.

The NBTA continues to protest against CRT at boating events
around the country. Get in touch if you’d like to join in.

We from the NBTA believe events like this are great to bring people together, increase feelings of community, and public support. If you helped with the event or just attended it, thank you.

If you would like to get involved to help make the next event a success, let us know by emailing nbtalondon@gmail.com.

News

CRT fairness?

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At the Big Boaters Bash we organised in summer the NBTA London Chair, Ian McDowell did a speech and here it is below:

‘When Canal & River Trust (CRT) come up with a new policy or strategy, they have a favourite word to cover up the subtext: fairness. Safety Zones – fairness; extortionate pre-bookable moorings – fairness; converting casual moorings into restricted time visitor moorings – fairness; the licence surcharge for itinerant boaters – fairness. But who loses out each time? Who is targeted? Which part of the boating community is further marginalised whenever CRT talks about fairness? It is, of course, boaters without a home mooring.

But the subtext doesn’t stop with CRT. NBTA members & volunteers speak to a lot of people; members of other boating organisations, boaters and the public on the towpath when we are leafleting and newsletters, people at our public events and of course at events like Cavalcade where we engage with the public and aim to undermine CRT’s spin that they are some kind of beneficent society. And sometimes we are asked “what is your solution?”

What are we supposed to do to come up with this “solution”? Stop campaigning against the “Safety” Zones? Stop campaigning against the removal and monetisation of casual moorings? Stop campaigning against the license surcharge? Stop campaigning for the interests of parents who need to send their children to school, or people with physical and mental health issues who need adjustments to their expected cruising plans?

The fact is that these “what is your solution” questions are very rarely made in good faith. They are an attempt to deflect away from CRT’s attacks on our community and down a cul de sac where they can blame us for not coming up with the answers, framed within an acceptance of CRT’s claims that we are the problem. For these people, when they talk about a solution, they mean a solution to us, itinerant boaters.

So what could our reply be when we are asked about solutions? CRT need to stop blaming us; to stop marginalising us; to stop discriminating against us, and then, and only then, can we talk about the bigger picture.’

News

Some wins over Chargeable Moorings

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Canal and River Trust (CRT) backs down over some of the chargeable moorings.


Following campaigns from the NBTA London, the CRT have scrapped charges to moor on the Camden visitor moorings, and reduced prices over winter across all chargeable moorings in London. High-profile media coverage the other week – including in The Telegraph – reported that the moorings were “punishingly expensive,” privatising the canals and turning once-busy spots into a “ghost town.”


CRT imposed the charges on sites initially meant to be “eco-moorings”, despite all surveyed groups of waterway users responding negatively to the proposal. Freedom of Information requests by the NBTA showed that existing chargeable moorings were only booked 16.5% of the time during the first six months of the year, making once vibrant stretches of the canal deserted and unsafe. Plans for more charges in Victoria Park, Broadway Market and Cowley are now looking unwise for CRT.
The NBTA London welcomes the roll-back, but won’t stop pushing for an end to discriminatory policies, including scrapping all chargeable moorings and the surcharge on continuous cruiser licences.


If you want to protect a thriving boat community from being pushed off the waterways, take action now and stop the rest of the chargeable mooring.

London, we need your help!
Boats are moored in protest against the chargeable moorings

boater event, Events, nbta london, nbta winter warmer, News, winter warmer

NBTA London Winter Warmer 2024

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NBTA London’s annual boaters’ winter social returns!

Join us for an evening of delicious food and boater chat, as well as  watching the amazing video ‘Off the Cut’ together. We will also be having a discussion on the impact increased enforcement has had on our community, and how sticking together is necessary for the survival of our community.

Let’s eat, drink and be boaty!

Tickets will cost £2.50 this year, but includes your first drink!

Time: Saturday 30th November 2024 at 7pm

Location: London Action Resource Centre, 62 Fieldgate St, London E1 1ES

Tickets oftwn sell out well in advance, so don’t delay!

Tickets can be purchased via Ticket Tailor

 ‘Off the Cut’ by Wendy Zakiewicz (20).

This wonderful film gives a unique insight into a community of boaters living on the Kennet and Avon canal in 2016.
Shining a light on the impact the increased enforcement of 2015 had, the film follows a family on their pedal powered boat as they embark on a journey in which their way of life, and that of the whole community, comes under strain.

Location

London Action Resource Centre, E1 1ES

News

The chargeable moorings, the backstory

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It’s been over a year since Canal and River Trust (CRT) started introducing chargeable moorings as part of their plan to bring down boat numbers in London. So far, only part of the plan to bring in 1.1km of chargeable moorings has been implemented and already these have had a great impact on the boaters that use these areas. Added to the chargeable moorings that were bought in with CRT’s London Mooring Strategy, the length of chargeable moorings in London will do up to 1.5km.

The pretence was that these moorings would allow those from other parts of the country to visit the capital more freely, with assured availability in the most popular destinations. CRT supposedly carried out a consultation on whether boaters wanted such moorings in 2022, however they have so far been unable to provide us with the results of this consultation upon request. Meantime in the “Issues & Challenges Report” published as a result of their 2022 survey, the issue of a lack of moorings in central London is nowhere to be seen: unsurprisingly, a lack of facilities and the waterways falling into disrepair are much higher on boaters’ list of concerns.

Anyhow, availability there now certainly is. According to a Freedom Of Information (FOI) request submitted to the Canal and River Trust (CRT) in June this year and NBTA’s calculations, 1,203 one-night paid bookings were made between 31st October 2023 and 31st May 2024, where the total availability would have been 7,224. This demonstrates that pre-bookable moorings are being used at approximately 17% of their full potential. Chargeable moorings have existed since 2019, with a few available for £10-£12 a night. Why the need to double or triple the price and create more, when these already sat empty?

  • Paddington visitor moorings after they were made chargeable, 2023

In the aforementioned FOI response, CRT declared a total gross income from these booked moorings of £36,532, averaging an income of just over £30 for each night of each booking. To be clear, this is £30 per night to live in your own home, potentially double-moored, with the wonderful view of central London replaced by that of your neighbour’s curtains. Unfortunately, instead of opening up the capital to those living outside it, it has merely priced those of us already living there out. Instead of opening up new moorings and maintaining those available to us now, we find ourselves crammed into smaller spaces, while the most desirable parts of the city sit empty. This leaves the towpaths increasingly susceptible to crime and violence, particularly as the nights draw in earlier, and commuters walk home after dark. These once thriving community mooring spaces have been left empty and abandoned because CRT has made them financially exclusive – a strange no-person’s land throughout central London.

For those of us crossing the capital and unwilling  or unable to pay, we now have an obligatory full day’s cruise ahead of us. And what’s to stop CRT extending these expensive moorings further, leaving us no choice but to stop in them and pay a fee or risk a fine? Alternatively, more London boaters will remain on a River Only licence and cruise solely on the Lee and Stort, therefore reducing CRT’s income further. Boaters from outside London will likely do what most Londoners do all year-round: moor up on the outskirts and travel in.

In an FOI request submitted in October 2023, CRT explained that three Mooring Rangers manage the pre-bookable moorings alongside other tasks, at a cost to them of £104k a year. This doesn’t cover software, IT, admin support, management of that team, or any other associated costs. Considering the gross income from these moorings of £36,532 over six months, so approximately £73k a year, it’s hard to see how CRT could be making much profit, if any. It is in fact more likely they would be making a loss.

So here we are again. Another scheme started by CRT under false pretences, which is not only detrimental to London boaters, but those all along the network, who aren’t seeing any of the supposed income reinvested into CRT waterways and facilities to meet boaters’ day to day needs.

Boats moored in protest against chargeable moorings at Little Venice, late 2023
Article, Campaigns, nbta london, Newsletter

‘Safety Zones’ Update

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It has been 3 years since CRT installed a new set of ‘No Mooring Zones’ on the River Lee. These ‘No Mooring Zones’ were exclusionary and unpopular at their outset – leaving the boating and wider community confused why it was so necessary to push boaters out of such a vital community area – without any evidence of a safety issue in the first place.

For 3 years boaters have continued to moor in protest at these ‘No Mooring Zones’ – yet the river has remained safe, with no significant, or even noticeable spike in safety incidents. The Itinerant Boating Community is full of diversity. Boat dwellers are also canoeists, paddle boarders and rowers, and NBTA are keen to encourage and celebrate this diversity, so we have approached CRT to suggest a different approach. An approach based on mutual initiatives – rather than exclusionary ‘No Mooring Zones’ – where different aspects of the boating community work together to ensure the river is accessible to all. 

It is early days yet, and we hope that discussion will have began in earnest by the end of July – but early signs are good, with CRT and key boating orgs along the River Lee showing interest in a different and more collaborative approach.

A further benefit to this collaborative approach is it can be ‘grassroots’, growing within the community – saving CRT the cost of needless and ineffective micro-management and policing during this time of financial need.

Advice, Article, Document, Help, Legal

Should I moor on the payable moorings? Some brief guidance and advice.

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This guidance is to help you to decide whether to moor on the chargeable moorings or not. If CRT charge you for mooring without booking, contact NBTA Caseworkers for help. 

For more detailed guidance, including case law and foot notes, see here

I’ve already decided to moor – what are the basics I need to remember? Brief Information

CRT’s ability to issue charges is untested. They state that they will charge double the nightly cost for any boat that stays without paying. It isn’t known if they can uphold this (see [link] for more info). 

Stick to the British Waterways Act 1995: do not overstay the 14 day limit unless reasonable, use your boat for bona fide navigation, have a valid BSS, have insurance. 

Check that mooring is available on CRT’s website before mooring on the chargeable mooring. If it is fully booked, don’t moor there. Be respectful to other boaters who may have paid.

If you say that you are mooring there in protest or there are clear signs which state the charges, then then CRT could argue that you have agreed to the terms and conditions of mooring there. This may make it easier to charge you. 

Hiding index numbers is against the 1975 BW byelaw. However, CRT do not have the power to refuse you a licence for not displaying your index number. If someone doesn’t display an index number, it is harder for CRT to know who is moored on the chargeable mooring and therefore to send emails to them.

Do not engage in conversation with mooring rangers. 

If CRT move beyond threats and do issue a charge, contact the NBTA London caseworkers: https://nbtalondon.co.uk/resources/contact-nbta-caseworkers/

Advice, Article, Facts and Advice, Help

Should I moor on the payable moorings? More detailed guidance

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This detailed guidance is to help you to decide whether to moor on the chargeable moorings or not. If CRT charge you for mooring without booking, contact NBTA Caseworkers for help. 

For less detailed guidance, see here.

I don’t know whether to moor there – what do I need to consider?  Detailed Guidance 

Can CRT Charge me?

CRT claims it could charge a fee for breaking the T&Cs and ignoring their signs. They haven’t issued any extra charges to boaters for ignoring their signs. 

CRT are claiming that they can charge double for mooring on chargeable moorings without booking. This has not been tested. We believe it to be unlikely and as far as we are aware, no charges have been issued for overstaying before. However, mooring will be at your own risk.

If no signs are visible clearly saying what the restrictions are, CRT will not be able to charge boaters for staying there. If signs are visible, it can be argued that the boater is entering into a contract with CRT by mooring there. In ‘Parkingeye Ltd v Beavis (2015), a motorist’s appeal against a charge was rejected because there were plenty of signs stipulating the length of stay and the penalty1.

Similarly, if a mooring ranger tells you to move, it can be argued that by remaining there the boater is entering into a contract with CRT. If you were to tell a CRT employee that you are moored in protest, you would be acknowledging that you know about the chargeable mooring and so also be entering into the contract. However, you should only feel compelled to move if safe and able to do so. 

If you mooring on a chargeable mooring doesn’t stop another boater who has paid, then CRT can not issue a large fine. In the Parkingeye Ltd v Beavis 2015 court case, the judges ruled that a charge collected needs to be in line with the loss incurred. This suggests that if you cause CRT to lose money by mooring in a spot someone else has paid for, they will be able to charge more than if you had not caused them a loss2. Take a screenshot of the available booking online and of the empty spaces so that you have proof of this. 

The booking website will show you if there is limited or no availability on the chargeable moorings (amber or red). If it is red, we do not advise that you moor there. If it is amber, make your own judgement about whether to moor there. 

CRT cannot legally issue fines which automatically take money from your bank account. They might be able to send a penalty charge notice to your address. 

Can CRT take away my licence if I get a charge and don’t pay it? 

Mooring on chargeable moorings without paying should not affect your licence. It is a breach of your licence Terms and Conditions.

Legal advice states that CRT that cannot refuse to relicense your boat so long as you satisfy all the conditions of section 17 of British Waterways Act 19953 (Not staying more than 14 days, the boat is used for bona fide navigation, has insurance, and valid BSS). Whether you breach the Terms and Conditions or refuse to pay the charge, it is not relevant and should not affect your renewing your licence.

CRT cannot evict a boater only for running up charges that they say are owed to them. In Ravenscroft Vs Canal and River Trust court case (2018), the judge ruled that CRT cannot recover ‘outstanding cost’ from boat owners using Section 8 of British Waterways Act 1983 (one of the eviction notices that CRT issues to boaters)4.

If I decide to moor there, how do I go about it?

  • untickedCheck that mooring is available on CRT’s website before mooring on the chargeable mooring.
  • untickedStick to British Waterways Act 1995: do not overstay the 14 day limit, use for bona fide navigation, have a valid BSS, have insurance. 
  • untickedHiding index numbers is against the 1975 BW byelaw5. If someone doesn’t display an index number, it is harder for CRT to know who is more on the chargeable mooring.
  • untickedYou do not have to engage in conversation with mooring rangers. 

If CRT move beyond threats and do issue a charge, contact the NBTA London caseworkers: https://nbtalondon.co.uk/resources/contact-nbta-caseworkers/

Footnotes

 1 Parkingeye Ltd v Beavis [2015] EWCA Civ 402: “[28] …charges of the kind now under consideration should be recoverable, provided that they had been brought clearly to the attention of the motorist at the time he made use of the car park.”

2Parkingeye Ltd v Beavis [2015] EWCA Civ 402: “ [12] It will be held to be a penalty if the sum stipulated for is is extravagant and unconscionable in amount in comparison with the greatest loss that could conceivably be proved to have followed from the breach.”

3 https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/1995/1/section/17/enacted

4  https://www.casemine.com/judgement/uk/5b2897fa2c94e06b9e19e90e

5  “No person shall knowingly cause or permit to be concealed a pleasure boat licencce or commercial vessel license required to be displayed on a pleasure boat or commercial vessel in accordance with this Bye-law”,

Article, News, Newsletter

National Demo against the Surcharge in Birmingham

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On a crisp winter’s day in November, over one hundred boaters from across UK waterways descended on the Canal and River Trust’s Birmingham office. Boaters from all over, from Macclesfield canal, Birmingham canals, to Kennet and Avon canal, Monmouth and Brecon canal to River Lea and many more waterways unified to protest against CRT’s discriminatory licence fee surcharge. A few boats with banners joined us outside the office, which was really fantastic to see, and we were able to get the story into several press outlets too.

The demo was a great success and showed CRT that we will not stand by and allow them to threaten our way of life. Thank you to everyone who came or supported from afar!

NBTA London needs your support to carry on our work. Please get in touch here if you would like to volunteer with us. Alternatively your donations are vital to us supporting boaters with their legal case work, campaign banners and other printed material as well as events. You can help us with your donations online here

Article, nbta london, News

Risk Assessment Confirms River Lee ‘No Mooring’ Zones are ‘Not Necessary’

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The Canal & River Trust’s (CRT) failing ’Water Safety Zones’ scheme on the River Lee has been dealt another blow after a risk assessment confirmed that the expensive and unpopular zones are ‘not necessary’.

Once referred to by CRT as ‘Water Sports Zones’, these designated areas on both the Lower and Upper Lee – close to the Lea Rowing Club in Hackney and Broxbourne Rowing Club in Hertfordshire – are a part of CRT’s strategy to remove the number of places where boaters can moor, and to force the itinerant liveaboard community off the water.

Initially CRT had plans to get rid of 550 mooring spaces along the River Lea, where boaters have the right to moor for up to 14 days at a time. Following a sustained campaign of resistance from the boating community (many of whom have continued to moor on the sites despite harassment and failed attempts at enforcement) CRT relented on the full threatened 550 mooring spaces. However, they continue to try and eliminate 295 mooring spaces.

CRT have been unable to provide a clear reason for these ‘No Mooring’ Zones, and despite constant requests have not released any assessment that explains why these sites should be ‘No Mooring’. The National Bargee Travellers Association (NBTA) finally ran out of patience and commissioned an independent risk assessment at three of these ‘No Mooring’ Zones themselves. This assessment, carried out by a qualified and experienced IOSH and IIRSM Risk Assessment professional at three of the ‘No Mooring’ Zones, concludes the following:

‘Boats moored in this area cannot be considered an additional risk as they comply with national standard practice(…) Mooring restrictions at these sites are not necessary’.

The resulting verdict goes on to suggest that it is more important for craft – including row boats – to manage their speed effectively to avoid any potential incidents.

The ‘No Mooring’ Zones policy is designed to make life difficult for many boaters, and could ultimately drive them off the water and out of their homes.

Daniel Prada is an itinerant liveaboard boater who has been moored on and off on the ‘No Mooring Zones’ this year, including on one of the sites the risk assessment covers. He said:

“It’s clear to me that this has never been about safety. The Lower Lee is one of the widest waterways in the whole of CRT’s South East waterway region and I’ve never seen any issues with the navigation at all because of moored boats. Honestly, this just feels like another way for the CRT to put pressure on boaters and make our life more difficult. This is my home – it’s where I’m raising my daughter. To have CRT try and force me out of it just makes me more resolved to defend it so that the waterways can remain a place for everyone.”

CRT has recently put out a series of announcements regarding their money issues, blaming everyone but themselves for the holes in their finances. However, a Freedom of Information request shows that as of 31 May 2023, the Trust has wasted anything up to £249,680.09* on the Water Safety Zones – much of it spent on outsourced enforcement contracts with companies like District Enforcement.

Marcus Trower, of NBTA London

Marcus Trower, of the London branch of the National Bargee Travellers Association (NBTA), has also been continuing to defy the ‘No Mooring’ Zones. He said:

“The NBTA has continuously tried to engage with the CRT to address legitimate safety concerns, but this risk assessment confirms what we knew all along – that the so-called ‘water safety zones’ have never been about safety, and have always been about trying to erase our community from our homes, impoverishing the waterways as a result. Boaters have mounted an incredible resistance to this dishonest, wasteful and fundamentally doomed policy for years, ever since it was first announced. The news that CRT has been lying about their intentions all along, and wasting hundreds of thousands of pounds – which we provide through our licence fees – in the process will only galvanise our community further. CRT needs to stop mismanaging both their finances and the waterways in general, and get their house in order. We will continue to resist, protest and push back at any and all further attacks on the boater community with all means at our disposal.”

No Mooring Sign in the ‘Safety Zones’ covered by boaters with a bin bag

The campaign of resistance against the ‘Water Safety Zones’ continues in full swing. Many boats continue to ignore the ‘no mooring’ signs and resist CRT’s campaign of harassment, and in May of this year hundreds attended the NBTA Spring Fayre – a celebration of the boater community held at one of the key sites that the CRT is trying to erase boaters from in Hackney.

*CRT caveats this figure, saying it is the total spend in the ‘Water Safety’ Zones, and so may cover costs relating to other Trust activities. However, after the recent spate of new ‘No Mooring’ signs erected in both areas, this number will certainly have risen since May already.

Freedom of information request here:

https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/third_party_contractors_safety_z#banner

NBTA London needs your support to carry on our work. Please get in touch here if you would like to volunteer with us. Alternatively your donations are vital to us supporting boaters with their legal case work, campaign banners and other printed material as well as events. You can help us with your donations online here