Liveaboards

Boaters' financial contribution to British Waterways: update

2012-01-22T15:21:00.001Z

FYI - I have just added the following to the previous post on this:

Addendum - 22 January 2012 - As anyone who has used the link to my FOI on this will see, BW has answered and say that an additional £4.7M of their annual income comes from businesses whose primary customers are boaters. Add this to the the figures above and we have confirmation that Boaters provide at least 20% of BW's annual income worth around £35 million pa at last year's rates.

British Waterways' Commercial activities - Risk versus Gain

2012-01-22T11:36:00.001Z

Something strange for you today - I am going to say something positive about British Waterways' property portfolio! (Before you get too excited do read the whole thing!)

Headline news is the Wood Wharf development in London Docklands, and that Canary Wharf Group has bought out Ballymore and British Waterways' regeneration/redevelopment interests in the scheme. British Waterways retain their freehold interest and it seems have some reasonable expectation of significant rental income in the medium to long term, once individual elements in the regeneration are completed and let.

Whatever the detailed in and outs of the Wood Wharf deal, this deal is, to me at least, reassuring. This much safer and less risky model of commercial investment, where BW stick to the Landlord function and stay out of the riskier Developer function, is one I have advocated to BW for years. I therefore have to be pleased about this week's events.

Now to return to my usual more critical mode!

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British Waterways confirms that CRT represents privatisation (and a warning to the CRT Transition Trustees?)

2012-01-01T11:35:00.006Z

It seems we have confirmation of my previous suggestion from a reliable source - British Waterways.

Their web page 'Charitable Trust Plans' today states that, "In April 2012 the Canal and River Trust will take over as the guardian of the waterways in England and Wales bring to an end over 60 years of public ownership."

RIP the Select Committee who said: We were extremely surprised to discover that privatisation was one of the options being considered by BW’s ongoing strategic options review, and are disappointed we were not informed about this during our evidence sessions with BW. In our view, privatisation is not a serious option: the waterways network is a public asset providing wide benefits to society and some Government funding will always be necessary. It should be ruled out by the Government.

Source: http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200607/cmselect/cmenvfru/345/345.pdf

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British Waterways ends the year as it started

2011-12-26T11:02:00.006Z

It's that Boxing Day vibe. Not too much rushing about and a bit of reflection. Looking back through these pages I see that I started 2011 with a personal dig at BW Chairman Tony Hales. A year later on I stand by those words, because I see no change of attitude, especially when I look at British Waterways' track record through the year.

In that post I commented on the huge frustration I felt as a NABO Council member over BW's prevarication over responding to our legal complaint, the core of which was concern about some of the seemingly draconian and potentially unlawful proposals BW was attempting to impose on boaters through their unilateral and un-consulted changes to Licence conditions during 2008. Where are we at a year later?

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Is the Canal and Rivers Trust going to mortgage the waterways?

2011-12-14T21:47:00.000Z

My recent post alluding to the point of view that in fact the waterways are about to be privatised was somewhat tongue in cheek. However like most jokes, there is an element of worrying truth in there somewhere.

One of the key points that is being touted in favour of the proposed transition of British Waterways to the Canals and River Trust is that the new body will have more scope to raise funds. However everyone seems to be conveniently overlooking a potentially very sinister change in BW's powers that hides behind that proposed liberalisation of BW's financial powers. In Hansard's written replies last week Richard Benyon, the Waterways Minister, said

22 Nov 2011 : Column 304W
The transfer of British Waterways to the charitable sector creates new opportunities for growing income from private and commercial sources, making efficiencies and forming supportive partnerships. The charity will also be able to borrow against its assets and so expand income in the longer term.

Source

Given the current managments' mixed record on making successful investments, do we really trust these people with the power to mortgage the waterways in order to make more speculative investments?

How much do boat owners contribute to British Waterways' property income?

2011-12-07T21:31:00.008Z

I don't know the answer to this question though I have wondered from some time. When I had my NABO hat on in the last few days the question of how much boaters already contribute financially to the waterways was in my mind. So now I have asked.

What I do notice is that when asked questions about how much boaters contribute financially to BW, the figures referred to are usually based only on the direct income that boaters contribute to BW as per the Annual Report and accounts.

Boat licence income - 17.4M
BW moorings - 6.3 M
BWML total income - 6.6M

(Source Page 31 in BW 2010/11 Accounts)

So direct income from boaters last year was £30.3 million or 17.2% of BW's gross income. These are direct payments from boaters but what about the indirect payments that boaters make to those waterside businesses that in turn BW get a cut from?

It will be interesting to see the numbers and understand better how much of BW's commercial income from property is in fact derived indirectly from boaters pockets.

(Old rant about where my mooring fees do and don't go)

Addendum - 22 January 2012 - As anyone who has used the link to my FOI on this will see, BW has answered and say that an additional £4.7M of their annual income comes from businesses whose primary customers are boaters. Add this to the the figures above and we have confirmation that Boaters provide at least 20% of BW's annual income worth around £35 million pa at last year's rates.

More Boaters voice concerns about the Canal and River Trust

2011-12-03T21:45:00.001Z

Life has been a bit hectic (but all positive) hence nothing new here for a few days. Like a lot of other boaters I have an ongoing feeling that CRT is a done deal and that what boaters have to say on the subject is not getting the airtime it should do, not least when one considers the financial contributions we make to the waterways. I am still left feeling that I am being asked to feed the hand that bites me and that we boaters continue to be seen by some in BW as a problem rather than an ally.

One thing that reassured me that I am not completely out on a limb in my thinking was the appearance of the Boaters' Manifesto.

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Feeding the hand that bites you

2011-11-06T12:30:00.001Z

A slight rant today but I feel the need to say this. I was reminded of the above epithet which, I think I saw from someone else on-line on the same issue, when I saw this morning, the 'Biking for Bonuses' article from Narrowboatworld's Alan Richards in which he has highlighted an example of what is for myself and many a fundamental problem with the New Waterways Charity. I don't know and haven't met BW's new head of Fundraising and whether she or someone else is the originator of the idea that hard pressed staff members should pay an entry fee and give up annual leave to take part in a fundraising event for the NWC, I also don't know.

However I take the same sort of view as Alan, that who ever is responsible for this is on a another planet. Alan says it all in his article. By simply not standing firm and not paying the directors bonuses as previously agreed the BW Remuneration Committee has put a huge obstacle to any fundraising.

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British Waterways bans people with Children or who work from Continuously Cruising?

2011-10-31T14:41:00.002Z

Now I have seen a few pretty weird things from BW over the years but I have to say this tops the list: Just noticed what on the face of it seem to be a rather sinister statement on their Waterscape website:

continuously cruising

You will not usually be issued with a licence unless you have a permanent mooring. However, if you have no ties (such as jobs or children at school), you can opt to cruise canals continuously, never staying at the same place for more than a fortnight. British Waterways has a special set of guidelines for such boaters.
Source: http://www.waterscape.com/things-to-do/boating/moorings

The message seem to be, if you are a Continuous Cruiser don't let BW know if you work or have children: they might revoke your Licence?

Credit when due

2011-10-31T09:57:00.001Z

In response to my complaint last week BW have corrected their licencing pages on the issue of eligiblity to apply for a Houseboat Certificate.

British Waterways is still misleading residential mooring customers

2011-10-27T13:00:00.002+01:00

Despite my successful complaint and the Ombudsman's involvement, British Waterways it seems still persists in deceiving Residential Boaters. Their web page as of today says:

If the boat is a houseboat (see General Licence Conditions - Definitions 1.4) which is not used for navigation, and ...
If you use the boat for navigation, you should purchase a Standard Boat Licence.

Source: http://www.britishwaterways.co.uk/license-it/choosing-and-buying-a-licence/standard-licences

As I have pointed out you are allowed to cruise just on a Houseboat licence and moving your boat should not exclude you from enjoying the additional protection you should be entitled through by having a Houseboat Certificate.

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British Waterways prefer to forego income rather than lose face?

2011-10-26T16:44:00.003+01:00

Another boater and I were laughing about this earlier this week and a good joke is always worth sharing: BW's residential moorings at Engineer's Wharf.

Anyone who knows London Canals will know that the moorings in question are sited near Yeading on the Paddington Arm of the Grand Union Canal. Like many good jokes however the underlying truth is less comfortable and again goes to question the honesty or lack thereof with which the BW system of Moorings auctions is implemented.

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Message for Anton

2011-10-26T15:12:00.000+01:00

Just to say hi to Anton who posted a personal boating question as a comment last week. I won't answer that through the blog but you can contact me through NABO if you still want to discuss that.

New Name for Britain’s New Waterways Charity

2011-10-07T11:50:00.004+01:00

Away from the official launch, waterways campaigners were celebrating their new name for the proposed waterways charity which will replace British Waterways and planned to come into being next April Fool’s day. After many months consulting it has been confirmed that the new waterways charity will be known as Canals and Rivers Are Privatised (CRAP).

A spokesman commented that “we consulted widely on the correct name to adopt and after speaking to many stakeholders and other waterways users we feel we have found a solution that will work going forward.” The chairman of the transition trustees is reported as confirming his view that, “The new name represents what our waterways mean to so many people.”
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Waiting for the train that never comes

2011-10-05T12:41:00.000+01:00

Going through old paperwork today I discovered that next week will be the ninth anniversary of my first serious questioning of British Waterways about terms and conditions for their residential mooring customers. As of today the question is still open. Along the way:

Several Ombudsman Complaints in my favour.
A Government Public Consultation
A Select Committee
BW unilaterally abandoning the Working Group supposed to address these issues
Files full of correspondence and broken promises from BW starting with the Chairman Tony Hales
Government Departments ducking the question and passing the buck between themselves

Still British Waterways seem unwilling to provide me with and other residential customers with the full written terms and conditions a previous Ombudsman said I was entitled to.

I wonder if BW can string it out another year and make double figures?

London Mushrooms

2011-10-01T09:30:00.007+01:00

You would not know that there is a local User Group meeting in London next week from the British Waterways website if you look today. I noticed this point while looking into something in advance of the meeting. So much to involvement and openness if one of the supposed few public lines of accountability into BW is not being publicly advertised. Given that BW may shortly correct this omission I have taken a copy...* As you can see: no mention that I can find that there is an upcoming meeting.

For those who might be interested the meeting is due to be held on Weds 05 October at the Pirate Club in Camden at 7 pm.

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British Waterways can't manage the proverbial in a brewery?

2011-09-29T11:29:00.000+01:00

Not my words this time, though it has to be said that the same thought has passed through my mind: David Bruce, The President of the Kennet and Avon Canal Trust has reportedly launched a swingeing attack on British Waterways Management according to another waterways blogger, KAcanaltimes.

Well done Mr Bruce. If British Waterways are true to form, BW's King-of Spin, Simon Salem will be sitting outside Mr Bruce's house right now and/or on the phone to Mr Bruce trying to gain entry to attempt to calm the waters and persuade Mr Bruce of the error of his ways. Looking at Mr Bruce's CV I doubt it will do any good.
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Got the hump with British Waterways?

2011-09-17T10:38:00.001+01:00

How effectively (or not) BW spends money has always been a bone of contention with me. My main complaints recently have been about BW Directors remuneration despite their many high level failures and the failing state of BW's finances. However week in, week out, there is lots of small scale stuff which I don't report on here. Anyone with a Goggle search or the like will see them coming up in their results especially in regional and local press items.

Given that it's clearly full steam ahead with the New Waterways Charity (NWC), it's important that local consultation issues on the day to day running of the waterways aren't overlooked and here's one that popped up today: Speed bumps that don't work have apparently been installed on London towpaths (at whatever expense). Lots of small recumbent white elephants?

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Raw deal for British Waterways mooring customers

2011-09-07T13:55:00.001+01:00

Most of you will realise that the I take some interest in the issue of Moorings. I'm quite unashamed about giving BW a hard time when they don't perform, especially when like me you are paying a premium rate for what I say is too often a poor service.

I always have a close read of the Waterways Ombudsman's annual report so was pleased this year to see that Ms Bainbridge has again highlighted two areas of longstanding concern to me. Lack of independent scrutiny of the charges we pay and more worryingly what I characterise as BW's persistent unwillingness to be clear about we mooring customers get for out money.

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Still Here, quietly fuming away!

2011-09-06T15:28:00.001+01:00

Hello everyone. Still here if a little silent on the blog. Lots going on as ever but where to start? Probably the latest BW Consultation Con?

The BW River Lee Consultation results = how to re-invent the wheel c/o BW: Having been assured by BW that Roving Moorings permits were off the table they are now back on.

BW also seem to be doing the old emotional blackmail thing on the side.The implication of their responses to the consultation seems to indicate that that they will only improve facilities in the area if everyone agrees to accept Roving Moorings permits?

For me this is a major step backwards because it goes back to the underlying prejudice that it is people without home moorings = Continuous Cruisers, who 'should' be the ones targeted by introducing charges for mooring in ways which are presently entirely free and lawful. Is the converse true?

If as BW propose improved facilities will only be funded by anyone who takes out a roving moorings permits, does that mean that those with moorings will not be allowed to use the facilities so provided, as they have not paid for them?
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Pest Control updates

2011-08-13T10:26:00.000+01:00

Two more recent takes on BW Directors' salaries from Narrowboatworld and UNITE.

Ironically the Mark Benstead also got given an OBE for services to the waterways.
(Other buXXers efforts?)

What it will cost us to eradicate the parasites

2011-08-01T11:39:00.002+01:00

Like many others I am picking over the latest British Waterways annual report. One thing I have spotted is a new section in the Directors Remuneration Report (pp 48 ff) setting out the notice periods that the current Directors are entitled to. The short answer is that if BW or its successor want to get rid of a director they potentially get a years salary!

I would like to think that this is writing on the wall for some BW Directors?!

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Lesson for a New Golden Age?

2011-07-24T10:29:00.001+01:00

Like many I was impressed and informed by the BBC's recent documentary, the Golden Age of Canals.

Two things struck me in the documentary:

The primacy of restoring and maintaining the navigation.
The fact that all this happened by direct action from canal enthusiasts and the pioneer leisure boaters, despite a routinely obstructive and hostile navigation authority.

These themes are two things I spend so much of my life trying to pursue, so it's good to have a positive reality check and realise that I and many others are not far out of line with the prioirties of the original pioneers, when we harp on about the much smaller battles we seem to have to fight these days.

Pleased to hear Tom Chaplin's comment on one of the pioneers. "... he was told he wasn't meant to and he just did it."

Compare and Contrast

2011-07-06T09:57:00.002+01:00

BW have just offered a post for recruitment - a waterways operative on the K+A. The salary offered, £13-18k pa. If anyone doesn't know, the waterways operatives are the people on the front line maintaining and managing the waterways day-to-day.

Robin Evans' (Chief Executive) received a package in 2009/10 of £233k (and was sitting on a pension pot just shy of £1.4 million pounds).

This suggests that you could, if you sack Robin, replace him with around 15 additional operatives on the front line.

How would you like to see the money spent? I know what I think.

At least some people in BW take maintenance seriously

2011-06-14T21:04:00.000+01:00

I frequently have a go at BW over maintenance so it's nice to report something positive. Site meeting last week where defective lights were pointed out: All checked and repaired within a week. Thanks are due to BW's London's Laura Raine. As ever the front line staff are doing well in spite of the idiots they have to work for!

Poor omen for BW's volunteering aspirations

2011-06-12T14:46:00.000+01:00

A beautiful juxtaposition has come to light - we have two volunteering events organised on the same day in West London next weekend. British Waterways invited me through a direct mailing list to take part in a locally organised Towpath Tidy at Kensal Green next weekend, 18th June. I offered my services copying the e-mail to my contact at Thames 21 one who already organise similar event across London Waterways. The response from Thames 21 was "What’s the, Kensal Green event?"

It turns out BW has seemingly not spoken to Thames 21 to seek their support in engaging existing Canalkeeper volunteers like me.

Even better if BW had checked the date with Thames21 in advance they might have realised as I now do that there is already a pre-organised clean up event at Hanwell Locks (see June 18th entry) organised by Thames 21 on the same day. This doesn't fill me full of confidence about BW's proposals to seek more input from volunteers when they can't coordinate with existing resources?

Why I don't feel like a valued customer

2011-06-11T11:35:00.001+01:00

The current DEFRA consultation on the future structure of BW closes at the ended of the month and I have been reviewing lots of my file records over the past few days both in connection with that and my more more personal ongoing 'discussions' with BW and others about the better management of the Houseboat Certificate Scheme. I also started a thread on a waterways forum to see if I could get some views on one aspect of the ongoing question of how BW proposes better managing visitor moorings.

The common thread in all this is the reflection that these and many other boating related issues have been debated yet remain unresolved over many years. Maybe I'm just getting too bitter and twisted but it strikes me that in a variety of ways, this amounts to solid evidence of BW's continuing failure to achieve what we are supposed in management speak to call "positive outcomes".

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The continuing joke of BW moorings maintenance

2011-06-09T20:33:00.003+01:00

In December the Ombudsman made a ruling against BW in connection with one of my neighbours' wider complaint about maintenance on our mooring. 6 months later one of the repairs she recomended be undertaken has still not been carried out!

A notional prize* will be awarded for anyone who can guess what this sign is supposed to say or do?

It seem BW's moorings service has declined so far that they can't even afford to carry out Ombudsman recommendations?

(* PS - the answer to the 'competition' is now available here.)

Welcome to the parish of Smoke on the Water

2011-06-01T11:16:00.002+01:00

Simon Satan spokesman for the Smoke on the Water Parish Council in the county of Glossitover was interviewed on local radio in the last week about the Parish Councillors' radical new approach to parking management.

"We have decided we don't like the look of some of the people who park in our village and so we have resolved to make the whole village out with yellow lines.

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A little bit of Thames boating

2011-06-01T09:36:00.003+01:00

The relative silence for a few weeks can in part be excused by what we in NABO Council call "always a valid excuse for not...": I've been away boating! Just been with my friend crewing his Dutch Barge from Goring on the Thames back to London. It's good to remember that despite all the blustering here, getting out on the waterways in a boat is ultimately what makes sense of it all.

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Can't see the elephant for the smoke and mirrors?

2011-05-05T13:05:00.000+01:00

I have long described the absence of a realistic and transparent financial picture of BW's affairs as being an elephant in the room that BW have been doing their best to deny with 'smoke and mirrors'. Allan Richards hit the mark for me in his article revealing that in response to his FOI request DEFRA apparently don't have current figures about the maintenance costs of the waterways.
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Social Cleansing continues?

2011-04-30T10:56:00.001+01:00

Nice to see a bit of the mainstream media again picking up on some of the current issues: Guardian Article, 27 April.

The Guardian of course picked up on this a few weeks ago. In the item on the River Lea and Olympics. Despite a subsequent 'correction' and a letter from the much misunderstood Sally Ash of BW the cat is out of the bag: "Some people will have to suffer".

Temporary Visitors Moorings for the Olympics are now for sale at various locations on London's canals via BW's Waterscape site.

River Lee and Olympics

2011-03-20T11:54:00.000Z

Just a quick hello to highlight the London Boaters' website: http://www.londonboaters.org/home

A particulalrly useful section here is the Documents section, which shows in some detail the way BW go about arguing these things.

Secret war a secret no longer

2011-03-11T10:55:00.002Z

I claimed last year that I thought BW was continuing its long standing tacit policy to price out residential boaters through a process of exclusion and gentrification. In a remarakable statement reported in the Guardian, BW's Head of Boating Sally Ash confirms this in the starkest terms:

"... we have to control the number of boats, which have increased by 40% over the last four years on the Lea. The only way we can do this is through price, and some people will have to suffer."

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Snouts in the trough while frontline staff face more redundancies

2011-02-12T11:00:00.006Z

The ridiculous and unjustifiable salaries of some of BW's Directors have again been highlighted this week and well done Narrowboatworld for running with this. More front line redundancies are in the pipeline while BW's directors continue to be paid vast sums of our money for sitting on top of an organisation which on their own reckoning is running at a £30 million a year shortfall. It's heartening to see that other boaters and canal enthusiasts are waking up to this one, even if most of the National User groups remain too cowed and fearful to speak out too strongly on this elephant in the room.
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The Continuous Cruising myth

2011-01-23T11:49:00.011Z

That Continuous Cruisers are the main culprits when it comes to overstaying on visitors moorings is a myth that BW continue to perpetuate in order to justify differential charges and other targeting of Continuous Cruisers.

Many Boaters in the boating forums rail about Continuous Cruisers in this way too. I was therefore very relieved when a glimmer of reality pierced through the prejudice and outright bigotry one too often reads in such forums when one contributor bothered asking the question, "what's the evidence"?

The answer is, NONE!

Beyond that, when challenged, the evidence BW have supplied to date, seems to prove that very point!
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Several potential new members of the doubters club?

2011-01-14T22:03:00.000Z

Good to see someone in politics is not wholly convinced by all the spin. Nice to know one's not the only one with concerns on this front!

I can hear them muttering in Watford right now: "Who do they think they are suggesting that British Waterways and it's successor needs independent scrutiny?"

What a hypocite!

2011-01-09T22:09:00.005Z

Happy New Year to everyone. I was sitting here thinking about saying hello again after a silent period and wondering what there was to say at the moment when Victor's latest column in Narrowboatworld hit my buttons.

Due to work commitments I couldn't get to the BW AGM this year and it may have been a good thing having just read the report of Tony Hales' comments:

To the knockers who can only find ill to say or blog, I say you not only diminish the achievements of my colleagues, but you also diminish the achievements of so many dedicated partners, including so many passionate campaigners and contributors from the boating world.

All I can say is , if you really said this, you are at best completely ignorant of what your directors are doing Mr Hales! At worst you are a bare faced hypocrite.

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BW is still trying to deceive it's residential moorings customers

2010-11-21T10:21:00.007Z

Having lost a complaint about clarifying boaters' eligibility for Houseboat Certificates, BW is attempting to move the goal posts.

Earlier this year I 'won' a complaint against BW. Their current terms and conditions* claim that: 1.4 "Houseboat" means a boat which is not used for navigation and is kept on a British Waterways long term mooring with planning consent for residential use."

Unfortunately BW's evidence to Parliament prior to the 1995 British Waterways Act and their own subsequent interpretation, negotiated with national user groups at the time, makes it quite clear that this is not the case and that anyone who moors at a properly established BW long term mooring should be entitled to claim the better legal protections that apply through having a Houseboat Certificate (instead of a Standard Cruising Licence). In evidence of this, numbers of Houseboat Certificates increased to over 300 in during the years following the '95 Act.

During my Stage Two complaint, when I produced evidence of what they had said to Parliament and boaters at the time, BW conceded that they had got it wrong. During the course of the complaint they most amusingly admitted that they could not find their papers from the Committee hearings on the Bill that became the 1995 Act and could I direct them to the appropriate records!

However following a short interval during which the results of the complaint were discussed with the main national user groups representing boaters, they then refused to commit to publicising this finding. Rather than concede gracefully they only agreed a timetable to publicise the decision after I complained to the Ombudsman.
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Be careful what you wish for

2010-11-14T13:56:00.012Z

The new message from British Waterways is that the new Waterways Charity will not be the old BW. Depending on your point of view this is either an important message or a statement of the blxxding obvious!

This message appears to have been delivered with a three line whip at two public meetings recently. It is interesting that on both occasions, this mantra was offered in the context of and in direct response to people raising concerns about the competence and track record of the current BW management.

If I really believed that the coming of the new waterways charity meant we would be sweeping away most of the current Board and Management Team and replacing with something better and closer to the public, I would offer my support. Problem is I see no sign of this. It seems to me that emperor is is just getting a new set of clothes, and like the old ones, best not subject to too close an examination.
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Doing it the hard way

2010-11-06T20:13:00.001Z

Further to my last posting, British Waterways have of course promptly repaired the diffuser on my electric point, within days of receiving the formal complaint. just annoying that it wasn't done when I just asked in the normal way.

Repairs by the complaints process

2010-10-24T17:05:00.003+01:00

Back on this again. BW don't seem to learn from previous complaints: one broken diffuser on a mains power bollard:

Note the missing corner at the on the bottom left.

Point it out to at the annual electrical safety inspection: the engineer agrees it needs replacing.
Wait all Summer nothing happens.
Point it out a second time to another engineer inspecting the electrics, he agrees it should be fixed and will tell BW.
Nothing happens
Phone BW up to report this and another repair.
The other repair is done but no response on this one.
Thinks, I am paying BW nearly £5000 a year for this mooring.
Start Stage One Complaint.

I will let you know what happens!

Letting the mushrooms see the light?

2010-10-09T11:49:00.004+01:00

It may surprise my regulars but I'm going to say something (almost) positive about British Waterways today.

Along held grumble at local user group meetings has been how on too many occasions local staff leading those meetings have been not been briefed over national policy discussions. The phrase "you seem to know more about this than us", has been heard from their lips more than a few times! (= mushroom theory)

It seems after many years of asking, both personally and nationally through NABO's good offices, someone has finally decided to do something about this one. Accordingly all local user group meetings have been issued with a national briefing on boating issues. (As soon as I find one posted on the web I'll add a link.)

I have to acknowledge this as progress at last!

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Paddington Business Barges confirmed as a White Elephant

2010-10-05T12:44:00.004+01:00

My friend Allan Richards has through his persistent public questioning of BW proved what most of us locally thought was the case: The business barges BW installed in Paddington Basin are a financial failure. It did not take a genius in property investment to work out that trying to market these barges as workspaces adjacent to one of the biggest office space developments in West London was going to be a challenge, whatever the economic climate.

The signs of course were apparent a year ago.

The answer to Allan's latest FOI request demonstrates that over the last eight years the project has made no return.

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Boaters - An afterthought in BW's thinking?

2010-09-03T08:41:00.001+01:00

To all of you who have been sitting round waiting for my latest musings my apologies! Please blame BW because my spare time has been pre-occupied with their latest musings on the future management of directly managed residential moorings.

What are their latest thoughts? Well that's the nub of it. BW have made it clear they don't want me to tell you!

This is of course a point I have made about BW's attitude to it's boating customers in the past: BW's preference seems to be to try to make changes to the terms and conditions of boating by whatever method that ensures boaters are the last people to hear about these changes.

What has been happening is that BW only grudgingly revealed their latest intentions over the future of Houseboat Certificates and directly managed residential moorings to me in the course of an Ombudsman complaint. It is only out of respect for the Ombudsman’s good offices that I am restraining the considerable urge to publish their correspondence with me and be damned!

I have in fact written to BW recently and proposed that actually they should go public with what they now have in mind and let all the boating customers that might be effected by what they are proposing have an opportunity to comment on the proposals in advance of the event. That suggestion has to date been studiously ignored! For the moment then you are going to have to be patient while the Ombudsman muses over how she wants to work through the situation.

However these events have found echoes in a couple of other things that have happened recently.
Read more »

Report on 'Waterways For Everyone' consultation issued.

2010-07-28T21:04:00.001+01:00

I would commend to readers DEFRA's report on its consultation which from earlier in the year on 'Waterways for Everyone'. Full details from the DEFRA web page. A fair bit to read but I think worth the effort.

Feathering the nest?

2010-07-27T08:21:00.002+01:00

BW Directors have had a good year even if the rest of the business has suffered. According to the Annual Accounts, last year the value of their pension funds increased by £1.8 million pounds. (Annual Accounts page 47).

Robins Evans pension fund increased by in excess of 33% in the year and spin master general, Simon Salem's pension pot increased by 43%, which the annual report claims will provide them with pensions of £78 000 and £63 000 a year respectively.

Now I don't how that increase I was achieved and maybe the directors had a result on their Lottery Syndicate? However it is curious that at a time when everyone else's pensions are reducing in value that the BW Directors pension funds did so well.

As predicted their property portfolio sucked money out of BW instead of providing net income. Page 50 of the annual reports suggests a net loss for the year of in excess of £12 million.

Can someone explain?

Spending our money on Spin

2010-07-18T11:26:00.005+01:00

This week BW have been heralding how they have 'invested' half a million pound in new pontoons in Liverpool. Good news for boaters?

Of course as Victor on Narrowboat World has so accurately pointed out, getting to take your boat there to take advantage of the new moorings may prove a problem!
Read more »

Robin Evans Pay

2010-07-04T14:57:00.003+01:00

Thanks to the publication last week of the salary bands of the top earners in quangos etc, Robin Evans' salary is again in the public domain. Robin comes joint 14th place from the top of the 332 person list, (in the £230 000 - £235 000 salary range.)

I also saw Christoper Hope's comment on his telegraph blog pointing out that this is more than the heads of M15 and M16. He wonders what Robin (and others) do that is of so much more value than the security of the nation. Good question! Well I don't think it's that the heads of the Security Services are under-paid... See 23 April

The BW Board was due to meet on 17th June to approve the latest set of Annual Accounts*, which many of us await with interest, to see just how much money BW has lost this year and how much of ~~their~~ our commercial portfolio they have sold off to keep themselves afloat and maintain Mr Evans and his cronies at the salary levels they are used to!

Stop press! - the 2009/10 Annual Report and Accounts are now up on their website here.

New tactic to increase visitor numbers on the towpath?

2010-06-13T17:45:00.005+01:00

A new shiny signpost has in the last week appeared opposite my mooring at Kensal Green, presumably funded by the latest tranche of money BW have taken from from London Government to improve the towpaths. It's right opposite the window I sit next to when issuing these missives, so I could hardly be expected not to comment.

At least after many years of making the point, the notice on the sign finally admits that pedestrians have priority over cyclists.

However as is too often the case, BW just can't seem to get the detail right!

Who can spot the deliberate mistake?
Read more »

The truth about Moorings Tenders?

2010-06-13T10:46:00.003+01:00

Senior British Waterways officers have apparently come to the view that they do not like mooring tenders as much as they used to.

Is it because there has suddenly been an outbreak of reasonableness in their bit of Watford?
Or have they finally had a change of heart and accepted that selling chargeable services to the highest bidder might not be an appropriate way for a a public body to conduct itself?

No. In the current climate it seems that the moorings tenders process is suggesting that they should reducing moorings fees.

Of course, they don't want to admit that to the rest of us!

Read more »

Info on BW 2010 Mooring Fee Increases and price setting

2010-05-30T09:15:00.005+01:00

I reported yesterday that the relevant info appeared to have been moved. I was wrong - it's one of BW's directions to that info that seems to be wrong!

Read more »

Latest dose of Mushroom food

2010-05-29T12:22:00.001+01:00

As mentioned in my last post, myself, neighbours on my mooring and many of the other boaters effected, have not surprisingly, asked BW to justify the up to 20% mooring fee increases which have been handed down this year.

We have had an amusing and often contradictory set of reasons given.
Read more »

More Mushrooms - Realities of being a British Waterways residential moorings customer

2010-05-29T11:40:00.004+01:00

Myself and my neighbours are fighting huge price rises (as are a small number of other boaters who are BW mooring customers). Mysteriously, all the information that BW had previously posted to justify these increases seems to have been removed from the BW website. (If it is relocated I will let you know.)

Although many BW Moorings Customers got a reasonable settlement on moorings fees this year (2%), a small number of us have been hit hard with increases of up to 20%.
Read more »

Mushrooms

2010-05-09T10:14:00.007+01:00

The recent British Waterways Local User group Meeting on the Kennet and Avon Canal highlights what for me is a longstanding and infrequently spoken of aspect of British Waterways. I have often described the Watford Head Office’s approach to consultation and waterways management as “mushroom theory”: Keep ’em in the dark and feed them sh*t!

It seems to me that this approach applies not just to boaters, but also to their own operational staff.
Read more »

Macavity

2010-05-09T09:51:00.002+01:00

For those who don't know Macavity (refered to in a previous post): source http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macavity

Macavity's a Mystery Cat: he's called the Hidden Paw -
For he's the master criminal who can defy the Law.
He's the bafflement of Scotland Yard, the Flying Squad's despair:
For when they reach the scene of crime - Macavity's not there!
Read more »

More Smoke and Mirrors

2010-04-23T11:14:00.006+01:00

In a previous post I commented on my and others' doubts about whether the proposed BW move to the Third Sector was any real financial solution to their problems. I said I'd ask BW. Well they have answered, well sort of...
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Spending public money wisely?

2010-04-04T13:03:00.006+01:00

I was reminded of some old accusations against BW London about abusing the the funding process by a couple of things this week. Some more recent examples? What do you think?

Games Monitor has been watching the Three Mills Lock project closely and I have to say their and ITV's findings tally closely with mine. We may have our first completed white elephant of the London Olympics.

Read more »

Alive and well: Smoke and Mirrors

2010-04-04T10:27:00.009+01:00

A few things have come zipping over cyberspace over the last few weeks which reminded me of something I said in the past: my view that the current debate about the future structure of British Waterways is a load of smoke and mirrors.

(In my book it's the also increasingly looking like the dying throes of a failed BW senior management who have led BW to the edge of oblivion, and are now desperately scrabbling around for a way out.)

The real question for me remains the question I first raised at the BW AGM, back in the Autumn. "The fear is, as was mentioned, this doesn’t address your £30m a year funding gap."
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Cyclists agree that using the towpath is not always appropriate

2010-03-05T09:56:00.009Z

I was pleased and relieved to see that many London cyclists have apparently recognised that canal towpath's may not always be the a suitable place for cycling.
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"Serial Complainers"

2010-02-10T11:44:00.003Z

In a recent post I described some of those who had raised complaints against boaters on the K+A as "serial complainers". To be fair I think I should qualify that, even though I hinted strongly at the possible qualification in the original post.

I am sure their are some people in BW (and others too maybe) reading this who will have become slightly indignant with me using the phrase, because I am confident that in their eyes I am also regarded as a serial complainer.

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Time for more labels

2010-02-08T12:33:00.007Z

Due to the burgeoning volume of posts where BW get a mention I have added some more labels, in effect as subgroups of the existing 'British Waterways' label I already use to sort my posts. I have so much to say on the subject of BW it now needs sorting in to sub categories, even if only for my benefit - not sure if this is a good or a bad thing?!

Although this makes the BW label almost redundant I'm leaving it in place anyway as a counter!

K+A complaints - another "perfect balanced sample"

2010-02-08T11:25:00.008Z

I read with great amusement the latest posting on the Kennet and Avon Boaters website, "Truth will out". As neat an example of certain people in BW apparently manipulating information to create the result they want I have not seen in a long time. Another way of looking at the numbers is to point out that:

It seems that of the sixty three complaints about boaters that BW cited to justify their proposed mooring restrictions on the Western K+A, thirty of these were from one person!

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What the local press thought of the BW Marsworth fiasco

2010-02-07T16:21:00.006Z

I couldn't resist highlighting this report from a local paper (further to my previous rant on this subject).
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Consultation or con - 'the perfect balanced sample'

2010-02-07T11:51:00.002Z

The more paranoid among us believe this could in fact be a training video used for training BW staff to write public consultations - enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yhN1IDLQjo

Useful Woodburning Guide

2010-01-29T13:45:00.004Z

Sitting indoors nursing a cold and surfing idly, I found old link not working from AIE (Arboricultural Information Exchange) on one of the canal forums - a useful guide to which timber to burn.

The main thing I have found is getting your wood as dry as you can seems to makes a huge difference - more and cleaner.

Marmsworth - Another consultation failure at British Waterways

2010-01-26T11:51:00.007Z

As reported in Narrowboatworld and elsewhere, another outright failure by British Waterways to consult adequately has ended in farce.

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Major consultation on national Waterways Policy

2010-01-02T11:09:00.004Z

Heads up - another consultation!

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Consultation Con - the latest moves

2010-01-01T15:46:00.004Z

I've also been silent on this front for a little while. More specifically I've been suffering from "consultation fatigue" at the hands of BW. BW consultations on boating issues are like buses - nothing for ages and then loads all at once!

I highlighted the moorings consultation a while back. True to the spirit of that posting BW are in fact going ahead with setting up local consultations about implementing the local moorings strategies before the complete the consultation on whether local mooring strategies should go ahead in the first place closes !? This second consultation concludes a week or so before the national consultation. If this is not an example of prejudging the results of the first consultation I don't know what is.

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NABO’s legal complaint - a personal view

2010-01-01T15:30:00.007Z

I’ve been wondering what to post about this one for some time. It’s been taking a lot of my attention over the last while. Sorry - this is quite a long rant!?

That NABO has engaged a legal complaint about a number of concerns over how British Waterways is approaching some enforcement issues over moorings has been widely reported in the waterways press, waterways websites, forums and so on.

The more most observant among you, if you have trawled through the wide range of coverage and discussion, especially in chat rooms and forums, may have noticed that precious little of what has and is being written has actually come from NABO!

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Skips by water

2009-12-07T11:26:00.007Z

One of the things I have yet to say much on here but that I take an active interest in is promoting freight by water. This something we spend a great deal of time on in the London Waterways Commission.

Here is modest example proving that there are still opportunities to move freight by the smaller waterways. Just seen going past Kensal Green - Wood Hall and Heward's tug Wigan pushing a lighter with three skips.

The waste is transferred to the 'Powerday Wharf', at Old Oak Common, about two miles up the canal in Willesden. There it is trans-shipped and processed at Powerday's waste recycling plant adjacent to the canal. WHH have also been running large lighters approximately weekly on the same run throughout the last year. Construction waste including timber, metal and plasterboard are among the products that Powerday reprocess from waste at their Willesden site. A wharf was negotiated as part of the planning gain deal between Powerday and LB Hammersmith and Fulham. A major argument in support of including the wharf was it's potential to reduce road transport of waste into the site, reducing traffic and congestion in the neighbourhood of the plant. Transport for London and British Waterways helped fund the wharf.

It is still a pretty modest operation so far but with potential to grow.

Congestion Busting Canals - press release - TFL
West London Canal Network Study – Phase 1 & 2 - Developing Water Borne Freight on the West London Canal Network - (LARGE pdf file).

BW retaining its Property Portfolio - what price?

2009-11-30T21:34:00.009Z

In its latest news bulletin for Dec, IWA puts a slightly new narrative on recent events:

BW Sale of Assets.

The IWA Campaigns team are very active on this subject at the moment and have orchestrated a political lobby in both the Commons and latterly the Lords to pressurise government – (who still haven’t yet indicated if the sale is to go ahead) - to drop any ideas surrounding a possible sale. The aim is to get them to back down in private – rather than make them entrench and publicly come out and declare this as an intention.

No mention of the fact that my sources claim that it was BW who asked people to orchestrate this!

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Double edged sword

2009-11-28T22:09:00.006Z

I told you so - my first instinct is simply to wipe BW's face in it.

And why not - BW have spent the years since I said this in public vilifying me (and many others) who had had the cheek to offer warning noises about the BW property portfolio. We are the nay-sayers, the trouble makers, the BW bashers etc.

Well some of us saw this coming and even warned BW to be careful. When they didn't listen we warned everyone else. The trouble is that some of us were making these noises off long before the select committee got into its stride and I believe that the 'major breach' represented by BW's losses reported for last year had started to weep already.

Some say that the former Waterways Minister Barry Gardner lost his job because he had the temerity to doubt that BW were being transparent with him. No I'm getting too paranoid and conspiratorial...? Stop!

British Waterways stripped of it's property portfolio? - would that be such a bad thing?

2009-11-28T21:28:00.008Z

Back again. It's been a busy time on the BW front. More will be revealed over the next few posts I hope! So to story number one! This week has seen a flurry of press and political activity attempting to defend BW's property portfolio.

The origins of this story are rather interesting. What I have been told for sure is that certain very senior BW people arrived unexpected during the recent six monthly BWAF meeting with national user group representatives. In a state of high agitation, doing a desperate breathless in distress performance that would make Betty Paige blush, they announced that they believed the Treasury was again actively looking at stripping BW of it's property portfolio.

As a result off went everyone screaming blue murder. Leading the charge was IWA. Waterways MP's have since taken up the cry and a motion has been put down and a debate called for. A good and proper storm has brewed up.

Voices off like me have taken a slightly different starting point...

(Original version published in the Narrowboatworld forum)

Should BW keep its property portfolio?

BW's property portfolio is indeed a double edged sword that has turned on BW. (Or is it case that the wielder of the sword does not know how to handle it properly?)

As has been pointed out, the property portfolio sucked the best part of £80 million out of BW last financial year and there will doubtless be more bad news to come on that front when we get this year's results?

A BW with no property portfolio would also (heaven forbid!) have to spend all its time and energy focusing on the immediate well being and funding of the waterways, without the delusion that the property will always bail them out!

Poor BW! They would also have to change their business ethos towards being a full time navigation authority instead of distracting huge amounts of time energy and OUR resources into being property developers. Mr Evans and the Directors would of course no longer have all their present responsibilities, so their salaries and posts would have to be restructured to reflect this.

No wonder they are screaming blue murder!

The well-being of BW's fat cat directors is not the same as the well-being of the BW network and if they were purged from BW at the same time as the property portfolio that might not be a bad thing?

It would of course also throw the whole question of public funding of the waterways into sharp relief as the property portfolio would no longer be there providing 'cover' for wider government underfunding of BW.

Would such an outcome be a disaster or a real opportunity?

BW's 'secret' war against residential boaters

2009-11-02T15:04:00.008Z

Just saw the latest post on the K and A boaters' website entitled Psychological Warfare on the Kennet and Avon Canal.

Well done to the author of that one. The view that BW is engaged in a covert war of attrition against residential boaters sits at the heart of my personal opposition to BW and so many of its works! I simply reflect on the dozens of friends I have made over the years who have succumbed to the pressure and given up living afloat. (Maybe they were actually the wise ones?)

In particular I completely agree with the sentiment: BW’s aim is break our resolve to live within the rules laid down by law and either be ‘bullied’ into paying for unwanted moorings or to simply disappear (?)Read more »

BW Moorings Consultation launched

2009-11-02T09:27:00.004Z

I case you haven't heard yet, the long awaited national consultation on BW moorings policy has finally been launched. For the full monty see the BW web-site here. The links to the actual consultation documents are on the right hand side of the page.

BW - Consultation or Con? A new example?

2009-10-26T14:32:00.005Z

I hinted at this story in the pages of Narrowboatworld a few weeks back, (see also yesterdays' posting.) Here is the back-story to this item.

The more observant of you will have spotted a new link that I added in the last couple of weeks: Kennet and Avon Boating Community Website.

Well that site has come into being thanks mostly to my good friends at BW. (At this point I imagine anyone at BW who monitors this blog and has not found the site in among their standing Google searches, will be clicking about there!)
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One gone two to go!

2009-10-26T13:44:00.010Z

(The above images (C) and with thanks to Del Brenner/Regents Network)

I'm pleased to post a copy of a Press release from my friend Del from Regents Network about a local bugbear which I was about to write something about myself - Del has saved me the work! It seems BW have finally dragged one white elephant away!

As of this morning the vacant space in Paddinton Basin was roped off and empty - I wonder what is going there next - maybe I will ask?!

One apology in advance - I am still working on some technical issues and making copyright enquiries over posting the local news article Del refers to in the item that follows - if it can be arranged I will let you see that as soon soon as possible.

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BW’s Head of Boating expresses lack of confidence in BW Patrol Staff and the potential of using Volunteer Wardens for patrol purposes

2009-10-25T09:18:00.005Z

It appears senior BW staff do not have confidence in the capability of their own patrol staff to do their jobs. Rather than providing better training and support to their own staff it seems BW would like to contract out some of their more challenging patrol duties.
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Smoke and Mirrors? British Waterways’ Annual Meeting 2009

2009-10-15T14:16:00.002+01:00

This has in previous years been the high level annual event for waterways representatives to question and review BW on the past year’s performance. Once a year the Board and Directors in theory host a full and frank questions and answers session.

However with true BW ambiguity it is not a full public meeting and attendance is by invite only. (I attended on the strength of a NABO invite). In their favour BW do dutifully publish the details of the meeting in full and those of you who have the time and interest should start from the BW website page on this to see what you make of it all.

Thanks to problems with ‘overhead power lines in the Watford area’, I arrived late and apparently missed, (to my deep personal disappointment!), BW directors running around before the main event, as they tried to disperse a protest line outside the venue, organised by staff trade union members, highlighting the ongoing restructuring and redundancies exercise!

BW this year had foreshortened the meeting to a half day event, (when in previous years it had been all day). Some would say it was 'fixed' this year so that questions about the past year’s performance were not given an obvious slot or certainly less opportunity for discussion. The headline topic of BW’s choosing was their 20/20 vision and on that at least I will give them credit, for there was a detailed and frank discussion of BW’s present thinking on this and ample opportunity for points from the floor.

However not withstanding all this I asked the question!

“There is a feeling among a lot of the people I am talking about that the main subject you are talking about today (20/20) represents, with respect to the gentlemen who have come to talk about it, a lot of smoke and mirrors. The fear is, as was mentioned, this doesn’t address your £30m a year funding gap. The last Annual report showed, what I would call, a devastating year for British Waterways in terms of your property portfolio and I ask the question, will British Waterways actually be in any viable position to implement any of this in eight or ten years time?"

Both Tony Hales (Chair) and Robin Evans (CEO) responded at length and rather than take up space here you can see (or listen to) their responses from the BW website link above. Nothing unpredictable and it was acknowledged they have just had a very bad year financially.

(The full details of my question and their answers are are on pages 7 and 8 of 41 here - opens large pdf file!)

What their replies highlighted to me again is that BW remain heavily dependent on their property activities to fund the core waterways and the question that follows from that is, what happens when that income stream plummets, as it has in the last year?

In response to a later question from yours truly, Robin strenuously defended my suggestion that there remains a conflict of interests within BW.

"I would just like people to comment on what I see as a fundamental conflict of interests. On the one hand you have a British Waterways as a stewardship body. On the other hand you have British Waterways' commercial activities. If you are serious about increasing volunteering and donating, do you need a clearer separation between those commercial and if you like, social activities than you have at the moment, because the fear must be particularly as has happened in the recent past, that money that is being raised is not going into the front end of the waterways – it is propping up “bad luck” shall we call it politely at Gloucester Quays or wherever else. How do you make that clear, because that is something you are going to have to sell to people: where is their money going if you want them to donate and volunteer?"

In fairness I reproduce Robin’s answer in full below where he flatly denies there is any issue here:

"A common misapprehension is that money from our property has subsidised, or we have used money from the network, to subsidise the property. That simply isn’t true. We have two pots of money in the organisation. We have a property capital endowment dowry which we try and invest to create income which then feeds into waterway maintenance. None of the Government money, none of the waterway maintenance, our revenue streams, fund into the property. They are entirely separate and the losses that we have incurred this year have been entirely taken up and been funded from this capital endowment fund. It has not robbed the waterways of any money. It is very important, very important for us to ensure that that happens. We will not do these things if we felt that it was going to deteriorate and reduce the amount of money that we already have on the waterways."

What this confirms for me is that there are actually two businesses called British Waterways: British Waterways the property company and British Waterways the navigation authority.

This begs the obvious question; Is BW now principally a property company or a navigation authority?

Soild Fuel Stoves and the Clean Air Act

2009-10-11T18:53:00.004+01:00

Further to my last posting I thought I'd alert you to a useful reference site for boaters or anyone else using solid fuel heating and/or thinking of installing or replacing a solid fuel stove. Under the appropriate links it sets out in detail the current lists of 'approved' appliances and which solid fuels comply with the Clean Air Acts.

www.uksmokecontrolareas.co.uk/index.php

Greening my domestic fuel consumption

2009-10-11T12:45:00.002+01:00

Two weeks and nothing to say? Well in part I’ve been doing that thing most live-aboards spend time on at this time of year. Getting ready for winter. Preparing and checking your heating systems is pretty high on the list for most of us.

I claim to be fairly green and I’ve always subscribed to the ‘keep going with what you’ve got before you replace’ ideology. Well this summer I’ve had to bite the bullet and buy some new kit. My old Torgem solid fuel stove was increasingly held together by fire cement and my old gas fridge was no longer keeping cold in summer. Can’t complain, as both appliances have done the best part of twenty years good service.
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Looks different?

2009-09-30T15:47:00.002+01:00

Yeah, just changed the template on my blog to this one. On my browser at least it leads to a more compact format and you get more of my ravings in a more compact page than previously. Hopefully that's a good thing?!

Continuous Cruising

2009-09-30T15:42:00.003+01:00

Postscript - 30 Sept 09 - In the last 48 hours Narrowboatworld has taken down the full thread. Any of you who got round to reading the original will have seen that as ever when one tries to have a meaningfully discussion on this issue, someone has to spoil it by insisting that they are right and everyone else is wrong. Funny how often this happens when this subject comes up!? (What little is now left is here.)

Anyway for better or worse, part of my contribution is still preserved below!

Someone is actually reading my blog!

2009-09-30T14:34:00.005+01:00

Thanks to Paul Morgan at BW/Waterscape for his comments on the implementation of the revised tenders/auctions website. (My original item with Paul's feedback is here).

I often bang on about how unresponsive some parts of BW are to people's gripes and complaints so it's always encouraging to identify and credit those staff who do respond promptly and effectively to the punters (and don't think I don't know that there are a lot of you out there who work hard to make sure you fall into this category).

Just cos I think many of your senior managers and leaders are incompetent, don't take that to mean I take the same view about most of the 'the workers'.

If any one has problems or issues with the site you know now, thanks to Paul's helpful response, where to seek help. Good stuff. Thanks again Paul for your positivity.

Lammas Project wins planning permission

2009-09-28T12:56:00.006+01:00

A major step forward for the sustainability movement was achieved at the end of last month when the Lammas Project won planning permission for their project.

NEWS RELEASE

August 2009

First Eco-Village in UK gets planning permission

Lammas, the group behind the innovative eco-village, first applied for planning permission in June 2007. After being refused twice by Pembrokeshire County Council the group appealed to the Welsh Assembly Planning Inspectorate and following a well attended public hearing have finally won permission.

The project consists of nine eco-smallholdings, a community hub building and a seasonal campsite on land near the village of Glandwr in North Pembrokeshire. Lammas founding member Paul Wimbush explains: “We want to build an ecovillage in which people can live lightly on the earth in modern eco-houses. The project is unusual in that on the one hand it takes a green approach to all aspects of living and on the other hand is structured very much like a conventional village.”

“The project has been designed so that the nine smallholdings, while being essentially autonomous, will also fit into an overall permaculture design plan for the whole site. Permaculture is a land-management approach that meets people’s needs through replicating natural ecosystems. It is diverse and human-scale by its very nature as opposed to agriculture which tends towards big machines and monocultures. This way we can turn what is considered as poor land into something incredibly productive.”

The project has met a mixed reaction from local people despite promising a range of benefits including new footpaths, a seasonal shop, fresh local produce and a minibus service.

Cassandra Lishman, a local businesswoman and a prospective resident of the eco-village said today: “At last we can begin building our homes. We are delighted that the Welsh Assembly Government is bold enough to put their policies into practice.”

Because of the strict regulations imposed by the planners, the buildings erected on the site must have a very low visual impact and blend into the landscape and cannot be made out of conventional materials such as concrete blocks and cement. Instead, largely natural materials from the locality must be used, including earth, turf, timber and straw, and the buildings have been designed using a combination of the latest in green technologies combined with traditional building skills. The houses will incorporate many sustainable technologies such as passive solar heating, rainwater harvesting and electricity generation from renewable sources such as wind, water and solar, and the whole site will not be allowed to use any mains services.

Cassandra Lishman and the other prospective residents know that life in the eco-village is going to be hard work. The planners require that 75 per cent of all household needs must be met directly by land-based means. Each smallholding has had to be meticulously planned to meet this requirement with a broad spectrum of enterprises ranging from strawberry production to basketry, from smoked hams to furniture making, from woollen crafts to medicinal tinctures.

However tonight the Lammas residents will be celebrating what could well be considered as a significant planning precedent and a sign of changing times.

Further details about Lammas and the eco-village can be found at www.lammas.org.uk including pictures and links to some short films on the project.

Continuous Cruising

2009-09-28T10:58:00.008+01:00

Seems that I and other contributors managed to re-ignite some debate about Continuous Cruisers and Council Tax on Narrowboatworld's Forum recently! This started from some confusion about NABO's view on the subject of whether Continuous Cruisers should pay more. You can see how the debate went in this case by reading the forum but I thought I'd post the key arguments I made on NABO's behalf here too.

For the avoidance of doubt it is not NABO policy that Continuous Cruisers should pay a higher BW licence fee than those with long term moorings.

We remain committed defenders of the position that your standard BW craft licence should be a universal licence, allowing the boater to travel around the network (or the river they are based on in the case of River Registration) as much or as little as they wish.

Moorings Tenders are now Auctions

2009-09-27T09:22:00.004+01:00

British Waterways Moorings tenders are no more!

Unfortunately they have not been scrapped but have been replaced by Moorings Auctions! https://www.bwmooringvacancies.com/index.php

However in best BW fashion it seems the revised website has not been tested properly before being launched. I can find no instructions as to how to bid for auction lots posted on the site. The link to the information sheet on how to bid was not working this morning (Sunday 27 Sep 09) despite the fact there are twenty berths advertised as available for bids.

Another famous administrative cock up at BW? Doubtless the fact that the auction site that doesn't seem to contain the bidding instructions will simply be dismissed by BW as "teething troubles"?!

I registered as an interested bidder under the old system but have received no communications from BW about the changes to the system! Loathsome as it is to me, it is hardly going to work if those who have registered an interest in bidding for vacancies aren't provided with instructions.

This is one I will keep watching I think!

Grow your own as a national food policy

2009-09-04T14:10:00.004+01:00

The BBC series I referred to previously got me thinking. One part of the programme that was new to me was the case of how Cuba responded to major disruption in its food and energy markets following the fall of the Soviet Bloc.

Cuba for many years relied on its political relationship with the Soviet block for cheap food and fuel imports. That arrangement collapsed when the Soviet communist system went down.

The programme touched on how in response consumption in Cuba has had to fall and how local food production had to rise. As a result Cuba has put huge amounts of urban open space over to urban farms which grow and distribute local produce in the communities where it is produced. This got be onto doing some searches for more background on these events.

As part of their response to this Cuba has been forced to develop and implement low impact food growing techniques. It has to be low impact because Cuba does not have the money to industrialise its food production. One outcome seems to be a huge return to the land and a lots of investigation and application of approaches to production which many of us in this part of the world who have looked into these things would recognise as permaculture and organic techniques.

There is lots more stuff on the story on the web if you search Cuba plus the key word in the links above. I've just liked to the three articles I found most authentic.

On Youtube there is also a series of films 'Cuba and Peak Oil' which I have found interesting. The title maybe hides the fact that a great deal of this film focuses on food production issues arising out of the local peak oil scenario that Cuba went through. As of today the film is available from this page.

BW and Complaints

2009-08-28T14:37:00.003+01:00

Further to a comment on a previous posting, some thoughts on the BW complaints process.

Structurally, in terms of procedure, it has evolved to something that I for one say is quite acceptable. (I am biased cos I was one of the people who lobbied for it to be modernised!) In the bad old days, as recently as 2004, it was not so good and there was plenty of scope for BW to obfuscate. It was up to them to say when you had completed a complaint stage and many complaints would be held up for months. Many complainants gave up.

Under pressure from some complainants, frustrated by this loophole, and with support of the then Ombudsman, who noticed the frustrations over the length of time that BW had taken to process some of the cases that eventually came to him, the policy was modernised, becoming much more akin to other public sector complaints policies. Now there are in effect time limits and two as opposed to the previous three internal complaint stages. In effect if BW don't respond in a reasonable time, the complaint has to be accelerated to the next stage.

The Waterways Ombudsman is the final step in the most extreme cases. A look at the annual reports will reveal the range of issues that people pursue to that stage. (Whoever you were that offered a comment recently about the Local Government Ombudsman, this is why I didn't post that - there is a dedicated scheme for BW.)

However a frustration of the current scheme is that as it is an Ombudsman Service and not a waterways regulator, complaints that can be considered have to be procedural and the scheme does not generally offer a route to challenge policy decisions (see the Ombudsman's' terms of reference). That is not a fault in the scheme but a reflection of the fact that there is no effective parallel mechanism other than civil litigation by which individuals can challenge BW policy decisions or BW's interpretation of their legal powers.

A recent example of course is Mooring Tenders, BW's current policy of offering vacancies to the highest bidder. A case reported in most recent Ombudsman Report (No 336 for 2008/9) illustrates the point that BW has a lot of discretion about how it conducts consultations.

It is also true that generally the duty on BW is to carry out some sort of consultation. However final policy formulation is not a democratic process in most cases. The Mooring Tenders policy is a very good example of this. Although opposed by most user groups, BW went ahead with it anyway. (The User Groups' formal submissions to BW can be seen here under the heading BW long term moorings: allocating vacancies and setting prices)

The Future of Food - on BBC2

2009-08-25T15:57:00.004+01:00

I've been really enjoying this - I've found it a good quick introduction to some current issues on sustainability of food supplies, something that I have taken an interest in for a few years now.

There's still something to be said for the BBC while they are airing programmes like this.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00m9xjc

And suddenly new bins are on order!

2009-08-25T12:02:00.008+01:00

Further to yesterday's posting I also sent a formal complaint to BW about the refuse bins at my mooring. This morning when I logged on, I find a reply saying that new bins are now on order!

Good, but an instructive lesson. I have been asking BW to deal with this informally for over a year but have just been flannelled. I lose patience and put in a formal complaint and the matter is sorted by return!

(PS -For any one interested BW's complaint policy is set out here.)

BW directly managed moorings contribute in excess of £4M profit per year to BW general coffers (but you can’t afford to replace our refuse bins?)

2009-08-24T12:31:00.010+01:00

(Picture - Bins at Kensal Green Moorings – one bin is missing completely. Of the remaining four only one is in close to adequate condition, the hinges are broken on two and the lid is completely un-attached on the third – these bins are ten years old but BW does not apparently have the money to replace them).

In response to his comments at the Residential Boat Owner Association AGM I recently wrote to Robin Evans, challenging his assertion that one purpose of the BW Moorings Tenders process is to avoid BW “subsidising” the cost of moorings.

Robin’s response is very revealing and indicates that on average two thirds of the mooring fees that BW moorings customers are paying is going into the general BW funds.

Big Green Gathering challenges the local authority over the last minute closure

2009-08-19T16:12:00.005+01:00

The latest official version from BGG - a letter of complaint over the threat of an injunction and alleged misinformation relied on in support of that application. We will see where this goes.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Brig (BGG Ltd Chair) has requested I put this information on the forum for shareholders information.

This letter was sent yesterday to Donna Nolan of Mendip District Council

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Ms Nolan

This is a formal letter of complaint and request for further information with regard to the actions of your authority taken in conjunction with Avon & Somerset Constabulary in order to prevent the Big Green Gathering 2009.

We wish to complain about the way in which the Big Green Gathering was stopped.

Following the announcement that Mendip District Council was to apply to the High Court in London for an injunction, we require answers regarding the following:-

The injunction required us to show:

1. That we had security teams in place. We fail to understand this requirement as at the multi-agency meeting held on 23rd July, Coast to Coast Security and Green Security were present and gave the Council assurances that they would fulfil their contracts. Both companies were paid significant amounts of money up front in lieu of their services. The director of Coast to Coast Security gave an undertaking at that meeting that he would fulfil the role of silver command at the event and his deputy would fulfil the role of bronze. An undertaking in writing to that effect was provided by email the following day in compliance with the ultimatum issued by Mendip DC.

We wish to complain at the harassment of our security companies by officers of Mendip Council. We understand that numerous telephone calls were made to the security companies to

a. Ascertain that they had received money

b. Encourage them not to take up the role of security providers at the Big Green Gathering.

2. That we had a road closure order and signage was in place. We were assured by yourselves and the police that there was no road closure order in place. We have now been given to understand and we have copies of the road closure order that was granted and posted up in the vicinity, dated 20th July. We understand in a reply to our solicitor, copied below, that the order may have been approved, subject to providing all the information requested on 24th July. Our Chairman emailed the highways department on 24th July and received no reply. Why was this? Why was there no witness statement from the highways department regarding the injunction if this was the most crucial element of the injunction according to the police? Can you explain why the road order was provisionally approved? We have emails assuring us that the signage would be delivered on the Monday.

“I now have the photos and have spoken to Donna Nolan about them. It would appear that the party line is that the Road Closure Order might have been provisionally approved subject to your providing all the information and documents requested on 24th July.

However, this begs the question as to why the Order on the gatepost is dated 20th July - 4 days earlier.

I think it fair to say that Donna Nolan was horrified and she is making urgent enquiries to find out exactly what went on here ...”

Our barrister further says that the road closure order was the primary reason that we could not fulfil the licence conditions and why we would have been in breach as it was impossible to clarify with the highways department over the weekend whether an order had been made. We reproduce part of his email below.

“The road closure development is of the utmost importance - since the alleged impossibility of obtaining Highways permission was pivotal to the advice I gave to surrender the licence.”

3. Fire Safety. We wish to understand why the fire services for the county did not complain at the time of the licence hearing if they thought the contractors hired by the Big Green Gathering were not competent. We wish to know why they chose the 23rd July, six days before the event to make their complaints. We further understand that a conversation took place between Midland Fire Services and the county fire services on Friday, 24th July whereby the county fire services were satisfied with the competency of Midland Fire, yet no mention of that is made in the witness statement by Duncan White. Please could we see the records of that conversation.

4. We wish to know when the witness statements were compiled. We understand that Mendip decided to apply to the High Court for an injunction after a meeting at 6.30 p.m. on Friday, 24th July. We find it difficult to believe that all the witness statements were prepared after that meeting, especially as they did not take into account conversations held on the Friday afternoon and the arrival of the statements to our solicitor would suggest that they had been written some time before.

5. We wish to know why the police stated in a meeting on Sunday, 26th July that the decision to stop the Big Green Gathering had taken place some one or two weeks before, yet your officers were still asking our contractors if they had been paid, which they had on Friday 24th July. This ensured that the Big Green Gathering was still paying for infrastructure, when the decision had already been made to stop the Big Green Gathering.

6. We believe the actions of the Council in applying for an injunction on a Friday evening for early Monday morning in London were deliberately designed to ensure that the Big Green Gathering could not get the evidence in the time available. We believe that the Council is incorrect in saying it made every effort to ensure that the event could go ahead.

The above complaint and request for further information is made without prejudice to possible further complaint and action in pursuit of damages, whether through the courts or the Local Government Ombudsman, or (in regard to Avon & Somerset Constabulary) through the Independent Police Complaints Commission, or otherwise in any regard whatsoever

Yours faithfully,

Brig Oubridge,

Chair, the Big Green Gathering Co. Ltd.

Debts BW have incurred through bad investments

2009-08-10T15:51:00.010+01:00

Narrowboat World (NBW) have today headlined the losses on joint ventures that BW made last year and yes I'm glad they are taking this up.

I was chatting last night with another boater, an old and friend and fellow campaigner and we were pondering this same old point about what a cleft stick BW are in. On the one hand they are claiming poverty on the other hand they have this huge amount of resources. (Well a lot less huge thanks to recent events). Below a contribution of mine originally in NBW forum a few days ago on all this:

BW funding for 2009/10 - who's really to blame?...

It seems corrections are coming thick and fast (see the comments on Victor's most recent column). Sorry, but I would like to add one more.

The headline item on funding needs a little qualification. DEFRA have NOT cut BW's funding by 16.7%. They actually only cut it by 8% (or about £4.6 million).

That's still a huge blow to the waterways and hugely disappointing.

However BW management have done even greater damage all on their own. They overspent (or to use the euphemism that seems to be being applied, 'brought forward') £5 million of this year's DEFRA funding before the year started. At £5 million, that makes up the greater part of the overall 16.7% cut in cash that will be available to BW from DEFRA this year.

Add to this the fact in the BW annual report: BW lost £33.3 million pounds on "joint ventures" last year and this rather dwarfs the DEFRA cut.

I completely agree with Victor's observation, "well what did you expect?"

BW management is a basket case, and why in the world should DEFRA throw good money after bad?

Messers Hales and Evans banged on for many years about how they were moving to self sufficiency. They have castigated and bad-mouthed the persistent doubters like me. Unfortunately, and it give me little pleasure in saying so, we were right.

BW were dabbling with fire with their more risky investments and we the people who actually pay for the waterways will now be bearing the burden for many years to come. Us and the BW staff who are currently being restructrured.

I'm quite clear that its time to say the "un-say-able". Tony Hales and Robins Evans should be sacked. Their plan for self sufficiency has failed in the most dramatic terms and I challenge DEFRA to finally grab the nettle and do the right thing.

It's time for wholesale reform of the BW Board and Directors because the current leadership are not the people who will get BW out of this mess. They are the people who got us there in the first place.

Moorings Tenders at the RBOA AGM

2009-08-10T13:32:00.008+01:00

A jaunt into the country to a pub near Hatton for me on Saturday to the Residential Boat Owners Association Annual General meeting. I was going anyway but billing of one Robin Evans as guest speaker made the journey even more attractive!

Read more »

Did the authorities stitch up Big Green Gathering?

2009-08-04T11:58:00.006+01:00

I don't know but they say truth will out.

It seems that the disputed traffic order, (the apparent absence of which, was the tipping point that forced BGG to surrender their licenece), had in fact been granted.

How did this come to people's attention? A copy of the road closure notice was found posted near the site and was found in the last 48 hours. It appears the traffic order had in fact been issued almost a week before Mendip DC issued injunction proceedings to stop the event.

George Monbiot tells the story better than I can on the Guardian site.

Mockery of Moorings Tenders process

2009-07-30T18:25:00.013+01:00

I've mentioned before BW's policy of only offering mooring vacancies to the highest bidder.

This is what presently constitutes British Waterways' process for allocating vacant moorings on its waterways. Their justifications for this (and the almost universal opposition from the main boating user groups) can be seen in full detail here.

Read more »

20/20 - Visions or Illusions? (Part 2)

2009-07-30T12:15:00.005+01:00

There is an interesting third sector debate rumbling in the public housing sector at the moment.

Housing Associations have for many years been deemed to be third sector organisations. One of the implications of that is, because they are not full blown public bodies but 'independent', they are not subject to the same legal and public scrutiny processes as a Council Housing departments. For instance The Freedom of Information Act for instance does not apply to Housing Associations.

Well a tenant has managed to persuade the Courts that because her landlord receives public money and works so integrally with the public housing process they should be subject to a thing called Judicial Review - This is the legal process for challenging the lawfullness of a public body's actions. (See for instance 'Inside Housing's coverage)

The intertesting point to me in that story is that the landlord is considering issuing an appeal to try to avoid being subjected to judicial scrutiny.

The Housing world has split on this one. The landlord was most recently taking the view that they could not afford the expense and trouble of even the possibilty of allowing of their actions being scrutinised in this way and was last I heard, trying to persuade other landlords to join in an appeal.

The opposing view and one which I ascribe to, is one of deep disgust that they should fear being subject to this level of scrutiny when their decisions can have such an impact on people's lives. Housing people of a more radical view like me take the view, if your policies and procedures can't stand up to this sort of public scrutiny when the sector is in receipt of millions of pounds worth of public funding a week, and has a huge impact on the lives of so many people, then we (and you!) should be worried!

This illustrates one of the potential down-sides of letting BW go third sector. The already weak accountability processes in BW when it comes to policy decisions may be further weakened and that is in itself enough of a reason not to endorse BW going third sector?

(First published by me as a comment on Narrowboatworld, earlier today

Big Green Gathering cancelled

2009-07-26T22:06:00.003+01:00

To confirm that Big Green Gathering has been cancelled, it appears due to a last minute decision by the authorities to pull the licence on several points. See: http://www.mendip.gov.uk/NewsArticle.asp?id=SX9452-A782D9E0.

I have also had this from friends of friends who were due to be trading on the site and it is definitely off.

If you know anyone in transit or planning to go please let them know because it's expected the Police will be turning people away before you get there.