On 9, Oct 2006, at 0:44, Mike Stevens wrote:
>>> The most perverse situation to my mind is all the cash being put
>>> forward to restore and re-open canals and yet our masters can't
>>> manage the ones we've got already. Surely restoration needs to be
>>> sidelined while money is used for preservation.
>>>
>> That's not a bad point but surely it's a question of balance.
>> if BW don't restore as well as maintain won't there will always be
>> twice as many people complaining?
>>
> I'm very sceptical about the idea that BW budget cuts will bring
> restoration to a halt. I believe the amount of their own money (as
> opposed
> to money they have leveraged out of third parties) that BW has put into
> restoration has not been that significant, not least because it is
> actually
> illegal (I believe) for them to spend any of their grant-in-aid or
> licence
> revenue on restoring remiander waterways to navigable condition.
I didn't mean to suggest that BW was committing £ heavily/at all to the
restoration mania. But clearly public money is the source for
restoration funding and when restorations are completed don't they get
handed to BW sometimes. I would much rather see my contributions (by
whatever instrument) used to manage a sustainable system and therefore
perhaps have money diverted from projects such as the Cotswold Canal to
supporting existing waterways.
I have a feeling, the way things look, that in 10 years time we will
have fewer miles of navigable canals than we do today. And, of course
50% more boats out there with crews getting angry with each other
through delay and overcrowding.
Another question, just suppose BW were able to run their "business" on
the proceeds of charges from users. Would that still be "public money"
?
Staffy
Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/canals-list/
<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional
<*> To change settings online go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/canals-list/join
(Yahoo! ID required)
<*> To change settings via email:
mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
