----- Original Message ----- From: "Strudwick.Family" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Saturday, September 20, 2008 8:25 AM Subject: Re: [canals-list] Re: I dont want to pay more make him pay more
>I don't think there is an answer to this debate that will not > disadvantage one group or another. The choices we have are, we all > suffer or we all suffer with some suffering more than others. Talk of > radical new ways of calculating the licence fee ain't going to happen > because they need large investments by BW or boaters or both. > > What we need to do is try continue to do is make government understand > that a waterway without boats is dead and they need to pay more to keep > the waterways alive. What we as boaters need to do is agree on a > proposal and push BW and government to adopt it. All that is happening > is that we are divided by self interest and BW and the government can do > what they like. > > At the moment we have two choices the existing system or the revised > system being offered by BW. The revised system is flawed as BW don't > understand their own waterways but that could be corrected. Unless > someone comes up with a new system which is farer to all and is cheep > for BW to implement and run, I suggest that's it. The choice I suggest > is ours. > > > Paul > Personally I think that there should be a flat licence fee with no regard to length or width of boat given that the effect of both those parameters on the infrastructure is marginal. That licence should (as it does now) entitle the holder to use the waterways 365 (366 in a leap year) days a year. There should be a supplement of ay 50 % on the licence payable by those who are neither genuine continuous cruisers nor mooring holders, entitling them to a semi-continuous-mooring option. In effect legalising towpath shuffling but getting a financial return from it. Hmmm rereading the first para does it sound like I was in favour of the Comunity Charge? maybe the fact that I don't call it the Poll Tax is a giveaway. Guy -- Guy Morgan First Light Services nb Virgo, WFB, Stockton, GU
