At the risk of starting over again I've today sent the following into Simon
Salem at B.W.
Any comments?
"Response to British Waterways Licence fees consultation 2008.
Whilst understanding the need for B.W. to increase the revenue income I feel
that the proposed increases are excessive in the light of inflation running at
present at around 5%, however, if any of the four options have to be
implemented then option one, no change.
I support the option one for change on 2009 licence fee as the fairest option
to all boat owners, i.e. No change to the way that all private owners are
charged.
My reason for supporting this option is that when someone decides to become a
boat owner they/we/I accept that the licence fee is a licence to navigate.
They/we/I should also be aware of the limitations they/we/I put upon
themselves by choosing the type, size, and amount of use they/we/I are going to
make of their/ours/my chosen vessel. They/we/I were happy to accept these self
imposed limitations when they/we/I bought the licence from British Waterways,
and so to retain this fairness to navigate when and where a boat owner wants
within their/ours/my own self imposed imitations should be retained without
any extra charge.
Anything else is going to be unfair to some one. We all knew what we where
getting into, or If you didn’t why didn’t you do your research?
Listening and reading the arguments a number of points jump out at me.
The perceived problem of “continuous moorers” from the evidence I haven’t seen
seems to be just that, a perceived problem. Indeed I cannot find any actual
facts and figures to prove there is a problem, it all seems to be “feelings”
and anecdotal evidence. Indeed with B.W. stating that overstaying on moorings
“enforcement effort is not financially productive” I assume that they have no
solid evidence of this problem.
The only way to get this evidence would seem to be enforcement, which if
carried out would provide this evidence and perhaps help to discourage
continuous mooring within it’s self.
As part of enforcement B.W. have got to work towards every boat displaying a
licence to navigate and a mooring permit that displays the boats home mooring.
If B.W. are not going to enforce the already existing mooring limits I hope
they’ll not spend any more money on replacing, maintaining or installing any
more signage.
Surely the “willingness to pay”, (3.1 in the B.W. consultation document)
argument falls down when everyone that pays for a mooring shows more
“willingness to pay” than some one who don’t, and those that choose to pay a
higher amount for their mooring are “willing to pay” a higher amount, as they
already do.
I feel that if the extra £150 charge was introduced for boats that don’t
declare a mooring it would bring in to question the right to navigate that the
present licence is valid for. I would agree with point 9.15 of the BWAF report
that people may pay the extra £150 in place of a mooring fee, and knowing B.W
are not going to enforce overstaying on moorings may well encourage more
“continuous moorers” who would feel that they have paid the £150 extra for the
right to moor where they feel like for as long as they feel like.
As a possible other suggestion if it is a fact (BWAF report (9.12) that B.W.’s
incomes from the licence fee plus at least 9% of any mooring fee then what
about looking at this situation. I propose that the two be separated completely
and we pay a fee to moor and we pay a fee to navigate. So at some given date
the licence fee goes up by inflation plus 9% and the mooring fees reduce by 9%.
We would all know what we are paying for then. May be that would also go some
way to encouraging the perceived continuers moorers to take a mooring as well,
if mooring prices fall and maybe the boaters that feel continual cruisers are
pay less into B.W.s funds would be partly placated as the charge for navigation
licence would be raised."
That was my considered thoughts for B.W, and the extra bi for the news
group....
As some one said when this kicked off, it is getting towards a “divide” and
rule situation when all boat owners should be sticking together, Is now the
time and situation to be doing the lobbying etc? for a increased grant or other
funding that reflects the use that non-licence fee make of our waterways and if
we all have to accept a 11% licence fee increase it may galvanize more people
into action.
Btw our narrowboat is 7ft wide by 50 foot long so would just about go
anywhere….no vested interest in asking anybody to pay more than me then, and we
have a on line B W mooring that we have been lucky enough to be away from for
the last 6 months....
Colin
nb Patty Ann on the Middlewich branch heading home to Lancashire for't winter.
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