Hi all
I've just sent the following to B.W at Wigan and await a response.
I know it's an old one, but once again why on earth do people buy a house
alongside a canal with no thought about the use of the 'cut?
Please could we ask what authority has the owner of the former lock keepers
cottage at Greenberfield top lock over, whom, and for how long, they moor their
boat between the water point and the lock landing?
We moored up here on the Saturday morning of the 19th September with the
intention of trading for the day from our own boat. We have a full BW trading
licence.
We had checked with Waterscape that there was no time restriction. We did not
consider we would cause any obstruction to any other boats.
There was/is a 1 hour limit sign attached to the wall there, but it didn’t
appear to be an official BW sign. We couldn’t remember the sign being there
when we passed through earlier in the year. We checked with the lock keeper who
said that he was ok with us being there but the chap on the other side of the
wall – on what appears to be non BW property may say something, as he doesn’t
like boats moored outside his property.
After a couple of hours the lock keeper asked us to move backwards onto the
lock landing as the cottage owner had complained about us being there. We were
not making any excess noise, no engine or generator running, no radio on. We
did as asked but didn’t feel happy inconveniencing other boaters by being on
the lock landing. Later in the day the lock keeper came back to saw the cottage
owner had rang his supervisor to get him to remind us not to stay overnight. We
had already agreed with the lock keeper that we would not stay there overnight.
To save the lock keeper or his supervisor getting any more hassle on a Saturday
afternoon we packed up at 15.00 hours and moved off. We had intended being
there on Sunday 20th but thought if it was going to be such hassle …………..
We now consider that the owner of the lock cottage cost us a busy day of
legitimate trading.
Why is this possible?
Can it be sorted out please as we intend to return to this spot in the future
due to the fact that we got a very favourable response from the public who had
time to visit us?
Colin and Carole Wareing, narrowboat Patty Ann
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