a place where you might find, for instance, example responses to BW letters or a tip on how to test your batteries.
A number of boaters are involved with Bradford on Avon Community Agriculture, a community co-operative that grows organic fruit and vegetables. It’s open to anyone to join. You can drop in and help when you’re in the area, and benefit from fresh organic food in return.
There are only 13 days left to respond to the DEFRA consultation on the New Waterways Charity. It ends on 30th June. If you plan to respond, below is one boater’s response which may provide some inspiration in answering the questions. You can download it. It’s always better to respond to consultations in your own words, as duplicate responses may carry less weight. If you have any thoughts about the consultation that you want to share, please comment here.
Here’s the sample responseResponse to BW Charity consultation
The DEFRA consultation on moving BW to charity status ends on 30 June. Please respond giving your views on whether BW is fit to become a charity. The responses will be considered when the Ministerial Order for the Statutory Transfer of BW to a charity goes through Parliament. It’s extremely important that all the issues get onto the table in the DEFRA consultation as there won’t be another consultation.
If you haven’t had a census form you can write to Glen Watson, Census Director, 2011 Census, Office for National Statistics, Government Buildings, Cardiff Road, NEWPORT, Gwent NP10 8XG and ask for one to be delivered to an address of your choice or to a place such as a library for you to collect. The number of people living on boats has never been properly counted so filling it in would help. You can also ring the Census helpline on 0300 0201 101.
Last week, a boater complained that the census office said that forms could not be sent to “mailboxes” or non-residential addresses, and as a result the page below appeared on the census web site
We have submitted information on the situation, rights and needs of liveaboard boaters for the Core Strategies being drafted by Bath and NE Somerset and Wiltshire Councils.
What’s the Core Strategy? It’s the policy that guides local planning over the next 20 years or so. A boater met with one of the planning officers involved in drafting Wiltshire’s strategy, and a written response has gone to the public consultation on the BANES core strategy. This was done in response firstly to a proposal by Wiltshire’s Canal Officer that the Local Mooring Strategy should be written into its Core Strategy, and secondly because Bathampton and Claverton Parish Councils have responded to the BANES consultation with proposals that would have an adverse impact on liveaboard boaters.
Photo: Bob Naylor KAcanalTIMES.co.uk
There’s going to be a census this year – it happens every 10 years. The census day is 27 March. We understand that census forms will be sent out by post this time, rather than being delivered by hand. If you have a postal address, especially if you are registered to vote, you will probably get a form. If you don’t have a postal address, you can call the census helpline on 0300 0201 101 from 4 March to get one, and you can arrange to have it sent to a postal address or possibly hand-delivered to you at a location of your choice.
Recently BW has proposed changes in rules and regulations that affect roving canal traders such as coal and diesel boats and travelling shops. The main change BW wants to make is to increase their licence fee.
The present situation is that most of these traders pay £30-£40 over and above a normal boat licence fee on the basis that their business is what BW call ‘low intensity’ – they only make a small amount of profit. The new fee will see their business licence replaced with a normal licence and a new permit, and lots of extra regulations. This will see the fee increase to £156 above the normal licence fee. Their ability to trade and make a living on the waterways will be affected.
A new web site has been set up with the aim of giving a voice to the small traders on the canals of the United Kingdom.
It’s at http://www.canaltraders.org.uk/
There are many traders on the canal selling a diverse range of products such as traditional canalware, ropes, fenders, cheese, groceries, jewellery, fudge , cratch covers, boat names and embroidery. The many trades afloat serve the boating community, bring diversity and enhance the public’s enjoyment of the waterways. We wish them the best of luck in challenging this licence fee increase.