Consultation stitch-up part 2

Some boaters have now looked at all the responses to the consultation on Moorings Policy for England and Wales (the national consultation). The responses to this bigger consultation also show a majority opposed to local mooring strategies. Of 161 responses, 88 were against local mooring strategies, 48 in favour, and 25 either did not answer the question or were neither in favour nor against. We are still seeking answers from BW as to why responses from groups were given more weight than those from individuals when the replies were analysed, since this was not made clear to anyone at the time of responding to the consultation. We think that BW decided to introduce this factor into the analysis once it became clear that a majority opposed local mooring strategies in both of the consultations. This is despite the fact that one major boating organisation, the RBOA, expressed opposition to the local mooring strategies in its response and NABO, the IWA and the RYA were all critical of the idea and only expressed qualified support for the proposal. A large number of responses pointed out that BW cold resolve any problems with mooring by actually enforcing the 14-day rule, something it has the legal power to do by virtue of the 1995 British Waterways Act. However BW has stated many times that enforcing the 14-day rule does not generate income. No wonder some people think there’s a problem. Duh!

RBOA – Residential Boat Owners Association
NABO – National Association of Boat Owners
IWA – Inland Waterways Association
RYA – Royal Yachting Association

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