A multi-agency working group on “residential houseboats” was set up by the DEFRA Inland Waterways Policy Land Use section over a year ago in December 2017, “tasked to look at the issue of illegally [sic] moored houseboats”. The group appears to have been set up in response to lobbying by residents in wealthy waterside areas such as the Esher and Walton constituency of Dominic Raab MP.
Information obtained about this working group reveals a bias and prejudice against boat dwellers; for example a reference to “appropriate solutions” is truly sinister. It appears that interest groups opposed to boat dwellers have a disproportionate influence within DEFRA and that liveaboard boaters without a home mooring are likely to be the target of measures to drive us off the waterways. Please write and ask to see your MP to discuss your concerns about this development (see below for details) and ask your family and friends to write to their MPs as well. Here is a sample letter to download, but it is better to use your own words Sample letter to MP-Defra working group on residential houseboats
The meeting was attended by the Local Government Association; Port of London Authority; Association of Inland Navigation Authorities; Canal & River Trust; London Councils; Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government; the Environment Agency and the Broads Authority. No itinerant boat dwellers or their representatives were invited.
Following Freedom of Information requests by boaters, DEFRA has refused to release the group’s terms of reference and the agenda, background briefing paper and minutes of the initial meeting on 4th December 2017. DEFRA claimed that its refusal to release these documents was permitted by Section 35(1)(a) of the Freedom of Information Act and stated that “information in relation to this meeting is subject to ongoing consideration and we consider that disclosure at this point in time could prejudice any policy development and implementation. Preservation of a safe space free from external interference and distraction where internal discussions can freely take place is paramount to achieving a balanced and objective view of the issues”. This suggests that even more draconian restrictions on boat dwellers are being discussed in addition to the unlawful enforcement practices that already exist.
The Waterways Minister Dr Therese Coffey claimed in a letter to Marcus Jones MP on 19th July 2018 that “user groups will be invited to attend any future meetings. There is every intention to ensure that the views of those who represent boat dwellers will be taken into account” but 13 months on, there is no sign of this happening.
Please go to see your MP – personal contact is far more effective than a letter – and ask him or her to intervene to halt any plans for changes in the law that would further restrict itinerant boat dwellers’ rights to live in their homes without a permanent mooring.
If you don’t have a permanent address, your MP is the MP for where you are now; use a nearby postcode such as a boatyard, Post Office or pub and say you live on a boat with no fixed address. You don’t have to be registered to vote to contact an MP. To find your MP, see http://findyourmp.parliament.uk/ or http://www.writetothem.com/
Boaters found out about the working group from a letter dated 18th April 2018 from Therese Coffey MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for the Environment. The letter stated:
“Thank you for your letter of 29th March on behalf of your constituent [name redacted] about congestion on the River Lea. The responsibility for individual waterways sits with the respective navigation authority. I am aware, however, that the rise in the number of houseboats is an issue for all navigation authorities as more people choose to make houseboats along our waterways their homes.
My officials have pulled together a group comprising of representatives from a number of interested organisations, including local government, the Environment Agency and a number of navigation authorities which includes Canal & River Trust. The group’s remit is to serve as a platform for discussions to take place on a number of issues around moored houseboats. Although these discussions are at an early stage, I can reassure your constituent that there is a clear wish amongst the members of the group to find appropriate solutions that balance the needs of waterways users against those who choose to live on our inland waterways.”
The language used by the Minister implies that boat dwellers are not “waterways users” in DEFRA’s opinion. There is plenty of room for everyone on our waterways, whether or not they live aboard. The activities of the DEFRA group are likely to violate the rights of boat dwellers to respect for their homes under Article 8 of the Human Rights Act 1998. According to the British Institute of Human Rights, although there is no human right to provision of a home, once a person has a home they are entitled to respect for it and respect for their private lives in the enjoyment of it. In some cases the State is obliged to address issues that prevent the citizen from enjoying their home.
The measures alluded to in the letter are also likely to conflict with the duty in Section 124 of the Housing and Planning Act 2016 for local authorities to assess and meet the needs of boat dwellers “residing in or resorting to their district”.
Here is the information that DEFRA did release about the working group:
Response to request by DEFRA (2018/12182) FOI 12182 Response
Letter from Michael Gove MP, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to Dominic Raab MP 171809 letter to Dominic Raab Redacted
Letter from DEFRA inviting organisations to the initial meeting (Annexe A) FOI2018 12182 Annex A Redacted
Here is the letter from Therese Coffey MP 2018-04-18_Letter_Therese_Coffey
Here is the letter from Therese Coffey to Marcus Jones MP
2018-07-19_Letter_Therese_Coffey_Marcus_Jones
Some of the Freedom of Information requests are online. See
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/letter_from_parliamentary_under
and
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/multi_agency_meeting_on_resident
Sample letter to MP
Dear _ _ _ MP
DEFRA Working Group on Residential Houseboats
I live on a boat without a permanent mooring. I am writing to ask for an appointment with you to discuss a matter of the gravest concern, that could lead to me and more than 15,000 other itinerant boat dwellers losing our homes. I request that you intervene to stop this happening.
A secretive multi-agency working group on “residential houseboats” was set up by the DEFRA Inland Waterways Policy Land Use section in December 2017, “tasked to look at the issue of illegally [sic] moored houseboats”. The group appears to have been convened in response to lobbying by residents in wealthy waterside areas. Information obtained about this working group reveals a bias and prejudice against boat dwellers. Interest groups opposed to boat dwellers appear to have a disproportionate influence within DEFRA and boat dwellers without a permanent mooring are likely to be the target of measures to drive us off the waterways. The language used by the Minister responsible implies that DEFRA’s view of boat dwellers is that we are not legitimate waterways users. DEFRA has refused to release the group’s terms of reference and the agenda, background briefing paper and minutes of the initial meeting on 4th December 2017 in response to Freedom of Information requests.
Please would you intervene to halt any plans for changes in the law that would further restrict itinerant boat dwellers’ rights to live in their homes without a permanent mooring?
The activities of the DEFRA group are likely to violate the rights of boat dwellers to respect for their homes under Article 8 of the Human Rights Act 1998. According to the British Institute of Human Rights, although there is no human right to provision of a home, once a person has a home they are entitled to respect for it and respect for their private lives in the enjoyment of it. In some cases the State is obliged to address issues that prevent the citizen from enjoying their home.
The measures taken by the working group are also likely to conflict with the duty in Section 124 of the Housing and Planning Act 2016 for local authorities to assess and meet the needs of boat dwellers “residing in or resorting to their district”.
It is entirely lawful to live on a boat without a permanent mooring. Indeed, given that almost 100% of permanent moorings in the UK do not have residential planning consent, it is the only lawful way to live on a boat. There are no accurate figures for the number of boat dwellers in the UK, but estimates suggest that at least 50,000 people live on boats and at least 15,000 do not have a permanent mooring.
The rights of itinerant boat dwellers are already being violated by navigation authorities, local authorities and private land owners. Some local authorities and navigation authorities have passed or are attempting to enact draconian, unlawful or excessive primary legislation, byelaws, Public Space Protection Orders, “civil enforcement” fines, licence terms and conditions or re-interpretations of existing legislation that serve to drive us out of their jurisdiction, in violation of the Public Right of Navigation (PRN), the British Waterways Acts or our rights under Article 8.
A common law PRN has existed on all navigable natural and canalised rivers since Time Immemorial, and is recorded in the Magna Carta of 1215. The PRN includes the right to moor for undefined temporary periods on the river banks, including on private land, without payment to riparian land owners (see Halsbury’s Laws of England, 5th edition, paragraph 691). This is based on case law dating back to the nineteenth century. Legislation may exist that requires the boat to be registered or licensed, but any such legislation cannot override the PRN because this ancient right takes precedence.
Additionally, on the waterways under the jurisdiction of Canal & River Trust, which include both rivers and artificially constructed canals, boat owners are entitled to use and live on their boats without a permanent mooring by virtue of Section 17(3)(c)(ii) of the British Waterways Act 1995 and to moor their boats anywhere on the towpath side of the artificially constructed canals, provided that:
“the vessel to which the application relates will be used bona fide for navigation throughout the period for which the consent is valid without remaining continuously in any one place for more than 14 days or such longer period as is reasonable in the circumstances”.
DEFRA claims that the views of those who represent boat dwellers will be taken into account but many months on, there is no sign of this happening.
Please would you also address the following written Parliamentary questions to the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
1. Will the Minister assure me that no changes in the law will take place that would impose upon itinerant boat dwellers living on our Inland Waterways any additional mooring time limits; travel distance requirements; mooring charges; fines; powers to evict or seize boats; or anything else that would restrict the existing rights of itinerant boat dwellers to live in their homes; to moor their homes on river and canal banks for temporary periods; and to continue to access employment, health care and education for their children?
2. Will the Minister further assure me that navigation authorities, local authorities and riparian land owners will be required in the exercise of their statutory functions or their property rights to have regard to the interests of people who use boats as their sole residence, including people who do not own or have access to a permanent mooring?
3. Will the Minister also assure me that navigation authorities, local authorities and riparian land owners will be required to increase the availability of transit or temporary moorings with stay times of between 14 days and 56 days?
Thank you. I look forward to an appointment to discuss this very serious matter with you at your earliest convenience.
Yours sincerely,
Tags: continuous cruising, DEFRA, FOI requests, Housing and Planning Act 2016, liveaboards, mooring policy, MPs, Public Right of Navigation, Therese Coffey MP, traveller's rights, Waterways Act 1995