Local Mooring Strategy « Kennet and Avon Boating Community Website

Posts Tagged ‘Local Mooring Strategy’

BW’s enforcement powers challenged in Local Mooring Strategy meeting

Tuesday, May 17th, 2011

The Kennet and Avon Local Mooring Strategy steering group held its eighth meeting on 9 May 2011. The National Bargee Travellers Association (NBTA) had written to the steering group and to BW stating that research has shown that BW does not have the legal power to set mooring restrictions of less than 14 days or to erect signs specifying compulsory mooring restrictions; that BW therefore does not have the power to compel boaters to pay overstaying charges, and that it does not have the power to impose fines for overstaying. The full letter and BW’s response is below.

Draft minutes, 1st April Local Mooring Strategy meeting

Tuesday, May 17th, 2011

Here are the draft minutes of the Local Mooring Strategy meeting held on 1st April

Important boaters meeting! 24th May, Bradford on Avon

Monday, May 16th, 2011

There will be a Boaters Meeting on Tuesday 24th May 7.30pm upstairs at the Georgian Lodge Hotel, Bridge St, Bradford on Avon (by the library).

To update you about the Local Mooring Strategy proposals, the recent court case and other recent developments.

To discuss your response to the Local Mooring Strategy: we need to know what you think and what you want/ don’t want, so that we can tell BW.

Please pass this message on to other boaters who may not have internet access. We are hoping to hold extra meetings in Bath and Devizes, but please come to this one if you can.

Tags: bona fide navigation, continuous cruising, Local Mooring Strategy, meeting, Waterways Act 1995
Posted in Mooring Strategy Committee, Moorings Consultation, News, The Law | No Comments »

Boater reports from new K and A Partnership Board

Monday, April 25th, 2011

Liveaboard boater Andrew Harry was recently selected to be a member of the new Kennet and Avon Waterway Partnership Board. This Board is a pilot for the establishment of local community partnership boards to run waterways locally when (and if) BW becomes a charity. He has sent us this report:

Support the London Boaters

Monday, April 18th, 2011

Here are some of the ways you can express support for the London boaters threatened by the draconian mooring proposals of British Waterways.

Please sign up to the Facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Stop-the-destruction-of-London-boating-communities/207781785905734

If you are on Twitter, here is draft tweet that you can use for your followers:
Stop the destruction of London’s boating communities http://tinyurl.com/3gsczqr #londonboaters Please retweet

Please sign the online petition:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/TBYTCLV

Tags: Lee Navigation, Local Mooring Strategy, London Boaters, mooring policy, Moorings Consultation, River Lea
Posted in News | No Comments »

Equality officer advises Mooring Strategy Steering Group

Thursday, April 7th, 2011

Sharon Brookes, Wiltshire Council’s Equality Officer, gave a presentation to the local mooring strategy meeting on 1st April explaining the duties of statutory bodies such as BW to carry out equality impact assessments of their policies. Under the Public Sector Equality Duty in the 2010 Equality Act, BW is required to do an equality impact assessment of the local mooring strategy. This includes an obligation to analyse the impact of new policies on human rights.

Mooring strategy meeting saves enforcer a long walk

Tuesday, March 22nd, 2011

The sixth meeting of the Kennet and Avon Local Mooring Strategy Steering Group took place on 25 February. Damian Kemp confirmed that BW would be taking ongoing advice about carrying out an Equality Impact Assessment from the Equality Officers of Wiltshire and B&NES, Sharon Brookes and Samantha Jones. Plans were made at this meeting for the group to walk the towpath to consider possible mooring changes. The group established the definitions of some of the terms used by BW which had not been clarified, as follows:

Save Our Waterways – from liveaboard scum!!

Monday, February 28th, 2011

Documents obtained via Freedom of Information show that BW has recruited Will Chapman, the driving force behind Save Our Waterways, to set up local mooring strategies led by “well-informed boaters who are also parish councillors” as Sally Ash reported in December at the Kennet and Avon local mooring strategy meeting. We understand that Mr Chapman is a Parish Councillor in Alrewas.

In doing this BW has presented local mooring strategies as a key part of BW’s move to charity status, which assumes there will be considerable input from local (settled) communities into the governance of the charity on a local level. Sally Ash gave a presentation to Lichfield District Parish Forum on 24 January which blurred the boundaries between “local mooring strategy steering groups” and the overall local governance of the new charity. This will undoubtedly cause problems. On the Kennet and Avon, where a trial local structure is being piloted, there is a clear distinction between the Local Mooring Strategy Steering Group, which has a time-limited job to do, and the Kennet and Avon Canal Partnership Board, which is an ongoing local management board.

Tales from the Riverbank 2

Friday, February 18th, 2011

The River Lea to be precise.

British Waterways have made proposals for the Lee Navigation that break a number of laws.

The River Lea in Bow

You can download them here; British Waterways Mooring Management Plan.

BW Chair quits local mooring strategy

Friday, February 11th, 2011

In a surprise move, Sally Ash, the BW Chair of the Local Mooring Strategy Steering Group, resigned last night. At about 9pm on February 10th, she sent the email below to the steering group members:

Tags: Local Mooring Strategy, Sally Ash
Posted in News | 2 Comments »

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