The Environment Agency has this evening (17th September 2020) issued more information about the help available for boaters affected by the sinkings and strandings due to the sluice gate failure at Twerton in Bath. This includes details about what will be done to raise and inspect boats. Please see below.
Help is available for the boaters affected by the sinkings and strandings on the River Avon in Bath on 15th September 2020, caused by the failure of the Environment Agency’s (EA) sluice gate at Twerton. Alice and Carla from Julian House Travelling Communities Support Service will be on site today 17th September to assist anyone who needs support. Contact Alice on 07960 097719 or Carla on 07539 926809. The EA and CRT will also be at Weston Lock today from 8am. If you have any concerns about water levels or the sluice gate, contact 0800 807060 24 hours a day.
CRT has contracted with River Canal Rescue to raise and free the sunk and stranded boats and they will be on site today to assess damage to each boat. The Police, Avon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service, CRT and BaNES Council have also been on the spot to protect the boats, provide security and provide emergency accommodation (at YMCA Bath) or welfare support for those who need it. If you know anyone who has been affected please share this information with them as they may not have access to their phone, charger or laptop.
Last week BaNES Council reversed the decision that it made in January and has re-opened the 14-day moorings at Mead Lane, Saltford on the River Avon, until a structural survey of the river bank is carried out and further consultation of interested parties has taken place. The U-turn followed a solicitor’s letter sent to the Council on behalf of boaters. This comes shortly after the BaNES Environmental Health department began taking steps in mid-May 2020 to evict liveaboards who had been moored at Mead Lane due to the suspension of boat movements for the Coronavirus lockdown.
There will be a boaters’ meeting next Tuesday 28th January to discuss what the options are for the liveaboard community now that BaNES Council has voted to remove the only 14-day moorings on the River Avon. The meeting is at 7pm on Tuesday 28th January 2020 at the George Inn, Mill Lane, Bathampton BA2 6TR.
Despite verbal and written submissions to the Council meeting from liveaboard boaters, BaNES Council cabinet voted on on 16th January 2020 to close Mead Lane moorings on the River Avon and to carry out a structural survey of the river bank. The Council has ordered boaters to leave the moorings within 21 days of the decision, even though the Avon is in flood and has been on red boards since 10th January, with CRT advising boaters that it is not safe to navigate.
If you are moored at Mead Lane, DO NOT MOVE unless it is safe. You can check for any updates on river conditions by phoning CRT on 0303 040 4040 or email
enquiries.walessouthwest@canalrivertrust.org.uk.
See also https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/notices
BaNES Council is holding another consultation about the moorings at Mead Lane, Saltford, on the River Avon. The deadline is 31st October 2019. Please respond to this so that the views of boaters without a home mooring are heard. The survey is here:
https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/MeadLane
There will be a a drop-in consultation session for the boating community on Tuesday 22nd October 2019 between 5pm and 8pm at Bath Cricket Club, North Parade Rd, Bath BA2 4EX. Please go if you can and make sure that BaNES Council understands how important it is for liveaboard boaters to continue to be able to moor at Mead Lane for 14 days and how this can make the difference between being able to renew your licence with no problems and having your licence restricted to 6 months or renewal refused with the consequent risk of Section 8 and homelessness.
The River Avon Users Consultative Committee (RAUCC) is to re-launch this month with an amended membership policy which the RUACC says is to ensure that meetings remain manageable and represent a balance of interests. Membership will be restricted to one representative per group or organisation.
The Kennet and Avon Boaters’ Action Group has been invited to send a representative to the RUACC. If you travel on the River Avon and you would like to represent the group, please contact info@boatingcommunity.org.uk or 07928 078208.
Following a consultation on a proposed ban on overnight vehicle parking at Mead Lane, Saltford in 2017, on 1st August 2018 BaNES Council released its decision to drop all proposed restrictions. The residents of Mead Lane lobbied the Council for these restrictions, but following objections including by liveaboard boaters BaNES decided that there was no evidence of anti-social behaviour that residents claimed banning overnight parking would deter.