Wiltshire Council appears to be leading the way amongst local authorities in including “Bargee Travellers” in its Gypsy and Traveller Strategy.
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Posts Tagged ‘traveller’s rights’
Wiltshire Council traveller strategy includes boaters
Sunday, May 20th, 2012Write to your MP now about BW Transfer Order!
Friday, March 16th, 2012The draft Order to transfer British Waterways to the Canal and River Trust has been published and is currently being scrutinised by two Parliamentary Committees. It will also be debated in both the House of Commons and House of Lords. Despite many boaters lobbying and submitting evidence when the Public Bodies Bill (now an Act of Parliament) was being drafted, the issue of British Waterways was not discussed at all in the House of Commons committee on the Bill. The subject of the transfer order is BW alone, so it is vital that we take the opportunity to raise all the issues about the risks of homelessness to boat dwellers (both with and without permanent moorings) that arise from the transfer of BW to charity status. The deadline for submissions to the Committees is this Monday 19th March so write to them now!
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BaNES traveller policy may include boat dwellers
Thursday, March 1st, 2012Tell the Waterways Minister what you think!
Monday, February 27th, 2012Waterways Minister Richard Benyon has issued a Red Tape Challenge asking the public which aspects of waterways legislation should be repealed. He wants people to respond before 23rd March 2012. You can respond on the web site
http://www.redtapechallenge.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/water-marine-inland-waterways/
or you can send a private submission to the Red Tape Team at
redtapechallenge@cabinet-office.gsi.gov.uk
In order to protect boat dwellers from homelessness, we believe that the following laws should be repealed:
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Now’s the time to object to registration of BW charity!
Wednesday, November 23rd, 2011Trustees of the Canal and River Trust plan to register the new charity in November or December 2011. If you will be directly affected by this you have the right to object to the registration of the charity. Objections should be sent to the Charity Commission. The Bill that will allow BW to be transferred to a charity has passed through the Committee stage in Parliament without much change. Now is the time to object to it being registered with the Charity Commission.
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BW Chair says Local Mooring Strategy will not displace people
Sunday, October 23rd, 2011The tenth meeting of the Local Mooring Strategy Steering Group took place on 11th October at Wiltshire Council offices, Chippenham. Brian has taken over from Kev as one of the representatives of unaffiliated boaters. The agenda was as follows: finalising maps; enforcement and defining neighbourhoods. K and A Manager Mark Stephens chaired the meeting in the absence of Project Manager Damian Kemp. Sally Ash, the original BW Chair, had already informed the group that her presence appeared to be “not conducive to progress”.
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Dale Farm eviction likely soon
Monday, October 17th, 2011We occasionally post news of matters outside the waterways. The eviction of travellers at Dale Farm in Essex now looks likely to go ahead in the next 48 hours. Some boaters who have been threatened with, or have experienced, eviction from BW’s 2,200 miles of waterways will no doubt sympathise with the families at Dale Farm. For more information contact 07583 621312 or savedalefarm@gmail.com. See http://dalefarm.wordpress.com
Policy and Law Reform Objectives for Boat Dwellers Proposed
Monday, August 22nd, 2011A boaters’ group has proposed that the transfer of British Waterways to charity status would be an ideal opportunity to put in place statutory protection for the homes of all boat dwellers in the UK. Currently there is no legal recognition of the homes of boat dwellers (a boat is a chattel in law) and no statutory protection from eviction.
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MP asks Parliamentary Question on behalf of liveaboard boaters
Wednesday, August 3rd, 2011Duncan Hames, the Liberal Democrat MP for Chippenham, whose constituency includes the Kennet and Avon canal between Dundas and Hilperton, was contacted recently by a number of boaters concerned that the transfer of BW to charity status would put them at increased risk of homelessness. As a result, Mr Hames asked this question in the House of Commons on their behalf:
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Write to your MP NOW!!
Sunday, July 3rd, 2011Please write to your MP NOW!! and ask him or her to vote against the British Waterways amendment to the Public Bodies Bill (amendment 99A). The Bill will be debated in the House of Commons on 12th July. Please ask your family and friends to write to their MPs as well.
You can find out who your MP is from
http://findyourmp.parliament.uk/ or http://www.writetothem.com/
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