The Law

Where it is written

Home PageLatest Posts

The “Continuous Cruising Procedure” and CC3 letters

Thursday, May 27th, 2010

A boater recently made a Freedom of Information request about the number of boats BW had either taken to court or removed following a CC3 letter. The CC3 is the letter which terminates the boat licence in what BW like to call the “Continuous cruising procedure”. The boater asked the following questions

Read more…

Tags: , , , , , , , ,
Posted in BW Policy News and FOI Act Requests, Continuous Cruisers, The Law | 1 Comment »

Council Tax and Liveaboard Boaters

Tuesday, May 18th, 2010

There have been a number of accusations recently that boaters do not pay Council Tax and so should not benefit from local services. This is incorrect. British Waterways pays the Government a composite levy in respect of Council Tax and Business Rates. This is collected centrally and the income is used to offset general central Government payments to local authorities through the Rate Support Grant. Therefore, anyone who pays a boat licence fee to BW contributes to this composite levy in respect of Council Tax.

Read more…

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Continuous Cruisers, Resources, The Law | 3 Comments »

Boaters are Travellers

Friday, February 5th, 2010

The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) has given its opinion that ‘bargee travellers’ are covered by Section 225 of the Housing Act 2004 which defines who is a traveller.

Read more…

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Continuous Cruisers, The Law | No Comments »

1962 Act Section 43 (3) and (8)

Wednesday, November 11th, 2009

This is the law British Waterways quote as their sole authority for the proposed fines for overstaying on moorings.

As quoted in BW’s reply to NABO’s complaint.

Read more…

Posted in The Law | 1 Comment »

British Waterways Act 1995 Section 17 (4) and (5)

Thursday, October 1st, 2009

In this section is given the procedure that British Waterways must follow if they wish to take away your licence (“withdrawing their consent”) – see section 17 (5) below

The important bit is that they must give you 28 days to “remedy the breach”

British Waterways Act 1995 Section 17

(4) If—

(a) (subject to subsection (6) below) the vessel does not comply with the standards applicable to the vessel on the date when the consent was granted; or

(b) an insurance policy is not in force in respect of the vessel; or

(c) either—

(i) (in the case of a vessel in respect of which a relevant consent is issued pursuant to subsection (3) (c) (i) above) it appears to the Board that a mooring or other place such as is referred to in subsection (3) (c) (i) above is not available for the vessel; or

(ii) (in the case of a vessel in respect of which a relevant consent is issued pursuant to subsection (3) (c) (ii) above) the vessel has not in fact been used bona fide for navigation in accordance with the said subsection (3) (c) (ii);

the Board may give notice requiring the holder of the relevant consent to remedy the default within such time as may be reasonable (not being less than 28 days).

(5) If the holder of the relevant consent does not comply with any notice served pursuant to subsection (4) above then the relevant consent shall determine on the date the notice expires.

Tags:
Posted in The Law | 1 Comment »

British Waterways Act 1995 Section 17 (3)

Wednesday, September 30th, 2009

A simple piece of law that has caused endless discussion both before and after its inception.

Section 17 (3) is almost the only piece of legislation that is relevent to most discussion about liveaboards and overstaying and the much abused term ‘continuous cruiser’.

The 1995 Act was first introduced in 1989 when British Waterways proposed that all boats should have a mooring before they were granted a licence. Opposition to this was so vehement  by both bodies such as the IWA and NABO as well as dedicated individuals that the legislation was in Parliament for 6 years before being passed in it present form.

Hence, it is said, Section 17 (3) is a compromise and as such open to the various interpretations that have lead to such works of fiction as the ‘mooring guidance for continuous cruisers’ and the term ‘continuous cruiser’ itself as British Waterways have made successive attempts to dilute and subvert the application of this law. A law that allows most liveaboards to live the way they choose to.

So here it is;

(3) Notwithstanding anything in any enactment but subject to subsection (7) below, the Board may refuse
a relevant consent in respect of any vessel unless—
(a) the applicant for the relevant consent satisfies the Board that the vessel complies with the
standards applicable to that vessel;
(b) an insurance policy is in force in respect of the vessel and a copy of the policy, or evidence
that it exists and is in force, has been produced to the Board; and
(c) either—
(i) the Board are satisfied that a mooring or other place where the vessel can reasonably
be kept and may lawfully be left will be available for the vessel, whether on an inland
waterway or elsewhere; or
(ii) the applicant for the relevant consent satisfies the Board 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.

Tags: , , ,
Posted in The Law | 2 Comments »