A boater has been asked to represent unaffiliated boaters (ie those not represented by NABO or RBOA) on the Local Mooring Strategy Inquiry Panel. In February BW agreed to include them on the panel, then later went back on its commitment, but following pressure from NABO and RBOA as well as from other boaters, BW has now included one unaffiliated boater. The first meeting is on 26 August at County Hall, Trowbridge, at 10am.
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Posts Tagged ‘Damian Kemp’
Local Mooring Strategy Inquiry Panel to hold first meeting
Tuesday, August 17th, 2010BANES Council to employ boat checker
Tuesday, August 17th, 2010From correspondence below, obtained via Freedom of Information from Bath and NE Somerset Council, it looks like BW and BANES are paying jointly for an extra boat checker. This appears to be instigated partly by Councillor Ian Dewey of Bathampton, who has been a key mover in efforts to move liveaboard boaters off the canal.
The “concerns” expressed take no account of the fact that the Mooring Guidance for Continuous Cruisers is not a legal requirement and clearly states that it does not have the force of law. Unlike the 14-day rule in Section 17 of the British Waterways Act, BW does not have the legal power to enforce it. In one of the emails, David Lawrence, BANES Deputy Director for Heritage Services, says he does not think there is a problem. It is not clear whether this extra staff appointment is going ahead permanently, as the original contract seems to have been for this summer. However, we do wonder whether this is a good use of a cash-strapped Local Authority’s money, as responsibility for enforcement on the canal lies with BW.
The information in these emails seems to imply that BW is bypassing whatever the local mooring strategy would decide – this has gone ahead before the local mooring strategy inquiry panel has even started meeting.
The emails are here. Banes enforcement 1 Banes enforcement 2 Banes enforcement 3 Banes enforcement 4 Banes enforcement 5 Banes enforcement 6 Banes enforcement 7 Banes enforcement 8
Mark Stephens’ emails
Tuesday, August 17th, 2010Following our incomplete story, BW and the K and A Trust: After the apology, the answers! (July 2010 posts), we have received the emails between Mark Stephens, K&A Manager, and the Trust, requested using Freedom of Information. These emails include the draft minutes of the User Group meeting on 29 April. They also show Mark talking about the boaters’ towpath tidy, saying how pleased he is that people are volunteering without being asked, but also saying that some control is needed. Mark, if you’re reading this, one of the people organising the clean-up tried many times to talk to you on the phone to ask permission to do this, with no joy. So we went ahead and tidied the towpath anyway.
The emails also show that the main focus of the Trust’s partnership with BW is the use of volunteers to carry out maintenance of the canal. A good reason to get involved methinks. It doesn’t look like the Trust will be involved with enforcement, but we still don’t know what the partnership agreement actually says. At the last request for it, we were told it hadn’t yet been drawn up.
The emails are here. Mark Stephens emails 1 Mark Stephens emails 2 Mark Stephens emails 3 Mark Stephens emails 4 Mark Stephens emails 5 Mark Stephens emails 6
BW to revive roving mooring permit idea
Thursday, July 8th, 2010We have just obtained via Freedom of Information the minutes of a meeting on 28 May between BW and a number of boating organisations such as NABO, the RBOA and the IWA about the results of the recent consultations on moorings policy and local mooring strategies. APCO, the trade body for the hire boat industry, was also at the meeting. Not only do these minutes make it even clearer that the local mooring strategies are going to specifically target boats without moorings:
“The strategies should define how far a boater must move in order to comply with BW CC guidance”.
These minutes also reveal that BW is reviving the idea of the Roving Mooring Permit:
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BW and the K and A Trust: After the apology, the answers!
Thursday, July 8th, 2010I have now had a response from BW to my request for an internal review of its refusal to send me minutes of meetings with the K&A Trust. Here it is:
Further to Caroline Killeavy’s correspondence with you I am responding to your request for all documents regarding: …“Please could you send me the minutes or notes of all meetings between British Waterways and the Kennet and Avon Canal Trust which took place between 1 January 2009 and 23 March 2010. Please could you send me copies of all email correspondence and notes of telephone calls and conversations to British Waterways from the Kennet and Avon Canal Trust between 1 January 2009 and 23 March 2010. Please could you send me copies of all email correspondence and notes of telephone calls and conversations to the Kennet and Avon Canal Trust from British Waterways between 1 January 2009 and 23 March 2010. Please could you send me a list of the dates, times, locations and attendees of meetings between British Waterways and the Kennet and Avon Canal Trust between 1 January 2009 and 23 March 2010.”
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Report of Community Involvement in Managing Local Moorings meeting
Thursday, June 24th, 2010The meeting on June 1st about Community Involvement in Managing Local Moorings was organised by Wiltshire Council to discuss BW’s proposals for a local mooring strategy between Bath and Devizes. About 150 people attended. Damian Kemp was the only BW representative there. The meeting was chaired by Councillor Fleur de Rhé Phillippe.
Damian announced that BW would be going ahead with its plan for a local mooring strategy for the western Kennet and Avon between Bath and Devizes. He explained how the local mooring strategy steering group would work.
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BW contradicts itself over consultation
Monday, May 10th, 2010The email correspondence below from Sarina Young of BW completely contradicts what Damian Kemp told the Kennet and Avon canal User Group meeting on 29 April. According to Damian, the consultation responses have been analysed. According to Sarina on 7 May, they have not been analysed. Draw your own conclusions!
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Consultation stitch-up at Kennet and Avon User Group meeting
Monday, May 3rd, 2010Although 73 out of 98 responses to the consultation on local mooring strategies opposed the idea, BW has said it will go ahead and start setting up the first local mooring strategy group on the Kennet and Avon between Devizes and Bath. BW justifies this by saying that many of the consultation responses were from groups and so these responses were treated as being from the total number of their membership rather than one response. I believe that this completely discredits the consultation process
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Success
Monday, February 22nd, 2010The national consultation has had about 200 responses and the local one only about 100, Damian Kemp of British Waterways revealed today.
That’s not many people nationwide who really give a toss?
Gosh.
But I posted 36 responses from you lot. And I know of some who sent theirs in independently by post or email after the meetings.
So well over a third of the consultation on Local Moorings Strategy responses were from local boaters. And at least 20% of the response to the National Consultation on Mooring Strategy.
Well done you.
Boaters are invited to Wilts Council Area Board meeting
Wednesday, January 13th, 2010As you may know, the Traveller Liaison Officer of Wiltshire council attended our meeting in the Canal Tavern on the BW consultations recently.
We have now been invited by Councillor Malcolm Hewson, the Councillor for Bradford South and Chair of the council’s Area Board, to attend the Area Board meeting on 21st January so that we can obtain the support of local parish and other representatives in this part of Wiltshire. He has also asked us to put our concerns in public to BW, as Damian Kemp of BW will also be there.
The meeting is at Holt Parish hall at 7pm on 21st January. The address is 335 The Street, Holt BA14 6QH.
Cllr Hewson has suggested that as many boaters as possible try to attend this meeting, in order to put the maximum pressure on BW. There would be room for quite a lot of us – up to about 30 or 40.
Please can you let us know if you can attend.