Peculiar mooring restriction claims

[Pennine]

'The Citizen' a Berkhamsted newsletter ...

 

Canal and Riverside Partnership
Gordon Bluck, Vice Chairman

For those who are unaware of this Town Council Working Party, it was formed some 25 years ago to promote the health of the canal and the River Bulbourne. I have been attending as your representative on and off for that time. Rather large sums of money have improved the towpath and there are plans to stop boaters staying too long on the new moorings, partially paid for by our Association. The Canal and River Trust (C&RT) will be enforcing “no overnight” to “14 day” with majority 2/7 day stays. This avoids the problems of last winter in which I was directly involved, when a member was unhappy with the burning of fence panels to have a barbeque.
I understand our action caused things to be sorted on a national basis. We are no longer to have winter moorings in the town following the problems. Boats are being recorded on arrival and departure on computer and, if rules are not followed, canal licences will be withheld. In the worse cases boats will be impounded and sold. Your membership supports our involvement.

[blackrose]

The only peculiar thing I can see there is some ambiguity on exactly how long you're allowed to stay in Berko now. Is it no overnight, 2, 7 or 14 days? Or do they have different restrictions on different parts of the towpath? Last time I moored there was about 7 years ago and I think it was still 14 days everywhere.

Edited December 20, 2015 by blackrose

[bigcol]

Holy Crap!!

 

Who's this letter from,Gordon Bluck?

 

?

'The Citizen' a Berkhamsted newsletter ...

 

Canal and Riverside Partnership

Gordon Bluck, Vice Chairman

For those who are unaware of this Town Council Working Party, it was formed some 25 years ago to promote the health of the canal and the River Bulbourne. I have been attending as your representative on and off for that time. Rather large sums of money have improved the towpath and there are plans to stop boaters staying too long on the new moorings, partially paid for by our Association. The Canal and River Trust (C&RT) will be enforcing no overnight to 14 day with majority 2/7 day stays. This avoids the problems of last winter in which I was directly involved, when a member was unhappy with the burning of fence panels to have a barbeque.

I understand our action caused things to be sorted on a national basis. We are no longer to have winter moorings in the town following the problems. Boats are being recorded on arrival and departure on computer and, if rules are not followed, canal licences will be withheld. In the worse cases boats will be impounded and sold. Your membership supports our involvement.

So it was because of burning down fence panels for a b/q, that Berkhampstead had/has no winter moorings all down to this.

It seems as though the author of this letter really feels as though it was all down to canal and riverside partniship that have marked all our cards all over the whole system.

CRT must be so grateful

Well good for them

Does he still have his own head up his Arse, it seems as though he's partniship is highly thought of, and CRT dances to their tune.

 

Or have I really misunderstood the way it was written, and contents of the letter.

 

Col

Edited December 20, 2015 by bigcol

[frangar]

I'm so glad I don't live down that way anymore. We used to enjoy staying for a few days in Berko. I think this sums up nicely why I have no desire to rush back to the south anytime soon.

 

Cheers

 

Gareth.

[Graham.m]

Holy Crap!!

 

Who's this letter from,Gordon Bluck?

 

?

So it was because of burning down fence panels for a b/q, that Berkhampstead had/has no winter moorings all down to this.

It seems as though the author of this letter really feels as though it was all down to canal and riverside partniship that have marked all our cards all over the whole system.

CRT must be so grateful

Well good for them

Does he still have his own head up his Arse, it seems as though he's partniship is highly thought of, and CRT dances to their tune.

 

Or have I really misunderstood the way it was written, and contents of the letter.

 

Col

 

Col he is a local do gooder who is using CRT's policies to make himself look good with his locals. It is called putting a look how good I am spin on things. Maybe elections coming up for him in May.

[MtB]

I'm so glad I don't live down that way anymore. We used to enjoy staying for a few days in Berko. I think this sums up nicely why I have no desire to rush back to the south anytime soon.

 

Cheers

 

Gareth.

 

 

Yes it certainly sounds horrid there now doesn't it?!

 

If boaters were burning fence panels to have barbecues one wonders whose fence panels were being burned. Boats don't generally have fences so if the fence panels belonged to residents, I'm not surprised they are upset about it.

 

As usual, a minority of antisocial boaters seem to have messed things up for the majority of well behaved boaters, assuming the story is true.

[Tuscan]

What worries me is the implication that because they have partly funded new moorings (is this true?) they now have a say in who can say and for how long. This was the case in the Midlands when the partnership I understand helped raise funds for some visitor moorings at the bottom of the Atherstone flight which promptly became 48hrs with no evidence gathered of need.

[blackrose]

 

 

Yes it certainly sounds horrid there now doesn't it?!

 

If boaters were burning fence panels to have barbecues one wonders whose fence panels were being burned. Boats don't generally have fences so if the fence panels belonged to residents, I'm not surprised they are upset about it.

 

As usual, a minority of antisocial boaters seem to have messed things up for the majority of well behaved boaters, assuming the story is true.

Without knowing more it's difficult to say how antisocial it was. Boats don't have fences but some boaters also have houses so who knows? Or the fence panels might have been old ones given to the boaters.

 

I assume they were burned on the recreation ground (where I thought there was no mooring)，rather than on the towpath, so it might be just the burning of, not the acquisition of the fence panels that was antisocial.

[MtB]

The story seems odd on so many levels really. If I want a barbecue my first thought is go to Tesco and get some charcoal as fence panels need a fair bit of preparation to fit them into the average portable barbecue.

 

Equally if the panels were just being burned as a bonfire, cooking food barbecue style is hardly practical.

[alan_fincher]

This story is a nonsense as it currently stands, and Gordon Bluck should be ashamed of himself, if only for the ambiguity it contains.

 

Currently all towpath mooring in Bwerhamsted is 14 days, so CRT has no basis for enforcing anything less than that whilst that is the status quo.

 

Some within CRT still feel shorter stay times are required, and as a result have had discussions with the local Canal and River Partnership, amongst others (CARP is a long standing thing and the similarity of the name to CRT is a coincidence).

I am told no changes to mooring times will be made without a proposal being published which any interested party can then respond to before any decision is taken. If anybody feels strongly about this issue one way or the other they should respond to that proposal when published. However, based on experience elsewhere, CRT will be likely to enact it if they only get a handful of responses, and no clear message one way or the other.

 

The "No Overnight Mooring" signs that have re-appeared on the non towpath side at Canal Fields are nothing to do with CRT - they were installed by Dacorum Council with the support of the local CARP. I was unable to extract the reasons from CARP, but they appear to be anti-social behaviour by some visiting boats. Whatever the reasons though, we have the situation now that CARP has actually removed moorings from the town, but is now canvassing CRT to make towpath moorings short stay to increase the chances that visiting boats will always easily find a space. So you take moorings availability out of the picture then ask to restrict what remains. (Yes, honestly).

 

Last winter the main moorings in the town could be used by those with a General Towpath Permit to stay more than 14 days. This was undoubtedly popular, and there were often lots of Winter moorers. This year CRT have taken that option away, so we do not have the same situation, and nobody should be staying more than 14 days on the popular moorings. So anything done now should not be based on data collected last winter, as it is no longer relevant.

However Mr Bluck is quite wrong there are no Winter Moorings in Berkhamsted this year, as a short length of towpath has been reserved as such south of Bank Mill bridge. However the pricing of this, (like many elsewhere) has made take up by CC-ers very low.

If boaters were burning fence panels to have barbecues one wonders whose fence panels were being burned. Boats don't generally have fences so if the fence panels belonged to residents, I'm not surprised they are upset about it.

 

As usual, a minority of antisocial boaters seem to have messed things up for the majority of well behaved boaters, assuming the story is true.

 

How well do you know my home town Mike?

 

Can you suggest which local residents have had their fence panels burned, as every time I walk the dog along the towpath at least the neighbouring fence panels look complete and intact.

 

Col he is a local do gooder who is using CRT's policies to make himself look good with his locals.

 

Not entirely. The "No Overnight Mooring" signs erected offside on Canal Fields were put there a year or so back by the local council who we were told own those fields. I genuinely believe CRT were unaware of their plans, and it was because of that I contacted the local council for an explanation. The reply I eventually got was fairly non specific. It may be on my other computer - if I can find it later I will add it to this thread.

[Bee]

`Recorded on computer` Impounded and sold`` Licences withheld` Lovely. Do as Mr. Bluck says or he will make life very difficult for you on his canal. What an ass.

[alan_fincher]

What worries me is the implication that because they have partly funded new moorings (is this true?) they now have a say in who can say and for how long. This was the case in the Midlands when the partnership I understand helped raise funds for some visitor moorings at the bottom of the Atherstone flight which promptly became 48hrs with no evidence gathered of need.

 

No, the council have not partly funded moorings, in as much as no new moorings or any facilities have ever been provided.

 

However towpath resurfacing works are part funded by a mixture of the Borough and the Local Town Council, the canal naturally being considered a local amenity.

 

Such arrangements are fairly normal of course - CRT arew usually looking to have towpath upgrades sponsored rather than fully funded by themselves.

[alan_fincher]

`Recorded on computer` Impounded and sold`` Licences withheld` Lovely. Do as Mr. Bluck says or he will make life very difficult for you on his canal. What an ass.

 

Berkhamsted does have Volunteer Mooring Rangers recording boats on (I think) a near daily basis - it has had for some time. They can only record, and any overstaying has to be dealt with by proper CRT enforcement staff, and the proper process.

 

Berkhamsted is a very popular stopping point, and some boats have undoubtedly overstayed badly in the past.

 

I would prefer personally that CRT did fully enforce 14 day stay times here, and I support them in doing so. I have always argued that enforcing existing stay times should always happen before actually introducing shorter stay times, (which might well never be required, if no boaters ever overstayed).

Edited December 20, 2015 by alan_fincher

[MtB]

 

How well do you know my home town Mike?

 

Can you suggest which local residents have had their fence panels burned, as every time I walk the dog along the towpath at least the neighbouring fence panels look complete and intact.

 

 

I don't understand the relevance of this. My post was picking apart the assertions made by Mr Bluck, not agreeing with them.

[mark99]

Tesco in Berko? There goes the neighbourhood.

[alan_fincher]

 

 

I don't understand the relevance of this. My post was picking apart the assertions made by Mr Bluck, not agreeing with them.

 

Fair enough - I see you made a second post that makes this clearer.

 

Personally I have heard claims of anti-social behaviour, but none of actual vandalism, (from boaters). There are however examples of vandalism by local youth, particularly at Canal Fields, and I sometimes wonder if the local council, (as opposed to CRT) are confusing the two?

Tesco in Berko? There goes the neighbourhood.

 

 

It has been going a long while then - Berkhamsted Tesco has been there well over 40 years to my certain knowledge!

 

Do Tesco sell "instant barbeque fence panels"?

Edited December 20, 2015 by alan_fincher

[frangar]

 

 

I don't understand the relevance of this. My post was picking apart the assertions made by Mr Bluck, not agreeing with them.

And just to clear up any confusion mine was more a dig at the land locked inhabitants of the town rather than the water dwelling ones.

 

I seem to remember that the owner of a well known cat based hire fleet was none too keen on live aboard boaters either....must be something in the air!!

 

Cheers

 

Gareth

[MtB]

 

Fair enough - I see you made a second post that makes this clearer.

 

Personally I have heard claims of anti-social behaviour, but none of actual vandalism, (from boaters). there are however examples of vandalism by local youth, particularly at Canal Fields, and I sometimes wonder if the local council, (as opposed to CRT) are

confusing the ywo?

 

 

This was going to be my next point too. If fence panels really were being burned, how does Mr Bluck know the burners are boaters? It seems more likely they are local hooligans, and probably residents of the town!

[GUMPY]

Tesco in Berko? There goes the neighbourhood.

Tesco has been there for ages.....

Lidl is applying for the old garage site at the top end of the town.

Can you hear the screams of objection from locals

[Athy]

Tesco has been there for ages.....

Lidl is applying for the old garage site at the top end of the town.

Can you hear the screams of objection from locals

I have not been to Berko for some years but remember it as a quite middle-class town. So, as Lidl appeals to people who think that Tesco is too posh, I can well imagine protests, or at least refined snorts of disapproval.

[matty40s]

But they have had to alter their company logo to fit the local planning style. L'idl Riche

[mark99]

Slightly ot I was brought up in posh Pinner and for years there were outcrys etc whenever chip shops and takeaways were proposed.

 

When we cruised through Berko a couple of times staying over I could feel the possible similar culture clash.

Edited December 20, 2015 by mark99

[Athy]

a well known cat based hire fleet

I have racked my brains trying to work this one out. This being Sunday morning, there may well be a blatantly obvious reference which I have missed. Do tell. The only hire fleet I can think of in those parts is the former Bridgewater Boats, which as far as I know had no feline implications.

But they have had to alter their company logo to fit the local planning style. L'idl Riche

Oh, very good. That's not where al di poor people go to shop, then?

Greeno material, I do declare.

[alan_fincher]

.

Edited December 20, 2015 by alan_fincher

[frangar]

Would that be the same person as pitched up in Berkhamsted in the 1960s with an unconverted wooden BCN boat which they then worked on to create a live-aboard boat, which they then lived on on the towpath, welcomed and assisted by local residents?

 

I'm not sure anybody attempting the same now would receive a similar welcome.

 

That would be the one....who said to my face when I first brought my boat that canals were not for living on....and hire boat companies were the now the true working boaters....and even if I did live aboard I would be gone in a year...I still chuckle some 20 plus years later as a liveaboard!.....I felt sorry for her (now late) husband even then!

 

Oh and the hire fleet were all named after cats from TS Elliot's book

 

Cheers

 

Gareth