Hi all,
I have a question regarding licensing, and riperian rights.
I'm the lucky owner of a property that backs onto the river Kennet. As owner of the property we own the river bank and upto the centre line of the river. These are our Riperian rights.
I have just bought a day boat that we intend to use mostly on nice summer afternoons to just cruise up and down our stretch of river. it is moored at the bottom of our garden on our property.
I fully intend to buy a day license whenever i take the boat out for the day, but I've been lead to believe that because it is stored on the water, i would need a yearly license for it. Even though it is on my property. Surely this can't be right? I spoke to the C&RT and they claimed that I would need to because I only owned the riverbed, and they owned the water?? I'm sure this isn't right.
A yearly license for the boat would be around 400 which is very expensive for something we are just going to use a handful of times in the summer.
I believe I'm also correct in saying that I can legally prosecute people for trespassing on my property if they enter the section of water that I own. If this is so, then how can they claim it belongs to them?
I also think my Riperian rights allow me some use of the river without the need for a license, so again, why would i need one when It's moored on my property?
Has anyone got any experience of these matters? I've seen a few legal quotes about riperian rights on this forum, but am unsure how it effects my situation because this is a river and not a canal.
Thanks for the help!