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NigelMoore

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So what? Hounslow is a dump anyway, plenty of people living in worse housing in that borough. People living in converted sheds & garages, people living in tents, people living in doorways. Don't be such a snob.

aim low and you are sure to hit the bottom!

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It is a very awkward forum to negotiate, but the local website’s Community Forum contains more information as well as comparisons between the Council plans and those of the boaters.

 

www.brentfordtw8.com I can’t get links to the forum sub-titles so you need to click ‘Community Forum’ on the white on blue list on the LHS of the page, then click on ‘Forum’.

 

The topic currently at the top of the list is:

 

'Disgusting and dangerous' behaviour at 'illegally-moored' houseboats in Brentford'

 

Alternatively, you can get more info from a couple of recent articles –

 

http://www.getwestlondon.co.uk/news/west-london-news/disgusting-dangerous-behaviour-illegally-moored-11073948

 

http://www.getwestlondon.co.uk/news/west-london-news/boat-owners-facing-eviction-draw-10957496

 

It should be noted that with the recent introduction of new PLA byelaws, most all boaters on this stretch of the river [including the Hollows] who had not previously been connected to mains sewers, have installed composting loos.

There is also a video on Youtube outlining the Council proposals at -

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  • 4 weeks later...

Would they end up having their boats siezed and be made homeless, or just the boats evicted and they would get to keep them?

 

 

The latter I should think. I spent an hour riding my bike around there the other day and a large sign has been erected by the local council stating that boaters mooring there are trespassing by attaching themselves to the bank, and they must stop it immediately, or something bad will happen... or words to that effect.

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Would they end up having their boats siezed and be made homeless, or just the boats evicted and they would get to keep them?

 

This is on the tidal Thames under PLA jurisdiction, so there is no authority for boat seizures. Hounslow would have to serve eviction notices [which they have] and obtain court approval for that – failing to move away would then be contempt of court, and possibly open the way for Bailiff action.

 

The problems inherent in that would involve finding somewhere to move the boats to. This is an almost insurmountable problem, even for the boaters willing to comply. Most are way too big for canals, and Thames moorings are like hen's teeth; they would have to relocate to moorings in some backwaters.

 

The same problem would present itself if the Council took the option of serving a Torts (Interference with Goods) Act Notice. That could involve disposal by auction if the boats were not removed within the stated time period, but possibly removal from the site could be made a condition of sale and thus become the buyer’s problem.

 

Some of the owners have just handed over ownership of the boats, leaving Hounslow with the option of selling, relocating or demolishing the boats. Some have agreed to leave, presumably having found somewhere else, others are determined to fight on various fronts. In the end, Hounslow as riparian owner has the legal right to demand removal, and will win in the end because of that, but the confrontational stance will make the process expensive and protracted.

 

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Would bailiffs just untie the ropes and push them out into the river? That would be dangerous i guess and endangering the loves on board. So what would be the actual physical act of removing the boats if the inhabitants refused to leave?

 

A forced removal of inhabitants by police and then removal of boats by crane from the water? Or after the former could the latter be to just tow the boats to another location (land owned by somebody else) and tie them up?

 

Just curious as to how it would work.

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Would bailiffs just untie the ropes and push them out into the river? That would be dangerous i guess and endangering the loves on board. So what would be the actual physical act of removing the boats if the inhabitants refused to leave?

 

A forced removal of inhabitants by police and then removal of boats by crane from the water? Or after the former could the latter be to just tow the boats to another location (land owned by somebody else) and tie them up?

 

Just curious as to how it would work.

As I said - it is awkward. No-one can set a boat adrift. A riparian owner could summarily remove a boat from his property to a safe location, same as you could remove a car parked in your drive - with the same obligation of care, and with the obligation to leave it securely and legally. It is more complex if the boat has been allowed to moor for an extensive period with tacit consent - that is where the Torts notice becomes necessary, to give due notice. It is still not acceptable to set it adrift; the same duty of care would apply.

 

I too, am curious how this would work in the circumstances.

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Given the impossibility of finding alternative (and presumably free) equivalent moorings for such a large number of very large boats, most of which look unpowered, my view in the council will eventually acquire authority to 'demolish' them.

 

May well take quite a few more years though, during which a load more will probably turn up...

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So what? Hounslow is a dump anyway, plenty of people living in worse housing in that borough. People living in converted sheds & garages, people living in tents, people living in doorways. Don't be such a snob.

Brentford is not Hounslow, Hounslow council controls Brentford.

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  • 1 year later...

The 2 week hearing at London County Court has concluded, in which Hounslow Council are suing for boat removals. I am wholly unclear as to the basis of the action; ostensibly it seems an action for trespass, and yet they apparently have consistently denied that to be their case.

Appeals have already been prepared.

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Nigel, I lived in Brentford for nigh on 6 years (Basin island moorings) how come this is the first I hear of your moonshine!?! 

I'm saddened by all of this, Brentford is fast loosing its character and these boats were always a welcome sight for me. Interesting, shanty and friendly folk as well. I wish them well, I hear the Rodding is up for visitors...

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Knowing you cannot have been referring to liquor, I looked it up - "nonsense"; "foolish and untrue words"?

I have lived in Brentford for over a quarter century, being - and remaining - active in all matters waterways at all levels throughout that time, including planning and legal issues. Some undoubtedly consider my views nonsense - including, to their cost, the waterways authorities - but in this thread I have merely informed of pertinent issues of presumed interest to boaters. The facts are verifiable.

Even I cannot answer your question though, as to "how come" you have remained ignorant of my very public input over the decades before and after your brief tenure in the vicinity.

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For anyone who is unfamiliar with this story: these boats are moored alongside a public park. The boat pictured in the ES article above is by far the 'least decrepit' of them all. The moorers pay absolutely nothing to moor there. I appreciate that London has a massive housing crisis but I don't think that a floating shanty town beside a public park is a good idea. I moor in Brentford, I pay a fee, I keep my boat tidy, and I don't misuse public spaces set aside for others to enjoy. I am against wildly expensive gentrification but I am also against freeloaders who complain when their luck runs out. 

 

 

  • Greenie 1
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2 minutes ago, WJM said:

 I am against wildly expensive gentrification but I am also against freeloaders who complain when their luck runs out. 

That is fair comment - and certainly there were [and are] 'freeloaders' at the site - but a majority of the boaters there actively sought over the years to legitimise their position, being willing to pay their way for mooring there, and to pay rates. Many of them joined in both organised clear-ups and their own, and promoted ways for the Council to achieve a satisfactory outcome and improvement of the area at minimal cost. The Council steadfastly refused, however, to countenance any suggestion of charging for the moored boats, being weirdly frightened of creating what they saw as an obstacle to interesting developers in establishing a high class 'marina'. In fact it would have eased their path considerably, because they could then have incorporated conditions enforceable as a contract, instead of wielding heavy legal cudgels of dubious worth when it came to the crunch.

The current action has in fact succeeded in dispersing only the majority of of those most socially responsible and law-abiding, with the enormous legal costs likely to be irrecoverable against the 'remainers'. Meanwhile, the numbers of boats abandoned by those scarpering from the legal assault have made the area far worse because they have sunk, leaving a hugely expensive task of disposal for the Council.

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4 hours ago, NigelMoore said:

Knowing you cannot have been referring to liquor, I looked it up - "nonsense"; "foolish and untrue words"?

I have lived in Brentford for over a quarter century, being - and remaining - active in all matters waterways at all levels throughout that time, including planning and legal issues. Some undoubtedly consider my views nonsense - including, to their cost, the waterways authorities - but in this thread I have merely informed of pertinent issues of presumed interest to boaters. The facts are verifiable.

Even I cannot answer your question though, as to "how come" you have remained ignorant of my very public input over the decades before and after your brief tenure in the vicinity.

Oh dear, I fear I have been misunderstood, I was mearly referring to your own cask whiskey that you mentioned to Mike, I am partial to a good dram myself, that's all! 

If it matters, I absolutely value your knowledge and the way you write. 

Apologies if I caused offence, not in anyway intended. 

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