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Undervalued & Overcharged !

Unfortunately, CRT don’t really see us as any kind of asset other than our cash value on a spreadsheet ! We’re just seen as a liability ! They don’t really have a clue about our life on the cut, they don’t really see how we live or what we actually do by way of contributing. They don’t see us when we are acting as ambassadors for the canals, or as unpaid ‘meeters and greeters’, history teachers, tour guides, newbie/hireboat instructors, local information providers and in winter when all the visitors have gone home guess what, we’re still here, who do they think is there clearing all the winter flotsam and crap from locks and around lockgates, sluices and bywashes, we do it because we have to in order to get… Read More »Undervalued & Overcharged !

CRT are at it again !

https://www.northwichguardian.co.uk/news/23931791.canal-river-trust-puts-navigation-yard-sale/ Yep, here we go again Canal & River Trust are once again attempting to sell off more of the ‘family silver’ in order to fund their very own particular brand of incompetence, failure and personal wealth accumulations. The site contains a number of historically significant grade-II listed buildings (Image: Avison Young) So, despite the fact that the site is clearly a “historically significant” site, C&RT are ignoring their ‘charitable articles’ and their responsibility to ‘preserve heritage structures’ in favour of a blatant ‘cash grab’ ! Parry’s Posse strike again and yet more of our country’s history and heritage which CRT supposedly ‘preserve’ for the nation will be sold to private developers as part of CRT’s asset stripping cash generation programme ! The government don’t seem to give a shit,… Read More »CRT are at it again !

The disaster that is Canal & River Trust !

I would like to express my personal thanks to the authors of the following articles and to Narrowboatworld for publishing them. https://narrowboatworld.com/14916-net-value-of-cart-assets-plummets https://www.narrowboatworld.com/14795-carts-commercial-failure   It would seem that finally the truth about CRT is being revealed.  And perhaps now people will begin to recognise what members of the boating community have been saying for years, namely that CRT as an organisation are not fit for purpose. They have been asset stripping the national treasure which was entrusted to them since being given the responsibility for its preservation and protection, basically since the day they walked in the door. They have consistently lied about their performance and their policies and they have worked slowly but surely in an attempt to marginalise, isolate and even ‘demonise’ the community of continuous cruisers and… Read More »The disaster that is Canal & River Trust !

Birmingham Protest

National protest to march on CRT’s boss Richard Parry’s offices in Central Birmingham on Saturday 25 November! Fight CRT’s divisive licence fee hikes! Get ready to march in protest! If you can, bring boats and moor them outside their offices. Let us know if you want to be involved: stopboatlicencediscrimination@gmail.com

Not fit for purpose

The following information recently appeared on CRT’s website at :-  https://licensing.canalrivertrust.org.uk/ ———————————————— Sightings Information To support customers accessing their data, we have recently made sightings of boat movements available via your Web Licensing account. Unfortunately, the format of that data has caused some customers concern about the location their boat has been sighted and left them with questions. The Trust is currently compiling supporting guidance and information, as a priority, to help boaters best understand this data and help answer any questions they may have. Whilst we prepare this guidance, we are pausing access to the sightings data. We anticipate this pause will be brief, and sightings will be available again soon. We thank you for your patience and ask that, unless urgent or you do not have access to… Read More »Not fit for purpose

IWA and other organisations

The IWA and others have been quick to respond to the CRT announcement about increased licence fees and the extra, somewhat unquantifiable, charges for continuous cruisers. NBTA have responded with a call to action but other boating organisations including the RBOA and NABO have not yet expressed an opinion of CRT’s announcement. It’s good to see that the IWA in particular appear to have changed their mind about CRT. They were initially one of the most vociferous supporters, calling for the charitable trust to be given control and responsibility for our waterways in the first place, they even signed a ‘Memorandum Of Understanding’ almost as soon as Mr Parry got his feet under the CRT boardroom table and well before having a chance to actually assess whether the trust was… Read More »IWA and other organisations

Rachmanism

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Rachman From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: Perec “Peter” Rachman (16 August 1919 – 29 November 1962) was a Polish-born landlord who operated in Notting Hill, London, England in the 1950s and early 1960s. He became notorious for his exploitation of his tenants, with the word “Rachmanism” entering the Oxford English Dictionary as a synonym for the exploitation and intimidation of tenants. Canal & River Trust don’t like the idea or the definition but to many liveaboard boaters they are effectively a landlord. It’s a concept they really work hard at avoiding, just ask the National Bargee Traveller Association about their ‘Boats Are Homes’ campaign. As far as CRT are concerned our boats are not homes they are merely possessions and as such have a very different place in law. Thanks to CRT boaters have been evicted from their homes, had… Read More »Rachmanism

It’s Official !

Canal River Trust have released details of their ‘proposed’ licence fee increases and surcharges. This is absolutely ridiculous ! In the first place it is as clear as mud, are they proposing to increase licence fees by 5% per year for the next five years or are they proposing a 5% increase in 2024 followed by a 10% increase in 2025, followed by a 15% increase in 2026 followed by a 20% increase in 2027 and finally a 25% increase in 2028 ? What on earth are CRT’s folks smoking ? Which planet are they orbiting I have to wonder ! Do they seriously believe that we don’t know that this whole fiasco is just another scam ? Do they really think we aren’t aware of their real agenda ?… Read More »It’s Official !

Morons in Milton Keynes

The morons in Milton Keynes have done it again !  https://www.narrowboatworld.com/14871-cart-keeps-its-signs-coming I ask you, honestly, when was the last time ANYBODY saw a HORSEBOAT anywhere on the GU ? AND WHY DOES IT NEED ITS OWN PERSONAL SIGN ! CANAL & RIVER TRUST, YOU ARE IDIOTS ! AND YOU ARE STILL WASTING OUR LICENCE FEES ON IDIOTIC CRAP ! IT’S NO WONDER YOU ARE SKINT ! AND YES ! I’M SHOUTING !!!