NABO has written today to CRT asking them to delay the introduction of the revised terms (for private boat licences), until they have been consulted.

The letter reads:

NABO is naturally disappointed that in the six months since our submission to CRT the Trust has made no effort to respond to the detailed points raised by NABO. Our submission reflected not just the views of NABO’s Council but was prepared after consulting our membership. We are forced to conclude that the Trust finds it easier to ignore a group of its customers than engage with them.

We note that the revised terms and conditions are materially different than the 2015 terms as well as those that were consulted upon. The fact that these revised terms have not been consulted upon and were introduced with six days’ notice is insulting to boaters.

CRT have this week published their intended wording for boat licence terms and conditions. This follows a consultation in 2020. There is also a report on the consultation.

You can read the details here: https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/news-and-views/news/weve-updated-our-boat-licence-terms-and-conditions

CRT unhelpfully say "After such a positive and constructive response to the consultation with respondents largely recognising the purpose and strength of the proposals, and their feedback further shaping several of them, we thank everyone who took the time to share their thoughts."

This all needs detailed study to see what, if anything, they have done with our comments. It is also clear that there are controversial legal issues that have been introduced in the wording which were not covered by the consultation. NABO Council will meet in the coming days to review the new document and see what is to be done.

One aspect that NABO had recommended was that the general wording be reviewed for readability. CRT appear to have taken this on board. CRT have not published any parallel rewording of the Privacy documents.

These terms come in to play on 1st June for boaters who apply for a new or renewed licence.

CRT have taken 6 months of secret internal and legal review to come up with this. Now they produce it like 'a rabbit out af a hat'. Magic?

At its last meeting, NABO Council discussed the cost of printing and posting NABO News and a possible electronic version of the magazine. This would have a ‘page-flip’ feature so that it can be easily read on a computer or tablet screen. Opinions were divided between keeping the current printed format on the grounds that members wanted to have physical copies to read and share with colleagues, and those who felt that we should move towards an electronic version that was easy to read and distribute and would result in substantial cost savings. The Council decided to seek the views of members before discussing it again.

I would be grateful if you could email or write to me (details on inside front cover) to let me know what you think. The two options are:

1. I would like to continue to receive printed issues of NABO News through the post;
2. I would prefer to change and receive electronic issues, sent to me by email.

I’d be grateful if you could let me know before April 24^th so that the Council can discuss the results at its next meeting. Thank you for your help.
Peter Fellows

In this paper, NABO is responding to CRT’s recent consultation and Zoom meetings, seeking suggestions from boaters to further address congestion, principally in the London area.

For several years, CRT sought views via the Boater Relationship Group and subsequently, when this collapsed, it facilitated meetings that resulted in the publication of its London Strategy document in June 2018. This document outlined the actions that CRT would take to address congestion in London.

We are concerned that CRT is seeking to repeat this exercise without first implementing a significant number of the promised outcomes. Surely, after all the effort that went into the 2018 strategy document, it would make sense to implement it in full and then carry out a review of where the strategy had worked or failed, before seeking to repeat the exercise. By CRT’s own figures, the numbers of boats have not risen substantially since the strategy was published. The effects of the current pandemic have seen boats spread out further and the longer-term implications are as yet unclear.