Gareth Stephens Looking towards the future An inland

Gareth Stephens Looking towards the future – An inland perspective

Introduction to Canal & River Trust • Charity created in 2012 from former British Waterways • Manage over 2000 miles of inland waterways in the UK • Receive over 10 million visits a year • Half the population of England Wales lives within five miles of one of our canals or rivers • Over 33, 000 licensed boats

Introduction to the Trust

Boating Business within the Trust Dedicated team within the Trust who look after the commercial businesses and boating property on our waterways. Responsible for over 800 property agreements relating to: • • • Marinas Boatyards Hire Boat Bases Waterside Cafés Passenger Boat Operations 2800 Business Licence Customers Including: 1300 Hire Boats (Holiday Hire, Day Hire and Hotel Boats)

Looking towards the future • Peer to peer renting and management of this business model • Growth in Continuous Cruisers and increased residential use

Peer to Peer

Air. Bn. B in London – This week

Adapting to new opportunities • Concern from established hire boat trade regarding unfair competition • Emergence of unregulated and potentially unsafe commercial businesses on the water • Reputational issue for both the trade and the Trust • Private and commercial vessels assessed to different standards for licensing • Renting private boats is not a new issue, but what is new is the technology that now allows people to connect encouraging growth of rental sector • Trust’s licence structure didn’t recognise static renting and a change in approach was needed to embrace this innovation

Our approach • Proactive engagement : • • • British Marine Inland Boating British Marine Technical Boat Safety Scheme CRT Navigation Advisory Group Association of Inland Navigation Authorities (AINA) • Developing a new business licence to meet the needs of boat owners and renters

Our approach • New Static Rental licence • Outline requirements: • Enhanced Boat Safety Scheme Certificate • Insurance to commercial standard • Comprehensive handover documentation with emergency arrangements and 24 hour contact • Landlords Gas Safe Certificate • Recognised home mooring & operator’s permission • Planning requirements • Pricing of the new licence

Growth in Continuous Cruisers • Under the British Waterways 1995 Act all boats on the Trust’s network must have a ‘home mooring’ unless…. . • They are registered as a Continuous Cruiser and on a progressive journey staying in one place for no more than 14 days

Growth of Continuous Cruisers • In 1995 at the time of the legislation this related to a relatively small number of boats. • 20 years on, the Trust has over 4000 boats registered as Continuous Cruisers on the network • Concentrations around London, Bath, Oxford and popular inland boating locations • Driven by social and economic changes around housing affordability • High residential use places demands on facilities, water availability, refuse, pump outs • Intensification of use increases conflict with other users and canal side communities • Resource intensive for the Trust, monitoring of boat movements and enforcement

Changing nature of boating in London • Continuous Cruiser growth recorded in London over last 6 years 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 - 638 769 1031 1225 1615 1928 • 300% increase in boats without a home mooring since 2012

Summary • Continuous Cruiser numbers at record levels • Increased demand on existing facilities • Conflict with other users, including different boating groups • Impact on local communities • Resource intensive for the Trust, both in terms of monitoring CC compliance and dealing with associated issues

The future – Local strategies • Recognition that one size fits all management approach is inappropriate in certain areas • Development of local mooring strategies • Better provision and management of a range of moorings, particularly in London • Balancing competing demands on finite waterspace • To manage and mitigate the environmental impacts of the high number of boats on the waterways and neighbours • To protect existing and generate additional income to maintain the waterways

The future of licensing • Canal & River Trust’s current licensing system is over 20 years old and the nature of inland waterways has changed significantly during this time • The Trust needs to ensure future licensing system is fit for purpose going forward for the next 20 years • Consultation is currently underway and will run until October 2017 • Stage 1 – Engagement with main boating groups (inc trade) • Stage 2 – Regional workshops • Stage 3 - Wider consultation on options developed in Stages 1&2

The future of licensing • As part of the Stage 1 consultation a number of key themes have been highlighted as needing to be addressed as part of the future licence review: • Recognising increased numbers of residential boats on the waterways • Size of vessels and how they are licensed (wide-beam boats) • Congestion and continuous cruising • Unauthorised renting

Thank you Gareth Stephens National Business Boating Manager Station House, 500 Elder Gate, Milton Keynes, MK 9 1 BB www. canalrivertrust. org. uk gareth. stephens@canalrivertrust. org. uk