From The Travellers' School Charity
 http://www.travellersschool.plus.com/tsc-campaigns.html


British Waterways

Boat dwellers and particularly those with families are struggling to remain ‘afloat’ in their chosen lifestyle due to the ever increasing impingements of the Moorings Code and the ultimate threat of having one’s home lifted out of the canal by a crane if they don’t comply with what at this stage are still only guidelines.

Recently The Trial Moorings Code after a period of ‘consultation’ are proposing that ‘to-ing’ and ‘fro-ing’ within the same geographical area is to be ‘ruled out’. As in the case of Fred below it would appear that the British Waterways (BW) are attempting to enforce boat dwellers to pay for home moorings to contribute to the costs of maintaining the waterways. As has been seen in some areas these moorings are not subject to any legislation or limits and the price of the mooring could rise drastically as in the case of the Oxford area where many people have been forced to sell their boats because they can’t afford to keep paying their mooring prices. What was once a solution to affordable housing for low income families and students trying to improve their own conditions of life in a sustainable and independent way is now becoming a niche for tourism and leisure boating monopolies. This is pandering to the Western mould where tourism makes up a vast proportion of the GNP on the back of a World exploitation trade disguised by brand name hype and media control.

Here is the Example quoted by BW in their April 2003 ‘Playing it Fair at Temporary/Visitor Moorings

Fred lives on his narrow boat and his children go to school in Uxbridge. He is registered as a continuous cruiser and does not pay for a mooring.

He has been tied up to the towpath on the Grand Union Canal at Uxbridge for well over 14 days. After being reminded about the Moorings Code, he begins to move more frequently and over the next 3 months travels between several different moorings. The furthest North that he reaches is Harefield, and in the other direction, he reaches Southall. Although Fred travelled a total of 29 lock-miles over the period, he has only 13 different lock miles and this is a long way short of the 120 needed to comply with the Code.

Alternative cruising patterns, which would give Fred, the necessary 120 different lock-miles over the three-month period might be;

- Uxbridge to Wolverhampton (near Milton Keynes) and back – a total of 120 different lock-miles

- Uxbridge via the Regents Canal to Stepney (37 lock-miles); Stepney-Uxbridge (no new lock-miles); Uxbridge- Marsworth (83 lock-miles)

Of course, Fred might find it extremely difficult to achieve either of these patterns and ensure that his children still get to school each day! This would suggest that he should attempt to find a proper home mooring for his boat. And if this isn’t possible, maybe he needs to reconsider whether living afloat without a permanent mooring is a practical option.

Where would the BW like to see Fred move to? Where is he likely to be able to afford to move to? A city flat, or high-rise block perhaps. Like Los Angeles, parts of London and other British Cities now belong to the Third World. The violence and menace are not the same, but the roots of them are. ‘Poverty’, writes Peter Townsend, Emeritus Professor of Social Policy at Bristol University, ‘is not something people impose on themselves for want of effort and community organisation. It is constructed by divisive and discriminatory laws, inflexible organisations, acquisitive ideologies of wealth, a deeply-rooted class system and policies which serve privilege in the short term and destroy society in the long term’ (New Statesman and Society, Sept.1996).

Is it not possible to remember that under the United Nations Rights of the Child, Fred and his children have the right to a home without the fear of persecution, are their rights to education, health and family life less important than the financial interests of cruising companies and private sector mooring operators? It would be stating the obvious to say so but nevertheless a solution must found, that actually encompasses the needs of ALL, the Code will be at this ‘guidelines’ stage until March 2004 so continual pressure from all who can should be applied to give families aflote the chance to stay there and appreciate the benefits it contributes to their lives. Please contact the British Waterways,

Middle Warehouse, Castle Quay, Manchester, M15 4NJ. 0161 8195847  enquiries.spring@britishwaterways.co.uk

Feedback and submissions regarding the trial Moorings Code should be sent to:

British Waterways by 31st October 2003
Moorings Code Consultation
British Waterways Customer Service Centre, Willow Grange, Church Road, Watford, WD17 4QA
Fax: 01923 201300