Boaters are concerned that C R T is ‘selling off’ scarce visitors moorings making it even harder to find somewhere to moor. The council of the National Association of Boat Owners (NABO) says it is concerned about visitor moorings being withdrawn on Canal & River Trust (CRT) waterways – often without any consultation with users – and made available for other purposes some times of a commercial nature.

A case in point is a planning application on the Kennet & Avon Canal to change of use a visitor mooring to a permanent trade mooring near to the middle of Bradford-on-Avon in Wiltshire (image above). We understand this is for for a floating hairdressing salon. NABO has officially expressed its opposition to the application
There is already an acute shortage of visitor mooring on this length – further exacerbated by the number of unofficial live-aboards in the area. Bradford-on-Avon is an extremely popular, historically important, ‘honeypot site’ and boating visitors are a major source of revenue for the town. Ironically there are quite a number of empty premises – suitable for such a business – in the town.
NABO says it is fully aware of the work being done by CRT and its Kennet & Avon Waterways Partnership to increase, and indeed ensure, the availability of visitor moorings over the entire western end of this waterway. It says that it is clear that the loss of this mooring would be in direct conflict with those efforts, which have the support of Wiltshire Council
We have heard of other problems in this area where a hire fleet has been allowed to operate from visitor moorings and another from an historic wharf which is a water and service point for visiting boats.
Thanks to Harry Arnold and Waterway Images for this report and images.