How credible are IWA council members of the Canal and River Trust?

The Inland Waterways Association swept the board in the election for the boaters' seats on the Canal & River Trust Council and this has not found favour with many boaters who question how an organisation which represents such a wide range of canal and river users can represent the specific interests of boaters. 

"IWA members’ interests include boating, towpath walking, industrial archaeology, nature conservation and many other activities associated with the inland waterways" says its website.

Four IWA candidates have been elected for the four positions designated to represent boaters on the council of the Canal and River Trust. "But are they credible representatives of all boaters on British Waterways waters?", asks Peter Underwood, who founded the Boaters' Manifesto group and is the author of 'Living Afloat' a no-nonsense book about the reality of living on a boat.

To begin with they were elected by just a quarter of those entitled to vote - hardly a ringing endorsement.
 
Secondly they were backed by the IWA, the biggest waterways charity and the most able to influence boater members by producing recommended candidates.

That makes this result predictable (in fact I predicted it to John Dodwell when the Boaters' Manifesto group met with him) especially with the inevitable low turnout of a hurried election conducted in the winter season.

Thirdly there will be those who conclude that the IWA is a campaigning organisation of boaters so what does it matter that they have all four seats?

The answer is that the IWA is no longer a campaigning body but a collection of committee people happy to do business behind closed doors. It is run by and for often elderly hobby boaters and no longer represents the whole boating community. That is amply demonstrated by its hostility to full-time boaters, especially continuous cruisers.

So we now have the CaRT council with too few boater representatives and those handful that are in place completely controlled by just one view of boating - and that view hostile to thousands who boat as continuous cruisers.

Not only that, they were elected by just one in four voters in an election which allowed a single body to distort the result by jamming the list with nominees.

I suspect that some of the so-called apathy that led to the pathetic 25% turnout was a boycott by boaters who see the election and CaRT as a stitch-up between a Government anxious to offload responsibility, a BW management happy to take perks for as long as possible and 'trustees' from the 'great and good' unwilling to challenge or question the BW management propaganda.

That can only leave full-time boaters more wary and more suspicious of CaRT than we already were.

Here is a so-called charity that is being run by the same people as mismanaged British Waterways - Hales, Evans and the other bonus boys - being monitored by a handful of IWA yes-people who are, in any event, outnumbered on the council.

Of course, there are also increasing doubts about the power or relevance of the council as the trustees appear to be colluding in the establishment of commercial structures within CaRT that may end up making the financial and commercial decisions that will decide the future of our waterways.

Those IWA council members may be powerless to prevent Evans, Hales and co from awarding and collecting yet more undeserved bonuses, flogging off more key equipment, investing in more failing ventures as they spend what little funds there are available on anything except the waterways themselves.

I began the Boaters' Manifesto because I feared just such a stitch-up amongst the greedy BW bosses and the professional committee people of the trustees, the IWA and others. Along the way I met with, argued with and enjoyed the company of a lot of proper boaters.


As I have been politically active for nearly 50 years I never really expected to win, but it is always worth getting important truths an airing.

Boaters like me are now privately resigned to more bonuses, more financial failures, less spent on the network.

We can't look to the IWA council members to fight for our interests and we are reduced to standing on the sidelines once more keeping a beady eye on this ridiculously over-committeed structure that will probably become CaRT eventually. 

They are not our friends and we will to continue to question, criticise and complain when necessary.

Call for Kennet & Avon Waterways Partnership members

The transition trustees for the Canal & River Trust, which is expected to take over the running of canals and some rivers in England and Wales at some time this year, have appointed a former a canal trust administrator, now a local government council member, to chair the Kennet & Avon Waterways Partnership and they are looking for members to join her to form a group to run the canal.

The call is for members to work with Fleur de Rhe Philipe and  waterway manager, Mark Stephens, to develop what they describe as: "an overarching vision for the Trust’s waterways within the Kennet & Avon area and develop strategies and plans to encourage more people to use and get involved with the waterway".

The shopping list of interests and expertise needed include:

• boating
• walking
• angling
• cycling
• fundraising & volunteering
• finance & commerce
• planning & regeneration
• environment and heritage
• engineering & asset management
• community engagement

...and people with experience of wider partnership working with local government, commercial and charitable sectors.  

"Initially", they say, "we are particularly looking for experience of the waterway societies, waterway-based business and local authorities" and they go on to say: "We are looking for candidates who are locally-based, team players, credible, knowledgeable and willing to take a lead in one or more of the relevant areas of expertise.  The duty of all Members of the Partnerships will be to act in the best interests of their waterway rather than to represent any particular interests or causes."

The positions are voluntary with expenses paid and will involve approximately 2-4 days a month.

If you would like to have an informal discussion to discuss this opportunity email: mark.stephens@britishwaterways.co.uk

To see the role profile go to: http://tinyurl.com/775p9v8

For an application form go to: http://tinyurl.com/8xq6qus

K&A Canal boaters pitch for CART Council places

Two active Kennet & Avon Canal boaters have thrown their hats in the ring and are standing for election for boaters' seats on the Canal & River Trust Council.

Both Rob Dean and Steve Rudd will be well known to many boaters on the K&A and both  are standing for election to represent the interests of all boating users of the waterways. 

Rob Dean who has led a small group of members of the Newbury Branch of the Kennet & Avon Canal Trust to run the Newbury Waterways Festival in recent years says that he is standing independently rather than as a representative of any organisation so that he can represent the interests of all boaters.

Steve Rudd is never afraid to speak out for interests of boaters — whether it be at a canal user's forum or a public meeting about red diesel. He is active with the Bruce Trust — the Kennet & Avon Canal based charity that operates specially designed and purpose built boats that make it possible for disabled people and their families to have a boating holiday.

The Canal & River Trust Council will have 35 members with four of them elected by 'boat-licence holding' canal users. All BW boat licence holders will be receiving ballot papers in the next few days.

Election statements

Rob Dean

Rob Dean: Picture by Bob Naylor©

Our waterways are principally for boats and boaters. It’s great to see the many other users but the experience they come for is only possible because of the boats. 

To thrive, the waterways must be navigable and affordable to boaters. The dedicated and hard working individuals who restored the waterways over the last half century were mostly boaters. Today’s boaters have a responsibility to keep the waterways alive.

The CRT is both an opportunity and a threat. Well run, it could avoid the stifling bureaucracy and costs of a government-owned body. And boaters could have more influence in how it is run. But there must be change.  It won’t work as BW rebadged and the limited funding available must go into front line services, not expensive management.  A charity must be run more cheaply than BW was.

The charity will succeed best if its focus is local.  Local boaters, boat clubs and existing canal societies know their waterways better than any national head office possibly can.  Head Office should be slim and concentrate on support to local teams who have as much say in the running of their waterway as possible.

About me

• I am a boat owner based on the Kennet & Avon. 
• I spend a lot of time boating and really enjoy the waterways lifestyle.  
• I work on my own boat and travel as far as each summer has allowed.  
• I still have much of the system to explore.
• I have spent 34 years with the Diplomatic Service and now have more time to spend boating and supporting the waterways movement. 
• I am qualified as a Chartered Management Accountant so I understand the numbers.  
• I have spent the last 5 years as a Board Director so I have a very clear idea of how the CRT can be run without expensive Directors.
• I understand how a charity works because I am ‘hands-on’ active with the Kennet & Avon Canal Trust.  I manage the annual Newbury Waterways Festival and am currently focused on helping to set up a Trust Trip Boat operation in Newbury.
• I am standing independently rather than a representative of the Kennet & Avon Canal Trust or any other organisation.

I will

• Devote my time and energy to representing all boaters whether they have shiny new boats or rather scruffy ones like mine.  Whether they live aboard or only manage a week or two each year.
• Ensure I listen to fellow boaters and faithfully represent their views.
• Play an active role on the CRT Council both in formal meetings and outside.  I will hold the Trustees to account for their use of the charities funds, for their stewardship of the waterways, and for their attention to needs of boaters who are the core of the waterways.

I think I can do this well and I ask for your vote please.

Steve Rudd

Steve Rudd: Picture by Bob Naylor©

My introduction to the canals was as a student in Birmingham (1968-1972) where, with a group of friends, we would hire a boat on the Shropshire Union Canal at weekends. Thereafter, with my family we enjoyed many canal and river holidays.

In 1990 I joined the Bruce Trust as a volunteer engineer and for 15 years provided engineering support to its fleet of boats and supported my wife, Danese, who was the Trust Administrator. 

For a similar period I (with others) helped organise and run the residential weekend training courses for the Bruce Trust to train the able-bodied helpers that will bring their groups of disabled people on holiday each year. In total I have been a volunteer for Bruce Trust for 21 years.

For the last five years I have also been a part owner in a narrowboat on the K&A (currently on the Oxford Canal).

Since the Heritage Lottery improvement works on the K&A I have observed the gradual decline in the quality of the canal, with equipment inoperable and unrepaired for years on end and the disappointing level of regular maintenance undertaken by BW.

 Last summer we enjoyed a week on the Canal du Nivernais in France, and what a joy it was to be on a truly well maintained and cherished waterway. This is what we must aim to achieve with the Canal & River Trust and not simply replicate the gradual decline of standards under BW.

 If elected I will do my utmost to ensure that the focus of the Canal & River Trust will be the maintenance and improvement of the waterways.

Government insists that Canal & River Trust will be subject to the Freedom of Information Act

Waterways Minister

Richard Benyon

The new waterway charity will have to comply with the Freedom of Information Act for the statutory functions it inherits from British Waterways said Waterways Minister Richard Benyon today when he gave the Government's response to the supplementary consultation on the transfer of British Waterways in England and Wales to the Canal & River Trust. 

John Bridgemen of BW and

Canal & River Trust

This decision by Government comes after BW Vice Chairman and Canal and River Trust transition trustee, John Bridgeman, said recently: "The new charity will not be 'precious' about information. "We will disclose as much as we possibly and reasonably can, but that does not mean we should be bound by the Freedom of Information Act... it is a heavy cumbersome tool intended for the public sector — and we are coming out of the public sector. This new charity has a hell of a challenge anyway keeping the waterways open — we don't think it is fair to bind us to the cumbersome bureaucracy of the FOI Act."

Bridgeman complained that last year BW had two requests from people who wanted to know about directors' expense accounts going back over 7 years: "It is costing an absolute fortune, but the law tells us we have to do it. But I am sorry — no other charity is exposed to that and I don't see why we should be," he said.

Tony Hales

Canal & River Trust  Chairman

Tony Hales, Chairman of the Canal & River Trust said: “The Trustees support the Government’s conclusions including those relating to the Freedom of Information Act.

"We are committed to ensuring that the new Trust operates to the highest standards for openness and transparency in its new status. The Minister’s statement is another important step towards the establishment of the Canal & River Trust next year.”


More on this subjuct:

➤➤ Exemption from Freedom of Information Act a benefit of charity status says BW Vice Chair

➤➤ Waterways Minister pre-empts BW consultation and says Canal & River Trust will be subject to FoI Act 

➤➤ Minister back-tracks on British Waterways FoI statement

➤➤ Benyon's statement on Freedom of Information gaffe

Chair of K&A Canal & River Trust Waterway Partnership named

Former K&A Canal Trust Administrator, Fleur de Rhe Philipe has been appointed as the chair of the Kennet & Avon Canal & River Waterway Trust Partnership. 

Fleur de Rhe Philipe: Picture by Bob Naylor©

Fleur is a former employee of the K&A Canal Trust and later a member of the board of Trustees. She has been a member of Wiltshire Council since 1997 and she is currently the cabinet member for economic development and strategic planning.

Tony Hales, chair of Canal & River Trust said: “I am delighted that such a high calibre of people have come forward to chair these important positions of governance within the Canal & River Trust. Each will prove to be well placed to champion the interests of their local waterways. The Waterways Partnerships are integral to the stewardship and development of the network, providing new perspectives and insights, opening up new resources and ideas, and giving local people a greater opportunity to support their local canals and rivers: something that is integral to the success of the Canal & River Trust.”



Other Chairs appointed

North Wales & Borders 

Jim Forrester — currently director at Imperial War Museum North in Manchester where he has delivered services to over 2,500,000 visitors over the last ten years and drawn in champions, stakeholders and potential funders, raising substantial capital and revenue funding each year.  Previously a boatbuilder on the canals, Jim has spent the last 27 years working within charities in a variety of roles; from boat conservator to director of a new branch of a national museum in the region.

South Wales & Severn  

Jack Hegarty — has been managing director of Wychavon District Council since 2004, where he leads a complex public sector organisation, builds relationships with Ministers, MPs and Councillors and deals with local communities and partner organisations at a national and local level.  He was directly involved with the Droitwich Canal restoration for 11 years.

North West 

Professor Steven Broomhead — currently professor of entrepreneurial education at Liverpool Hope University, Steven previously spent eight years as chief executive at Northwest Regional Development Agency, prior to which he was chief executive at Warrington Borough Council.  He has held the position of chair at a number of private and public organisations. 

West Midlands 

Peter Mathews CMG — is past chair of the Black Country Consortium, which works to coordinate regeneration in the Black Country area of the West Midlands, and chairman and managing director of Black Country Metals.  A prominent business leader, Peter has held the position of chair at various national and international organisations including The World Recycling Conference, UKTI Advanced Engineering and the Midlands World Trade Forum. 

Museums  

Laurence Newman — Chairman, Epsom & St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust. Previously, Laurence spent 20 years with KPMG where he was the partner responsible for their Leisure and Tourism Consulting Group.   He is also a non-executive director of Grove End Housing Ltd, a trustee of Creativity, Culture and Education and a member of the Advisory Board of The Foundation, a growth and innovation consultancy.

A written record of all meetings will be publicly available on the web.  All positions on the Partnerships will be un-remunerated, but agreed expenses will be reimbursed. 

Those interested in joining a newly appointed chair on their local Waterway Partnership or in applying for one of the remaining positions of chair can find role descriptions and application details at: www.waterscape.com/trust from Thursday 1 December.  Applications for membership open on Friday 9 December 2011.

No forecast for clearing BW's £40 million dredging backlog

"Government require BW to operate and maintain waterways to standards that reflect use and prospects of use", said Waterway Minister, Richard Benyon in answer to a question in Parliament from David Heyes about when the backlog of dredging on British Waterways’ canals and rivers would be cleared.

The Minister went on to say: "Dredging is an operational matter for British Waterways (BW) and it applies risk-based prioritisation to its maintenance expenditure." 

"BW estimate that the cost of clearing the current backlog of dredging would be approximately £40 million and BW has not set a time scale for dealing with the dredging backlog." he said.

He concluded by saying: "Future prioritisation of expenditure on the operation and maintenance of the waterways will be a matter for the Canal and River Trust, once BW’s functions and assets in England and Wales are transferred to the charity."

Waterway charity transition trustees to meet Boaters' manifesto representatives

Canal & River Trust Transition Trustee  John Dodswell has told Peter Underwood that he, John Bridgeman and Jane Cotton will meet with representatives of the Boaters' Manifesto to discuss it on Tuesday 20 December 2011 to and he has provided brief biographies of the three.

John Bridgeman CBE

John is British Waterways’ vice chairman, chair of the Fair Trading Committee and the Wales Advisory Group and a pension trustee. He is a former director general of Fair Trading, member of the Monopolies and Mergers Commission and CEO of British Alcan Aluminium plc. He is also regulatory director of the British Horseracing Authority, chairman of the Audit and Standards Committee for Warwickshire County Council, complaints commissioner for the Direct Marketing Authority and a longstanding trustee of three Oxfordshire charities. Lives near Banbury and so knows the Oxford canal, among others, and keen on the Welsh canals.

Jane Cotton

Jane has been human resources director and a deputy chief executive of Oxfam, one of the UK’s largest and most successful charities, for the past 11 years. Prior to this she worked in Departments of Transport and Environment in both policy and human resources roles. In the 1990s Jane was resources director of the Charity Commission and human resources director of Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions. She brings particular expertise in organisational development and change management; also in volunteering, fundraising and charity governance. Lives near Princes Risborough, Bucks. Obviously, knows a lot about running charities and pay strategy; she will chair the Remuneration Committee of CRT.

John Dodwell

John is a chartered accountant who moved into corporate finance and corporate law. He is a former finance director or chair of several property companies (including setting up joint ventures), a former charity trustee (including dealing with investments) and has been a member since 1961 of The Inland Waterways Association, of which he was General Secretary 1970-73. He was chair of the Commercial Boat Operators Association. He will relinquish membership of the Inland Waterways Advisory Council and of the British Waterways Advisory Forum on becoming a trustee for the new waterways charity. Having sailed dinghies, fished and canoed on the Thames and elsewhere in his youth, he went onto hire cruisers over most of the network, enjoying the waterways’ built and natural environment. He now owns an historic narrow boat; it’s an old BCN tug which draws 3 ft over its 51 ft length.

You can sign the Boater's Manifesto petition by following the link at the top of the side panel.


Related stories: 

Exemption from Freedom of Information Act a benefit of charity status says BW Vice Chair
Waterways Minister pre-empts BW consultation and says Canal & River Trust will be subject to FoI Act 

Minister back-tracks on British Waterways FoI statement

Boaters to be elected to Canal & River Trust Council

Boaters can get involved in shaping the future of Britain’s waterways say British Waterways who are calling for boaters to stand for election for the Canal & River Trust Council.

Tony Hales, chair of the Canal & River Trust, said:  “The boating community has a wealth of hands-on experience of the waterways, and having boaters on board is essential to the success of the Canal & River Trust.  I am writing to all licence holders and I encourage them to put themselves forward and add their voices to those shaping the Canal & River Trust’s future.”

The new charitable trust takes over from British Waterways in April 2012 and the nominations for boaters’ positions on the Council open on 12 December 2011.

Seven positions on the 35-strong council are to be filled by boaters or boating businesses.  Four positions are to be elected by boat licence holders and two positions elected by boating businesses.  

The British Canoe Union, which holds a collective licence for around 60,000 individual and club members, will be asked to nominate a person to fill a further position representing all those who use the waterways for waterborne sport and recreation without holding individual licences.  

A  Canal & River Trust employee will also be elected by all employees at this time to serve on the Council. 

The Council will help to shape policy, raising and debating issues, and providing guidance, perspective and a sounding board for the trustees.  It will also have the power to appoint or dismiss trustees. 

Members of the Canal & River Trust Council will be expected to bring the experience and perspective of the constituency they represent and to provide a voice for their interests.  In exercising this role they will have tact in the interests of the charitable purposes of the Trust.  

Members will serve for a term of four years.

Boaters who want to stand for election in any of these groups will need to complete a simple nomination form which will be available to download from 12 December 2011 at: www.canalrivertrust.org.uk/councilnomination and must be returned by 18 January 2012.  

To be eligible to stand for election and vote in the election, boaters must hold a 12-month boat licence on 18 January 2012.  Nominations must be supported by ten sponsors who each also hold a valid 12-month boat licence on this date. 

Voting will take place between 8 February and 9 March 2012 via a designated website or by SMS text.   Voting by post will also be possible, but only for this first set of Council elections.  The election is being managed by Electoral Reform Services.

The Boaters' Manifesto — final version published

Boaters' Manifesto
New Website at: http://boatersmanifesto.weebly.com

This manifesto was compiled as the result of responses to a request made on half a dozen boaters’ groups of Facebook (total membership around 2,500) and through various individual boaters’ Twitter networks and discussion groups.

Boaters were asked to let the transition trustees know what they actually need from them so that they can respond to the new charity with enthusiasm and commitment. A first draft was produced and offered to same group of boaters for further amendments and additions and this is the result.

Key Points

1. Waterways are about boats and boaters and the Canal and River Trust needs to listen to boaters more closely and have more representatives on the board.

2. Before the Canal and River Trust accepts the legal burden of running the waterways it must ensure proper funding to keep all waterways open, navigable and properly maintained, otherwise it should refuse to do so.

3. Boaters have lost faith in the most senior management of British Waterways and believe that the government should accept the cost of making them redundant to give the Canal and River Trust and fresh start.

4. The Canal and River Trust must develop a system of working that values full time paid staff and their skills above the expediency of using cheap contractors in order to maintain the skilled workforce the waterways require.

5. The Canal and River Trust must enforce a simplified set of mooring rules across the entire waterways system without fear or favour.

6. The Trust must make it a priority to ensure non-boating users of the system make a financial contribution to its upkeep and that their use of the system does not impinge on its primary purpose of navigation.

7. The Canal and River Trust must ensure it is open to Freedom of Information Act requests and operate in a totally transparent fashion if it is to earn and retain confidence.

8. Those for whom the waterways are a home have a special interest in and value to the Canal and River Trust and should be clearly represented at board level and consulted on all navigational issues.

Why the Canal and River Trust should listen to boaters

Navigable waterways were not only created for boats, they are only still with us today because boats and boaters found a new use for them as commercial traffic came to an end.

It has been boaters – not cyclists or walkers or fishermen – who have fought to reopen neglected canals in the face of official opposition; with British Waterways only jumping on the bandwagon in recent years.

Canals without boats don’t last very long for other users as there is no longer a reason to keep the unique industrial heritage in working order, the structures crumble, the water silts up and little is left. Waterways need boats as much as boats need waterways.

Boaters are the only group that has already made a substantial financial and personal commitment to the waterways as well as the only collection of individuals that pays substantial annual fees for their upkeep.

Boaters, especially those with many years of experience and those who live on their craft and travel widely on the system have a wealth of expertise that has been largely ignored by British Waterways and those who helped to compile this manifesto fear that the Canal and River Trust may continue this policy.

Most of all we would like to see many more experienced boaters, proper users of the system, taking a role at national and regional level than the current proposals suggest. Just five out of 35 (7 if you include boating business representatives) at a national level is simply inadequate. It is vital that many more than the proposed 50 per cent are elected by people concerned with the function of the waterways, primarily boaters.

Navigation

Boaters need to be assured that all existing navigations are sufficiently well maintained to enable the vessels designed to use them to travel the whole length of those waterways at all times of the year and operate locks and other equipment with relative ease and safety.

Waterways must not be allowed to deteriorate through lack of maintenance and the Canal and River Trust must have sufficient contingency funds to deal with a major breach – on the scale of those on the Shropshire Union Canal the Monmouth and Breconshire Canal in recent years - without delay.

This means that sufficient government funding is a prerequisite for the Canal and River Trust and if the levels of funding do not fill the massive gap identified by the IWA, and the specialist waterways MPs group, the trustees should refuse to sanction the creation of the charity. It will not be enough to depend on optimistic projections of future charitable income and would be dangerous to do so.

We believe some of the financial projections offered by British Waterways and Defra are simply wrong as they do not model the true cost of creating a well maintained system and accept the projections of a ‘steady state’ with a massive maintenance backlog and need to be tested far more critically than seems the case at present.

If the funding is not adequate to keep all waterways open, navigable and well maintained the Canal and River Trust should refuse to accept the task of running the waterways.

Management

Executive management

Boaters and many others have completely lost faith in the most senior levels of British Waterways’ management in recent years and almost all those who contributed to this manifesto want to see the current directors removed before the Canal and River Trust begins to run the system. It is our belief that government should bear the cost of making these people redundant as the new charitable role is essentially different. Our concern centres on the enormously expensive pay, pension and perks packages of the most senior directors and their willingness to grab bonus payments when staff are being penalised by pay rise well under the rate of inflation and we believe that their continued presence will make it extremely difficult to create any trust among boaters in the Canal and River Trust. That is especially the case as many of the commercial ventures in which they are supposed to be experts have failed to produce promised results.

Boaters do not believe the Canal and River Trust should be willing and will not be able to pay such large scale remuneration and feel that the removal of a group of directors who have little understanding of waterways or boats would do more to give the Trust a fresh start than any new logo.

Middle management

British Waterways’ workforce has become disconnected from the system it looks after. This is due to attempts to farm out much of the bankside and construction work to the cheapest available contractors, along with a policy that obliges the workforce to work in teams covering large areas.

Boaters would like to see visible individuals responsible for a particular stretch of waterway, with clear responsibilities and accountability in the event of failures. 

We believe the skills of the workforce should be valued, encouraged and passed on, especially as caring for a 200 year old artefact requires special expertise. We would like to see work brought back in house and apprenticeships encouraged along the lines of those provided by the National Trust.

Mooring

Whatever else the Canal and River Trust does it will achieve most with most boaters if it applies the same rules on mooring to all parts of the waterways system and enforces them without fear or favour.

This does not exclude setting up special rules in hot-spot areas; but they should then be available for all hot-spots in the country that want to adopt them. We do not believe there is anything wrong with the current mooring guidelines but feel they must be applied equally and effectively across the country. Don’t make rules the Canal and River Trust can’t enforce.

Towpath issues.

Boaters do not mind sharing the towpaths with fishermen, walkers, cyclists and dogs – although we draw the line at motorised vehicles and horses, other than those used to tow boats.

We do believe it is essential the Canal and River Trust finds ways of ensuring all those users contribute to the costs of upkeep and abide by a national set of rules.

Once again enforcement will be the key to stopping dog fouling, rubbish and speeding cyclists putting lives at risk.

We would encourage the new Trust to get into schools, angling clubs, cycling, ramblers etc and educate them about the policies on the towpath, and about canals and waterways in general so we can all enjoy them

An open society?

The Canal and River Trust needs to be completely open with boaters and other supporters and we would urge Trustees to stop avoiding the inclusion of the charity in Freedom of Information legislation.

Given the sensitive existing issues over directors pay, commercial operations such as BWML, pub chains and property development it is essential that the Canal and River Trust’s supporters are able to assure themselves that the murky goings on under British Waterways are brought out into the open and that complete transparency is the rule as soon as the charity begins business.

The Canal and River Trust is vitally important to boaters. Other users can always find what they're looking for somewhere else, if the new trust is not up to scratch, their stake is minimal. If the canal system crumbles then where are all the boat users going to go? 

Liveaboard boaters

The Canal and River Trust should endeavour to help those who live on their boats by the provision of more residential moorings where needed and perhaps usable postal addresses (BFPO can do it for the forces), recycling facilities, more potable water and sewage disposal points.

Those who live on the waterways system, several thousand people, should have specific representation on the board of the Trust.

Peter Underwood compiled the manifesto following requests from half a dozen boaters’ groups on Facebook (total membership around 2,500) and through various boaters’ networks on Twitter.

For more information go to: Boaters' manifesto Facebook page 

And you can follow Peter Underwoods blog 'Living Afloat' at: http://peterunderwood2.blogspot.com

Boaters' Manifesto — A transtion trustee responds

John Dodwell, one of the Transition Trustees for the new waterway charity, The Canal & River Trust, has responded to the draft Boaters' Manifesto document prepared by Peter Underwood 

John Dodwell's response can be seen in full on Peter's Blog 'Goodbye Blackberry Way' at: http://peterunderwood.blogspot.com/2011/10/boaters-manifesto.html