British Waterways will increase boat licence fees by 5.1% from April — a figure that they say is 2% above the governments Consumer Price Index — and with the increase in VAT next year the increased cost to the boat owner will be more than 7%.
BW say that they they expect this rise to give them an extra £0.85m in 2011/12.
BW propose a raft of other changes to boat licencing that they will introduce after consultation. These will include:
- Changes to the pricing of short-term licences that will see the cost of a 3 month licence rise from 35% of the annual fee to 60%,
- Continuing with the £150 late payment charge but replacing the 'prompt-payment' discount with an 'early-payment' discount (10% discount for payments received two weeks before expiry)
- Increasing the cost of a replacement index plate to £20 (including VAT).
The Gold Licence will rise by 2.5% plus the increased VAT.
To take part in the consultation go to: Licence consultation document
