Boaters' Update February 2011

Take your place at the helm of the new waterways charity

The search is on to appoint seven ‘Transition Trustees’ who will be instrumental in establishing the new ‘national trust’ for the waterways. This is a unique opportunity for individuals with significant board level experience and details of the vacancies were published in The Sunday Times and are also available through the job pages of the Guardian, Cabinet Office and Defra websites. Anyone interested has until 21 February 2011 to apply.

The Government is seeking four new Transition Trustees from any sector, but particularly with expertise in: business and finance, heritage, navigation and boating, the environment, civil engineering, volunteering, fundraising and community engagement. A further three members of BW’s existing Non-Executive Board will be selected to ensure continuity. It is anticipated that the Transition Trustees will all form part of the charity’s first Board in April 2012.

The Government has set up an independent Advisory Panel to advise it on the appointment of these first trustees. Details of the team are on the Defra website.

The name game – last chance to cast your vote

As reported in last months’ Boaters’ Update, research is being conducted to test possible names for the new waterways charity which will take over the management of the waterways in 2012. Due to popular demand, the survey has been extended by a week until Friday 11 February 2011.

Visit www.surveymonkey.com to take part in the survey today.

Change to BW’s Customer Services opening hours

BW’s Customer Services team handles around 43,000 calls and 13,000
e-mails a year – the vast majority of which are received during the week. The team acknowledge that it can be difficult to get through to them at peak times so, to improve the quality of the service, more staff will be available at peak times but Customer Services will no longer open on Saturday mornings when call volumes are at their lowest. This change will come into effect from the start of April.

The team will continue to be available five days a week, 0800 – 1800, to take your calls and answer your e-mails. Contact them on: 01923 201120 or by e-mailing enquiries.hq@britishwaterways.co.uk.

BW long-term mooring prices 2011

BW has announced the price adjustments for its long-term moorings for customers with 12-month mooring permits. A general inflationary increase of 3.1% is being applied to the majority of BW 12 month, long-term mooring permits from 1 April 2011.

At some sites the price will rise above inflation because the current prices are below the comparable market rate for moorings in the same area. Customers at these sites will receive a letter notifying them of the increase and explaining the reason for it within the next week.

The full site by site price list, reflecting the increase in VAT to 20%, will be published on waterscape.com before the end of February 2011.

Note that the price increase does not affect customers with three-year fixed price agreements arranged through BW’s moorings auction system.

Changes to boat licence fees

These were outlined in December’s Boaters Update and feedback was received from about 50 customers and user group representatives. Detailed comments and suggestions within the feedback are still being reviewed, but the main decisions have been confirmed relating to three and six month licence fees and changes to prompt and late payment arrangements. To mitigate the impact of the large increase in three and six month fees, BW will look at making the direct debit instalment options more attractive by enabling people to spread the cost evenly over 12 months.

Colour doesn’t matter!

The BW licensing team is turning over small as well as large stones in its quest to cut costs without detriment to customer service. A recent slip up in a print specification resulted in purple becoming this year’s colour of choice for licence discs. Unfortunately, the purple ink turns out not to be waterproof. In actual fact, now that enforcement checks look at the boat index number rather than the disc, the colour is immaterial and once stocks of coloured stationery are exhausted, discs will become black and white. For the next few months, boaters can expect discs to be red or green. The only thing that’s important is that you continue to display your disc as that’s what gives other paying customers the confidence that they’re not subsidising others.

Spring into action

If you are interested in getting on your Wellington boots this Spring to help clean-up a local stretch of canal, why not take part in this year’s Towpath Tidy. Running throughout March, volunteers will help give the waterways a spring clean before the main boating season gets underway.

In a change to previous years, in 2011 Towpath Tidy will see the launch of regular volunteering parties across the country, meeting once a month to undertake a variety of tasks, from environment management and conservation work to painting locks and tackling problem patches.

Edward Moss, BW’s national volunteering manager comments: “There will be at least one regular volunteering party on each waterway each month. These parties are a fun and accessible way to volunteer on a local stretch of canal or river and a great opportunity to put something back into the local community. It also means that people who get a taste for waterways volunteering during Towpath Tidy are able to carry on helping to transform their local canal or river!”

Look out for dates on www.waterscape.com/volunteering

Liverpool Boat Show. A brand new boating day out

The first ever Liverpool Boat Show takes place from 29 April - 8 May 2011 in the magnificent surroundings of the Albert, Salthouse and Canning Docks – the largest collection of Grade I listed buildings in Britain.
The Inland Waterways Association (IWA), the Historic Narrow Boat Owners Club, The National Waterways Museum, and the Steam Boat Association are joining forces to create an interactive celebration of inland waterways during the Show. Two separate flotillas of some of the UK's finest examples of historic narrow boats and steamboats will grace the Salthouse Dock.

Don’t miss the fantastic display of Tall Ships plus legendary yachts including Americas Cup Challenger Sceptre. The land-based exhibitors in the Kings Hall and around the docks will satisfy your shopping needs with chandleries, clothing, electronics, deck equipment and accessories.
IWA members can receive a 20% discount on entry to the show, simply book online at www.liverpoolboatshow.co.uk and enter code IWA20 or call 0844 809 4620.

15/02/11 Update: The Liverpool Boat Show has now been cancelled.

The Crick Boat Show. A family fun day out

This year’s Crick Boat Show is once again set to be a fantastic day out at the heart of Britain’s 200-year old canals. Taking place from 28-30 May at Crick Marina on the Grand Union Canal in Northamptonshire, there will be plenty on offer including free boat trips, craft stalls, real ale, gourmet food and live music. A dedicated children’s area with an extra special guest – Peppa Pig* – is sure to keep any little ones entertained. For seasoned boaters wanting to find out more, they’ll be a wealth of expert exhibitors, marina and quayside.
Exhibitor bookings are already running well ahead of last year, if you are interested in exhibiting please contact Ian Sharpe via www.crickboatshow.com

*Peppa Pig will be appearing at various intervals throughout the three days.
For Crick Boat Show ticket information and to order

Share your enthusiasm for canals and rivers with the next generation

“What are the differences between canals and rivers?”, “Who built the canals?” and “How does a lock work?” are some of the common questions put by some of the younger visitors to the waterways.
The answers to these and many more are part of the latest teaching resources from Wild Over Waterways (WOW). The resources are available free for schools, community groups and canal societies who can download them at ‘All About Canals’ from the wow website.

WOW is reliant on the input of volunteers and has lots of opportunities for more people to help introduce the canals to the next generation of waterway enthusiasts. The roles are varied and include taking part in school visits, helping Cub Scouts and Brownies with their badges, researching waterway history and making it child friendly and staffing WOW corners in museums.

If you enjoy sharing your enthusiasm of canals & rivers with children and their families get in touch by emailing sarah.cook@britishwaterways.co.uk or calling her on 01926 626 150. BW’s WOW team is also hosting some 'Meet & Greet’ events for potential WOW volunteers; visit the WOW website at www.wow4water.net to see if there is an event near you.

The official BW key

The BW key is a necessity for boating on BW’s canals and rivers. It gives access to sanitary stations as well as some locks. Recently BW has received a number of reports from customers about faulty keys being bought through non-official sources.

The official BW key is clearly identifiable with a standard ‘YALE’ stamp mark on one side and ‘BWB’ stamped on the other and the easiest place to buy one is at our online shop

A new waterscape blogger

And finally Waterscape has a new blogger on board. With so much happening with the move becoming a charity, BW’s chief executive, Robin Evans, is writing a regular blog – giving the latest news and his views on the journey towards the New Waterways Charity.

Read Robin’s debut blog at waterscape.com/blog

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Last updated: 15/02/2011