Victor: Not so good

BETWEEN them, British Waterways and Canal & River Trust have not shown much aptitude in their choice of investments.

There was the almighty clanger of investing in pubs, just as the industry was on its downturn, with many only too glad to dump them on to British Waterways and its partner, and many will remember the result of that 'investment'—all eventually sold off at a loss of many millions.

There was the 'investment' in the Liverpool Boat Show of half a million—that went bust before it even opened! Taking. of course the half million with it.

Then came the 'investment' in the warehouse in Leeds, it being let-out on a long term lease to a company that simply filled it up with waste then scarpered! Leaving not only the loss of any rent but the colossal cost of clearing out what proved to be toxic waste—it was an almighty con, with a few more millions down the drain.

And now, it's another warehouse, this time in Andover, destined I believe to go the same way, in which CaRT is sinking its cash—£6 millions of it. 

And in return? For rent, in a town at the moment packed with empty warehouses. But what is so ludicrous is that the rental over 15 years will only just about cover the outlay, and does not seem to include maintenance and other costs!

And what if the the company renting follows the trend and goes bust—another few millions of what could be maintenance money,  again down the drain. Yet here we have some idiot from CaRT boasting:

“We invest in suitable assets in order to generate income that we can then reinvest into caring for the 2,000 miles of canals and rivers we look after."

What utter crap!

I don't get it

Many marinas will have nothing to do with the Gold Anchor Awards purveyed by The Yacht Harbour Association, such as the Marina of the Year Award, and I don't blame them.

The award has bugger all to do with the services a marina offers, but is based on how many of the marina berth holders vote for it, that seems a most questionable way of choosing the winner.

I notice that we had a Press Release from this year's winner asking for votes, that perhaps explains how this marina, though by no means one of the extensive ones, manged to win three years in succession! Not much of a accolade, eh?

A new restriction

There is a new restriction being imposed on the Weaver by CaRT—floating habitats.

We are not told what the habitats are for, and certainly not how much they cost, only that boaters must approach Winnington Swing Bridge—where the floating habitat will be moored—with caution.

It will be interesting to see if the 'residents' for the habitat will be placed or expected to move in, but I reckon the first decent flood will prove it to be yet another of CaRT's more stupid ideas.

Victor Swift