NABO meets Richard Parry

Published: Wednesday, 20 November 2013

THE Canal & River Trust (CaRT) Chief Executive, Richard Parry, attended the 22nd Annual General Meeting of the National Association of Boat Owners (NABO) held on 16th November 2013, writes Allan Richards.

The chief executive not only sat-in on the formal 'housekeeping' bits but also the more general session and a workshop conducted by Adam Comerford and Emily Crisp from CaRT's Hydrology unit.

Full report

A full report of the meeting can be found here.

However, one suspects that the AGM only served to reinforce what CaRT's chief executive had been told the previous day in a meeting at CaRT's Milton Keynes office attended by NABO chair, David Fletcher and Council members Mike Rodd and Mark Tizzard.

Unsurprisingly, both meetings touched on the subject of South East Visitor Moorings and Kennet & Avon Canal towpath moorings. Also the legal advice that NABO had received that challenged some of CaRT's initiatives.

Breakthrough

After some years of being blocked from having meaningful discussions regarding BW/CaRT's legal powers, NABO's persistence has finally paid off with a meeting set up between CaRT and NABO legal teams to review the advice NABO has been given.

Where this will lead is anyone's guess. However, in the longer term one would hope that it leads to acceptance of the legal powers claimed by the Trust or conversely introduction of legislation to give it the regulatory powers needed.

Whatever the outcome, boaters must have confidence that CaRT's legal powers actually exist and are used appropriately.