What you think of the latest Canal & River Trust survey

THAT new survey that Canal & River Trust has launched has created a deal of comment.

OUR  Keith Gudgin was first off the blocks, telling:

If this email has originated from CaRT then those who sent it need to be trained in communications security as a matter of urgency.

I think that the sending out of an email like this without any means of identification or verification is grossly irresponsible. To encourage people to open communications such as these whether by text or email or internet link etc. is not an act any responsible organisation should undertake or be proud of!

Work-experience boy

Andrew Bailes was another soon to comment:

Looks like CaRT have got the work-experience boy in to do their newest consultation. Either that or they're really desperate for new ideas. Please see the below. I imagine others will have seen this too?

The Canal & River Trust does not currently supply fuel for propulsion for boaters.  Thinking about the future and moving towards alternative zero emission sources of fuel who do you think should lead delivery of these?

O  The private sector—existing waterway businesses or new entrants.

O  the Canal & River Trust.

O  the government.

O  other.

Electricity

Our contributor of many years, T Lang continued this theme:

The survey was a right hodge-podge, but it seems CaRT is going on about boats being all electric, but can you see anyone believing that it could be responsible for supplying it?  How?  Battery charging installation along all the canals and rivers?  I don't think so.  And the government?  How?  Others?  What others?

For the amount used in a decent sized narrowboat it would need literally thousands of charging points along the waterways.

How long a charge would last

Helen Cripps was another who was concerned about boats going all electric as the trust seemingly intent, with her remarks:

I should not think for a single moment, from perusing the questions about electricity supply to boats that 'they' have a clue just how much a narrowboat uses or how long a charge would last in situations like at the moment with the temperature at minus. 

A solid fuel heater, that would not be allowed as it gives of carbon even with 'smokeless' fuel and with no diesel 'bang' goes the diesel heaters, so you have to have electric heaters, power for an immersion heater to heat water, power for lighting, power for the refrigerator and power for a cooker, all coming from stored electricity in batteries, never mind propulsion. How many batteries? How long to charge? But most important how long would they last?

What do you think about Canal & River Trust

It is the very first question on the survey—What do you think about Canal & River Trust?—that has created the most response.

Not much! Was the shortest response from Gerry Coles!

From the very regular James Henry:

How many pages have you got to spare?  Canal & Trust was the worst thing that ever happened to the waterways, as boating for over 20 years I can clearly see the massive dereliction of the waterways under this lot.  Day after day comes notices of stoppages (I see there are a few in today already) from either 'structural failures' or breaches, both obviously caused by the sheer lack of maintenance.

As your Jan pointed out caused by the 'wait until it breaks then mend it' policy.  But reading one of today's 'structural failure' stoppages it will be the end of March before is is likely to be repaired.  As she said, 'not good enough'.

From Tom Redway: I believe the whole survey is just a vehicle so that CaRT can proclaim how good it is doing, no matter what the results, as all we will get is its interpretation of the answers to the questions, for we all know how it exaggerates, just taking the outlandish number of people it claims visits its canals.

There have been many responses, many of the same ilk but without a name, that we will not publish, but one from a Gill Warner who tells us she answered the question What do you think of Canal & River Trust?:

It does the best it can under the circumstances of having such a lack of funds.