Not so 'charitable'
CONCERNING the changes proposed by CRT to the licensing structure of continuous cruisers, writes Brian D Jarrett.
They will not only pay an above inflation increase for the next five years on the 'standard license fee but also an annual surcharge that is just one more attack on continuous cruisers!
Flawed basis
This proposed increase and the surcharge are being justified on the flawed basis that we, the continuous cruisers, use more of the system and facilities than boats with a mooring!
According to CRT’s figures there are 5,000 continual cruisers against a total licensed boating community of 33,000.
Most boats that come out of their moorings each year tend to cover far greater distances over the year and at higher speeds than a plodding itinerant boater!
So called 'charitable' status
At this time of austerity and in the middle of a nationwide cost of living crisis, for CRT to propose these options directed at a minority group of possibly some of the poorest of our society, certainly a group living on low incomes, must call into question its management’s moral compass and it’s so called 'charitable' status!