What about the real reason?

A WATERWAYS publication tells us it has been a tough year for hire businesses, writes T. Lang.

Then goes into details of how 'a combination of poor weather at the start of the year and the credit crunch affecting families all hit bookings and affected the core summer business'. Going on to tell us a rise in business costs, increase in minimum wages and national insurance have all contributed.

Nothing

But nothing of how one business has gone out of business with holiday hire and others having suffered through, of course, all the many stoppages, with Ian Clarke of Pennine Cruisers telling:

"We don't know whether we have got water, and if things break there is no guarantee they are going to be mended the same day, or even the same week.

"People can't actually get where they want to get to, they could be six miles from here, then something breaks and they can't get back. it was no longer viable to operate holiday hire boats.

Not quoted

Ian wasn't quoted of course!

And a search through your site shows people having their holidays spoilt by stoppages and so not being able to proceed, and hire operators all too often having to go out and retrieve their boats, if able to that is, with subsequent hire lost.

Not a word about this as that publication doesn't tell of such things or stoppages even, for it seems it toes the CaRT party line.

And all the figures quoted and bringing the Broads into it doesn't cover this major reason for hire company losses either.