Email: Insufficient moorings

The fact of the matter is that there are insufficient moorings in the area on the Lee & Stort, but your statement that the moorings are always occupied by continuous moorers, and that there are no vacant moorings is completely untrue.

We haven’t experienced problems getting a mooring, it may not have been the one that we wanted, but there have been spaces in the general area available. The Upper Lee & Stort Boaters Association has carried out a survey that proved that the numbers of boats that British Waterways claimed were ''clogging' the two rivers was exaggerated.

At present, I am on my way back to the Lee & Stort for the winter, and  have seen real congestion and overcrowding on the Llangollen, Shropshire Union, Trent & Mersey & Oxford canals. On these canals there are solutions to the crowding that could easily be applied to the Lee & Stort, also, policing the moorings more effectively would also help, but the long term solution must be to provide residential moorings similar to those provided on the other parts of the waterways, at similar prices.

You have also ignored the proposal put forward by the Lee & Stort boaters regarding a 'code of conduct' that has been included in the new British Waterways proposals, [we were not made aware of it—editor] which the greater majority of the boaters in the area were happy to accept. There were a few objections, but they were in the minority.

In addition, the facilities on those two rivers are completely inadequate, so any means of raising finance to improve these facilities can only improve the situation.

It would be interesting to see an article that covers the positive aspects of these new proposals from a more positive view.

Rob Foster