CaRT's Upton moorings decision thrown out

UPTON Town Council have vetoed the decision by Canal & River Trust to prevent boaters using the moorings on the Severn at Upton.

The huge protest at the ridiculous decision taken by Susie Mercer, Boating Trade Manager South to stop boaters taking refuge at the moorings when the Severn rises, (Kick in the teeth for boaters) had encouraged Upton Town Council—shared owners of the moorings—to veto the decision, again making the pontoons available for boaters, Martin Turner tells us.

100% support

Amongst others, Martin gave the meeting of the council a presentation on behalf of the Inland Waterways Association on the dangers of not having such moorings available, that the room gave 100% support, resulting in the following being issued by the council:

The Town Council decided in its meeting of the 4th June to veto an agreement between the Canals and River Trust and the owners of the waterbus Avon Belle.

The agreement had been drawn up conferring mooring rights for a section of the pontoon upstream of the bridge in Upton upon Severn. The pontoon is one of the main mooring places in Upton available to visiting boats.

After the announcement of the agreement, a protest by boat owners, river users and associations followed; the matter was discussed at the Council meeting of Upton upon Severn Town Council on the evening of the 4th June at which 36 members of the public were present. The Town Council are co-owners of the pontoon but had not been consulted before the agreement had been made, which the Canals & River Trust have since admitted was a mistake and have apologised for.

It was noted that the Canals & River Trust had no authority to enter into the agreement without the consent of the Town Council. The pontoon was considered to be an unsuitable point for potentially large amounts of people arriving by coach to embark onto the Avon Belle and that the slope of the walkway to the pontoon was too steep for wheelchairs to use safely without assistance. The loss of the mooring to a commercial company was also felt to be particularly injurious to the boating community given the general shortage of moorings in the town. Accordingly, the Town Council voted to veto the agreement and demand its withdrawal.

So at least the Town Council saw sense, which is certainly more that what can be said for CaRT.