Checklist for Richard

THE new Chief Executive of the Canal & River Trust (CaRT), Richard Parry, must see Richard Holland's letter in The Times (On a narrowboat)—it's a useful checklist, writes Lester May.

The new man at the tiller should also note C&RT's website, (About us) where it states 'In an increasingly fast-paced and crowded world ... historic canals and rivers provide a local haven for people ...', yet some cyclists are driving away pedestrians because little has been done to curb speed on the towpath. Narrowboats are restricted to 4mph, in part so as to stop their wash swamping wildlife, but there is no cycling speed limit, swamping people less a concern.

Claims the credit

C&RT chairman Tony Hales claims the credit (Low-speed water—4th July) for uncoupling from state control, perhaps forgetting that it was this government's policy to reduce the number of quangos. He will have seen many a colourful narrowboat and certainly paints a rosy picture of the charity's first year. British Waterways was established in 1962, and one might wonder why charitable status took nearly fifty years. Perhaps paying eight directors a handsome £1.26m was some deterrence; the remuneration of the last chief executive, a decade in post, was £248,683.

An organisation that pays directors an average of £150,000 per annum must surely have the funds both to rectify the defects reported by the narrowboat Lutra [letter 6th July] and to introduce chicanes on towpaths, so that pedestrians and cyclists may safely share these narrow spaces.

Lester May (Lieutenant-Commander RN—retired)