CaRT boat numbers down 4.2%

THE  number of boats on Canal & River Trust (CaRT) waterways has declined by 4.2% since last year, writes Allan Richards.

CaRT's first annual report gives the number of boats with a long term licence as 33,227. The figure given in the last British Waterways annual report for waterways that are now the responsibility of CaRT was 34,683 (2011/12), slightly down on the previous years figure of 34,874.

Licence evasion up

Part of the decline is due to a rise in licence evasion which is up 0.5% from 3.4% to 3.9% despite CaRT spending some £2.2m (£2.7m from 2013) and employing some 50 staff on 'enforcement'.

A evasion target figure of 3% was set for Director, Simon Salem some years ago but has never been achieved, with evasion now on the increase despite the massive spend in tackling the problem.

Different figures

The decline also reflects the different way in which boat numbers are now calculated. In the past the figure has been expressed as the number of 12 month licences issued during the financial year covered by the report. However, CaRT's first annual report gives the figure as a snapshot taken at year end.

As such the current figure (33,227) will not include any licences surrendered during the year.

Cause for concern

The drop in boat numbers for a second year running should have set the alarm bells ringing for the Trust. However, this is not reflected in the annual report.

Perhaps the number of bird boxes is of more import that the number of boats.