Bargees abandon judicial review

NICK Brown, the Legal Officer of the National Bargee Travellers Association, yesterday (Wednesday)  abandoned his claim for judicial review of Canal & River Trust's ‘Guidance for Boaters Without a Home Mooring'.

A spokesman for Canal & River Trust tells us that at the end of the first morning of the two day hearing at the High Court, after comments from Mr Justice Lewis in respect of the case put forward by Martin Westgate QC (representing Mr Brown), Mr Brown applied to discontinue his claim for judicial review. The Judge accepted the application and awarded substantial costs to be paid by Mr Brown to the Trust.

One limited aspect

Having received permission at only the fourth attempt to take forward just one limited aspect of his claim (namely, whether the Trust's Guidance accurately reflected the requirements of the British Waterways Act 1995), Mr Brown abandoned this final aspect, even before the Trust had presented its own arguments.

The Trust's legal team has always viewed this claim as misconceived and confirms that the Guidance remains valid and applicable for boaters without a home mooring.