David: Liverpool Link access

THE current (now closed) 'consultation' for changes to the arrangements for accessing the Liverpool Link, which seem to have involved CaRT talking only to the IWA, are of personal interest, as we are currently working on our cruising plans for the summer, which will, we hope, include Liverpool.

Most of the proposals, which would make access easier and increase availability, are very acceptable and the IWA are supportive. There would be free access to the top of Stanley Locks, except for the passage of the two swing bridges, which is subject to an agreement with the local authority to restrict traffic hold ups by only having the bridges swung (by CaRT staff) at specified times.

Passage through the locks would have to be booked, but would be available six days a week, subject to there being space in the docks. My main reservation, shared with the IWA, is about the proposal to reduce free mooring in the docks from 14 days to seven, with a £20 a night charge for further nights. I think £20 is excessive and personally I would be happy to pay a modest fee (say £5) for every night of a stay, up to a limit of 14 days. The income from this would help to defray the costs of operating the Link and might contribute towards the provision of extra pontoons, since there now seems to be a shortage at peak times.  (Pictures are of Salthouse Dock.)

I am slightly puzzled over the timing of the proposals, since bookings for the Link under the existing arrangements are already open for this year, and if the new arrangements are introduced they will cut across the old ones; so perhaps the new system is proposed for 2016.

Not before time

About ten years ago the Fiddle and Bone pub in Sheepcote Street, central Birmingham, was closed when the residents of the newly built yuppie flats opposite complained about the noise, even though the pub was there first. Since then the building, which is listed and belongs to CaRT, has stood empty, generating no revenue.

Now a scheme has been put forward by the people who own the nearby Sherborne Wharf to re-open it as a 'bar and restaurant' and even to include 'boater facilities', including a chandlery. At long last, but ten years does seem to be an unconscionably long time to have an asset like this wasting away.

Trackers

I have thought for a long time that some sort of tracker installed in all boats could become a new basis for licensing as it would make it possible to return to the old system whereby boats were charged by the distance they travelled (and the cargoes they carried) rather than a flat fee for simply existing, as we have now.

This could be seen to be fairer, since people would pay according to their usage of the system—and it is usage which puts up the maintenance costs. Those (and there seem to be a lot of them) who rarely cruise their boats, but treat them as a cheap form of country cottage would gain. People like us, who cruise continuously for several months, or those who do so permanently would be the losers.

One practical aspect of such a system which does not seem to have been considered is how to make sure people don't try and beat the system, either by arranging for their tracker to give false information or simply blanking it off all together—I would imagine it would only need a piece of tinfoil wrapped round it. A whole new bureaucracy would be needed to enforce the system—I believe it was objections of this sort which have so far stalled the introduction of road pricing.

David Hymers