THE The Canal & River Trust is today announcing that private and business boat licence fees will rise by 2.5% from 1st April 2017.
Having capped licence fees to inflation for the past three years, the 2017, the Trust anticipates next year's prevailing inflation rate will rise between now and next summer.
In announcing the rise in licence fees, the Trust states that it 'can continue to sustain the increased spend on waterway maintenance over recent years'.
Not true
It also states that this 'has seen an improvement in the structural condition of the waterways and a significant reduction in the amount of disruption experienced by boaters', which of course is totally untrue, as the waterways, as many of you, and ourselves have experienced, are in a worse condition than ever before, with a record number of stoppages caused by deterioration, as we have published.
However, Mike Grimes, Head of Boating at Canal & River Trust, tells us:
"Boaters are the backbone of our waterways and we know what a vital role they play. We also know that as a community they are as passionate about the future of our canals and support the rising volume of work that the Trust is able to fund.
"Although the cost of a licence will be increasing slightly, I'm pleased to say that overall proportion of the Trust's income coming directly from boaters is decreasing as we generate more income from other sources."
Massive backlog
There are then the figures showing that more and more is being spent on maintenance, but the massive maintenance backlog, that was standing at £117 millions was not mentioned.
Then Mike continues:
"The income from boat licences continues to make an important contribution to the work we do: looking after a 200 years old network is a never-ending task. I hope that boaters can see that we are investing in areas that make a difference to them. We've put extra cash into dredging and cutting back off-side trees over the past few years, as well as the massive and growing programme of major works we carry out every year to keep our canals and rivers safe and navigable."
We wonder if Mike has actually cruised the waterways recently....