The Trust will announce more information and timelines for the consultation process in due course .
IWA welcomes Canal & River Trust ’ s announcement that it will consult widely on a review of the structure of boat licensing fees to take effect from April 2018 . IWA looks forward to taking part during the engagement and consultation period and will put forward its own proposals as part of the process .
IWA is , however , disappointed by the announcement that C & RT will increase licence fees for both pleasure and business craft by 2.5 % from 1st April 2017 . For the last 3 years , 2014 to 2016 , C & RT held licence increases at inflation only , using the Consumer Prices Index ( CPI ) as a guide , and IWA considered that this was a fair and reasonable approach . CPI is currently 1 % and IWA considers that an increase of a 2.5 % in these uncertain economic times is not fair on boaters .
IWA is particularly concerned about the impact the proposals will have on those with business licences , such as trading boats , hire companies and canal societies .
IWA National Chairman Les Etheridge said “ No one likes a price increase , but the important point is that the current licence system gets a thorough overhaul to ensure all boaters contribute in a fair and sustainable way to the upkeep of the nation ’ s waterways without penalising those who play by the rules .” He added “ It may be time to consider a radical approach – for example , on the Chelmer & Blackwater Navigation , which IWA manages through its subsidiary company Essex Waterways Ltd , there are no boat licence fees , with income from boaters collected through a single mooring fee . That might be hard to achieve on CRT waterways , but we shouldn ’ t be afraid of looking at new ideas .”
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