Head
Office Press Office - 22-Sep-2006 - The Environment
Agency today (Friday) confirmed it will increase
boat registration fees on the rivers it manages
by 12% per year for three years from 2007 to help
pay for essential repairs and improvements and
the rising cost of construction work.
Stuart Taylor, the Environment
Agency’s National Navigation Manager, said: "For
more than three-quarters of our boat owners the
new charges will mean a rise of less than £1
a week on their registration in the first year.
By the third year, their registrations will have
risen by less than £2.60 a week on 2005
prices."
After a detailed audit revealed
one quarter of the 1,700 sites, structures and
services that it manages along 1,000 km of inland
waterway in England and Wales were in urgent need
of work, the Environment Agency secured a £30
million grant for 2005-08 from the Department
for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra)
- a rise of £5 million per year on previous
grants.
In the first year of this enhanced
Defra funding, the Environment Agency carried
out £9 million of key repairs and managed
to complete 10% more than originally planned because
of greater efficiency. Earlier this month it unveiled
a £10 million schedule of works for the
forthcoming winter.
But, there is no guarantee that
Government funding of the waterways will continue
at this level. Defra has also made it clear that
it wants boaters to contribute more to the cost
of managing the rivers, to create a fairer balance
between public and private funds.
Stuart continued: "We understand
that people find increases difficult but we have
a responsibility to ensure the nation’s world-class
rivers are safe and accessible for everyone to
enjoy.
"Our latest research shows
our annual budget for repairs and improvements
is around £12 million short of what we actually
need and that a further £60 million is required
to clear the maintenance backlog built up over
past decades of under investment on the rivers.
"We do not expect boaters
to pay for this shortfall, but if they do their
bit, and we do ours, it strengthens our position
when it comes to securing further Government backing
to help bridge the funding gap and prevent locks,
laybys and moorings becoming unsafe and ultimately
unusable.
"Every penny of the £3.5
million we currently receive from boat registration
fees is used to benefit the rivers we care for.
We are also using the increased Defra Grant in
Aid to provide the improvements that boaters tell
us they want.
"We have also kept fee
increases as low as possible since taking over
the management of navigable rivers in 1996 and
in the last 10 years, the average rise has been
just 3.7% - way below the annual rise in construction
costs.
"At present the taxpayer
foots £70% of the bill for works on the
rivers, while boaters - the people who benefit
the most - pay just 30% nationally.
"We have consulted widely
and at length with boating associations and businesses
about the need to increase fees and after reflecting
on all the feedback we dropped our initial proposal
of a 14.1% rise.
"We have worked long and
hard to balance the views and concerns with the
boating community with our duty to the environment
and now we are asking boaters to come on board
and accept they need to help us do more to keep
our rivers navigable."
The 12% rise, which the Environment
Agency estimates will generate and extra £1
million a year, is made up of:
A 5% increase to cover the rising
cost of carrying out construction work. In the
past we have not linked our charges to this inflation
rate but British Waterways - the major navigation
authority for canals in England and Wales - do
A 5% increase to maintain investment
A 2% increase towards improvements
Stuart added: "For many, boating is already
an expensive pastime but registration fees are,
on average, between just a sixth to a 10th of
that total cost. Consequently, the majority of
our past increases have had little or no effect
on the boating market.
"That said, our priority is to soften the
impact of this latest rise and we are looking
at ways for people to pay by installments and
to offer concessions to hire boat and passenger
boat operators - and will keep the situation under
review."
Summary of the Environment Agency’s
waterways capital works programme:
Last winter, the first year
of the enhanced Defra funding, £9 million
was poured in to 127 projects ranging from electrifying
lock gates along the Nene, in East Anglia, the
restoration of Godstow Lock on the Thames and
the installation of hi-visibility booms upstream
of weirs on the Medway in Kent.
This winter, £10m will
be spent - as follows:
1. Thames Region: This winter
nearly £4.75 million will be spent on the
Thames where:
Bray Lock near Maidenhead will
undergo a £700,000 facelift that includes
the addition of wider, safer walkways for boaters
and more accessible canoe portage. Fish are also
set to benefit with new reed beds and habitats
being constructed from recycled wood from recently
felled trees at the lock.
Historic Days Lock, in Little Wittenham, Oxfordshire,
will receive a £500,000 makeover, including
re-facing the lock walls and lowering the lock
chamber exit steps to give boaters safer access.
Clifton Lock, in Abingdon, will have a £300,000
upgrade, including the replacement and extension
of a deteriorating lay-by to provide more mooring
space.
2. Anglian Region: Another £2.8
million will be spent on Anglian rivers, where
the highlights include a £500,000 major
overhaul of Hermitage Lock on the Great Ouse.
Two other schemes in the region
will form part of the Environment Agency’s preparations
to host the 2007 Inland Waterways Association
Festival at St Ives.
Around £500,000 will be invested in new
visitor moorings and raising the bridge at Tichmarsh
on the Nene and a further £200,000 will
be spent on replacement landing stages on at least
two sites along the Great Ouse.
3. Southern Region: A number of key improvements
will also be carried out along the Medway, including:
The powering of gates at the
tidal end of Allington Lock, near Maidstone (£150,000)
The replacement of landing stages at up to five
sites including Sluice Weir Lock, near East Peckham
and Hampstead Lock, near Yalding (£200,000)
The replacement of rotten lock gate timbers at
Porters Lock, downstream from Tonbridge, and Oak
Weir Lock, near East Peckham (£100,000)
The Environment Agency carries out most major
maintenance over the winter to limit the inconvenience
to river users and informs registered boaters
of the schedule of lock closures required to allow
the works to go ahead.
We also advise anyone planning
a trip on the rivers this winter to visit our
website or call our National Customer Contact
Centre on 08708 506 506 to check their route is
clear.
