Peter's Waterways Blog Some New Signs This was first published in IWA West Riding's Milepost in September 2017, discussing how the canals' permanent moorings rules are to be enforced.

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Some New Signs have appeared on both towingpath and offside at seventeen 'test' locations, at permanent moorings in the Midlands, over the last few weeks. To save the magnifying glass, the main point they make is about an 'overstay' charge of a hundred and fifty pounds per day, or part of a day and the exact wording is, with some of it in very small letters:

An ordinary towingpath mooring ??

The main sign to which others refer

"(Logo) Waterside Mooring Terms and conditions apply at all times It is important that you read this notice in full (Full site terms and conditions for this location can be found at www.watersidemooring.com) Mooring at this site is for current Mooring Agreement holders only. By mooring or remaining stationary at this location, you, the person or persons in control of the vessel accept these contractual terms: An Overstay Charge of £150 per day will be issued to any vessel moored here without authorisation. This land is privately owned by the Canal & River Trust ("the Trust"). District Enforcement have the Trust's authority to issue Mooring Overstay Charge Notices (MOCN) and to recover the overstay charges from the person in control of the vessel. The Trust will provide District Enforcement with any information it holds in its records relating to the vessel to enable recovery of the overstay charges by District Enforcement. District Enforcement is authorised to take debt recovery action if overstay charges are not paid. If a MOCN is issued and the person or persons in control of the vessel do not remove the vessel from this location, the Trust may authorise District Enforcement to take possession of the vessel for the purpose of moving it from this location to any other part of the waterway as instructed by the Trust. Payments may be made to District Enforcement at the address below. If you have any enquiries regarding the mooring charges, telephone 01785 336780. All other queries should be directed at the local manager on Tel 0303 040 4040. (District Enforcement logo) District Enforcement PO BOX 1041B, Ashby, LE65 9EJ Registered in England Company Number 07346382 Canal & River Trust Charity no. 1146792"

There is much fun to be had researching with Mr Google the history of District Enforcement as a company, and the experiences of Staffordshire University visitors and employees within the parking regime which they administered. I am unaware of any consultation from C&RT with any users on what problems they are seeking to resolve. It seems that it is C&RT who initiate the notification of a case to pursue enforcement action, and their declared intentions of their notification to District Enforcement are less draconian than those threatened by the signs.

The Canal and River Trust's Swan logo is prominent by its absence

A Repeater sign, alongside an official C&RT notification about HS2

Without evidence from C&RT, it is hard to say whether the problems at the seventeen mooring sites are justification for the new initiative. For myself, I just hate car parks with signs along the lines of "you have just entered a contract with us to pay us £xxx if you don't park properly" and I prefer to be somewhere else rather than worry that a bailiff might arrive at my door demanding money from a court judgement that has somehow failed to be previously notified.

I always assumed, wrongly it seems, that these carpark signs were wholly worthless because they assumed an implied contract, and that had a penalty charge which would be unenforceable because it exceeded the real damage caused to the landowner. It seems our Supreme Court doesn't agree with me here (and the links both to the press release on this case and the first few pages of the judgement are fascinating). Maybe then £150/day charges are the new way of ensuring boaters do not encroach on permanent moorings. I just don't want our canal system to be cluttered with reminders of downmarket carparks. There must be a better way.

Overseeing the new system at Beeston

Update in Milepost in June 2018: Waterside Moorings. This is the new name for C&RT permanent moorings on both the towingpath and offside across the system. The marinas - still called BWML are are separate company, and C&RT have declared their intention to sell this and use the money as part of the property portfolio - which according to the Annual Report generates around a third of the annual income needed to maintain the canals. The online moorings have become part of the same Directorate which manages the property, and there is now a separate logo and limegreen teeshirt for the managers of these moorings, with whom I had a long and frank (as the diplomats say) conversation at Cavalcade.

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Waterside Mooring stand at the Braunston Historic Rally

I was disturbed, in my September article, about seventeen test sites in the Midlands that had sprouted signs threatening charges of £150 per day for using these moorings when not authorised, and the collecting of the charges was subcontracted to a carpark-charges company. It seems that five people have paid in the few months since then, and the signs have in 2018 appeared in more locations across the waterways. Waterside Mooring people say they would only notify the car-park company after a boat had been moored without authority for about two days, and that the mooring agreement already has clauses about enforcement for non-compliance. We are, as I feared we might, becoming like a downmarket carpark. More likely to achieve harmony among permanent moorers would be the old system of appointing local mooring wardens from each community of moorers. Peter Scott @peterjohnscott