Learning a bit more about the Canal and River Trust

Sunday, 13 November 2011 16:45

We came down the River Thames to moor at Osney, Oxford as we were to catch the train to Stafford for the National Association of Boat Owners (NABO) AGM. I was looking forward to hearing more about the Canal and River Trust (CRT) from one of the Transition Trustees.

Stafford Boat Club and one of the ladies who provided lunch

It was too far to go by canal and narrowboat, even if stoppages allowed! Was it worth it?......

The AGM was held at Stafford Boat Club, beside the Staffs and Worcs Canal: our old "stamping ground" when we had narrowboat Twelfth Night.

Staffs and Worcs Canal seen from theboat club

The morning was taken up with the Association business - accounts, elections etc and after a good lunch the afternoon session took the form of a "Question Time" forum. Two guests had been invited - one well known to boaters who use t'internet and like me look for information on the waterways, the other not so well known in the boating world - yet. Readers who are NABO members - you really missed an interesting meeting. Non members could have attended that afternoon session too. 

Jim Shead has so much knowledge and experience of our waterways and his encyclopedic website is so very informative it is not surprising that it is number 2 on the UK Waterways site ranking. His contribution was valuable, coming from this wealth of knowledge. He is also an IWA Trustee.

Lynne Berry OBE is Vice Chair of the Transition Trustees of the CRT, who are overseeing the transfer of BW to the new charity. Lynne has a long history of involvement with the public and voluntary sectors and was until recently the Chief Executive of the WRVS. As an added plus she is also a boater. 

The Forum Panel, Jim Shead, David Fletcher (chair of NABO) and Lynne Berry OBE

Listening to Lynne yesterday was so interesting and she has a really good handle on what is required of the Trustees, the new charity and BW in these rather uncertain times. I was encouraged (despite my reservations, which I know other boaters share about the CRT) by what she said.

The one thing that stuck out for me was that at the moment BW are a government body and so the senior management are limited in their independence and free speaking. The new charity will have the freedom to look for different ways of working and won't be straight-jacketed by government policy. Potentially, it will have access to other pots of money from other government departments. 

The afternoon session's attentive listeners

However, I still worry about the huge change of culture that all of BW, from the top to the bottom, will have to adjust to, Not a word was said about "altruism" which I feel is part of a charity ethos, even though today it has to be a commercial business model for a third sector organisation to succeed.

So we will see - it is going to take a number of years for it all to settle down. From our point of view, the main aim should be that boaters can continue to cruise and no waterways will close or be restricted. We all accept that boaters are not the only ones that enjoy and use the waterways. Dare I say it? It may just work if all those who use the canals and rivers can be persuaded to contribute and boaters are not the only users that are expected to respond to financial demands.