Andrew Kennedy is the Group Agent & Campaign Director in West Kent. He blogs at www.votingandboating.blogspot.com.
When I launched my blog four years ago I called it “Voting and Boating”. The idea at the time was to blog about my two passions in life: politics and Britain’s wonderful inland waterways. Over time, the balance has swung heavily towards politics – inevitably, as I spend much more time in the office than I do traveling our canals and rivers.
This last week, however, I have travelled the entire length of the navigable freshwater Thames, from Lechlade in Gloucestershire to Teddington on the edge of Greater London – 135 glorious miles through 45 locks, with overnight stops at Oxford, Abingdon, Goring, Henley, Windsor and Weybridge. Amidst the fog of the EU war and the cruelty of blue-on-blue, this journey was nourishment for the soul; evocative of childhood adventures with new places to visit each day, and bucolic scenes of such beauty and magnificence that they made one’s heart leap with joy.
So by way of change, I am using this week’s column to write about our waterways, the people who have made them their home and the opportunities that they can provide.
Some readers will know that my partner and I live on a boat. Home is a 60 foot dutch barge, moored on the River Medway at Rochester. Living in a boat was a matter of choice. We love the sense of community which still exists on the water, the idiosyncratic lifestyle and the sense of freedom that it provides. There are other advantages too: we never arrive at our holiday destination and chastise ourselves for forgetting to pack a corkscrew: the corkscrew, camera, cooker, fridge and every other household appliance (as well as our cats) come with us!
The Residential Boat Owners’ Association has 15,000 members, but this in no way reflects the true numbers of people living on Britain’s waterways. My estimate is probably nearer to 50,000, and these fall into four main categories:
Oxford is a prime example. The popular stretch of river east of Folly Bridge provides the town’s main mooring facilities, but these have been occupied by “permanent cruisers” for at least 12 months. The local council has applied for a summons to move them on – but to where? Moving the problem a mile along the river doesn’t really solve it, and impounding the boats and evicting the residents would result in making them homeless and in need of rehousing.
Perhaps a solution is for each major town and village to identify a stretch of river bank which could be turned into semi-permanent moorings for those who need them. This would help manage the situation and that they have ensure access to the support services and facilities they need, whilst freeing-up valuable town centre short-term mooring for the purpose intended.
Living on a boat is not for everyone. There are constraints and inconveniences which many would find intolerable, but for others these niggles are a small price to pay for the beauty of light on the water, the gentle movement of the tide, the regular visits by ducks, geese and swans and a sense of community which is now almost extinct in much of urban Britain.
It is also fair to say that buying a boat is much easier and cheaper than buying a house. A perfectly serviceable boat can be bought for low thousands whilst higher-spec boats run into hundreds of thousands. The provision of more residential moorings could provide an opportunity for thousands of people to have a home of their own whilst saving for a deposit. It would also provide security for those presently living on the borders of homelessness and ensure that they paid their fair share towards the community in which they live.