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Post by peterboat on May 17, 2019 10:02:41 GMT
More trouble at t'mill: Sadie Galindez who skippers for the Pride of Batchworth and a local scout leader is under threat of eviction from her mooring at the Chess Basin by Waterways Heritage Limited for her boat not being ‘smart’ enough. It started when waterways charity Canal and River Trust (CRT) leased the moorings to private company Waterways Heritage Limited earlier this year. Sadie Galindez was raised on her boat at the Chess Basin moorings. Sadie’s boat has been on the mooring for 34 years. It was her mother’s boat which was built on the mooring with the intention that it would stay on the mooring. In fact the boat is too high for traveling on the canal. Her boat is unable to be moored anywhere else. Waterways Heritage Limited told Sadie that the mooring rent would go up from under £3000 to more than £8,500 per year. After much thought about how much less Sadie would have to live on per year, Sadie agreed to a new tenant’s agreement with Waterways Heritage Limited. However, Tim Woodbridge *, the director of Waterways Heritage Limited, refused Sadie. Within months of his lease of the Chess Basin, Woodbridge had cut down trees and levelled the environmentally friendly garden, replacing it with turf. Ahead of a new hotel being built on the old Travis Perkins site, he then issued eviction notices to Sadie and another tenant who has a narrow boat there. Sadie has told us that: “This has been absolutely devastating. I bent over backwards to meet every demand from Mr Woodbridge, but he clearly had his own agenda after taking over the lease from CRT. “My mother had Hibiscus built here, and being here and looking after the boat and the garden is part of honouring her memory. I have no idea now where I will go or what I can do.” Ali Rawlings was a resident at the Chess Basin moorings until she got a termination notice: “I came into the basin 6 months ago as a temporary measure as I needed to sort some things out in my personal life. I was told I could have a permanent mooring when the improvements were made. My mooring was fenced, I was given a shed and a lawn was laid. “Then out of the blue I was given a termination notice. I was told to pack up and leave within 6 weeks. “I was told if I blacked and painted my boat and made it look smart I could reapply to go back. The cost would then be doubled. I will not be painting and blacking my boat as in my opinion it is not necessary.” nbtalondon.wordpress.com/2019/05/16/stop-eviction-at-chess-mooring/No pictures of the boat Foxy, the issue for me is the rent rise x 3 this should be illegal and CRT should have protected its tenants better when they sold the lease on
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Post by Deleted on May 17, 2019 10:12:38 GMT
Maybe NigelMoore could comment here as I know he is very knowledgeable about houseboats.
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Post by JohnV on May 17, 2019 10:48:34 GMT
Maybe NigelMoore could comment here as I know he is very knowledgeable about houseboats. Of course it might just have been on a standard license with a home mooring ..... and never moved
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Post by Deleted on May 17, 2019 11:00:50 GMT
I had a bloke asking me about the shed boat earlier today as it happens. Not the one in west London there is one near me. I had to tell him crt have recently removed a similar craft from the water against the owners wishes and although it looks like an interesting option for cheap living it is in fact quite complicated and liable to cause problems unless you are in a position to move it some distance.
Got to be honest!
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Post by Deleted on May 17, 2019 11:02:14 GMT
Maybe NigelMoore could comment here as I know he is very knowledgeable about houseboats. Of course it might just have been on a standard license with a home mooring ..... and never moved It may well not have a houseboat certificate but even if you do have one I don't think it gives that much protection anyway. Maybe a bit. Nigel would know for sure.
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Post by Mr Stabby on May 17, 2019 11:31:14 GMT
Seems a lot of money. For £7,500 I would pay 24 years' mooring fees. £312.50 a year for mooring fees? Lucky you. Yes, it's exactly £312.50. Apparently the cost has never gone up since the farmer first started renting out moorings.
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Post by thebfg on May 17, 2019 11:57:34 GMT
£312.50 a year for mooring fees? Lucky you. Yes, it's exactly £312.50. Apparently the cost has never gone up since the farmer first started renting out moorings. Got any room?
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Post by Mr Stabby on May 17, 2019 12:01:39 GMT
Yes, it's exactly £312.50. Apparently the cost has never gone up since the farmer first started renting out moorings. Got any room? There's nothing at the moment but I'll let you know if anything becomes vacant. Obviously though people don't often leave.
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Post by Jim on May 17, 2019 12:14:42 GMT
My mooring is £347, but at the top of the, with lovely views. I don't pay any extra to the landowner, just to crt. There are some other moorings, empty, maybe 2.
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Post by NigelMoore on May 17, 2019 12:24:31 GMT
Maybe NigelMoore could comment here as I know he is very knowledgeable about houseboats. Nothing much to say; you said it all earlier – this is a private basin, run by private operators, and they are free to set their own conditions much as they please. It does not matter how much of a non-navigable houseboat the craft may be, nor how long it has been moored there; there is no relevant legislation protecting any security of tenure for it. It remains a mere chattel. See Mew v Tristmire: www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Civ/2011/912.htmlIt is consequently subject to such terms & charges as the moorings operator may choose to impose as part of any agreement between the parties upon renewal. I see that those now include dry-docking every 4 years, and being capable of navigation on any of CaRT’s waterways. It does have to be said that the other person concerned, with a narrowboat, who was told she could stay if she blacked and painted her boat, is being rather naïve and foolish to refuse on the grounds that she did not consider it necessary. She is, of course, in a far better position than Ms Galindez, in that she can leave for somewhere cheaper (if she can find such), which on the facts portrayed in the article, the purpose-built houseboat cannot. It may be deplorable and insensitive, but it is legal. The CaRT Price Review of 2015 considered, re: Chess Basin – “ Nearest comparable competitor charges considerably more, but does have the benefit of all relevant facilities. Based on comparisons drawn, current fee is identified as below market rate.” No surprise then, that the current operator wishes to maximise his returns by increasing his charges, especially as he appears to have installed improved facilities. Exactly the same thing happened when new owners took over what is now called Maypole Dock near Norwood Top Lock. Prices shot up and houseboats deemed visually discordant were evicted. A terrible situation to find oneself in, especially for recent purchasers of such houseboats who would have paid the usual premium in the expectation of secure tenure. The ONLY security of tenure any residential houseboat has – for what that is worth – attaches to CaRT registered houseboats under the 1971 Act. It is the reason why, for example, Simon Robbins, has campaigned for proper recognition of the Houseboat Certificate (numbers of which are diminishing by the year). liveaboard-forum.blogspot.com/p/why-ive-spent-20-years-defending-bw.html
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Post by wellyftw on May 17, 2019 12:35:55 GMT
My mooring is £347, but at the top of the, with lovely views. I don't pay any extra to the landowner, just to crt. There are some other moorings, empty, maybe 2. Who do you speak to about one of those moorings?!
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Post by Jim on May 17, 2019 13:04:21 GMT
My mooring is £347, but at the top of the, with lovely views. I don't pay any extra to the landowner, just to crt. There are some other moorings, empty, maybe 2. Who do you speak to about one of those moorings?! PMed you.
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Post by Deleted on May 17, 2019 13:19:06 GMT
My mooring is £347, but at the top of the, with lovely views.. Top of the what?
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Post by naughtyfox on May 17, 2019 13:30:47 GMT
I stumbled upon the Chess Basin article and thought it may be of interest, that's all. Just seemed like a nasty thing to do to a long-term resident.
Jim has the same view day after day after day from his mooring; I believe we are luckier having a different view almost daily when we are on the move, and a different base every year. A lot more expensive than £312.50/year though!
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Post by peterboat on May 17, 2019 13:31:09 GMT
My mooring is £347, but at the top of the, with lovely views.. Top of the what? Top of the world very nearly in Gods county
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