Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
Licence conditions may sink tour firm
The owners of a popular rivertour company have run into stormy waters with the city council which has demanded a raft of costly and onerous new licence conditions.
They have threatened to scupper the Ellen Mary which launches from Grove Ferry and has carried thousands of sightseers along the picturesque Stour.
The trips are operated by Pete Dale and Glyn Rees who, with their team of experienced skippers, have been running for seven years without incident.
But the pair have been locked in heated discussions with the council which it accuses of making “grossly unreasonable” demands on the operation.
They included insisting all skippers have commercially endorsed licences, disability awareness training, regular unannounced, enforced two-hour safety inspections and a hefty hike in their fees and licences.
“It’s completely over- thetop and grossly unreasonable because we are all already vastly over qualified and equipped for what we do,” said Mr Dale, 61.
“All our guys are extremely experienced and include a retired merchant seaman, a sailing instructor, a retired firefighter and a former member of the Special Boat Service.
“We are also overseen by the Maritime and Coastal Agency and hold Royal Yachting Association qualifications. Many of us actually have disabled family members and find it rather insulting to be told we need disability awareness training.”
The purpose-built, 27ft Ellen Mary has an environmentallyfriendly electric engine, carries 12 passengers and was bought new by the business partners for £30,000.
Mr Dale says the business was dragged into a review primarily launched into the river punting operations in the city centre. It resulted in Grove Ferry River Trips being slapped with 10 new licence conditions by the council which would have cost thousands of pounds to implement and put them out of business.
“The council licensing officers have never actually been down to see our boat but employed an independent expert who came up with these conditions,” said Mr Dale. “The officers, themselves were very aggressive towards us but have since backed down a bit and removed some of the conditions, although we are still in discussions about others.
“We don’t do it for the money. We are all retired guys who just enjoy showing people the river and the wildlife, especially children,” said Mr Dale.
City council spokesman Rob Davies said: “The previous licensing conditions were put in place a number of years ago so it is right we review them so they are fit for purpose and reflect the different nature of the various operators.
“We have been in consultation with the businesses since last September and this is continuing. When the process is complete, there will be a report to community committee for councillors to agree the new policy and conditions.
“We fully understand that the operation at Grove Ferry cannot be compared to that of the boat and punt operators in the city. While it is important we have an overall policy, there are elements of it which we are varying in recognition of the differences between some operators, and we are very aware of the needs of the business at Grove Ferry.”