Council to pull plug on family’s canal boat home

A FAMILY who have lived on a canal boat for more than a decade are facing eviction from the water for failing to move their home often enough.

Steve and Sarah Holder have been told to remove their houseboat from the Kennet and Avon canal in Wiltshire after the Canal and River Trust (CRT) refused to grant them a new licence.

The couple, who have two children and have lived near Bradford-on-avon for 14 years, said they were told they had not travelled enough for a boat without a permanent mooring.

The CRT said it only refused licences as a “last resort” when boaters “refuse to follow the rules over a long period of time”.

The British Waterways Act 1995 requires that boats without a home mooring be used for “bona fide navigation”, defined as not remaining in one place for more than 14 days at a time. Boats must be engaged in a continuous journey of 20 miles.

Mr Holder said his children, aged 14 and 18, went to school nearby and a permanent mooring would cost as much as £6,000 a year. He had pictures to prove he had moved every two weeks. He said: “I have to protect my family here. I need to make sure they have a home. They are trying to take us to court to make an example of us.”

The CRT said it only removed houseboats in rare circumstances. Of more than 34,000 boats on waterways last year, only 17 had been removed due to licence issues.

“Taking action to remove a boat … is always a last resort,” said Jon Horsfall, the CRT head of customer service support. “In all cases any decision to remove a boat [is] independently scrutinised by a judge.”