The future of Bridgwater Docks
AT THE annual user group meeting for the Bridgwater & Taunton Canal last December, Canal & River Trust informed those present that it would not be renewing or extending its lease of Bridgwater Docks upon its termination date.
Any of the boat owners whose mooring agreements ran beyond the termination date would receive a credit or a refund for the unexpired period. The Canal & River Trust also reported that it would be undertaking dilapidation works at the docks, as required under the terms of the lease and would be working with Somerset County Council to secure the future of the docks.
It was therefore a surprise to learn that the lease had been temporarily extended. CRT had also written to boat owners in May stating that their mooring agreements would be terminated in advance of the eventual termination date of the lease and that they should prepare to remove their boats in the event that nobody is found to take the docks on for the future.
The branch has pointed out to CRT and to the county council that the Bridgwater & Taunton canal is an isolated waterway and the secure moorings on the canal are fully occupied.
Removing the 30 or so boats moored in the docks will be both inconvenient and costly to the boat owners.
CRT has responded that it will continue to extend the mooring agreements for three months at a time for the foreseeable future but will not make any contribution to the costs of removing boats from the docks.
IWA West Country Branch continues to lobby the local authorities and others within Somerset about the future of the docks and is working in particular with Somerset County Council and Bridgwater Town Council.
At the moment discussions need to take place on the dilapidation obligations that CRT has under the terms of the lease. Until these are agreed it may be premature for any parties who might have an interest in the future of the docks to get fully involved.