Western Daily Press (Saturday)
Legal action threat over bid to scrap moorings
MOORINGS between Bristol and Bath, prized by boaters, are set to be removed by the end of 2022 even though there is no evidence they are damaging the riverbank.
Liveaboard boaters said the facilities in Mead Lane, Saltford were vital for access to healthcare and education.
Rebecca Sarll threatened legal action against Bath and North East Somerset Council if it pressed ahead without considering the impact.
But local residents branded the authority “negligent” for allowing mooring in Mead Lane and said it was “imperative” they were taken away.
The 48-hour moorings will be removed from the start of November and the 14-day ones will be relocated by a target date of December 31, 2022.
Ms Sarll told cabinet members on Thursday: “The council has spent tens of thousands of pounds on reports and surveys and reviews that all say the moorings should remain.
“It is only the residents’ view that is affected by these decisions – for hundreds of boaters, it is the safety and security of our homes.”
A survey by Atkins last month found “no indication that mooring is adversely affecting bank stability”, but Ms Sarll said the council was ignoring the findings. She added: “The council has to understand the lives of those that their decision will affect, as removing the moorings will lead to legal action.”
Around a third of the moorings in Mead Lane are for stays of up to 48 hours and are favoured by leisure boaters. The two-week moorings are used by liveaboard boaters, who need to keep moving throughout the year under their licence conditions.
Council officers recommended removing the 14-day moorings at Mead Lane once suitable alternative locations could be found.
But Ross Fender said the Atkins report “can’t be any clearer” in recommending that the existing moorings should be improved.
The report said Mead Lane was “possibly the only place on the river where mooring for 14 days is practical and legitimate”, and it was unlikely anywhere else on the River Avon was as suitable.
The proposals to remove the Mead Lane moorings followed years of escalating tensions. Residents accused boaters of criminal activity, staying longer than they were allowed, running their engines for long periods, damaging the riverbank and littering.
Boaters said they had been harassed by residents monitoring their movements and discriminated against.
Neighbourhood Watch co-ordinator Elisabeth Evans said residents had tried to “protect this area for the greater community to enjoy”. She said terminating the moorings was “imperative” and called for a “swift solution”.
The recommendations to cabinet had proposed a “long-term aspiration” to remove the moorings. Councillor Paul Crossley, the cabinet member for community services, proposed a target date of December 31, 2022, saying: “This can’t be done quickly”.
The council budgeted £35,000 this year for ‘Mead Lane activity’ and a £25,000 recurring sum from 2021/22.
Cllr Crossley also proposed charging boaters for mooring at Mead Lane from March 1 next year so the council had money to invest in new moorings at alternative locations.
He offered to meet with boaters, which he admitted he had not yet done.
Mooring in Mead Lane will be banned between November and the end of February.
The cabinet unanimously agreed the recommendations.