BATH & NORTH EAST SOMERSET COUNCIL are getting tough with owners who have left their sunken narrowboats in the Avon.
These owners have been served with a formal demand to pay the council £55,000, Janet Friend reports.
Cost to the council
This amount is for the cost to the council of having to raise the narrowboats from the river then transport them for disposal.
Bath & North East Somerset Council raised the sunken boats from the Avon in May and towed them away after warning the owners they pose a hazard to others' navigation, but the owners did nothing.
It has begun formal proceedings to recover the costs of all the work involved in their removal, with the deputy council leader Sarah Warren confirming:
“We informed the owners at every stage that failure to recover their vessels themselves would result in the council seeking recovery of the costs. The removals have cost the council approximately £55,000 and we hope to avoid having to take legal action to recover the money.”
Formal demands
The owners have now been served with formal demands to either settle the amount they each owe in full or agree to a repayment plan. The council had repeatedly approached the owners of the boats about their recovery, but nothing had been done
Sarah Warren explained:
"Boat owners are responsible for the maintenance and environmental impact of their vessels. These sunken boats had been creating a hazard in the waterway and posing a risk to its ecology for a long time, which is why we made every attempt to work with the owners over many months to arrange self-recovery before removing the boats ourselves as a last resort.”
Criticised
A homelessness charity had criticised the council for its plan to recover the costs, warning that it victimises the most vulnerable. But the council told it had been in touch with the owners to see if they needed support but none was needed.
The council told that the formal proceedings to recover the money would be carried out.
(Image by Bath and North East Somerset Council)