THE combination of falling water levels and the drastic increase in boats at honey-pot sites is resulting in the canal network grinding to a halt.
Tim Coghlan, Managing Director at Braunston Marina, tells that the lack of rain and heavy traffic in certain areas had seen the water levels fall dramatically this summer, with the level in his marina down by around eight inches. (The photograph shows the packed waterway at Braunston when it was virtually closed at an event that caused many complaints.)
Too many marinas
Many restrictions are now imposed throughout the network to restrict boat traffic due to lack of water, not only by lack of rainfall, but by leakage due to inadequate maintenance. This is not helped by the ever increasing building of new marinas at honey-pot sites like Braunston, the result of which, Tim warns has left the waterways 'close to meltdown'.
The ever increasing number of berths created by the new marinas is concentrating the boats in specific areas, whilst other areas where no marina building has taken place are virtually devoid of boats.
Good investment
A specific department was set up by British Waterways to promote the building of marinas, persuading land owners they were a good investment, but not only has the demand for berths ceased, but reversed, as boaters hit by the economic downturn sell their boats. All the new marinas have many empty berths, so not such a good investment at all. Even British Waterways own marinas are now running well below capacity, reporting 20% empty last September, a figure that will by now have substantially increased.
Planning Inspectorate Inspector Claire Sherratt found that projections of increased demand for marina berths were based on out of date 2007 data supplied by British Waterways. She gave the current situation as 15.6 per cent of national moorings being unused which equates to some 5,612 empty berths. Even this will now be well out of date as it reflected the situation in February.
Biggest yet
Amazingly more building is being encouraged. Only a few days ago narrowboatworld announced that the biggest yet, a 630 berth marina is planned for the already greatly overcrowded area around Sawley. And others are coming on line—all at honey-pot sites.
Tim too is worried about the constant building of new marinas, complaining:
"We have been saying to the authorities for a long time now that they are running into danger with these new marinas. The evidence is all around us and now we have too many boats in our area. We are saying to the authorities that they have got this seriously wrong."
Like other marina operators he believes there should be a complete halt to the construction of new marinas that are drastically increasing the number of berths at the popular sites which are already overcrowded.