“The stench was so bad I threw up” said a boater as sewage blanketed the tourist spot Little Venice on the Regents Canal for nine days and counting, following inaction from the charity Canal & River Trust (CRT). Negligence from the UK’s main canal charity has allowed untreated sewage to seep over towpaths and into […]
Author: Marcus Trower
NBTA to run Volunteer Caseworker training course in October
The National Bargee Travellers Association (NBTA) will be holding an online training course for Volunteer Caseworkers to join our dedicated team. There are three sessions within the training course. They will be held online on 20th and 27th October and 3rd November 2024 from 3pm to 6pm. NBTA Caseworkers help boaters to deal with enforcement […]
Is it really about money?
As many of you know, the main reason Canal & River Trust (CRT) has given for imposing a surcharge on the licence fees of the 20% of boats that don’t have a home mooring is that it needs more money. CRT says this is due to two things: firstly inflation, and secondly cuts to its […]
NBTA is hiring! We’re looking for a paid national organiser
National Organiser – National Bargee Travellers Association (NBTA) Are you passionate about community empowerment and protecting the rights of waterway residents? Join the NBTA in our mission to encourage boat dwellers of the UK to organise themselves and strengthen the sense of solidarity. About Us: The NBTA is a volunteer organisation dedicated to upholding and […]
Easter Regatta in the face of the Surcharge
Hundreds of boaters and supporters alike turned out for this demonstration of community, solidarity and resistance to CRTs plans to dispossess us from our homes on the water. Before we arrived, Paddington Basin was empty, but at the Boaters’ Easter Regatta we’ve demonstrated exactly what boaters mean to the waterways by filling it with life, […]
We will keep fighting the discriminatory licence fee ‘surcharge’
This April Fool’s Day will be the beginning of Canal & River Trust (CRT) charging boats for not having a home mooring. However, this is no April fool’s joke! Unchallenged, this will be the beginning of CRT being able to use the price of a licence to get rid of boats without home moorings. Each […]
Boaters Easter Regatta on 30th March
Come on Saturday 30th March to the Easter Regatta against the surcharge on our way of life and a celebration of the national boater community. Boaters from across the waterways will be coming to the event in Paddington featuring live music, speeches food, stalls and other boatee fun… Meet at the canalside entrance to Paddington […]
NBTA and Fund Britain’s Waterways campaign
When, in the wake of DEFRA’s decision to reduce the grant to the Canal & River Trust (CRT), several boaters’ groups and other stakeholders set up the Fund Britain’s Waterways campaign, the NBTA politely declined the invitation to join the campaign. So, don’t we think that the waterways should be properly funded? Of course we […]
Boaters’ Easter Regatta
Boaters are holding the Easter Regatta against the surcharge in Paddington, one of the most corporatised parts of the network. The main event will be on Saturday 30th March 2024. Have you ever had to pay extra for not having something? Well if you are a boater without a home mooring that is what Canal […]
Stop Elmbridge Council banning boats
🚨 Elmbridge Council has proposed a Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) to stop boaters from mooring along the Thames for more than 24 hours or face £400 fines. This threatens to DESTROY the livelihood of the local boating community. Many responsible residents live harmoniously on their boats in the area while maintaining jobs, raising children, […]