CRT Jottings - Elected Boaters meeting 26th Nov 2019

CRT Jottings - Elected Boaters Meeting 
26 Nov 2019

A meeting between CRT and the Elected Boater Representatives took place last week in Aqua House, Birmingham and the following issues were discussed:

Strong Stream warning system

This on line service is not currently available due to a technical issue which is being addressed. 

The issues with the service are not limited to the current technical problems and it probably true to say that it is more accurately described as a water level indicator, as most measures don't include flow rates. The wording describing the warnings needs to be changed to better reflect what it does and where the data comes from. These feeds include SCADA, Manual input, EA measures plus inconsistent measures from the Kennet and Avon and other non CRT waters such at the Warwickshire Avon.

A single, consistent nationwide system is needed.

There is also inconsistency between the on line measures and the bankside boards where canals meet rivers.

The priority is to resolve the on line offering which can be done quickly and at minimal cost. Changes to the "in the field" hardware have budget implications and will will be considered alongside other asset requirements.

Election Update (CRT National Council)

The invitation for National Council nominees has resulted in a larger number or candidates than four years ago.

There are:

5 nominees for the two Business Boating seats

34 nominees for the four Private Boating seats.

The election process is detailed on CRT's website.

After election an integration programme will be deployed to bring the new representatives up to speed as quickly as possible.

There was concern that the nominees may not all appreciate what is expected of them beyond the 2 annual National Council meetings. It was suggested that in future an explanation paper should be issues to all individuals submitting an application, giving a detailed insight into what role is and entails before the closing date for withdrawal is reached - helping candidates make informed decisions.

Boater Survey update

The main annual boaters survey issued in Feb / March to 1/3 of license holders is now being supplemented by bi weekly surveys issued to 2500 licence holders triggered by boat sightings. These requests deliver approx 300 results every 2 weeks, and this supplementary research work generates near real time insights month by month. Because it is based on boat movements recorded it delivers opinions of travelling boats rather than those of moorers.

The overall satisfaction levels in the main annual survey had dropped to 62% (from 71%) but the additional feedback showed this score rising from 64% in April to a rolling average of 67% in September.

The key issues raised are facilities, non compliant boats, dredging and overhanging towpath vegetation.

I small Hire Boaters survey has been undertaken and the results will be circulated in the near future.

Overall the North, Wales and East Midlands are rated the highest.

Most respondees had visited CRT's website and 65% found it easy to use.

Key take away was that movers were more satisfied than those that don't move much. Also the levels of satisfaction were improving over the summer.

Wide-beam issues

There have been seven unbooked wide-beam passages through Blisworth Tunnel this summer. This is in contravention to license T&C's and represents a very significant H&S risk. There is also concern that some craft with excessive air draft may damage tunnels and bridges. The plan is to feed such passages into the license renewal approval process.

There was discussion about adding movable width restrictors at the ends of the tunnel, but given the levels of non compliant passages a retrospective warning system is preferred.

Wide- beam mooring can also be an issue and inconsiderate mooring on some bends,  and a suitable approach to apply penalties is being considered.

Three Words positioning application

This application is becoming more widely used to pinpoint individuals locations. CRT's call centre staff have this system available and a comms is being developed to raise awareness.

Water Point compliance

The need for various adaptations to public CRT water points was raised including insulation and non return valves. More stringent anti back syphon rules apply to taps near Elsan / pump out points.

CRT will take this potential away and consider what action may need to be built into their facilities programme.

Emissions issue

Feedback has been sought re the level of impact the proposed changes will have. So far CRT have 400 responses and these will be collated and submitted to the Government in Jan 2020.

Next Meeting is in February 2020.

CRT's National Council Elections

CRT's National Council Elections
November 2019

CRT will soon be holding elections for seats on their National Council.

The names of those standing will be published on 25th November and voting will take place on line between 20th Jan and 14th Feb 2020.

All 12 month license holders on CRT's books as at 19th Sept will be eligible to cast a vote.

I have represented Business Boating for the last four years I can confirm that I will be standing for re-election. However, because the 500 Roving Traders have now been included in the Private Boating constituency, I will this time be seeking votes from the wider combined Private Boating and Roving Trader community.

The election pages limit me to a manifesto of just 200 words so, to supplement this, I have produced a short YouTube video explaining the role of the National Council and why I am standing for re-election for a further four years.

Click on this link to take you straight to my video.

I would be grateful if you would 1. share this around the various on line forums to spread the word and 2. vote for me when the time comes.

Many thanks.

CRT Jottings - Elected Boaters Meeting 25.9.19

Elected Boaters Meeting
25.9.19

You know what they say about busses....none for ages and then three at once.

Well thats how it feels with CRT meetings - little action for months and suddenly, three in a week.

This week it was the Elected Boaters meeting, a gathering which takes place about three times a year and it there to serve as a forum to discuss nitty gritty boating issues, often things which are quite localised or specific and therefore wouldn't get bandwidth in CRT National Council. Truth be told its this sort of meeting where everyday issues are identified and flagged to CRT. It also operates the other way round where CRT float issues and ideas past us before they are generally released on an unsuspecting world.

This meeting was largely filled with issues raised by the Boating Reps present which included: Stella Ridgeway, Andrew Phasey, Phil Prettyman, Nigel Hamilon and myself.

Zero Emissions

This topic absorbed nearly half the two hour meeting and was in response to a recent government pledge to make the maritime sector (including inland waterways) zero emission by 2050. The inclusion of Inland Waterways took everyone by surprise containing an expectation that a plan will be in place from 2025 leading to full implementation by 2050.

Although this subject is a bit dry and the deadline a long way off, the implications are very significant because the expectation appears to have shifted from "Inland Waterways craft and few in number and low impact so moving in the right (greener) direction within is OK" to "Inland Waterways craft will comply fully with the wider emissions plan and must arrive at Zero on the stated date". 

This will impact both heating (stoves) and propulsion. Most worrying, the expectation seems to be that there will be a complete shift away from diesel propulsion and instead craft will be powered by electricity, or hydrogen /ammonia cells.The electric route would call for a massive charging infrastructure investment and the fuel cell approach is either prohibitively expensive or experimental / unproven.

CRT is actively engaging in a call for evidence and boaters can expect to receive feedback requests which will be used to provide statistically valid data to the Government. Boaters are asked to respond.

It was observed that new boats have a 50 to 60 year life span so new boats will be operating long after 2050 and it will be very difficult to retro convert them as and when new requirements are announced. The paper suggests a net zero position so there may be scope to follow an off-setting route by selective planting of CRT land.

It is believed that a vast majority of live aboards use a stove to heat their craft and a question on heating will be included within the feedback form.

CRT will feed back to Government by the end of the year.

Customer Service Faciities

These are the subject of an ongoing review. There are 254 service sites on the network (the services offered very) which collectively cost £2m pa or £7874 per unit.

Pump out machines are a particular problem with CRT effectively subsidising each pump out by £30 (true cost is circa £45). One option is to make greater use of nearby third party facilities and the other is to design an inlet to facilitate self pump outs.

This situation needs to be made more sustainable with a lot of money being spent repairing vandalised buildings.

Over and under provision of facilities will be assessed and minimum standards identified. The provision of fault prone showers are a likely focus of attention.

To reduce building repair costs a modular open air design is being considered, more use of third party facilities will be considered and a seasonally weighted cleaning programme will be considered.

The need for temporary alternative elsan facilities when a site is out of action for a prolonged period was raised. 

I specifically cited the one on the  GU south of Leamington Spa and the one at Rugby. The first is being reopened soon and Rugby is being reviewed.

CRT will take this issue away and see how things can be enhanced.

Elections

The existing Boater reps are considering if they wish to stand for re-election. There are mixed responses at this stage with some planning to stand and others deciding not to for a variety of reasons.

Nominations open 21 Oct and close on 18th November.

Result of nominations announced on 25 Nov.

For the record I do plan to stand, but this time it will be in the Private Boating constituency as the Roving Traders have been moved over.

Customer Service Contacts.

The increasing difficulty of contacting CRT triggered  lively discussion and problems were cited from all members present.

It was apparent that there are difficulties reaching CRT via the website and the absence of feedback meant that there was little confidence that the messages were getting through.

This issue was partly attributed to the loss of bankside staff and also a lack of ownership of issues when raised.

All reps indicated that it is becoming more and more difficult to defend the lack of CRT feedback.

Speaking personally, I was unsure if my recent email message about a significant leak in Market Drayton embankment had been registered.

London situation

The volume of extra boats is about 400 up this year, although the high density has spread out a bit.

It is believed that London boats turn over about every 3 years, which means that the experience levels can be low.

Fradley Lock Landing

I raised concern about the inadequacy of the single lock landing above Fradley Junction, one of the busiest lock flights on the system. I had recently observed boat rage from moorers leading to distress among moving boats and unauthorised landing on the offside bank. I suggested that an extra two or three lock landing spaces be created and a corresponding reduction in the number of permanent moorings between the lock and the pub. This is being considered.

Next meeting Wed 26th Feb 2020.

CRT National Council meeting notes 19.9.19

CRT National Council Meeting Notes
19 September 2019

Not content with attending CRT's Annual Public Meeting, I also attended what could be my last National Council meeting in the afternoon.

The meeting was held with the morning's Annual Public Meeting in the background (see my last post for details).

As ever, these are my take away points which I felt were particularly interesting, but should not be taken as minutes.

Questions and Answers
The meeting started with a Q & A session and the following issues were raised from the floor:

• Health and Safety plans are becoming more visitor focussed
• The funding impacts of Toddbrook were explored
• General overtopping issues were discussed
• The balance between leaving scrubland and adopting a more manicured approach to vegetation management were considered
• Cycling incidents - data to be analysed to see if incidents reported have increased

Appointments (Dame Jenny Abramski)

Various structural changes were explained, proposed and voted through including:

• Reappointment of Allan Leighton as Chair for a third and final consecutive term
• Reappointment of various Trustees for a second term (Jenny Abramski, Nigel Annet, Janet Hayben and Tim Reeve)
• Increasing max consecutive terms of office for Trustees from two to three
• Various nominated Council Members have stood down and replacements identified
• CBOA to become a nominating body to replace co-opted Peter Hugman's resignation
• MIND to become a nominating body for an additional wellbeing perspective
• Association of Waterways Cruising Clubs (AWCC) to become a nominating body to add an additional Boating representative
• Angling / fisheries nominee to become an elected member
• 5 nominated members reaching the end of their 2 x 4 year periods and new nominees sought
• 3 nominated members reaching the end of their 1st term and confirmation that they will continue for a second to be sought
• A new nominee is needed from the Wildlife Trust
• Cycling Uk has nominated Sophie Gordon to replace Matt Mallinder
• Roving Trader population to be included within Private Boating for forthcoming elections
• Volunteers representatives to increase from one to two
• The number of sponsors needed for elections to be reduced to one

The timing of the next elections to be run by Electoral Reform Society (ERS) are as follows:

• 21st October E mails and letters issued to all eligible voters to seek nominations for membership of National Council 
• 18th November - nomination of potential candidates closes 
• 25th November - lists of nominees published
• 20th Jan to 14th Feb - voting period
• 17th Feb - results announced in time for the March National Council meeting

The Waterways Ombudsman

• A user representative to be appointed to observe the Ombudsman for a year - to be selected after the forthcoming elections.

Auditors 

• BDO reappointed

Youth Engagement

• At the request of National Council, a period of time was allocated to explore the issue of youth engagement, as this is seen as crucial to the future of the waterways.
• A creative session ensued led by Louis Howell, Co-Opted Council Member for Youth
• Various case studies were considered designed to gain a greater appreciation of what would motivate various ages and types of young people
• The discussions then moved to consider what CRT could do to take advantage and harness the various scenarios
• The outcomes and ideas will be worked back into the ongoing Youth Engagement strategy
• This session proved to be both enlightening and refreshing.

Meeting closed at 3.45pm

CRT Annual Public Meeting 2019

CRT Annual Public Meeting 
19 Sept 2019

Introduction
Every September CRT hold their Annual Public Meeting which in recent years has been at Austin Court, Birmingham, and this year was streamed live to reach as wide an audience as possible.

The following are my take aways, but should not be read as formal minutes. 

This was the seventh APM and the event was introduced by the Chair of Trustees, Allan Leighton who observed that Income, Investment and volunteer hours were continuing to rise as the Trust seeks to promote and repurpose our historic inland waterways. The work of the trust is to make them more relevant and more visited.

The recent events at Toddbrook Reservoir featured significantly during the morning and highlighted the significant infrastructure issues facing the organisation. Two interesting throw away facts were 1. That 1bn litres of water was pumped out of Toddbrook and 2. That £3.8bn of well being benefit had been delivered by CRT (not sure how this is quantified).

Finance
The Trust has a very diverse range if income streams but is unusual in the amount that is generated from commercial investment activity. 

Stuart Mills (Chief Finance Officer) reported that of the capital funds raised recently, £80m had been invested in new assets in Cannock, Sale, Leeds, Birmingham and Staines and a further £20m is already committed to other acquisitions. The returns from these investments is significantly more than the financing costs and will therefore feed into additional funds available for charitable activities.

Since the trust was formed the value if its assets have grown 77% against 12% inflation and the volume of its investment income has grown by 66%.

Richard Parry (CEO) update

• Boating remains at the heart of all CRT does. Boater feedback has been switched to a rolling monthly programme, offering effectively real time updates.
• The trust takes 120k calls and e-mails each year and new supplier is being deployed to handle this activity.
• The amount spent on assets has increased from £48M to £66m in 7 years
• Asset graded ABC (satisfactory or better) are steady at 87% (was 83%) and the law of diminishing returns applies to achieve further improvement.
• Towpath condition ABC has increased from 75% to 81%
• Breach risk has declined from 2.5% to 1.0% (low is good).
• The benefit of operating as a Trust is the ability to lake a long term view and plan expenditure accordingly.
• The number of high risk assets has been managed down from 200 to 3.
• £8 to £10m of external funds have been applied to towpath improvements

Julie Sharman (COO)

• Health and Safety measures deteriorated last winter prompting a back to basics training programme.
• Of the 317 reported incidents 34 were CRT asset related
• 46% of the 317 were slips, trips or falls
• 2 fatalities in Manchester  triggered a review with ROSPA, and resulted in the deployment of railings at Tibb Lock and rescue equipment being installed
• A fatality on the Pont aqueduct has triggered a consultation on how to reduce the width of the gaps in the railings given its listed monument status
• The safety of staff and volunteers is of paramount importance.

Toddbrook Reservoir review

• We were walked through the response to the incident
• The last time the emergency spillway was used was in 2007
• The spillway was built in 1970
• The response was a multi agency effort
• 11 pumps remain on site
• Water level being held 12m down from normal level
• Remaining water will be removed when temperatures permit a fish rescue
• Focus was to get inlet water switched into the bypass channel
• An independent review has commenced to identify the root cause of the failure
• Key question is how best to fix Toddbrook
• Elsewhere CRT has 72 reservoirs of which 68 are rated high risk
• The average age of CRT's reservoirs is 200 years vs 160 years for others.
• Reservoir management is covered by detailed legistation
• All are independently inspected at least evert 10 years by 30 inspectors
• Lighter touch internal annual reviews are undertaken
• Supervisory visits are are undertaken by CRT staff every one or two weeks
• CRT have appointed a Reservoir Asset Manager for added focus
• More frequent review are being deployed alongside telemetry equipment.

Heather Clark (Wellbeing agenda)

• Wellbeing is being aimed at a younger audience
• Gardeners World and Chelsea displays projecting CRT beyond normal audience
• Beauty on doorstep - linked to Green Flag awards and plastics challenge
• Natural Health Service - includes GP prescribed canal side activity
• Local community - 60 % increase in towpath used where they have been improved
• Nature on doorstep - Green action 2019
• Connection activity underway
• Working with other organisations
• Establishment of a Youth Panel
• Development of the Desmond Family Canoe Trail
• Working with canal side Park Run movement
• Development of Lets Fish initiative
• Development of Arts and Culture activity
• CRT asset Open Days continued
• Development of Volunteering initiative
• 250 Canal Adoptions in place

Adnan Saif (Regional Director Midlands)

Showcased Midlands activity / potential including:

• 900k of canals in region
• 5.7million people within short walk of canal - 1.75m in urban corridors.
• Currently 54% awareness - aim to drive that to 80%
• 1400 volunteers in region of which 850 are very active (almost none BAME)
• Deploying a local area led strategy
• BCN 250 activity in 2019
• Coventry City of Culture in 2021
• Commonwealth Games in Birmingham 2022

Question and Answer session

Questions came thick and fast and the questions I noted down included:

• Shortcomings in follow up for hurt volunteers
• Dangerous cycling increasing even in country
• Hedgerow encroachment
• Growth of weed in canals
• Less focus on boaters and offside vegetation growth issues
• Future plans for disabled boater discussion group
• Structural Governance issues not addressed
• Ongoing loss of canal side built heritage
• Concern about average age in room (too old)
• Concerns about water management (too much or too little)
• Problems with stiff paddle gear
• Communication issues with CRT
• Limited canal side recycling opportunities for boaters
• Timing of APM questioned - is it optimal for those in work

Meeting closed at 12.30

CRT Jottings - National Council March 2019

CRT Jottings - National Council March 2019

Manchester

20 March 2019

The reach of this blog is very variable, but a quick look at the stats suggest that about 2,000 people read my commentary from CRT's Annual Public Meeting in September - so it clearly has its place.

CRT National Council and Trustees inspect the Rochdale 9

Pre meeting field visit - Rochdale 9

CRT's National Council meets twice a year, once immediately after the September Annual Public Meeting and again in March in various locations around the country. This rotating approach allows the various Council members and Trustees to see a different dimension of the Trust's operations, and helps "ground" the subsequent discussions in reality.

This week we met in Manchester's Bridgewater Hall and this provided an opportunity to see the lower section of the Rochdale 9 (locks, not prisoners). The reason this section was selected is because it is a largely ignored length which CRT is planning to submit for a Green Flag award. Now CRT has obtained Green Flag status in several other areas, but to date these have tended to be in "pretty" locations - not gritty inner city.

So, this is a pretty ballsy move. The Green Flag team have seen what is there and whilst they say it is a challenging location, it's not impossible. CRT's desire is to prove that if they can breathe life into the urban canyon in Manchester, they can do it anywhere. Well, they are starting from a pretty low point with slippery towpaths, graffiti covered walls and piles of excrement (canine and human). But, they have bravely nailed their cleaner, greener, safer colours to the proverbial mast and I look forward to seeing this largely overlooked historical gem take a more central place in Manchester's city centre.

My place on the National Council - elections

As to the National Council - I am an elected member representing Boating Businesses and the four year term in office is coming to an end. I therefore have a decision to make - to stand for re-election or not. I have found that it takes 18 to 24 months to get a grip on how the Trust works and who does what, so I feel that I have been at my most effective in the last two years. It therefore seems a shame to dip out now and, with your support, I plan to stand for a further four years. 

I think that the elections will be held at the back end of this year preceded by nominations and canvassing, but I thought it would be helpful to let you know what my plans are and to let you button hole me when you see The Jam Butty out and about this summer. It has been both a pleasure and an honour to serve on the Council ensuring that boaters (business and pleasure) views are heard to ensure that my favourite playground continues to thrive and survive in the decades to come.

The National Council meeting

I can't pretend that these jottings represent comprehensive minutes, but they do try and capture my take on the more significant things discussed, and hopefully provide an insight into how your Trust operates.

The Appointments Committee provided a report of work undertaken reviewing the make up of the Council observing that from a start point of 32 members it grew to 34 and then largely due to the reduction on regional chairs, the number has now fallen to 29 (compared to a constitutional max of 50).

The plan is to expand the Council back to 34 for 2020 including representatives for Friends, an extra Boating representative (exact constituency to be decided), Wellbeing expert, an additional Youth representative and a second Volunteer.

These changes are subject to formal amendment of the Trust's rules. 

A general discussion took place highlighting possible stakeholders which are not currently represented, and which may benefit form inclusion in an expanded Council in the future.

Improved Trustee rotation periods discussed at the last Council were ratified.

Chief Executive's update

This is always a key element of the Council meeting when Richard Parry presents an update on the good, the bad and the ugly within the Trust. Facts come thick and fast but these were the key take aways from my perspective:

• Income was down fractionally but costs were controlled and overall break even was achieved.
• 4/5 Key performance indicators had been missed and in particular the reportable incidents (accidents) and unplanned navigation closures had exceeded plan.

Specific reference was made to two inquest outcomes for deaths in Manchester and at Pontcysylte, with the actions being considered to address the underlying risks.

Delays in the reopening the locks at Marple were highlighted with a scheduled end date in May with £1m committed to what has been a very difficult site. Burnley embankment and the blown cill at Gloucester were also flagged up.

Restoration activity was covered, in particular the work on the Grantham and Montgomery canals, helped by the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Towpath enhancements have been underway in many locations including a significant bridge widening in Birmingham. The impact of these enhancements have been an almost instant increase in user numbers.

The Trust now has just 6 regions and all the regional chairs are in place. A filmed extract from the Regional AGM in Birmingham was shown to demonstrate the impact these regions can have on local stakeholders and political influencers.

The future Green Flag location aspirations were highlighted including Lower Peak Forest, Erewash, Sheffield /Tinsley and Lee/ Hanwell. As I said before - some challenging objectives in there!

Canals will feature strongly in this years Chelsea Flower Festival and Gardners World.

The strong growth in Volunteers was supported by the "Join the Daves" video. Did you know that 15% of Lock Keepers are called Dave......?

An expanded approach to Supporters was presented which includes Facebook and Twitter engagement. After the data protection changes the numbers on the e-mail list reduced to 49,000, but has since bounced back to 94,000 in Feb 2019.

Investment portfolio was covered briefly with photos of the new Investment and Joint Venture buildings in which the Trust has an interest.

Income generation activities underway include the re pricing of some London Moorings, the push to have more Hydro schemes agreed and a long running dispute with Thames water nearing resolution.

The plan for the next year is to see income rise to £218m, costs of £215m and an operating surplus of £3 as a buffer for the future.

The Key Performance Indicators are under review by the Board to ensure they focus on user satisfaction.

The transfer of EA navigations has been the subject of a further tender but the sticking point remains the major flood prevention structures. An outcome is awaited but any change at this stage is considered unlikely.

Complaints Process / Ombudsman - topical information feature

John Horsfall (HO Customer Service Support)  and Simon Woods walked the Council through the complaints process against the following context:

4m visits per fortnight

80k anglers of with 10k are regulars

34k leisure boats and 1k business boats delivering £13m of income.

Visitor satisfaction stands at 90%

The complaints process covers all the above and the numbers are:

Level 0 - solved a first contact .     1456

Level 1 - solved by senior manager .    645

Level 2 - solved independent senior manager   97

Ombudsman had 9 cases opened with 8 not upheld and 1 upheld.

The role of Ombudsman is to be an independent and impartial means of settling disputes outside the courts. The Ombudsman committee comprises 5 members of which the majority are independent and they review 14 to 17 cases per year.

Andrew Walker (current Ombudsman) is standing down and will be replaced by Sarah Daniel.

Sharing the Towpath discussion 

This was an interactive group discussion which forms part of the Council meeting. 

The action taken to date by CRT was covered by the Chief Operating Officer followed by short presentations from the perspective of residential boaters, Anglers and Ramblers. 

The various issues, conflicts and options in this contentious area were discussed in small groups and the key observations collated for future consideration within the Trust.

Please feel free to share these notes around.

CRT Jottings - Annual Public Meeting in Birmingham

CRT Jottings
Annual Public Meeting in Birmingham
September 2018

CRT held its 6th Annual Public Meeting on the Austin Court theater on Wednesday 26th September , a stones throw from Old Turn Junction in central Birmingham. 

This public meeting, which would be referred to as an AGM is most other settings, is open to any and all interested parties and was led by Allan Leighton, the Chair of the Trust with Richard Parry (CEO) and his senior team providing a series of presentations to highlight the achievements and challenges over the last year. They also outlined the key elements in the plan for the year ahead. These presentations were followed by a Q&A session from the floor.

I can't hope to capture everything which was said, but here are the stand outs as I saw them:

Allan Leighton (Chair)

• Income stands at £204.9m, an increase of 5% after allowing for exceptional  one off grant income received last year.
• Volunteer activity grew to 600,000 hours 
• Aim is to develop CRT from a National Asset to a National Treasure
• Wider use of the waterways can make a real difference to national well being.
• The heat of activities remains and will always remain navigation
• The regions have been trimmed to 6, each with a director
• A new brand identity has been delivered in line with new objectives
• Asset quality continues to improve
• Investment values have grown from £480m when the Trust began to £750m today
• 225 Local adoptions are now operating 

Richard Parry (CEO) / Stuart Mills (Chief Investment Officer)

• The Defra Grant represents 25% of income - assured for nearly 10 years
• Investment income now generates £50m
• The trust has been following a strategy to diversify investment away from its property bias.
• Investment income has increased 40% in 6 years - beating market averages
• Non property investment values were adversely impacted by exchange rates last year
• Bond issue for £150m  concluded, releasing an extra £100m for investment and locking into a low 3% interest rate for 30 years.
• Additional investment will generate a net £2m to £3m income pa.
• BWML sale nearly complete.
• Inclusion in Peoples Postcode Lottery as a preferred beneficiary has seen grant income increase from £3m to £6m.
• There are now 27,000 active friends
• Boat numbers are up 2%

John Horsfall (Head of Boating)

• License review included 11,000 responses
• London Boating strategy included 2,000 responses
• Business licensing was automated
• Evasion down to 3.1% - the lowest yet. Attributed to a focus to help people stay on the water rather than harder tactics.
• 70% of boaters satisfied - below 72% target and slightly down from last year.
• The licensing changes were explained
• Caveat to look at high usage areas was flagged up, given the rapid growth of boat numbers in some locations.

Richard Parry

• Key aim is to broaden the appeal of inland waterways
• 250 miles have been awarded Green Flag status (K&A, Lancaster and Chesterfield)
• Plans is to move this achievement to the urban areas where the benefits are greatest
• CRT spends £150m pa on the network
• Stoppage update: Middlewich  should open in December 18 and Marple in March 19.
• Progress being made on the historic boat collection in Ellesmere

Julie Sharman (Chief Operating Officer)

• Health and Safety has high priority with incidents monitored daily
• Among staff there is typically one reportable incident per month which results in a 7 day absence.
• 313 public incidents (not all are brought to CRT attention)
• 9% relate to CRT asset deficiencies.
• Fatalities are, sadly, fairly common but have declined from an average of 60 ish pa to 40 pa today.
• Common reasons for public deaths are misadventure, alcohol and substance abuse.

Adam Comerford (National Hydrology Manager)

• Illustrated the impacts of the recent low rainfall and the high temperatures
• 10% of network impacted by closures or restrictions
• 2018 will probably set a new benchmark for water shortages

Nicky Wakefield (Marketing)

• Rebranding undertaken to reposition the Trust as a Waterways and Well being charity
• New brand works better on digital platforms
• Total cost was 0.1% of total income or about £200,000
• £60k on logo, £50k on digital templates, £20k on signage, £30k on uniforms and £50k on launch events.
• Initial results after 3 months - Awareness of CRT for those within 1km of waterway increased 47% to 55%, recall of message from signage up from 6% to 9%, website visits up by over 10%, propensity to pledge tangible support up from 2.1m to 2.8m.
• These are very positive outcomes and will continue to be monitored closely.

Questions and Answers

These came thick and fast and the best I can do is summarise the key questions as I understood them, to give you a flavour of the subject matters:

• Future funding plans / sources
• Protection for vulnerable boat dwellers
• Best practice sharing among regional boards
• Cyclists and pace issues
• Wide Boat licensing fee increases (including a petition)
• Opportunities for CRT to influence beyond the canal corridor
• Need to safeguard the  built canalside heritage
• Facility issues including refuse collections
• Leaving space for fishermen between moored boats
• Pressures on shared  water space re non boaters (eg rowing)
• Limitations in growth of residential moorings
• Anticipated inclusions / exclusions in review of high usage areas
• Tone of solicitor correspondence to vulnerable boaters
• CRT involvement in Icknield Port Loop development (Birmingham)

I think that's about all I can remember - any errors or omissions are entirely my fault and can be attributed to advancing age and very bad handwriting.....

CRT Jottings - National Users Forum

CRT Jottings - National Users Forum
April 2018

Whilst its not exactly a CRT National Council meeting, or indeed a sub committee, I am also invited to attend the annual National Users Forum. The last gathering at The Bond in Birmingham took place on Wednesday 18th April and the following are the key points which caught my interest, outside those already reported in my last National Council notes.

On the subject of these notes, I see that my last set reached nearly 800 readers, not counting the various cut and paste versions I know are shared around. I find this really encouraging as I feel I am reaching a fairly wide interested audience, including some of the business licence holders who voted me into office in the first place!

Julie Sharman (COO)

Health and Safety reportable issues have remained at nil YTD, which is great, but there has been a small increase in asset related incidents such as slips and falls on the towpaths. This isnt so great and is being assessed to see if there are any themes which can be addressed.

• The reservoirs have all been fully recharged during the wet winter and with high ground water levels things look good for this season.
• The knock on issues following the tragic death of Charlie Pope, a student in Manchester are current with appeals being made to fence off the entire city centre section of the Rochdale Canal. This risk has parallels in other major cities like Leeds and Birmingham and attendees are asked to counter what is seen as a potential over reaction.
• An explanation of the new 6 region structure was offered.

Re- branding

• A longish section was devoted to the forthcoming rebranding and the Trusts reasoning was offered. My apologies if some of my observations creep in here - there have been so many on going discussion on the topic its hard to remember who said what, when.
• First and foremost the Trust is a navigation body and without a functioning navigation there can be no spin off benefit for other users. Navigation therefore remains core to CRT and is reflected in the ongoing spending plans.
• However, a very sizeable portion of income comes from the Government Grant and there is an existential threat to the function of the navigation network if it is discontinued when the current guaranteed term comes to an end. The Govt discussions start in just 4 years time and we are talking £53m pa, which is more than the license fees we currently pay.
• Securing future Govt funding is therefore very high on the CRT to do list.
• The key to securing future funding is for the Trust to have broad public recognition and currently this recognition is growing far too slowly among the non boater users.
• The Trust therefore seeks to reposition itself as a "Waterways and Wellbeing" charity and drive up the awareness among the 50% of the population who have a CRT waterway nearby. For the non boaters we offer beauty, a Natural Health Service plus safe, healthy and sustainable travel routes.
• The current branding is well recognised within the boater community, but isn't cutting it in the wider social media environment. The most successful logos are circular and work much better so a change is needed as one small part of this process.

Matthew Symonds

• The London Mooring Strategy  has been generally positively received
• There will be some guidance issued on which waterways are considered unsuitable for  unrestricted wide beam movement
• Any individual issues will be addressed by communications with boaters concerned.
• Enforcement seen as a last resort
• License evasion is at an all time low of 3.1% (3.8%) - London was higher at 5.1%
• Growth in boats in London Area grew by 150, but this is a much smaller rate than previously (over 400pa)
• Evidence seen of boats moving further out of London.
• There were 400 more CC licenses issued last year nationwide.
• License review starts April 2019 with prompt payment discount reduced.
• April 2020 sees the width criteria start to be applied
• Electric and Historic Boat discount criteria still to be reviewed.
• Business boat owners to be engaged.
• Licensing link to home mooring ruled out
• Approaches to busy areas to be researched.
• Medical adjustment requests received at rate of 20 to 30 per month - a standard questionnaire has been trialed. Volume figures are published annually.
• Business licenses now on line saving time and cost. It is expected that satisfaction levels will rise as seen following the introduction of the on line leisure renewal.
• The online mooring strategy is being worked on and is expected in the summer of 2018.

Peter Walker - Technical Support

• Technical Support is very outwardly facing dealing with things like major infrastructure projects, Acquisitions and Hydrology.
• Currently busy with HS2 which will reach Curzon St Birmingham in 2026 and Phase 2a in 2027.
• 2a construction will be active 2020 to 2026 and has 50 points of impact on CRT either live waterways or potential restoration sites.
• We are asked to be eyes and ears for the Trust to ensure that nothing unexpected is implemented in the construction phase. Please be alert to anything untoward and report it in immediately.
• The various phases will have a significant impact but CRT is doing what it can to lessen impacts such as sound deadening fences.
• We are assured that the various CRT impacts will not result in multi month route closures with most being overnight or 24 hour stoppages as beams are swung into place.

Stuart Mills - Chief Investment Officer

• in 2012 CRT inhereited a £615m endowment of assets to provide income.
• Since then the aim has been to grow capital and enhance investment income.
• The aim is to generate an 8% return with modest amounts of income volatility.
• The portfolio has changed over time to improve returns and simplify management.
• In 2011/12 investment income was £21.7m and this has risen to £30.4m in 2017/18
• Assets have grown in value to £850m
• The investment portfolio has grown well and is delivering increasing amounts of income which are available to be spent on operational improvement projects.

Simon Bamford - Asset Improvement Director

• £60m was spent last winter plus between £10m to £15m of third party money (mainly on towpaths)
• In house staff undertook 1000 work packages spending £17m including 257 emergency projects and 180 gates made / fitted.
• A further £30m was spent on contractors at 160 larger projects.
• £7.8m was spent on dredging in 38 sites.
• £1m spent grouting locks
• Repairs to lock 15 at Marple became a wider "Marple Makeover" where £2.5m was spent including aqueduct safety railings.
• £1.4m spent on offside vegetation control
• 40,000 dog and litter bins emptied
• 27,000 customer service visits made

• Middlewich overtopping - was attributed to paddles being left open (not asset failure).
• 3000 cubic feet of material was washed away
• Solution agreed with contractor and access agreed along canal bed.
• Active Badger set in south bank will be accommodated.

• The narrowing of Filance Lock on the Staffs and Worcester was addressed last winter.
• £500k will be spent addressing the bottom lock at Hurleston next winter.
• A priority list is bisng worked through to tackle the known pinch point locks.