Council Set To Implement New Mooring Byelaws
Move will make it easier for them to evict unlicensed boats
GGI of new marina planned at Watermans Park
Hounslow Council looks set to implement new byelaws to regulate moorings on local waterways which will make it easier for them to evict any unlicensed boats.
The report on the plan which was presented to the full council this Monday (10 June) says that the move will give the authority the ’ability to control the type and style of boats that are moored to its land.’
The London Borough of Hounslow has 5 miles of riverside. Areas that will be affected include Watermans Park in Brentford, Strand on the Green, Dukes Meadows, Boston Manor and the River Brent.
Previous evictions of boats which the council claimed were unlicensed had met fierce resistance from the occupants who said that their human rights were being violated. The report came after a consultation to which three objections were received including a technical one from the Strand on the Green Residents Association which was incorporated into the final recommendation. The other objections were discounted by the report’s authors.
The Council say that the byelaws will give them a means to remove unauthorised boats quickly and efficiently without resorting to lengthy and costly enforcement actions which often fail to produce the desired result.
It would also enable the council to ensure mooring is restricted to regulated sites and that pollution is controlled. The byelaws are intended to allow the authority to regulate unlicensed mooring in areas which are not suitable for long term residential occupation. They claim there are significant current issues with unregulated moorings which have no proper facilities for disposing of effluent and rubbish.
The byelaws will not affect any existing approved moorings or legitimate facilities that are constructed in the future according to the Council.
In 1999, the Council together with the Port of London Authority (PLA) obtained possession of the areas alongside the Watermans Park and a total of 47 boats were removed. However, new boats arrived in the area which became congested as boats displaced from elsewhere moored on a permanent basis. The Council say that licensed boaters on both sides of the Waterman’s have complained to the council for a number of years regarding the effect on them due to the activities of the ‘illegal‘ boaters.
Although the Council is not the owner of the river bed, the Council was licensed by the PLA to maintain the ‘river works on this stretch of the river. The PLA has expressed concern that the Council is not managing its ‘river works’ by allowing the situation at Waterman’s Park to go unchallenged. The
unlicensed vessels are moored against the ‘river works’ and transfer onto PLA’s land at low tide. The PLA’S criticism is that the Council need to do more to prevent access from the boats onto its land and that, by not taking action, they are facilitating the boater’s ability to remain on the river.
Outline approval was received in September 2014 to create a new marina development at Waterman’s Park and this development cannot proceed unless vacant possession is obtained and the site is secured against new arrivals. A three year legal battle against some boat dwellers in Watermans Park ended in September 2018 in what proved to be a costly and challenging case. The Council say the new byelaws will avoid similar expense being incurred in the future. The byelaw gives the Council a potential criminal sanction against unauthorised moorings.
June 19, 2019