Rise in canal boating fees a 'kick in the teeth'

Some boaters said the plans for a surcharge could put their nomadic way of life under threat

Boat owners facing an increase in charges to live on the waterways have described the plans as a "kick in the teeth".

More than 100 people protested in Birmingham at the weekend against plans for a surcharge on people who live on boats but without a home mooring.

For some boaters who already pay £1,300 annually for a licence, this could mean paying more than double.

The Canal and River Trust (CRT) said it needed funding to keep waterways alive.

Some boat owners said the surcharge was "unfair" and "discriminatory."

Elizabeth Earle, who has lived on the waterways for four years, said doubling the mooring fees was "one more kick in the teeth" for narrow boat owners.

"For me, I live on a boat because I can't afford a mortgage, like a lot of other people," she said.

"We live on boats because we make day-to-day sacrifices for this sort of lifestyle to be able to live, so the fact that it's going to become even more expensive, it kind of makes the entire reason redundant," she said.

'Extortionate fee'

Ms Earle, from Warwickshire, said she was already "struggling" to pay her food bills so she was not "over the moon" about the proposed changes.

"All I know is everyone is really stressed at the moment, they're trying to stay warm, they're trying to save up for bags of coal, they've got to pay for the gas, they've got to pay for the food," she said.

She told BBC CWR the increase was in addition to an "extortionate fee" to live on the water.

Marcus Trower from the National Bargee Travellers Association (NBTA), said the measure was putting the way of life under threat.

"We live a life, a nomadic life, we travel about and go from place to place," he explained. "If we had a mooring, we wouldn't have these charges."