The council is still keen to hear from members of the communities who live on and near to the river and people who use the river for recreational activities, before the closing date, if they have not already taken part.
The consultation began on 27 October last year, and asks river users, residents and others for their views on a number of proposals including:
- Basing mooring licence fees on boat length
The council currently charges a licence fee irrespective of boat length. Previous consultations have shown boaters with smaller vessels believe this to be unfair and research shows that in other parts of the country there are different fees according to boat length.
- Responding to safety concerns by stopping mooring at the Riverside wall
A number of options have been reviewed in the past but no feasible solution has been found to provide cost-effective, safe access to and from moored boats and the adjoining river wall on this part of the river. Any boats removed from the railings would be given alternative spaces.
The consultation also covers the location, type and number of mooring berths, provision for visitor moorings and penalties for those who overstay, a revised enforcement policy and ways of managing mooring waiting lists.
Cllr Richard Robertson, Executive Councillor for Finance and Resources, said: “We have had an excellent response so far to our consultation on these elements of our mooring policy, but I would still urge anyone who has not taken part to do so by 20 January.
“Once the consultation period is over we will analyse the feedback we have received very carefully, and use it to shape our new approach to river moorings.”
The consultation ends at 5pm on Friday 20 January and details are available on the council’s website at www.cambridge.gov.uk/consultations/have-your-say-about-proposed-changes-to-our-river-moorings-policy . Printed details are available by contacting Tracy Okten at The Guildhall, Cambridge.
A report is set to be presented to Strategy and Resources Scrutiny Committee on 23 March informing councillors about the outcomes of the consultation and the council’s proposed new moorings policy.
Notes
Reports presented to council committees are available on the council’s website: http://democracy.cambridge.gov.uk/ieDocHome.aspx
The council manages residential moorings on the River Cam and since 1996 has developed an incremental river moorings policy. At present there is no single document that can be called a definitive river moorings policy – the policy is a collection of previous executive councillor decisions.
A moorings licence scheme is in place under which boat owners are issued with a licence to moor after paying a licence fee. There is a waiting list for licences which are specific to the licence holder rather than the boat.
There are currently two types of boat mooring licence – narrow beam and wide beam. Currently, there is a two to three year wait for a narrow beam boat licence and approximately 15 to 20 years for a wide beam boat licence.
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