Bath boaters will "fight to stay" on the River Avon
The council says the stretch south of Pulteney Weir is too dangerous for houseboats
Boaters ordered to leave a stretch of the River Avon in Bath say they will fight to stay there as long as they can.
“I’m going to try and fight it legally,” said boater Percy Walton.
Mr Walton has lived on the stretch of the river south of Pulteney Weir for four years but Bath and North East Somerset Council says it is dangerous in bad weather and has ordered all houseboats to leave by September.
He told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “I feel this is a good place to live. We are part of the community here — this is my home. I told one of the council officers I intend to stay as long as I can.”
Boaters disagree that the moorings are any less safe than other moorings affected by flooding. Mr Walton said that people walking along the riverside at night had said they were glad to have the boats there.
Boater Dustin Bertschinger said council should ask the public if they want them to stay. He said that, when there had been issues of people falling in the river, it had not been boaters and that he had even helped pull someone out of the river. Mr Bertschinger said: “I just think the council should work with the boaters to make it safe.”
He added: “The people there who are making the decision are not boaters. They are not using the river. They don’t really understand what’s involved.”
Mr Walton said he felt the boats were really being moved on because of the redevelopment of the riverside set to take place as part of the plan to build a permanent rugby stadium on the Recreation Ground. Mr Walton said: “I don’t think we fit in with their designs for the future. It’s a bit discriminatory against us.”
Announcing the decision that the boats would have to move on, deputy council leader Sarah Warren said: “Boats moored in the Pulteney stretch are in danger from the high risk of flooding, particularly during periods of severe winter weather. This could put lives at risk. We want everyone in B&NES to have a safe place to call home and prevent all our residents from coming to harm.”
She added: “By working with boat owners and the Canal & River Trust to help residents move to a safe location, we’re taking action to prevent accidents and protect everyone’s wellbeing. As a last resort, we will take legal action if vessels remain in place beyond the date we have asked them to leave.”
But Mr Walton said there was nowhere else on the river for him to go. He first moved to Bath in 1993 and in 2000, after he was left some money, he bought a boat and started travelling the waterways. He said: “I didn’t like living in a house so I walked onto the canal and bought one of the first boats I saw.”
He arrived in the Pulteney Stretch “by chance” four years ago and, since he was working in Bath, decided to stay. As there are no facilities, he generates his own electricity through solar panels and has to fetch his own water. He said: “There’s all the nature around you. We get otters climbing on the boat. It’s a nice place to live and we feel part of it.”
Mr Walton said he would happily pay a nominal rent to be able to continue to moor there if the council provided facilities. He said: “Everybody knows me. We are part of the community here now.”