Selling the Canals & Rivers

[Howling TerrorOutOfOffice]

This may be an old article, but very shortly an announcement will be made by the Cheif Executive regarding British Waterways future.


So what do we think of this?
Is £55 million per year too much to keep our canals?

Government considers £1bn sale of waterways


https://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/utilities/article1832318.ece

Pat
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[Mr.Everready]

Bad move I'd say but the government is so deep in the shit with dept they'd sell anything for a quick buck.
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the undemocratically unelected mod of the Scottish section

[JonB]

Very bad move. So what if it only made an operating profit of £400,000? It's a not-for-profit organisation, surely?

If it did go private, i'm pretty sure the canals and rivers would go to pot.
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Be careful whose advice you buy, but, be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it?s worth.

[Azonicben]

It's a bad move, not only as my job would be at risk but fir the waterways as a whole. Were trying lots to prevent this happenning and as our budget gets cut year on year so the price of waiting jobs increase, the moorings have been put out to tender for income and with a huge property portfolio all sublet and sublet again. The legal involvements of selling would wipe out enough value to make it a charity/volunteer case.
Anyway can't say too much, besides the politics at bw do my nut in :LOL:

Cheers

Ben the lockie
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Cbt-23/09/07.....Theory-16/09/08.....Das passed 10/10/08.....
Current bike- GsxR750 K4. Broken: Cbr400rr (Nc29) Sold: Hyosung GT125R

[Howling TerrorOutOfOffice]

So after spending 100s of thousands of pounds (Public money) on a private consultation, he's realized that the public would go ape if they sold our 2,000miles of inland waterways. Quel surprise !

But £400million worth of assets will be sold.
Yes the canal system is crumbling, but how much more would the people be willing to spend?

The C. Exec says he needs more volunteers, volunteers are great at raising the awareness and importance of our canals, infact in the 60s and 70s they were critical in kickstarting the regeneration of defunkt canals, but to use them to maintain them is folly. Litter picking, painting, maybe towpath resurfacing etc, but forget it when it comes to proper work. Volunteers are not trained, their numbers fluctuate, they are mainly elderly.
We (the public) normally have no say in money spending issues, so lets hope we have a proper public consultation about our living heritage.

Articles in wed/thur editions of The Times
Pat
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Diabolical homemade music Bandcamp and Soundcloud
Singer songwriter, Artist and allround good bloke Listen to Andrew Susan Johnston here
The Harry Turner Project

[Itchy]

Meh , firesale of everything we have left , gotta fill that 150bn black hole (for 2008/09 ONLY) (and 3000bn black hole in the bigger picture) some how right?...
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[Azonicben]

I'd love 6 months as CEO, it needs common sense. Last year they spent £900 per bollard (£8-9mil iirc) putting 3 along side all single beam locks for boats to tie to, in a single beam lock the boat cant exactly float away. A lot of expenditure is transforming a historical workplace into a modern day health and safety friendly playground. It's the last of the nationalized industries, and is still run so, 9-5 means turn up at 10ish get kettle on read a paper then off for lunch. They can't sack the lads as they've done the same for 40 years then the union rep turns up and demands an extra tea break or safety procedure. We can all see it rearing it's head it just needs eople to buckledown and get the job done us younger ones get stuck in. Its a minority of the old boys set in their ways that are workshy.
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Cbt-23/09/07.....Theory-16/09/08.....Das passed 10/10/08.....
Current bike- GsxR750 K4. Broken: Cbr400rr (Nc29) Sold: Hyosung GT125R

[Howling TerrorOutOfOffice]

Cost of wembley stadium £975million (and a roof that won't close fully)

The Millennium Dome debacle

A reported 20billion for an IT system for the NHS

1.7billion paying the previous owners debts of the London Underground

£300 million on two separate IT systems that aren't used by the Works & Pensions dpt

Oh and you'll like this 1
£77million to clear the backlog of immigration paperwork

And they still want to sell the familys silver.
____________________
Diabolical homemade music Bandcamp and Soundcloud
Singer songwriter, Artist and allround good bloke Listen to Andrew Susan Johnston here
The Harry Turner Project