Changes to boat registration charges 2012-14

Following careful consideration, and discussions with the boating community, we will increase our boat registration charges by the consumer price index plus two per cent per year in 2012, 2013 and 2014. This means that our boat registration charges will rise by 4.6 per cent from January 2013.

We are doing this to reduce our reliance on public funding and provide a sustainable future for our waterways. Inflation and reduced public funding mean that we must increase our income and reduce our costs to sustain our waterways. Increased funding from boat registration charges is part of a wider plan that will:

• reduce our operating costs
• prioritise funding to protect capital investment
• increase our income from commercial and external sources
• deliver a sustainable service that meets the needs of our customers
• engage local people and communities to operate, maintain and own their navigations and shape how they are used and developed

We have listened to the concerns of the boating community and are:

• reviewing the impact of charges increases and will review the increases for 2014 if we are not confident that our customers can sustain them
• freezing our boat registration charges for commercial boats at 2011 prices until 2015
• part-refund boat registrations in specific circumstances
• introducing an adjustment for boats registered on a waterway for the first time part way through the registration year