Local River Users' Anger Over Funding Directed to Farm Subsidy

9.22.37pm UTC (GMT +0000) Tue 21st Nov 2006

Large numbers of river users - leisure boat users; residential boat owners; companies involved in river industries like boat builders - have protested to Vincent Cable MP over the deep cuts taking place in services of the Environment Agency and British Waterways. The cuts are being made because DEFRA has seriously overspent on farm subsidies and is clawing back the money from other agencies it is responsible for.

Amongst local protesters have been boat owners on Taggs Island faced with an increase in mooring charges; canoe clubs faced with a big hike in fees; a local company making aluminium boats and a director of Toughs of Teddington.

Vincent Cable said that the cuts had "caused considerable anger and irritation. No-one questions the need for river users to pay a reasonable charge for the maintenance of the Thames and Britain's waterways. But it is irrational in the extreme that overpayments of farm subsidies caused by administrative bungling in the agency responsible should have to be clawed back from totally unrelated activities".