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The charity making life better by water

Changes to short term boat licences

Following the national licensing consultation last year, we are announcing changes to the short term licences that we offer visiting boaters.

Sun shines on the canal with boats moored on both sides leading to a tunnel

Nearly eight out of ten of those who shared their views on short term licences felt it was fair to withdraw one-day licences but retain one week, one month, and thirty-day flexible ‘explorer' licences, and price these proportionately to reflect the greater administrative costs.

We will continue to offer short term licences for visitors and those who have boats off the water and will remove the daily licence. Provision will be made for discounts for legitimate cruising clubs who host events that require one day licences.

Jon Horsfall, head of customer services, at Canal & River Trust, said: “Short term licences are valuable to visiting boaters and those who keep their boats out of the water. We want to continue to offer this service so every boater has the chance to discover our wonderful waterways. This needs to be balanced with the cost savings we need to find as a charity, to ensure our resources are best spent looking after the canals and rivers in our care.

“We've listened to the boaters who responded to our national licensing consultation and we believe that our new short term licence structure offers both flexibility and good value for those who choose to explore the 2,000 miles of waterway we look after.”

Read our revised prices.

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Last Edited: 27 March 2019

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