River Toll - 2024 - 8:5% Increase

[MauriceMynah]

For as long as the BA and the EA do NOT start working together, neither party need do or spend anything. 

[marshman]

Perhaps its something to do with the fact that in February we received over 2 1/2 times our normal rainfall for the month, in fact the highest amount for that period since the mid 1800's but no, this is 2024 and we have to "blame" someone rather than look for the obvious answer. Remember that rain was falling on already saturated ground!

Plenty of boats can still get under Ludham - perhaps we should blame those designers who insist most modern designs now have an "extra" layer of sundeck on top as well!! I would never, on the Broads, have a boat with an airdraft much over 7' as all the best bits, normally, would still be inaccessible.

[grendel]

19 hours ago, MargeandParge said:

It seems to be the same with a lot of governing bodies. Use the motorist as a cash cow don't  fix any pot holes but fund hair brained schemes that are completely against the motorist that pay their taxes. Don't laugh if you don't drive because when none of us do they will get their revenue from other sources. Rant over

Kindest Regards Marge and Parge 

its like the case of reducing speed limits in towns to 20mph, then complaining when the cars and now running at an innefficient speed causing greater pollution.

currently listening to the slow progress of a farmers protest driving through town, been hearing the same musical horns going for the last 30 minutes, and theres only about 1 mile of road that I would be able to hear them on.

Dont forget this is going to hit the hire yards much harder than the private boaters, many have already taken payment for the boats to be hired out this year, so unless they add a surcharge on, its the yards that are going to be out of pocket, and this will also go on to the cost of future hires, raising the charges again to a point where hirers will debate hiring at all.

[MauriceMynah]

Marshman, Please accept that I realise the record levels of rainfall has caused the flooding,  however had the rivers been dredged as they should have been, that excessive water would have been out at sea by now., frightening the cod!

This is not the first time that the EA has been found wanting regarding dredging,  it is however the first time to my knowledge that flooding and navigation issues have crossed swords.

Again in my opinion, the lack of dredging at the lower reaches of the Bure has negated the EA's efforts for flood alleviation at the PH part of the Thurne.

The flooding may, no, is caused by unprecedented levels of rain, but the continued water levels cannot be.

[CambridgeCabby]

I noticed that the navigable miles listed for the Broads was 125miles , I presume this includes the reaches upstream of Potter Heigham bridge and Wroxham bridge which are not accessible to the majority of river craft for 6months of the year if at all .

The total IMHO should be given as nearer to 100 miles 

we have just paid our annual tolls on Pipedreams which is £554.10 this year and for an inflatable tender and outboard is £92.35 meaning a total of £646.45 or £6.46/mile of accessible navigation making the Broads dear compared to the other waterways listed 

[Broads01]

3 hours ago, marshman said:

Plenty of boats can still get under Ludham - perhaps we should blame those designers who insist most modern designs now have an "extra" layer of sundeck on top as well!! I would never, on the Broads, have a boat with an airdraft much over 7' as all the best bits, normally, would still be inaccessible.

I don't blame boat designers in the slightest. Passage under Ludham for boats with higher airdraft is a very recent issue.

[dom]

1 hour ago, CambridgeCabby said:

£6.46/mile of accessible navigation

When you consider how few times an average boater is likely to make use of each mile in the course of a year, it really is pretty shockingly expensive.

I'm currently waiting to see how my life pans out before deciding what boat to buy and where, but the more time passes, the more attractive a yacht on a swinging harbour mooring somewhere becomes.

[Smoggy]

Ea have a shocking record of not dredging on the great ouse, don't hold out any hope on them doing what's needed,  they are well practiced in excuses for expensive operations if there's no photo/paper opportunity. 

[dom]

7 minutes ago, Smoggy said:

Ea have a shocking record of not dredging on the great ouse, don't hold out any hope on them doing what's needed,  they are well practiced in excuses for expensive operations if there's no photo/paper opportunity. 

Annual expenditure of about £2 billion though. They could probably spend more than BA's annual budget and put it down as a miscellaneous expense. I think they're proabbly perfectly able to tackle the issue, but it's the old adage - the squeakiest wheel gets the oil.

[ptrehearn152]

I am currently looking for a boat around the 27' mark on the broads and when i checked out the licence fee, wow, that nearly knocked my socks off. Correct me if i am wrong but a boat 27' by 9' 6" £406!!! I also recently looked into selling up and moving onto a narrowboat and that was going to cost £1216 with virtualy free mooring everywhere, free Elsan disposal, free water and rubbish disposal. The major difference between canals and the broads is noticeably the amount of miles you can travel. Ibelieve there to be approximate 250 miles on the broads but on the canals there are 2000 miles of waterways. So you pay roughly a third of the cost on the broads but there are 8 times more waterways you can use on the canals! Think someone got their maths wrong.

Just saying.

[ExSurveyor]

40 minutes ago, ptrehearn152 said:

Ibelieve there to be approximate 250 miles on the broads

120 miles if you have a small enough boat to get through the low bridges.

[ptrehearn152]

Exsurveyor, i stand coreected on that, makes it even worse though!

[NeilB]

I'll be collecting my toll increase letter tomorrow, at 42ft x 12 it's going to sting a little.  Perhaps the BA could learn from the nice folk at Craft Insure as my insurance has also arrived, gone down £40!!

Probably due to no claims being built up but still nice.

[chrisdobson45]

£722 paid for Mystic Lady yesterday. I paid online, the pain seemed to be a little more distanced than if I had paid it by phone... 

[MargeandParge]

Just paid over 700 sobs and they asked me if I wanted to buy tide tables. I nearly ( but didn't) said "a copy of The Big Issue thrown in would be good as I may be able to pass it on and eat this month. "

Kindest Regards Marge and Parge 

[PaulN]

I was surprised that you had all received your Toll demands but I hadn't. So I looked at my email spam page just now and there it was.

Obviously my computer and AVG antivirus  sotware thought it was a scam!

[Mouldy]

2 hours ago, MargeandParge said:

Just paid over 700 sobs and they asked me if I wanted to buy tide tables. I nearly ( but didn't) said "a copy of The Big Issue thrown in would be good as I may be able to pass it on and eat this month. "

Kindest Regards Marge and Parge 

Hmmm! Think yourselves lucky!  I went to the bloody dentist on Tuesday for three fillings and came out suffering from serious GBH of the wallet.  £670!  Yep, £670!  Unbebloodylievable!

I should have guessed before I went in when I saw a stable outside with the horse’s name on the door - Black Bess!

At least the toll isn’t as much.  Just thankful that we have a more compact boat!

[JanetAnne]

Those were the days....

[Vaughan]

 

This is a blow-up of my avatar, which is the first river toll disc on the old gunboat, Morning Flight.

This was the river toll, for a 72ft houseboat!

 

[MauriceMynah]

I wonder how much £8.16.00 (£8.80) equates to at todays prices.

[MargeandParge]

1 minute ago, MauriceMynah said:

I wonder how much £8.16.00 (£8.80) equates to at todays prices.

Think it said 3.16 and she's a big boat (with a beauty about her)

Kindest Regards Marge and Parge 

[MauriceMynah]

Correct M&P. I'm another one of those who "should've gone to Specsavers" !

[floydraser]

A quick online calculator: £3.75 (no shillings so estimate) equates to about £166.00

[MargeandParge]

2 hours ago, floydraser said:

A quick online calculator: £3.75 (no shillings so estimate) equates to about £166.00

Please forward to our Blessed Authority as their abacus has to many bobbles on it..

Kindest Regards Marge and Parge 

[Bikertov]

I will shortly have to pay my toll for A Frayed Knot, to cover next year.

Being on the River Great Ouse it comes under the Environment Agency rather than you guys who are under the BA.

Our increase is only up 2% from last year (I believe it went up 4% last year), but the toll is higher than the The Broads to start with.

We are charged by boat length, not area, and I will be paying £609.86 (being 29ft, so in the 7.5m - 10.0m band)