Brutish Waterways

A report in the Times suggest Brown could be looking at liquidating this asset

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

Debate.

well why not, the private sector have just about ruined everything else, why not destroy the waterways as well!

If they are flogged off to the private sector, the new owners will want to see a profit. Leases of fishing rights to angling clubs and mooring fees for boats will increase for a start.

I wonder what will happen to the canals that BW are trying to re-open?

Brutish Waterways indeed!

If they increase the fishing fees there will be very few clubs interested. British Waterways do absolutely nothing for the canal angler IMO. Thats the reason why most of the canal fishing in the NW is more or less free

Stephen I don't think most of the canal fishing in the North West is free,you might just find you need a ticket on most of it mate.

Dear Phil,

If Brown gets in as prime minister at the next general election we are all going to be Rodgered like never before and BW will be the last thing on anyones mind.

Regards,

Lee.

I am sure you are right Gav. Just that I have been fishing the canals for over 20 years and when I was in my teens a baliff always came round for day ticket money. I am sure there must be still baliffs around now but I havn't seen one in the last 10years! I must also say that I have a club ticket for those stretches of canal I fish which are club controlled and I don't condone poaching.
The bottom line is that there are miles and miles of canals which barely see any fishing pressure apart from the most obvious easily acessible areas. Of course you also have to put up with at times heavy boat traffic, dog walkers and cyclists...
BW is totally boat oriented, areas I used to fish in the 80s are now marked as no fishing areas and I have seen stretches of canal drained down with the fish left to die. I am sure this is justified from BWs point of view, after all boats have to pay for a hefty licence and what were the canals originally built for in the first place? Also even if BW invested heavily in angling how many anglers would desert the comericials, given the extra hassles involved in fishing the canals? So BW can increase the rentage fees and quite a few clubs would relinquish their rights and unless BW increase the number of baliffs all you end up with is free fishing!

Given what everyone has said, which I agree with, I can't see any private business being interested in buying it - they won't see the prospect of making any money out of it.

BW sold a 6 acre lake not far from me two years ago.
The last of the ground work is just about to finish, so the 5 and 6 bedroom house's can be built.
This was free fishing for a season while all the legal debate went on, and club run for years before that, at the end of the day money talk's, and with the amount of land BW have they don't care who they sh-t on.