2014-11-17-Hackney.Boating-E.de.Bonneval-019

Cecilia Bonilla and Agatha (spanish lady and toddler we met first)
Jason Makepeace (black, dreadlocks)
Ellen (getting surname) (blonde lady who shouted at cyclist)
Damian Walsh (flatcap)
Giuilia Di Patrizi (Damian’s wife)

History & Context:

All of the members of our group have been living on the water in and around the Hackney area for over 2 years, some for over 5 years.
Our choice to build a life on the canal and river system in the Hackney area has been in part influenced by the much publicised housing crisis in the capital and the choice of Hackney was not arbitrary as many of us work in the borough, lived in the borough before moving on to boats and our children access local services such as nurseries and schools.

Issues

In a mirroring of the housing affordability crisis on dry land, there seems to be an inexorable rise in the amount of people living on the water in Hackney in the last few years, with some sources stating that these numbers have double in the last 12 months, this has not been helped by the promotion of boat living by national and regional newspapers as a cheap option for those wishing to get there foot on the property ladder.

As you are probably aware the current guidelines are that boaters shouldn’t moor in the same area for more than 14 days and that as ‘continuous cruisers’ or what is now termed ‘boaters without a home mooring’ we are required to demonstrate that they are frequently using our vessels for navigation. CRT’s enforcement of its mooring policy is often aggressive and inequitable with some boaters appearing to be targeted over others. The policy over how far you have to travel after mooring on one spot seems deliberately vague and the situation has become unworkable due to the overcrowding described above.

Boaters naturally congregate close to facilities such as water and elsan points, bridges, stations and shops, this means that many areas are becoming extremely congested and what are left are relatively inac