Extra moorings and facilities are needed on London’s waterways to help address hotspots of overcrowding as increasing numbers of Londoners are turning to living on the water, our new report says. With house prices and rents rising to record levels in London, the report says more people are choosing to live on a boat as a more affordable option. Yet, the number of moorings and facilities, such as water supply and waste disposal, has not increased in line with demand. We set out a number of recommendations that we think can help address the overcrowding and improve relations between the different people who use the waterways.

1. Moorings on London’s Waterways
An investigation on behalf of the Environment Committee
Nov 2013

2. 1
• London is home to 100 miles of canals and 42 miles of
the River Thames
• Overall 3 per cent of London is covered by water

3. 2
Jenny Jones, AM, launched an investigation on behalf of the
Environment Committee into moorings on London’s waterways.
It looked at the demand for and supply of moorings, the impact of
the growing popularity of the waterways and any steps that could
help address issues of concern

4. 3
With house prices and rents soaring, we found some people are
choosing to live on boats as a more affordable option. As many as
10,000 people could now be living on the capital’s waterways. Yet
mooring and facilities have not increased in line with demand
We suggest the authorities should look at ways of increasing
moorings on canals and the River Thames. We also recommend
a new trial of community moorings to help meet demand

5. 4
Boats can moor at rings, bollards or put pegs in soft banks, but on
some stretches of London’s canals, the whole bank and towpath is
hard surface.
We suggest that Canal and River Trust should ensure that as
far as possible towpaths have soft verges, mooring rings and
bollards

6. 5
We heard overcrowding at certain spots can contribute to problems with
air and noise pollution, plus navigational challenges. Overcrowding tends
to result from a need to be near facilities and transport links, plus security
concerns
We call on the Canal and Rivers Trust to review facilities and
lighting at existing sites to ensure they are sufficient and produce a
new map to highlight less crowded locations near transport links

7. 6
We found communication is central to tackling some of the current
issues on London’s waterways. However, this can be a challenge
especially if boaters have no postal address, landline and erratic
mobile phone connections
We suggest relevant organisations should support work to
engage better with boating and waterside communities and
people also need to work together to resolve local issues around
pollution

8. 7
We heard how creating more moorings on inland waterways could
help relieve the pressure on towpaths
We want planning authorities to ensure that waterside
developments do not detract from the waterways and their
uses, including residential moorings. Future changes to the
London Plan should include a policy to increase moorings.

9. To read the report and find out
more about the investigation,
please visit:
www.london.gov.uk/moorings

10. To read the report and find out
more about the investigation,
please visit:
www.london.gov.uk/moorings