Roving Traders and the CRT Council

Cheeseboat 2

So, voting has now opened for boat owners to elect four boaters to represent licence holders on the Canal and River Trust’s National Council. The council will consist of 35 members but only four of these will be boaters! Voting is open until noon on 9th March and ballot packs are currently being sent out to voters. However, BW does not consider Boatshed Grand Union brokerage to be a waterways business; they simply consider a waterways business to be a company that has a British Waterways trading licence; so we will not be eligible to vote.


A group of boaters who do hold trading licences have set up a website with the aim of giving a voice to the small roving canal traders on the UKs waterways. The aim is to promote and enhance their unique trading community which includes floating businesses such as; The Cheese Boat, The Graphics Boat, Fudge Boat, Cookie Boat, Tillercycles (who repair and sell bikes), Book boats, Coal Boats, Art Galleries, knitting and sewing boats, a traditional canalware and crafts boat, a boat selling LED lighting and two travelling hair salons.

It's important to have independent businesses like these represented on the CRT council. Graham Phillips owns Tia www.tiacares.co.uk a small business afloat, based mainly in the south Midlands, supplying environmentally responsible cleaning products. Lorraine Fox is based around London and owns www.thesandwichbarge.co.uk Together they are the two candidates representing the Roving Canal Traders. Read more at http://www.canaltraders.org.uk/

Any changes in waterways rules and regulations affect their ability to trade, so giving these traders a voice on the CRT council is important. There are just five candidates standing for the two seats available in the Boating Business “constituency”.

If you’ve ever dreamed of becoming a roving canal trader Boatshed Grand Union is the best place to start your search for narrowboats for sale; and if you have a canal boat for sale we sell boats for boaters. Will you take your business afloat this year?



Peggy Melmoth
Floating writer and virtual assistant!
http://www.peggymelmoth.wordpress.com/

Disclosure: I wrote this post for Boatshed Grand Union.

Images from: http://www.canaltraders.org.uk/