9 BRITISH WATERWAYS' RELATIONSHIP
WITH ITS USERS
94. We heard mixed views about British Waterways'
(BW) relationship with its users. Some users of the network were
positive about the relationship. Boat owners Steve Davis and Paul
Woollam said that they maintained "good and effective relations"
with BW; Paul Woollam added that, in his experience, "most
boaters" believed BW was making "significant progress
towards improving the network".[169]
Richard Clements, owner of two holiday-hotel boats on BW waters,
also enjoyed a "constructive relationship" with BW management
and staff, as did the Residential Boat Owners' Association.[170]
The Association of Waterways Cruising Clubs told us that the creation
of the British Waterways Advisory Forum (BWAF) had "greatly
improved" BW's consultation processes with its users, a view
shared by the British Marine Federation.[171]
Sir Adrian Stott went further in stating that BW was now a "model
organisation" in terms of consultation.[172]
95. A number of other boaters, however, were extremely
critical about BW, particularly in respect of two issues. First,
BW was said to communicate poorly with its users. Although generally
supportive of BW, Paul Woollam believed that the organisation's
communications were "not good".[173]
Shire Cruisers described BW's communication with its industry
about operational matters as "very poor", and blamed
this on the recent grant reductions.[174]
Other waterside businesses have also suggested BW's communications
could be improved. The results of a survey of 825 waterside businesses
in April 2006 showed that half thought BW dealt with them properly,
with the majority noticing no improvement in service levels over
the past two years.[175]
Secondly, BW was criticised for not consulting properly—or
at all—before making decisions, despite the existence of
the BWAF. Paul Woollam said BW was "a long way behind the
curve in stakeholder engagement".[176]
The Commercial Boat Operators Association told us that it had
not been consulted about the closure of BW's freight unit.[177]
Other boaters criticised BW for insufficient consultation before
making important business decisions, such as the closure of the
Castle Mill boatyard in Oxford.[178]
96. BW described its relationships with waterway
users as "generally good", although it was keen to develop
customer service.[179]
It recognised the importance of the boating community to the waterways
movement, and said the organisation went "out of our way
to have close relationships with them". When asked about
its consultation processes, Robin Evans, the Chief Executive of
BW, told us that BW worked hard to be "open and accountable"
with its customers and users.[180]
In the case of the closure of the central freight unit, he did
not believe it had been necessary to consult because this was
primarily an "operational issue" for BW.[181]
Our views
97. British Waterways can not be expected to please
everyone, but our inquiry showed that many users of the network—especially
boaters—are critical of the way BW operates, particularly
in relation to communication and consultation. The structure
of BW's consultative bodies is also somewhat confusing to outsiders
and it is not always clear where real authority lies. Whilst
we acknowledge that recent moves—such as the creation of
the BW Advisory Forum—are in the right direction, BW needs
to do more to develop an effective direct relationship with the
users of its network, particularly those who are significant 'customers'
such as boat residents, operators and licence holders.
169 Q 355 Back
170
Q 382; Ev 309. Back
171
Ev 298; Ev 28. Back
172
Ev 138, para 5 Back
173
Q 365 Back
174
Ev 294, para 4.2 Back
175
"Initiative buoys up waterside business", Daily Telegraph,
10 April 2007, ', p 4. BW was reported as describing the findings
as "less than satisfactory". Back
176
Q 365 Back
177
Q 218 Back
178
Q 373 [Simon Robbins]; Q 374 [John Keyes]; Ev 342 [Jericho Community
Boatyard]; Ev 384 [Oxford City Council]; Q 369 [Del Brenner];
Ev 346 [Murad Qureshi] Back
179
Ev 68, para 2.7 Back
180
Q 353 Back
181
Q 350 Back
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