Pollution and safety fears over abandoned boats

Abandoned boats on Oxfordshire's canals and rivers are a safety and pollution risk and must be dealt with, an MP has said.

Anneliese Dodds, MP for Oxford East, has called for a "collective solution" from councils, the Environment Agency and Oxford University colleges.

Towing away a sunken and derelict vessel costs tax-funded organisations like the Canal and River Trust (CRT) £6,000 to £7,000 on average.

Campaigners said the issue was coming to a head due to the rapid increase in the manufacture of fibreglass boats in the 1970s and 80s, which are now reaching the end of their useful lives.

The Green Blue, which campaigns for environmentally-friendly boating, said such boats caused a host of environmental problems, including fuel and microplastic pollution.

Ms Dodds said: "We need to see a situation where we have are better managed and better looked after in order for everyone to enjoy the river.

"Ultimately it is down to the boat owner to stop it getting into that situation.

"But we've all got to come together and sort this out."

In 2023/24, the CRT removed 106 unlicensed boats from the network, many of which were abandoned.

The cost of this can reach £10,000 per boat.

Yet the CRT is facing a significant funding cut from 2027, which it said would see it lose more than £300m in real terms over 10 years.

Matthew Symonds, CRT's head of boating, said: "Although we try very hard to find out who the owner is, it's sometimes impossible, and then it falls to us to remove that boat.

"And that's money we'd rather be spending on caring for the waterways.

"With less money, we're having to do more prioritising of what we spend our money on."

Taran Stormes-Martino lives on board his boat on the canals around Oxfordshire.

"It's obviously really sad when you see the potential a boat has, but then you see it sink," he said.

"At the same time it goes back to the funding. Surely if the CRT was funded better they would be able to clean up the boats more efficiently.

"It's not their fault that boats are being abandoned and left."

City council cabinet member Anna Railton said: "We share Anneliese's concerns over these issues.

"We have been working on bringing together the multiple agencies and land owners who will need to work together to find a long-term solution.

"City council officers met with the Environment Agency to discuss the matter earlier this week and we are now in the process of organising a meeting with all the relevant authorities and adjacent landowners to look again at this issue."

A Defra spokesperson said: "We recognise the wide range of benefits that our inland waterways bring, and we are currently providing the Canal and River Trust with an annual grant of £52.6m.

"We have agreed to provide substantial new grant funding for the Trust of £401m over 10 years from 2027."

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