Why Robin Evans and his fellow BW directors have failed and
should go.
Put very simply most boaters involved in and supporting the Boaters’ Manifesto
have lost all trust in the people at the top of British Waterways and the Canal and River
Trust would inherit that lack of trust and even active dislike if the same people remained at the top.
Why? Because we have seen them fail time and time again. Crucially they have failed
by the measurements they accepted in the '2012 vision' on visitor numbers and self
sufficiency; with visitor numbers around the same as when Robin Evans took office.
Dr George Greener, British Waterways' previous chairman, set Evans yearly
targets leading to a doubling of the 2003 3.6m visitors figure by next April [2012].
The latest annual report shows that visitor numbers were just 3.8m
against the years’ target of 6.9m. Strangely Page 10 of British Waterways'
latest annual report shows that the target set for Robin Evans has magically
reduced from 6.9m to just 3.5m.
This version of the numbers game seems to already be catching with John Dodwell
reported as claiming about 13 million walkers, dog walkers, joggers, anglers,
cyclists etc but we can find no basis for those figures from published official statistics.
The other major reason for putting supposed ‘commercial’ experts in on high salaries
was that they could run the commercial enterprises of BW and make the profits
thatwould bring self-sufficiency closer.
British Waterways Marinas Ltd is now the biggest owner of inland marinas in the
country, has many prime spots and charges some of the highest fees to moorers – but
it has failed to make any substantial contribution to BW coffers.
Others complain of inflexibility towards current voluntary activity and entering
long-term national contracts within 12 months of the change.
The list of failures is long, even if we ignore idiocies like the square and
superfluous bollards on locks.
• Gloucester Quays retail outlet - fail
• The pub partnership disaster – fail
• Selling property at the bottom of the market to boost capital when rental is booming – fail
• Getting rid of all the equipment staff and volunteers will need, thus requiring expensive hire of
kit for future maintenance and the increased use of contractors –fail
And then there is the way in which the board has failed to meet with its Freedom
ofInformation Act responsibilities; giving boaters the distinct impression
that weshouldn’t be asking about their failures because it is none of our
business.
Our view is that privacy is the space bad people need to do bad
things and BW has anappalling record on FOIA.
Even a request made some
time back for information relating to trustee meetings,
surely something that should really be pro-actively published, got no response
within the three week limit and three months later – still nothing despite two
complaints to the Information Commissioner.
As one of our contributors wrote: “WE don't
TRUST them. TRUST has to be earned and
BW has managed to destroy all TRUST
boaters ever had in them. They have come to
believe they can run roughshod
over us and there is nothing we can do about it.”
Others complain of inflexibility towards current voluntary activity and entering long-term
national contracts within 12 months of the change.
And then there is the pay, the perks, the pensions – but we said we wouldn’t talk
about that.
have lost all trust in the people at the top of British Waterways and the Canal and River
Trust would inherit that lack of trust and even active dislike if the same people remained at the top.
Why? Because we have seen them fail time and time again. Crucially they have failed
by the measurements they accepted in the '2012 vision' on visitor numbers and self
sufficiency; with visitor numbers around the same as when Robin Evans took office.
Dr George Greener, British Waterways' previous chairman, set Evans yearly
targets leading to a doubling of the 2003 3.6m visitors figure by next April [2012].
The latest annual report shows that visitor numbers were just 3.8m
against the years’ target of 6.9m. Strangely Page 10 of British Waterways'
latest annual report shows that the target set for Robin Evans has magically
reduced from 6.9m to just 3.5m.
This version of the numbers game seems to already be catching with John Dodwell
reported as claiming about 13 million walkers, dog walkers, joggers, anglers,
cyclists etc but we can find no basis for those figures from published official statistics.
The other major reason for putting supposed ‘commercial’ experts in on high salaries
was that they could run the commercial enterprises of BW and make the profits
thatwould bring self-sufficiency closer.
British Waterways Marinas Ltd is now the biggest owner of inland marinas in the
country, has many prime spots and charges some of the highest fees to moorers – but
it has failed to make any substantial contribution to BW coffers.
Others complain of inflexibility towards current voluntary activity and entering
long-term national contracts within 12 months of the change.
The list of failures is long, even if we ignore idiocies like the square and
superfluous bollards on locks.
• Gloucester Quays retail outlet - fail
• The pub partnership disaster – fail
• Selling property at the bottom of the market to boost capital when rental is booming – fail
• Getting rid of all the equipment staff and volunteers will need, thus requiring expensive hire of
kit for future maintenance and the increased use of contractors –fail
And then there is the way in which the board has failed to meet with its Freedom
ofInformation Act responsibilities; giving boaters the distinct impression
that weshouldn’t be asking about their failures because it is none of our
business.
Our view is that privacy is the space bad people need to do bad
things and BW has anappalling record on FOIA.
Even a request made some
time back for information relating to trustee meetings,
surely something that should really be pro-actively published, got no response
within the three week limit and three months later – still nothing despite two
complaints to the Information Commissioner.
As one of our contributors wrote: “WE don't
TRUST them. TRUST has to be earned and
BW has managed to destroy all TRUST
boaters ever had in them. They have come to
believe they can run roughshod
over us and there is nothing we can do about it.”
Others complain of inflexibility towards current voluntary activity and entering long-term
national contracts within 12 months of the change.
And then there is the pay, the perks, the pensions – but we said we wouldn’t talk
about that.