Illegally moored boats moved from Thames

Council cracks down on 'eyesore' after resident complaints

Boats that have been moored illegally on the River Thames have been moved on by Windsor and Maidenhead Council with the help of the Environment Agency.

The action followed complaints from residents and visitors, who expressed concerns about moorings that flout regulations.

As well as moving the vessels on, the council has introduced a daily charge of £8 for moorings between Grosvenor Drive and Frances Avenue.

It’s estimated that 500 of the 28,000 boats on the Thames don’t have permits, the BBC reports.

Owners face fines of up to £1,000 if they are caught flouting the regulations, as well as having their boat seized or removed for disposal.

“Some of these craft were creating a real eyesore on our side of the Thames and causing a great distress for people living in and visiting this part of town,” explained Councillor Simon Dudley, cabinet member for Adult and Community Services.

“We worked closely with the Environment Agency to clarify mooring rights and ownership and put procedures in place to ensure that we could take action to get illegally-moored craft moved on,” he added. “I am delighted to be able to report that this has been very successful and we hope that we have seen the last of boats mooring illegally along our beautiful stretch of the Thames”.