Judge rules against boat-owners flouting Thames mooring rules
Environment Agency took boaters to court over illegal occupation of riverbank for several years.
The Environment Agency successfully pursued ten boat-owners through the courts over illegal mooring on the River Thames
The Environment Agency has successfully brought civil trespass proceedings against a number of boaters who have moored continuously on the River Thames at West Molesey for several years. This has deprived other boat-owners of their rights to be able to moor for short periods in the same location.
To ensure fair access for all, mooring in these locations is only permitted for boats travelling along the river for pleasure, for periods of no longer than 24 hours.
Most boaters comply with mooring conditions; however, a small number of people abuse time limits at free-of-charge locations by overstaying – in this case, for years.
Joe Cuthbertson, a manager at the Environment Agency, said:
As the navigation authority for the River Thames, we took this case to court to protect and ensure the public rights of navigation and mooring for everyone.
We brought these trespass proceedings against the boat-owners as a last resort. They have been moored continuously and without any right, unfairly denying others the chance to moor their boats on the river at this location.
The Environment Agency had received numerous complaints, and had tried many times to persuade those occupying the moorings to move their boats voluntarily, unfortunately to no avail.
Joe Cuthbertson added:
We are pleased that the judge has found in our favour, and we hope that the defendants will move their boats before enforcement action becomes necessary. This is all we have ever asked of them.
The court ruling does not prevent anyone from stopping to moor to the riverbank, including the defendants in this case, but it does confirm that no-one should abuse mooring rights. Rules and requirements around moorings are just one aspect of boating life that anyone should consider before deciding whether to live on a boat.
Background:
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The River Thames is subject to a public right of navigation that permits people to moor whilst in the course of navigation. This does not give a right to occupy one location to the exclusion of all others.
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The Environment Agency served notice in autumn 2022 on a number of boats moored without permission at West Molesey, downstream of Sunbury Lock, where the Environment Agency believes they were trespassing on the riverbed. The Environment Agency then issued proceedings on 21 March 2023 for the boats that continue to be moored, seeking possession orders from a court in respect of this stretch of river, and served possession notices to the 10 defendants on 19 April 2023.
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A possession order is a court order which requires trespassers to leave the land that they are situated on without permission. Failure to comply with the order can lead to enforcement proceedings to remove the trespassers from the land. A possession hearing for trespass is ideally resolved on the day of the hearing, but in practice it can take more than one visit to the court.
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The possession hearing was heard over 3 days from 30 October to 1 November 2023 at Staines county court, and judge Jonathan Simpkiss, via a written judgement on 8 March 2024, found in favour of the Environment Agency on all points.
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The Environment Agency had sought possession of a stretch of river close to Cherry Orchard Gardens, Molesey, Surrey. The judge confirmed that the Environment Agency as owner of the riverbed is entitled to make a claim in respect of boats trespassing in the water and the airspace over the river.
The judge held that it is not the case that the boat-owners would be made homeless by the Environment Agency’s action, saying:
“They will be prevented from long-term and residential mooring on this stretch of the river, but could move elsewhere.”
Permanent mooring of vessels in this location would “not only prevent other vessels from mooring in that part of the river, which they are entitled to do temporarily, but also change the character of that part of the river.”
- A further hearing will be held before 31 July 2024 to determine the extent of the possession order that the Environment Agency will be granted, and to hear any applications for right to appeal from any of the defendants.