The waterways charity, the Canal & River Trust has revealed details about increases in UK boat licence fees to be applied from 1 April 2024, for boats without a home mooring and for wide beam boats.

Licences for all boats on the trust’s waterways will increase above inflation for each of the next five years. The surcharges for boats without a home mooring and wide beam boats will be applied in addition to that.

Boats without home moorings over 3.24m will see an increase from the existing 20 per cent surcharge to a 75 per cent surcharge. This increase will be phased in between 2024 and 2028.

There will be a reduction of the prompt payment discount from 2.5 per cent to 2 per cent and a reduction in the online payment discount from 2.5 per cent to 0.5 per cent.

The licence fee makes an important contribution to the trust’s income, accounting for 11 per cent of revenue. Whilst the cost of the licence has largely kept pace with inflation since the Canal & River Trust was formed, the trust says the increases being introduced from April 2024 will help with the increasing cost of looking after the ageing canal network – at a time when the government has announced significant cuts to public funding.

In its annual report, published last month, the trust warned that canals nationwide face closure due to a shortfall in funding and more frequent extreme weather events brought about by climate change.

Alongside the changes to UK boat licence fees, the trust continues to grow income from its property and non-property endowment, and from other commercial sources such as hosting utilities and water transfer.

The trust says it is targeting a step-change in income generation from towpath users and other supporters, with fundraising income projected to grow by 10 per cent each year – while other commercial waterways income, including from anglers, paddle sports and moorings, is also set to increase.

Full details of new licence pricing to be applied from 1 April 2024 is available online.

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