Council hires company to enforce mooring charges

A COMPANY has been hired by Henley Town Council to enforce payment of fees for its moorings.

District Enforcement took over responsibility for the moorings in Mill and Marsh Meadows last week.

Boaters can no longer obtain permits from the parking machines and must now pay online using a location code.

The council decided to appoint a contractor to make mooring more “convenient” for visitors, who have previously had to queue at machines, and to deter a small number of people who misuse the facility.

Uniformed enforcement staff wearing body cameras will carry out regular checks in the meadows and anyone in breach of the conditions will be issued with a charge notice.

Overnight mooring costs £10, while a week is £55. The maximum stay is 14 days. Spaces cannot be booked in advance and mooring is free from 10am to 3pm. Higher fees apply during Henley Royal Regatta.

Henley town clerk Sheridan
Jacklin-Edward said: “We engaged District Enforcement to manage the small number of boaters who misuse our facilities. This has previously been dealt with by parks staff.

“The new arrangements will ensure that our staff have more time and capacity for their core work, caring for Mill and Marsh Meadows.”

He said the contract had been subject to a competitive tender process and was agreed on an 18-month basis with a 12-month break clause.

“We will monitor their performance and will work closely with District Enforcement in the event of any issues or concerns,” said Mr Jacklin-Edward.

“Boaters will not need to leave their mooring if any strong stream warnings are in place and District Enforcement will not apply charges for overstaying in such circumstances. District Enforcement has a straightforward appeals process that anyone can follow if they feel a charge has been wrongly or unfairly applied.”

District Enforcement says that at the other sites it manages, initial compliance with mooring rules is 96 per cent.

A spokesman said: “We are delighted to be working for Henley Town Council.

“The three pillars of our approach are engagement, education and enforcement. We look forward to working on this most distinctive and charming section of the Thames.

“District Enforcement’s existence is to facilitate behaviour change for the betterment of society as a whole. We are a profit-making business but not at the expense of the core beliefs we operate to.

“It is true that the offenders pay for the service but this enables us to deploy our officers on educational visits and special operations intended to provide residents with cleaner, safer open spaces.

“We do not encourage any poor behaviour among our officers and certainly insist that they maintain the highest of standards and follow our standard operating procedures

“Complaints regarding the conduct of our officers are extremely low by comparison as we focus our service delivery on respect and education.

“It should not be forgotten that our officers investigate criminal offences, liability for which can be discharged via payment of a fixed penalty notice.

“The majority of the population adhere to the rules but there must be some strategy to change the behaviour of the minority who choose to flout said rules.

“It is our belief that it is entirely right that the ‘wrong-doers’ pay for the delivery of service, as the alternative would be that it was provided out of the public purse.”

Payments can be made by visiting where2moor.co.uk using the location code 2600.