FOLLOWING the report’s publication, the NBTA responded with a message of dismay.
Chair Pamela Smith said: “The report contains many recommendations that are simply unworkable. This is the result of the absence of direct representation of itinerant boat dwellers on the commission. I am outraged by the harshness – for example, imposing fines for minor breaches of the law. If a boat dweller cannot pay a fine, the commission proposes towing their boat to a secure location and charging them daily storage fees, thus depriving them of their home without benefit of a court hearing to decide whether removing their home is proportionate. This would be a gross violation of their Article 8 rights.
“The storage fees are likely to outstrip boat dwellers’ ability to pay them, punishing people for being on a low income. What if there are children on board when a boat is towed? What if children come home from school to find their home has gone? Where will those boaters live who are unlawfully and disproportionately dispossessed of their homes? The implications of this have not been thought through because there was nobody on the commission with the lived experience required to do so.”
