The Mayor of Bristol has told people living in houseboats on the Floating Harbour that they are a ‘privileged few’ who have been abusing the system to live cheaply in the city centre.
Marvin Rees has defended an imminent and controversial decision to hike the fees charged for mooring a boat in the city’s old docks, which have caused outrage among people who use boats on the harbour. People living on the water, ferry boat companies and the clubs who represent people who have boats on the water for leisure have all slammed the rises, and thousands have already signed a petition against the move.
But the mayor has said the amount of money the council has charged has not been increased sufficiently for years, and the fees were only being brought into line with comparable costs in other cities in the UK.
