River trust 'still concerned' about safety

Despite the ruling the ANT, which originally advised Stratford-on-Avon District Council to reduce the number of licences, says it will continue to support the idea.

During the hearing at Leamington Magistrates’ Court, the judge agreed that other measures to supervise rowers and improve safety were necessary, a view supported by the ANT.

Paul Cronin, director of the ANT, said: “We welcome the judges’ decision; it is very positive. He agreed that the river can get very busy and this is a cause for concern and he was also concerned that Avon Boating had not produced records of their training of staff.

“There will also now have to be a safety boat out on the river and a supervising boat between the two bridges when more than 10 boats are out.

“The bit we’re not so happy about is the decision on the licences. “The judge said he could not uphold the reduction as we had not provided a scientific argument on why the number of licences should be removed. We made our recommendations based on the practical expertise of those who use the river.

“We have not changed our enforcement notice, our issue is still with the number of licences but we don’t know how we can resolve this at the moment.”