Phil Pickin attended an interesting and occasionally entertaining British Marine Midlands annual meeting.
WORCESTERSHIRE County Cricket Club once again played host to the British Marine Inland Conference in mid-November. The annual event was sponsored by Haven Knox-Johnston, Barrus, Hoseasons, ProMarine Finance, Aqueduct Marina, Waterways Holidays and Inland and Coastal Marina Systems with the aim of bringing together a mix of industry leaders, decision-makers and stakeholders for a day of networking and discussions.
More than 100 attendees representing 57 companies attended with the aim of highlighting “the growing momentum within the inland boating industry”. Themed Energising Britain’s Waterways, it featured an agenda of keynote speeches, expert presentations and tailored breakout sessions covering a wide range of subject areas.
The conference included the British Marine Midlands AGM and a joint British Marine Inland Boating and Inland Boatbuilding AGM. This also saw the dissolution of both associations to form the new British Marine Inland Association.
Speakers included Lesley Robinson, CEO of British Marine, alongside Richard Parry, CEO of the Canal & River Trust and Andrew Pearce, deputy director of asset management systems at the Environment Agency. They shared updates on industry developments, including the latest regulatory changes, decarbonisation initiatives and opportunities for growth across the inland boating sector.
The morning’s Navigation Authorities Update featured presentations from Gareth Stephens (Canal & River Trust) and Julian Kennard (Environment Agency), providing insights into the future of waterway management. While Nigel Stevens, from Shire Cruisers, delivered an interesting session entitled Jeopardy: For Canals – Or For Boating Businesses, which focused on the CRT’s funding shortfall and the importance to the industry of CRT being able to fill the funding gap. Nigel explored the CRT’s use of jeopardy to gain more donations, but he also pointed out the delicate balance required, noting that such techniques could risk unintended negative impacts on the industry.
Decarbonisation
Body text: Ed Tuite, head of technical at British Marine and Jon White, general manager of The Yacht Harbour Association (TYHA), concluded the morning sessions covering a whole host of topics, including the new and revised ISO standards being developed, updates on decarbonisation across the industry and guidance on lithium batteries.
The afternoon breakout sessions provided delegates a chance to dive deeper into topics, many of which had been outlined by the earlier speakers. Subjects included digitising the hire boat experience, major craft conversion and other regulatory clarifications, as well as the updates on the redrafted TYHA Code of Practice and the latest on VAT implications for the inland sector. Ross Wombwell (British Marine consultant), Ed Tuite (British Marine), Jon White (TYHA) and Jim Suswain (PKF Francis Clark) led the sessions, many of which sparked ‘lively’ discussions among participants.
The formal conference programme concluded with closing remarks from Robert Parton, president of British Marine, who emphasised the importance of collaboration and innovation within the industry.
Reflecting on the event, Lesley Robinson, CEO of British Marine, said: “The British Marine Inland Conference remains a crucial platform for the exchange of ideas, strategic discussions and business development. The strong turnout and enthusiastic engagement at this year’s event underscore the industry’s commitment to advancing Britain’s waterways and enhancing the visitor experience.”
Knowledge
Paul Knox-Johnston – Haven Knox-Johnston, one of the event sponsors, commented: “We love being here as part of this event. It’s well attended, so you get to see so many people, and there are so many great opportunities for everyone to get together and share knowledge.”
Dan Lewis of ABC Leisure Group added: “The inland conference is always really useful, it’s an informative day that keeps all the marina operators and businesses alike in the industry up to date with current legislation, any changes that are on the horizon, so it’s always a valuable day for all of us to attend.”
From the marina sector, Janet Morn of Overwater Marina said the event was “an enlightening and informative event bringing together many colleagues from the inland industry”. Phil Langley from Aqueduct Marina added: “It’s been good to listen to the Environment Agency and Canal & River Trust to hear about the challenges they are dealing with and how they are dealing with these challenges, and the technical insights. It’s good to be able to get an insight into where our industry is at, what is coming down the road and what everyone else is experiencing.”
Another event sponsor, Barrus’s Phil James, said: “This is about the fourth time I’ve been to this event, and it gets bigger, better and more informative every year.”
