Guide to: Waterways Licences
Hey yawl – Thought it was time to update the post about licences as we have a lot of new members and some of the prices and links have changed. This is me trying to pull it all together into one place!
The subject of Licences to paddle “public” water is often a point of contention for people in the paddling community, the debate ranges from “you don’t need a licence to walk/ride a bike” to “we understand where the money goes and its good value”.
Here at East of England Paddlesports we think it’s all part of being a safe responsible paddler. They are policed and over the years we been checked by River Wardens, Park Rangers and Environment agency on numerous occasions. We have heard of people getting fines upto £600 for unlicensed use.
In all cases the money goes back into gaining access to the water (remember a lot of our rivers go through private land), maintaining the water and improving facilities at the water’s edge like portage points and the like.
We used to get asked if a Licence was needed, or which licence to get on a daily basis, so we produced this guide to try and help guide people through what is a complicated area.
Each of the links and prices are correct at the time of writing and have areas where you can check to see which one covers where you are paddling and is aimed at the East of England Area.
Firstly most Tidal Water is free to paddle on but there are exceptions to this ... for example .. The whole of the Crouch estuary (Including Foulness and the creeks) is within the jurisdiction of the Crouch Harbour Authority who require that all unpowered craft (canoes, kayaks, SUPs, inflatables, windsurfers, kitesurfers) are registered with them annually.
The cost is £5.48 for a single craft; £10.96 for two to four and £27.40 for five or more.
https://crouchharbour.uk/harbour-dues-canoe-kayak-paddle.../
Paddle UK – (Formally British Canoeing) is the most widely used and probably covers the most water. It's between £47 and £60 per year for an Adult (£85 for a couple and family deals between £68 and £129). It includes Public Liability insurance and all income generated by membership fees is reinvested back into paddlesports, supporting the development of resources and projects that benefit members and the paddling community. This covers the person and any craft they paddle, it also offers discounts and other benefits.
If you only want to paddle on the River Stour at Dedham the River Stour Trust do a licence. Its £5.5 per day, £11.50 for a week, £21.80 for a month or £48.60 for the year. This is for the craft, not the person. Remember this is for 1 River which is covered within the Paddle UK license.
Some rivers, like The Chelmer, have separate licensing. These are £6 for a day or £41 for the year and can be purchased below. Licence fees apply to all non-powered craft including dinghies and inflatables and this Licence is not covered within other types of Membership or Licence. This licence applies to the craft, not the person and if you paddle a Canoe/Kayak and a Paddleboard they are different licences and have to be purchased separately.
The non tidal section of the River Colne through Colchester is one of those unusual rivers (like the Chelmer) which are private and not covered by the Paddle UK Licence. Colchester Borough Council own “riparian” rights to the river and its banks through this section and do not offer a public licence or general access, all patrolled by the Park Rangers. Colchester Canoe Club have for many years been working with the Council to improve facilities and access for all forms of water sport and as such have been granted exclusive rights to use the River by their members and guests. Adult Membership of the Club is £30 per year and includes a locked private carpark and of course river access.
There is also the Canal and River Trust who license access to 96 Canals and Navigable Rivers. Their Website is not easy to use in our opinion and the Licence page points you towards Paddle UK anyway. To only use CRT water it takes you to a very complicated registration and log in where it’s not clear on prices or how to License. The good news is a Paddle UK License covers all the CRT waterways membership as above.
The Broads National Park (or the Norfolk Broads as many people call them) are controlled by the Broads Authority. The license to paddle is available from them for £10.45 for a week, £20.90 for 2 weeks or £46.32 for the year but is for the craft, not the person. Again if you have Paddle UK Membership you are covered to paddle here.
Another separate requirement is parts of waters covered by Anglian Waterways more toward Cambridgeshire including the Ancholme, Black Sluice, Glen, Welland, Nene, Great Ouse System and Stour (as mentioned above), including backwaters, marinas and private moorings. Whilst the Stour and parts of the Nene and Ouse are covered by other licences mentioned above, parts of the Great Ouse and Nene are not. This can be checked on the Paddle UK website. If needed for other sections then this licence is per craft and covers Kayaks or Canoes or Stand Up Paddleboards. The price is £5.40 per day, £11.30 per week, 15 Day Explorer is £18.70, £21.40 per month or £47.70 per year.
https://www.gov.uk/.../anglian-waterways-boat...
Some areas like the River Cam through Cambridge City Centre require your license number to be displayed and visible from the River bank, so please investigate these oddities.
https://www.camconservancy.org/canoeing
We also have many lakes in the area. Most are privately owned or owned my water Companies. Each have their own pricing for launch or hiring and most require 3rd party insurance, which as you can see above comes with many of the licences.
Feel free to let us know about anything I have missed.
Big love from Andy Large, Oli Jordan, Jessica Ashley and Matt Payne
Be Kind, Be Careful, Stay Safe.