Canal Boat People of London

- June 08, 2023

Text and images - Pradeep Gupta

When the cost of an apartment in London skyrocketed to £ 1 million in the recent years , it has gone beyond the reach of even a middle class Londoner. He had two options left, leave his very own city where he was born, raised and shift to some distant small town , or try to find out some alternate to apartment dream.

The solution came out of the long canal system of the city particularly in the Hackney Wick , Upper Clapton · Hackney Marshes, Tallenham Marshes areas.

So, many city dwellers who could not afford a flat have purchased a boat at one fifth of the price of the flat. Yes of course buying a boat isn't as much of a lifestyle choice as it is a necessity. If it is a choice, it’s one made between living on very little to make ends meet on land, or the willingness to take on the leaks, the nights spent plumbing, the hassle of moving the boat every two weeks, for the benefit of being a part of the rich tapestry of London’s canals, where you can depart the status quo and freely travel from place to place. It’s being able to experience the beauty of a Sunday morning in Paddington,moored against the same buildings of those paying half a million pounds to see the same view you’re seeing.

But living in a boat in the canal has its own set of challenges especially during the rains. Sometime , freedom of these canal boat people is also being infringed on by the CRT and that the fact that number of mooring spaces have been reduced. In March last year, it resulted in protests across London city. Twenty-six-year-old protester Anjali – who has cruised the canals for four years felt that the CRT are unfairly biased towards the use of canals for commercial or leisure purposes. Life is hard on the water, but it’s obviously cheaper. Maybe CRT people are jealous of the boat people. And when they look out of their posh, clean, clinical-looking flats, I think they want their view of the canal to look a certain way: pristine. They don’t want boats there – or maybe they only want to see a certain type of boat.” There are parts of central London he no longer moors in that he once called home. A nd that is much more difficult than it used to be. As the price of property on land in London has risen to more than 14.5 times the average salary and neighbourhoods by the canals have become more fashionable, the number of continuous cruising licences issued by the CRT – and the number of people competing for places to moor – has dramatically increased.