Tensions are rising in Bath as residential boaters along the River Avon face eviction orders from Bath and North East Somerset Council, which has asserted ownership of a stretch of the riverbed and demanded that houseboats moored downstream of Pulteney Weir leave by September or risk legal action.
In response, 11 opposition councillors have initiated a ‘call-in’ procedure challenging the council’s decision to register ownership of the riverbed with the Land Registry. This action will be reviewed by the council’s scrutiny panel at a meeting on July 15. However, the council’s top legal officer has restricted discussion during the meeting, barring councillors from debating the eviction’s impact on the boaters.
The call-in statement expresses concern over the “direct and adverse implications” for the livelihoods and rights of residents living on the water, arguing these effects were not adequately considered or clearly detailed in the council’s decision report.
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The contested council decision seeks to formally register ownership of the riverbed between the Recreation Ground and Parade Gardens, areas the council believes it already controls as riparian owner on both banks. The stated purpose, signed by deputy council leader Sarah Warren, is to clarify land ownership, enhance management of the waterway, improve public safety, support healthier river environments, and limit potential liabilities.
Opposition councillors, led by Green party’s Saskia Heijltjes and supported by members from Labour and Independent groups, criticize the decision for a lack of transparency regarding related future projects. They also raise concerns about human rights and the council’s plans to close the footpath alongside the river during Bath Rugby match days—a route essential for boat access.
Nevertheless, the council’s monitoring officer has emphasized that the call-in concerns only the land registration issue, not eviction or footpath closures, which were addressed in separate decisions now beyond the challenge period. According to the officer, registering ownership “has no direct impact on residential boat dwellers.”
At the upcoming panel meeting, councillors can only question the transparency about future associated projects. Discussions on boater impacts or footpath restrictions will not be permitted. Given the ruling Liberal Democrat majority on the panel, which usually dismisses call-ins along party lines, the challenge faces an uphill battle.
The council initially ordered the boaters off this section of the river in May, citing safety dangers from bad weather. Some boaters, like Percy Walton who has lived aboard for four years, suspect the eviction is tied to plans for a new rugby stadium at the Recreation Ground. Walton vows to fight the eviction legally, describing the council’s stance as discriminatory.
Further complicating access issues, the council plans to temporarily close the footpath adjacent to the river during rugby match days to “prevent obstruction.” This closure, set to begin in September, coincides with the eviction deadline, raising concerns that boaters could lose both their homes and essential public access simultaneously.
Green councillor Heijltjes condemns this move: “People are facing the loss of their homes just as a public path to those homes is closed for a private sports club. That cannot be right.”
Council cabinet member Manda Rigby clarified that the match day towpath closure is separate from the removal of unauthorised boats and is being considered purely for public safety reasons.
As the dispute intensifies, the community awaits the scrutiny panel’s decision amid broader concerns about transparency, residents’ rights, and river management in Bath.