Prince William’s Duchy of Cornwall has stepped in to tackle the growing crisis of abandoned boats in the West Country by agreeing to remove six vessels from the River Avon in Devon.
The move comes after local residents raised concerns about potential pollution from fuel and oil aboard the abandoned boats between Aveton Gifford and Bigbury.
A Duchy spokesman confirmed: “The Duchy of Cornwall is working in conjunction with our moorings manager to deal with a small number of abandoned boats on the river Avon. This task is ongoing at the moment.”
The initiative addresses a small portion of a wider problem, with hundreds of old boats reportedly littering rivers across Devon and Cornwall.
Prince William’s Duchy of Cornwall has stepped in to tackle the growing crisis of abandoned boats in the West Country by agreeing to remove six vessels from the River Avon in Devon
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The River Dart alone is said to have as many as 100 abandoned vessels along its waters.
John Ashton, a wildlife artist with 40 years of local experience, said the abandoned boat problem has worsened over the past decade.
“Up to about 10 years ago everything was pristine here. There are more wrecks here now than I have ever seen, and I’ve been here for about 40 years,” he said.
Chris Craven, owner of the Creekside Boatyard on the River Dart, pointed to the lack of vessel traceability as a key issue.
The River Dart alone is said to have as many as 100 abandoned vessels along its waters
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“Because of the lack of education in it, and ease of buying a boat, a lot of people find after purchasing that they have bought something which needs a lot of upkeep,” he explained.
The vessels pose significant environmental risks, according to Craven.
“They are full of oils etc that end up in the ecosystems – it’s quite a toxic thing, really,” he warned.
The issue extends beyond local waterways, with the British Ports Association reporting in 2022 that boat abandonment had “increasingly become an issue in some ports, harbours and marinas”.
The Prince of Wales owns the Dutchy of Cornwall lands
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The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has warned that “recreational vessel abandonment is set to become an increasingly large problem”.
Disposal costs in the UK present a significant barrier, at around £400 per tonne.
Craven highlighted how other European nations have found more effective solutions.
“A lot of our European neighbours have taken this thing on at district level and been progressive. In the UK, we haven’t embraced this and there isn’t a specific law which says you can’t abandon a boat,” he said.
“We just want to stop this from happening,” he added.
