Navigation – Licensing.
If you wish to navigate the Middle Level you will need a licence and all you need to know is included on this page. You are also required to have adequate insurance, including a Boat Safety Certificate. If you wish to paddle (canoe, kayak or paddleboard) on the Middle Level please see here.
Licensing was introduced from 1st September 2020. Annual licences can be obtained via the forms below. Weekly and monthly visitor licences can also be obtained below, or from Stanground, Salters Lode Locks and our offices in March.
Anglian Pass
If you have an Environment Agency Anglian waterways licence for the Nene or Great Ouse and/or Cam Conservators licence you can purchase an Anglian Pass to enable you to navigate on the Middle Level. Without an Anglian Pass you will need a licence from us.
If you are a Middle Level licence holder then purchasing an Anglian Pass will enable you to navigate on the Environment Agency Nene & Great Ouse waterways and on the Cam Conservators waterways.
Canal & Rivers Trust Gold Licence Holders
If you hold a CRT Gold Licence you will either need an Anglian Pass or Middle Level visitor or annual licence to navigate on our waterways. We continue to work with CRT to review the viability of including the Middle Level within their Gold Licence arrangements. In order to help CRT quantify demand, there is now the option in their IT system for Gold License Holders to select ‘Middle Levels’ as their home mooring.
Background Information
Why was the Middle Level licence fee introduced?
For decades local agricultural ratepayers and District Councils had been virtually fully funding the upkeep of the navigation because the legislation that controlled it was outdated and only allowed charges for navigation related to the value of the cargo being carried. This harked back to pre-industrial times when the primary use of waterways was for the movement of goods.
To address this and in recognition of the push from government for a move to a more justified position, where the beneficiary should at least be contributing towards the costs borne by a public authority, the Commissioners felt the time was right to go through the costly and time-consuming procedure of updating the legislation to put them in line with other navigation authorities. All this work culminated in November 2018 when the Middle Level Act was passed (see Governance).
Will the Middle Level make a profit from charging for navigation?
No, there is no likelihood of the licence fee covering anywhere near the cost of running the navigation for the foreseeable future, especially with the added commitment to improve it and there was an undertaking given to the House of Lords that would actually (at this time) preclude us from doing so.