Finally some communication from the City council, in the form of the application packs for the La Mimosa licences. Unfortunately the City council appear to have lost touch with reality… If you have read the worst case scenario on the state of play page, then you’re about to find out our predictions were horribly accurate.
- £40 per person for the CRB check
- £25 deposit for the station key
- £250 processing fee (for successful applicants) per punt
- £1000 (+VAT) per single punt & £2000 (+VAT) per ferry punt
- 1 extra person allowed per punt (ie one chauffeur)
- Maximum 4 touts weekdays, 6 touts at weekends
- Touts not allowed further than the toilets on Quayside
- Station can only operate from 9am until sunset
- Public liability insurance cover of £5,000,000 (double the current £2,500,000 required by the Cam conservators)
- The station will not be available until sometime in May
The start up costs for one single punt to operate from the station will be approximately £2000. If the operator needs to purchase a punt then they will potentially need to add anywhere from £500 to £1500 to this. The start up costs for a ferry punt will be significantly higher.
What is the upshot of this? Essentially that the station will not be commercially viable and here’s a breakdown of why not.