THE ongoing saga of boaters squatting at riverbank moorings in Jericho looks set to drag on as it was revealed more than one person owns the land.

The squatters moved to the Castle Mill Stream, opposite the Oxford Canal near Mount Place, last year having been moored on the River Thames near Abbey Road.

Since then, Network Rail, Oxford City Council and the Canal & River Trust have tried to establish who owns the land to look towards a possible solution.

But a meeting last week revealed the 100-yard stretch of riverbank has several owners.

Network Rail spokeswoman Victoria Bradley said it would now be working with the “other landowners” to agree a way forward.

She added a specialist hired to get to the bottom of the land ownership had to trawl through hundreds of years worth of documents and maps.

She said: “It is not a straightforward issue.

“We met with the specialist who discussed his findings with regard to the ownership of this piece of land.

“The next step is for each organisation to confirm whether or not they agree with these findings.

“It is now for the respective legal teams to say whether they agree or disagree with what is being proposed. The outcome of this process will determine what action we propose to take to resolve the issue.”

As reported in the Oxford Mail on Tuesday, the boaters said they had claimed the land because the high mooring costs on Oxford’s waterways left them no alternative but to squat.

Edward Surridge said: “What we want is a safe place for people to live aboard their boats, where we can start a more legitimate community.” But residents have complained the area has become an eyesore and are eager for a solution.

Susanna Pressel, city councillor for Jericho and Osney, said she was disappointed at how long the squatting saga was taking to be resolved.

She said she had expected problems because of the complications over who owned the land.

But she added: “I am disappointed.

“I am getting a lot of complaints about how messy it looks and I am disappointed we have made no progress.

“I just hope the lawyers will hurry up and get together. I would like to see the mess tidied up.”

Publisher Christopher Gasson, whose Abbey Road home backs onto part of the Thames the boaters have suggested they could claim if moved on, said a solution did not feel any closer.

The 48-year-old added: “All this legal to-ing and fro-ing does not get any closer to solving the problem.

“I can see that it is a horrible mess in terms of what we walk past.”