Waterways Winter 2009

www.waterways.org.ukwaterwaysKeeping Our WaterWays alive

Winter 2009 | ISSUE 226

YOUR WATERWAYS NEED YOU!Volunteering: past, present & future

Restoration UpdateCromford Canal Plans

News & ViewsLatest Developments

The interviewTimothy West

SEE PAGES 6-7

AT RISK! YOURWATERWAY NETWORK

IWA

NATIONAL

FESTIV

AL

REPO

RT

COVER Winter.indd 2 21/10/09 12:59:15 pm

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WINTER 2009

A non-profit distributing company limited by guarantee (612245), Registered as a Charity (No. 212342)

Founded: 1946, Incorporated 1958Registered Office: Island House, Moor Road, Chesham, HP5 1WATel: 01494 783453E-mail: [email protected] site: www.waterways.org.ukChief Executive – Neil Edwards, Operations & Information Systems Manager – David Forrester Finance Manager – Helen Elliott-Adams Campaign & Communications Manager – Jo Gilbertsonl IWA may not agree with opinions expressed in Waterways but encourages publication as a matter of interest. Nothing printed may be construed as policy or an official announcement unless stated, otherwise the Association accepts no liability for any matter in the magazine. Although every care is taken with advertising matters no responsibility whatsoever can be accepted for any matter advertised.

WATERWAYS EDITOR:Keith Goss Tel: 01283 742951E-mail: [email protected]

ART EDITOR: Liane HuntADVERTISEMENT MANAGER:Tony Preston Tel: 01283 742965E-mail: [email protected]

ADVERTISING DESIGN: Jill Brown, Bethan Large

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EDITORIAL BOARD: Gillian Smith, Jo Gilbertson, Neil Edwards, Keith Goss, Peter Johns

REPROGRAPHICS: Waterways World Ltd, 151 Station Street, Burton-on-Trent, Staffordshire, DE14 1BG. Printed in England by Warners (Midlands) PLC, Bourne, Lincsl Articles may be reproduced provided permission is obtained and acknowledgement made. ISSN 0969-0654

6 SOS 2010 IWAlaunches itscampaigntosave thewaterways

10 NEWS Newsandviewsfrom aroundthenetwork

22 ThE INTERvIEW Wetalktofamous actorTimothyWest

26 YOuR WaTERWaYS NEEd YOu! Alookattheissues surroundingwaterway volunteering

32 RESTORaTION updaTE FromtheThames&Medway andCromfordcanals

36 IWa NaTIONal FESTIval 2009 Afullreport fromRedhill-on-Soar

38 OuR FRIENdS IN ThE NORTh IWAinactioninYork

40 WaTERWaY CuTTINgS Whatthepresshaveto sayaboutthewaterways

43 INbOx Readers’letters

44 dIRECTORY Who’swhoat TheInland WaterwaysAssociation

COvER pICTuRE: The horse-drawn hotel boat Sian on the Montgomery Canal. Maintenance problems on this waterway have resulted in holidays having to be cancelled – see News pages.

Contents

IWA WATERWAYS WINTER 2009 ISSUE

The fuTure prospecT for the funding of our waterways continues to concern us. despite british Waterways putting in place a reorganisation of their waterway units to achieve annual cost savings of around £10m, including the loss of 100 senior employees, their ‘reward’, and that of supporters who hoped that this action might reduce the pressure on the maintenance budget, was an announcement from defra that their 2010/11 grant to bW would fall by nearly 17% compared to the current year. arising at a time when most waterway stakeholders were looking to a future influenced by bW’s proposed transition to the Third Sector (meaning neither public nor private sectors) and the updating of Waterways for Tomorrow into Waterways for Everyone, it seems ironic that the sponsoring government department, defra, has come under such pressure from hM Treasury that waterway funding and government’s commitment to it has come back to the top of the agenda.

at a time when the waterway network is larger than at any time since IWa’s founding, probably in better general condition (other than depth), and more widely used, this is even more unfortunate. I know that the individuals at defra dealing with waterway matters are dedicated to their role and are no doubt as frustrated as we are that across the board cutbacks on their department’s spending, imposed by faceless treasury officials with a lack of understanding, can do so much harm. If each £ of taxpayer’s money spent on the waterway delivers between £6 and £15 in public benefit, then it is the public benefit that will bear the multiple impact of any short term cut in grant.

It is pertinent to look back at defra’s Rural payments agency’s problems four years ago in distributing £1.6 billion each year to farmers; this resulted in additional unnecessary costs to the taxpayer of £622m, according to the National audit Office. The consequence of these failings puts bW’s grant of £47.8 million for 2010/11 in context. That wasted Rpa money would have funded bW at current levels for the next 13 years. So, if you do manage to struggle around our under maintained system next year, just think about that level of wastage and the lack of management oversight at the heart of defra.

Our SOS 2010 campaign (see pages 6-7) draws attention to the impending problems of reduced maintenance. Save our System is designed to get the attention of the public at large and to convey the problems and issues of waterway funding, so that they can join us in saying to government at a national and local level ‘Support our System’.

When one looks back over our bulletins from the last 60 years the recurring theme is waterway funding and often a grand vision of a National Waterways Conservancy arises. On a positive note, bW’s 2020 vision of being a Third Sector organisation may be the embryo for such an organisation. an essential part of the equation must be the retention of their property assets as a form of dowry to allow them to achieve, gradually over the years ahead, financial stability, rather than deal with last minute reductions in funding. This may be just a dream, but we could start to turn this into reality as we approach 2010 and celebrate the centenary of the birth of one our founders, Tom Rolt.

CLivE HEndErSon

naTionaL CHairman’S CoLumn

26 / IWA WATERWAYS / spring 2008 IWA WATERWAYS / winter 2009 / 01

Wat

erw

ay Im

ages

Contents/Column.indd 3 21/10/09 12:57:29 pm

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IWA WATERWAYS / winter 2009 / 03

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04 / IWA WATERWAYS / winter 2009

• Breakdown and Call Out Service• Gas service and repairs – Gas Safety

Registered• Plumbing service and repairs• Refi ts and refurbishments• Heater service and new sales

• Marine equipment sales, service and repairs• Dry dock and blacking – undercover• Electric service and repairs• Repaints full or partial – undercover• Engine service and new sales• Bespoke boat building

p004.indd 1p004.indd 1 21/10/09 14:24:5921/10/09 14:24:59


SOS 2010 - IWA’S FUNDING CAMPAIGN

06 / IWA WATERWAYS / winter 2009 IWA WATERWAYS / winter 2009 / 07

www.grannybuttons.com

At the National Festival & Boat Show at Redhill-on-Soar over August Bank Holiday IWA announced the launch of its Save

Our System (SOS) campaign. The campaign reflects IWA’s increasing alarm at the depth of the cut in grant-in-aid for British Waterways in 2010/11. It is being reduced from this year’s available grant of £57.448m to just £47.848m, representing a reduction of some 16.7%. There is concern that the Environment Agency will have to face a similar reduction in funding.

Launching the campaign, National Chairman Clive Henderson said: “We believe that the threat of under investment in the waterways must be addressed by all stakeholders in the waterways – now. Government is slashing British Waterways’ budget and unless we stand up to this we can expect more of the same. We must defend our waterways system. We are therefore launching our Save Our System 2010 (SOS 2010) campaign. We need to know how these cuts are affecting the system and do something about it before it is too late.

“IWA is calling upon all IWA branches and regions to contact colleagues in

other waterway organisations together with local waterway societies and trusts to identify, in partnership with local navigation authority managers, issues of poor maintenance and slipping standards – especially those affecting safety. The collection of evidence about problems caused by under funding locally will allow us to build the national picture so that no-one can deny the effect of these cuts and so that the under funding can be reversed.”

MeMbers’ briefing at agMAt IWA’s AGM at Milton Keynes on 26th September, a comprehensive briefing was given outlining the aims of SOS 2010 and seeking the support and commitment of members. It will be a phased campaign with the following objectives:

1.find out and report facts. Members are requested, along with other interested parties,

to document and record problems on the waterway network, reporting them to British Waterways or the Environment Agency as appropriate, determining where possible which ones result from funding issues. IWA should also be informed via the website. www.sos2010.org.uk

2.raise public awareness. We all need to mobilise public support for your local

waterways- the local community needs to be advised of the benefits that the local waterways provide to the whole community and need to have explained the consequences of lack of funding on amenity - make and distribute flyers and, hold ‘waterway awareness’ days out on the towpath or in the local town and villages. Get out and talk to the walkers , cyclists and fishermen – they are our allies .

3. gain media support. Our concerns and local support for the waterways through holding

awareness days and our campaigning should be used to make a strong case to the local press and broadcast media. It is important that the media’s focus should then centre on the benefits that the community enjoy from well maintained waterways locally and the likely concerns of non boaters caused by (walkers cyclists, home owners etc) loss of local amenity (and possibly the adverse impact on homes and businesses locally) if funding is reduced and continues as such. It should be stressed that good well maintained waterways benefit us all – and declining waterway standards are a cause for concern for everyone and not just for boat owners.

SOS 2010

Look out for your SOS car/boat stickers

SOS2010.indd 6 21/10/09 1:00:31 pm


4.Get political support. All MPs with ‘waterway constituencies’ should

be approached, appraised of the situation and ‘recruited’ to the cause. With the general election likely in May, prospective parliamentary candidates should be similarly briefed. IWA members should also contact local councillors, as they are often key to local support for the waterway corridors- get them on board literally; take them out on a boat, do the same for any prospective candidates, and ask them to publicly support your campaign and the waterways in the local press. IWA supporters might like to consider in the longer term offering themselves to become ‘champions’ of the waterways, to go and speak up for them at council meetings, or even stand for seats on parish councils with waterways running through the area and attempt to influence local spending plans in a way that might benefit the waterways, such as towpath maintenance etc.

5.Vote for the waterways. Members should strive to make waterways funding a

local issue in each riparian parliamentary seat – and consider voting for the candidate/party offering the best future prospects for the waterway system.

6.Change government attitude. Many riparian seats are marginal constituencies

and active campaigning can make a difference to the attitude of sitting MPs and their opponents. IWA members can

affect waterways funding by working on and with parish councils – towpaths and recreation spending is often influenced from this tier of local government.

A Question of timinGThe following timetable is suggested to gain maximum impact for the campaign: now – gather evidence of local problems and report them; before Christmas – launch publicity campaigns and garner local support; before the general election – gain as much political support as possible; between march and over the may Bank Holiday 2010 – organise mass protests and local waterway event days throughout the network.

RAisinG tHe stAkesSOS 2010 has already received the support of various organisations, including the Association of Waterway Cruising Clubs (AWCC), Royal Yachting Association (RYA), Save Our Waterways (SOW), Residential Boat Owners Association (RBOA) and the Boating Association, formerly the Great Ouse Boating Association (GOBA). IWA is supporting the campaign with a round of intense political lobbying and has attended the main party conferences, whilst meetings are being arranged with the Waterways Minister Huw Irranca-Davis and his Conservative and Liberal Democrat shadows. Furthermore, riparian MPs will be targeted and made aware of both the nationwide situation and the specific condition of the waterways within their constituencies. To raise the stakes further, IWA is seeking a 10 Minute Rule Bill, by calling for statutory protection for the waterways and is requesting an adjournment debate in Parliament at the earliest possible opportunity.

Get inVolVed!Notwithstanding the above, it is the ordinary IWA member who will ultimately determine the success or failure of the SOS 2010 campaign. Without IWA’s unwavering commitment to the waterways over the past 60 years, the system in its present form would not exist and it is inconceivable that decades of dedicated campaigning and physical restoration work by so many should be put at risk by short-sighted government policy and penny-pinching economics. Members can find out more information on the campaign, register their support and record issues and download their own photos in support of the collection of evidence and order campaign materials at: www.sos2010.org.uk.

Left: The aftermath of last year’s breach on the Stourbridge Canal. The problems there are still not fully resolved.

BeLow: Repairs underway on Shebdon Embankment on the Shropshire Union Canal.

STOP PRESSAt the time of going to press well informed parliamentary sources lead us to believe that British waterways property portfolio will be put up for sale as part of the Government’s ‘fire- sale’ of assets in order to help plug the spending deficit.

the removal of Bw’s assets is a significant and retrograde step, it will cause an extra £45 million hole in Bw’s budget at a time when the grant in aid has already been slashed by more than half since 2003/4. It is not over stating the case to say that this in general terms means the end of Bw’s shared aim with government to become more self sufficient. It will lose its autonomy and discretion over its spending priorities as a result, and be wholly at the mercy of whatever grant government is able to find. this will undoubtedly, once implemented put the operations of the waterways under impossible strain owing to lack of adequate funding.

the waterways will decline and some may inevitably have to close. we will be back in the dark ages of state ownership of the late 1940’s.

the ability of Bws property portfolio to support Bws operations is at the heart of how the waterways are run, funding over half of its operations. the cash generated helps keep the waterways open and running. this revenue is also at the core of its strategy to move towards the third sector under the 20/20 proposals. this becomes an impossible dream if these proposals are implemented.

for the price of less than half a day’s interest payments on the national debt, government is not just selling off the family silver, but the family trust fund – it is cashing in something valuable and part of the heritage of the waterways for a ‘pile of beans’.

If yoU ThoUghT SoS waSn’T ImpoRTanT – IT oUghT To bE now – EvERyThIng IS aT STakE.

Look out for your SOS car/boat stickers

SOS2010.indd 7 21/10/09 1:00:49 pm


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nEWS

The Inland WaTerWays assocIaTIon (IWA) launched

its briefing for Members of

Parliament about how important

the inland waterways can be for

their constituencies at the Labour

Party Conference in Brighton in late

September. The document, entitled

The inland waterways: What Can They

Do For Your Constituency?, explains

the full range of advantages that the

waterways can provide for local people

and communities, and goes on to detail

the fundamental components that are

needed for waterways to flourish.

Clive Henderson, IWA National

Chairman, said: “Our aim is to

give Members of Parliament a full

appreciation of the benefits which

good well maintained waterways

can deliver for the waterways in

their constituency. We want every

riparian MP to appreciate just how

wide-ranging the advantages are

for their local communities. The

picture postcard impression that the

waterways are all about boating is just

not the case. The waterways support a

full spectrum of leisure opportunities.

More than 50% of the country’s

population live within 10 miles of a

waterway and they receive in excess of

500 million visits each year - they are

our ‘forgotten ‘national park’.

“In addition to obvious leisure

benefits from walking, cycling and

angling, it has been increasingly

recognised by government that

waterways help improve health,

social cohesion and integration and

regeneration. Our document explains

what key components must be in

place to deliver these benefits - not

least, proper financing of the publicly

owned navigation authorities.”

Visit www.waterways.org.

uk/Library/IWAOfficesResource/

ParliamentaryBriefing.

IWA LAunches Pre-eLectIon BrIefIng for rIPArIAn MPs

Tom RolT CEnTEnARY2010 sees The cenTenary

of the birth of Tom Rolt, one of

IWA’s “founding fathers”. Born

in Chester in 1910, he trained as

an engineer and had a passion

for Victorian engineering of all

kinds. As well as campaigning

for the waterways he was also

a lifelong vintage car and steam

railway enthusiast.

From working within the

engineering sector, Tom moved

on to become a prolific author

of both fiction and non-fiction.

However, many of those titles

reflected his enthusiasm for

engineering structures and those

who had designed and built

them. One of his first books,

Narrowboat , which chronicled

his tour of the inland waterways

in 1939 with his wife, Angela,

on the restored Shropshire Union

narrowboat Cressy, prompted

the formation of IWA in 1946.

To celebrate this centenary,

several events are currently in

the planning stages but two

have already been confirmed.

IWA Chester & District Branch

will be staging a Tom Rolt

Centenary Celebration Rally at

Tower Wharf in Chester during

the weekend of 26th-27th June

2010. The Talyllyn Railway will

also be represented during the

weekend and hopefully local

representatives from the Vintage

Sports Car Club will bring their

cars – enabling the Rally to

celebrate Tom’s wide ranging

interests throughout his life.

There will also be a Centenary

Dinner taking place – further

details available soon. For

further information about the

Chester celebrations, please

contact Lesley Taylor on 0151

342 6651.

At the other end of the

country, near to Oxford and

Banbury, the starting point for

Tom’s Cressy cruise, the National

Festival & Boat Show at Beale

Park on the River Thames over

August Bank Holiday weekend,

28th-30th August, is also being

promoted as the Tom Rolt

Centenary Celebration Event.

Once again, it is hoped to

demonstrate Tom’s wide ranging

interests through displays and

the attractions that will be

running during the weekend.

For further information

telephone: 0844 800 6583 or visit

the IWA website www.waterways.

org.uk/events for updates.

Other events will be taking

place, around the Cressy Cruise

route and members may like to

consider retracing part of that

route – leaving from Banbury,

heading up to Chester for mid-

June, back down through the

Potteries and returning to Beale

Park for the National Festival at

the end of August.

shroPshIre unIon cAnAL to reoPen FolloWIng repaIrs to Shebdon Embankment carried out by contractors

working for British Waterways, the Shropshire Union Canal was scheduled

to be fully reopened by 24th October. The waterway had been closed

because of a breach in the canal bed between Shebdon Bridge and Park

Heath Bridge, which occurred on 13th August. The closure resulted in a

substantial drop in the number of boats using the Shropshire Union Canal

and prevented navigation of the popular Four Counties Ring.

The sTourbrIdge canal was

closed twice during September

after a leak was discovered in

the embankment at the site of

last year’s breach, when 50ft of

embankment, and a section of

canal bed were washed away.

Safety checks revealed that the

newly built and strengthened

embankment was not in any

danger, but it was discovered that

faulty clay had been used by the

contractors on the initial repair.

Temporary repairs have been

carried out to the latest leak, and

the canal will remain open for

the remainder of the year. The

waterway will then be closed from

4th January until 12th March to

allow the whole section to be re-

excavated, and a new clay lining

to be installed.

But More ProBLeMs on the stourBrIdge

Gra

ham

Boo

th

The stourbridge canal breach site during initial repairs.

News.indd 10 21/10/09 11:18:32 am


winter NEWSAND thE huDDErSfiElD NArroW CloSESJust two weeks after a major

breach on the Shropshire Union

Canal, a serious leak on the

Huddersfield Narrow Canal has

resulted in its closure for at least

ten weeks. Water has leaked from

the canal above Lock 14e, into

the nearby Ramsden Mill, which

has previously had problems with

leakage, but this time it is much

more serious, with British Waterway

staff having to drain the pound

above to prevent more water

entering the mill.

There have been repeated leakage

issues with the canal since restoration

with water previously escaping

into the mill, leading to standing

instructions for boaters to leave the

nearby lock empty to help alleviate

the situation. In this case there is no

obvious breach, and BW engineers

are attempting to discover the

reason for the loss of water.

DuRING tHe LAte suMMeR Waterway Recovery Group has been

fitting boat mooring rings at two

locations in the East Midlands.

On the River Trent in

Nottingham 45 rings were

installed on the embankment

outside County Hall for

Nottingham City Council; this

completes the improvement of the

Embankment moorings started

some years ago. As well as being

a popular casual mooring this area

is the main mooring site for the

Nottingham Riverside Festival in

August. As well as fitting the new

rings bent and damaged rings

were removed.

On the Witham Navigable

Drains at Boston mooring rings

were fitted at Cowbridge Lock for

the Witham Fourth District Internal

Drainage Board, whilst on the

Maud Foster Drain in Boston new

rings were fitted on the Packet

Boat Steps, beside Maud Foster

Windmill, for the Environment

Agency.

WrG iN ACtioN iN thE EASt MiDlANDS

Mar

tin C

lark

IWA’S WInTER RAngEIWA Promotion & Communication

Committee has developed a new

range of IWA clothing available for

members to buy. Our clothing is in

IWA blue and has the new IWA logo

on the left breast:

Q Poly cotton polo shirt £8.99 small -

XXL male and £8.49 female sizes 8-18.

Q Sweatshirt with raglan sleeves

£9.99 small-XXL

Q Hooded, fully zipped sweatshirt

£19.99 small – XXL

Q IWA fleece jackets £18.99) small -- XL

Q IWA tie £10.00

Other sizes -including children’s - may

be specially ordered.

To view the range go to http://

picasaweb.google.com/jerrysan3/

Clothing?feat=email#

Details will shortly be sent to

branches on how to order clothing

with the branch name as part of

the logo. Branches will also be given

discount for buying more than five of

any one type of garment.

Prices will have to rise when

the VAT rate increases in 2010.

Mail order details will be available

shortly. In the meantime, please

contact Helen Whitehouse at

[email protected].

WATERWAYS MuSEuM on TVA fILM cRew working on behalf of the BBC has

been recording life at the National Waterways

Museum, Ellesmere Port. The filming is for a three-

part documentary programme, which will focus on

the difficulties of running a museum in the current

economic climate. Over a period of three months,

all aspects of the museum have been examined, and

staff, visitors and volunteers have been interviewed.

Two other museums will feature in the programme:

the Leyland Museum, Preston and the Freud Museum,

London. A screening date of late 2009 or early 2010

is anticipated.

Gra

ham

Boo

th

Mar

tin C

lark

Lock 14e on the Huddersfield Narrow canal with Ramsden Mill to the left. the drained pound above the lock.

IwA’s John Baylis hard at work in Nottingham.

News.indd 11 21/10/09 11:18:55 am


nEWS

A new cycling and walking

route along the Leeds &

Liverpool Canal was officially

opened on14th September and

is expected to boost tourism in

the Airedale area. The seven-

mile route, which has taken

four years to complete, links the

canal towpath to the three town

centres of Keighley, Bingley and

Shipley, and to and from local

bus and train stations.

The Greenway, which forms

a key part of the Airedale

Masterplan’s Connected Corridor,

has been developed over a

number of years with the Airedale

Partnership, Bradford Council,

British Waterways, Sustrans and

other organisations. BW hopes

the scheme will encourage

local people and visitors to the

waterways and surrounding areas

by more sustainable means.

The route, which principally

follows National Cycle

Network route number 696

along the towpath, also

includes some on-road sections

to the town centres.

It has been signposted using

time rather than distance to

help people see how little time

it takes to travel from one

place to another by walking

and cycling.

Information boards at key

locations show the route,

places of interest and a code

of conduct for all users; a

pocket sized map will also be

available.

nEW LEEdS & LIvERpooL CYCLE RouTE

A lock on the Aire & Calder

Navigation, Yorkshire’s principal

freight waterway carrying around

700,000 tonnes of goods a year,

underwent essential repair works

in September. Castleford Lock was

closed to boats for some three weeks

while the works were carried out.

The work on the Aire & Calder

Navigation, a key route for the

transportation of aggregates and

oil products, has been carried out

in stages over the last three years

and this is part of the final phase of

work. The project has included repairs

to a failed 10-metre section of lock

island wall and the north upstream

approach wall. While the essential

repairs were carried out the lock had

to be completely drained of water

and was closed to boats.

The complex works, in a

£500,000 investment by British

Waterways, involved specialist

contractors completing site

investigation, diving surveys,

design, feasibility and

construction. The lock is an

unconventional shape, the main

lock chamber being curved,

making it particularly vulnerable

to propeller scour from freight

vessels manoeuvring in the lock.

This has caused extensive damage

to the lock island wall.

The new wall has been

constructed from concrete and

includes a fendering system capable

of absorbing impact from heavy

freight vessels using the lock.

Aire & CAlder Closure

ChAIRmEn SoughT foR TWo IWA REgIonSUnder the new arrangements for the appointment

of region chairmen, nominations for all eight

regions were sought in the May 2009 edition of

Waterways. As announced in the August edition,

there were no nominations for IWA’s London

and South West regions, and these posts have

been vacant since the Association’s AGM on 26th

September. Under the rules for the appointment

of region chairmen (see www.waterways.org.uk/

Library/IWAGoverningDocuments), nominations for

these two posts are now again invited, and should

be submitted to the chief executive at Head Office

by no later than Monday 4th January 2010 along

with a brief biography, autobiography or statement

not exceeding 400 words, for publication as part of

any ballot paper (which would be included in the

February 2010 edition of Waterways). Information for

potential new trustees (including region chairmen) is

also available at www.waterways.org.uk/Library/IWA

GoverningDocuments. If you would like to discuss the

possibility of standing as chairman of either London

Region or South West Region, please contact either

Neil Edwards, chief executive (01494 783453) or Clive

Henderson, national chairman (01564 783672) for

an informal conversation. The appointments would

initially be until the 2011 AGM for the post of London

Region chairman, and the 2012 AGM for the post of

South West Region chairman.

LEARnIng moRE AT dudLEYdUdley cAnAl trUst is developing plans for an innovative

new Learning and Access Hub. The

Hub will help enhance the experience

for existing and future visitors and

provide more opportunities to learn

about the site’s internationally

significant heritage.

Dudley Canal Tunnel welcomes

around 80,000 visitors a year

to explore the canal tunnel and

limestone caverns under Castle

Hill. Managed and operated by

a dedicated team of staff and

volunteers the Canal Tunnel offers

visitors a trip back in time and the

chance to learn about the Black

Country of the 19th Century,

the history and formation of the

limestone and the fossils within the

tunnel. The Learning and Access

Hub will also celebrate the role of

the Birmingham Canal Navigations

in the Industrial Revolution and

its positive impact on the Black

Country and the wider region.

The Trust is working to secure

funding for the Hub which will

contain a range of exciting new

facilities showcasing the canal

tunnels and limestone mines,

providing a resource which befits

their rich history. To achieve

its goals, it needs to be able to

illustrate that the project has

public support and has launched a

campaign to get as many people as

possible to visit its website www.

dudleycanaltrust.org.uk and click

on the “support our Learning and

Access Hub” tab.

nEW TRIp BoAT on ThE nEnEA new trip boat now operates on

the River Nene at Ferry Meadows,

Peterborough. The catamaran-

style vessel, built in the USA, can

accommodate 12 passengers and

is operated by just a single crew

member. It will offer trips along

the river at weekends and during

school holiday periods.

BW

repair work underway at castleford lock on

the Aire & calder.

News.indd 12 21/10/09 11:19:07 am


Winter NEWS

The environmenT Agency

has released its results on

the state of rivers, which

showed improvements in water

quality. Figures from the EA’s

annual General Quality Assessment

show that seven out of ten English

rivers and nine out of ten Welsh

rivers, achieved ‘very good’ or

‘good’ status in terms of chemical

and biological water quality in

2008. This improvement in water

quality has supported the recovery

of wildlife once thought to have

vanished forever in some areas:

v 50 years ago, no salmon were

seen on the River Tyne, but already

this year more than 10,000 have

been recorded migrating up river.

v Otters have this year been

recorded in both Greater

Manchester and the lower Thames

for the first time in 40 years and

after also moving into Sussex this

year, can now be found in every

English county.

v The River Hamble, in Hampshire,

has a new fish pass which enables

sea trout, lamprey and eels to

swim upstream for the first time in

hundreds of years.

v The River Mersey, once the

most polluted river in Europe,

is the cleanest it has been for a

century. Salmon have now returned

to the river.

However, a new European directive

sets even higher quality standards

for rivers using a wider range of

measures than previously. Under the

Water Framework Directive 26% of

rivers in England and Wales are now

described as of good or high status.

More needs to be done to meet these

new water quality standards. The EA

announced that it would be working

to revitalise and transform a further

9,000 miles of river by 2015.

This will mean continuing

action from the water industry

to tackle discharge from sewage

treatment works and the removal

of water from rivers. It will also

require action from farmers, to

stop pollution from land getting

into rivers, lakes and coastal

areas. Pollution from towns and

cities will also need to be tackled

if the improvements required by

Europe are going to be delivered.

The Environment Agency plans

set out how each of these areas

will be tackled, to clean up

rivers, lakes, estuaries and the

coast.

For more information visit

www.environment-agency.gov.uk/

news/111199.aspx.

Good aNd bad NEWS for ENGliSh rivErS

World CaNalS CoNfErENCE iN SErbiaThe World cAnAls conference took place in

Novi Sad, Serbia on 21st–27th

September when delegates from

all over the world assembled to

hear papers on a wide range of

topics. These concentrated on

the fascinating waterways that

comprise the Danube–Tisa–Danube

system, 600km of navigable

waterways with 16 locks linking

different points of the Danube,

which Serbia is intending to

develop for tourism. Delegates also

heard papers from Canada, China,

France, Germany, Ireland, Italy,

Korea, The Netherlands, Poland,

Sweden, UK, and USA, under the

overall conference title of “East

and West will meet”.

A pre-conference tour took

delegates to see the famous Iron

Gates lock complex on the Danube

and a post-conference tour

explored the little-known Danube–

Tisa–Danube system. This was built

as late as 1957–77, extending a

network of earlier canals built in

the 18th and 19th centuries. Using

a system of sluices and pumps, its

initial purpose was to drain and

irrigate, as required, the fertile land

of the Danube plain, but it is now

realised that it can also provide

great opportunities for tourism.

The presence of the conference

has already initiated several

developments. Canalside

buildings have been restored,

historic displays installed, and

interpretation boards erected. One

notable historic mill at Mali Stapar

has been beautifully restored from

what was a totally derelict state

less than a year ago.

In existing legislation, only

Serbian boats are allowed to use

the DTD without a special permit,

which involves negotiating a hugely

bureaucratic system. However one

Irish boat, Mike and Rosaleen Miller’s

Aquarelle, has now become the first

foreign flagged vessel to navigate

the system, and has been given great

assistance from the Serbian waterway

authorities, Vode Vojvodine.

The presence of the boat,

and of the foreign delegates at

the conference, has highlighted

to the Serbian authorities some

of the changes that need to be

made if they are to realise the full

tourist potential of the DTD. Not

only do they have to simplify the

paperwork, but also to provide

facilities on the canals, and on

the River Danube itself, if foreign

boats are to be encouraged to visit.

Serbia is a particularly attractive

destination for UK holidaymakers.

It has yet to join the EU and thus

is outside the Euro zone, so prices

are currently still very attractive.

The East–West theme was

extended to future conferences

with a presentation from

Yangzhou on the Grand Canal

in China, with a bid to host

the 2012 conference. If that is

successful, next year’s conference

in Rochester, New York, will be

followed by Groningen in The

Netherlands in 2011, then the

conference will move east for the

first time to China in 2012.

Hug

h Po

tter

Hug

h Po

tter

england’s premier river – the Thames at hampton court.

“eiffel’s lock” at Becej.

The historic mill at mali stapar.

News.indd 13 21/10/09 11:19:27 am

Boats from the main French

canal system have navigated to the

summit of the Roubaix Canal for

the first time in over 25 years. The

canal links the French waterways

at Marquette, near Lille, with the

Belgian section of the River Escaut

near Bossuit. Built in the mid 19th

century to serve the local textile

industry around Roubaix and

Tourcoing, the last commercial

traffic passed through in 1983.

Plans to use its route for a ring

road caused local communities to

form an association to campaign

for its restoration. Under the title

‘Blue Links’, this reached its climax

on 19th–20th September, when

boats assembled at the Union

Lock summit for a weekend of

celebrations, culminating in a

spectacular ‘Aquashow’ featuring

water, lights and fireworks. The

repeated appearance of the

European Union symbols and

anthem in the show reminded

participants just how much this

project had been supported by

the EU – something that is lacking

from restoration projects in the

UK. Of the total budget of around

€40m, half has come from the

EU, and the remainder from a

Franco-Belgian partnership. Also in

contrast to the UK, volunteer input

has been minimal.

Boaters’ NeighBourhood Watchresidential Boaters on

the canals in the Coventry area

are being invited to join a new

scheme to help reduce crime

and anti-social behaviour. It has

been organised by West Midlands

Police and British Waterways to

provide canal users with a support

network.

Neighbourhood officers,

wardens and a BW volunteer will

be visiting Sutton Stop, where the

northern Oxford Canal joins the

Coventry Canal, to discuss the

scheme. Members who join up to

the project will receive updates

on crime in the area and will be

invited to attend regular meetings

and report any problems.

The local police community

partnership view is that traditional

Neighbourhood Watch schemes

help to reduce crime, reassure

more vulnerable residents and

also encourage neighbourliness

and closer communities. They

believe that the success of land-

based schemes can be transferred

to the community living on the

waterways.

Roubaix Reopening

14 / iWa WaTeRWaYS / winter 2009 iWa WaTeRWaYS / winter 2009 / 15

neWS

a new strategy, commissioned by The Waterways Trust and British

Waterways, is proposing new visitor centres, restaurants, marinas and hydro-

electric power generators for Leicestershire’s canals and rivers.

The River Soar and Grand Union Canal Strategy aims to regenerate key areas

along a 23-mile stretch from Kilby Bridge, near Wigston, to Loughborough.

Although no money is as yet committed, bids are to be made to the East

Midlands Development Agency, the Lottery, the landfill tax credit scheme and

other sources. Private investors will also be invited to contribute.

Seven areas – Kilby Bridge, Aylestone Park, Leicester city centre, Belgrave,

Watermead Park, Barrow-upon-Soar, and Loughborough – have been

earmarked as possible sites to attract tourists.

Among the ideas outlined is a £1m visitor centre at Watermead Park, near

Birstall, which will be built into a lake and accessed by bridge. Also suggested is

the regeneration of Glen Parva Wharf and a white water canoe park at St Mary’s

Wharf near Aylestone. This would be close to small scale hydro-electric power

schemes which could be built there and on weirs in the Belgrave area.

A marina is proposed near the Birstall Redhill roundabout, while cycle

routes may run along the river at Barrow. A new waterfront development is

envisaged for Windmill Lane, Loughborough. Near Barrow, a former gravel pit

has been transformed into Pilling’s Lock Marina. The 314-berth marina with

its waterside cafe opened just over a year ago.

Leicestershire County Council, Leicester City Council and the councils of

Charnwood, Oadby, Wigston and Blaby are all involved in the waterways scheme.

PoteNtial Boost for the soar Valley

Hug

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tter

sutton stop on the outskirts of Coventry.

a colourful gathering of boats attending the opening of the roubaix Canal.

the river soar at leicester with the national space Centre visible in the background.

News.indd 14 21/10/09 11:19:46 am


Winter NEWSMoNtgoMEry CaNal ProblEMSLack of maintenance to the Montgomery Canal, apparently caused

by cuts to the British Waterways’ budget, has seen stretches of the canal,

most notably between Belan and Brithdir, clogged up with weed, leading

to the only horse-drawn holiday cruise company in Britain having to cancel

bookings. Bywater Holiday Cruises suggest that their horse-drawn cruises

are being put in jeopardy because of an abundance of weed in the

water. Recently they had to cancel a cruise holiday that had been booked

because the boat simply couldn’t get through the canal due to it being so

clogged up with weed.

The owner asserts that there have been cut-backs to the waterways

budget and because the location is isolated from the main canal the boating

company is not high up on BW’s list of priorities. The company has now

called on local MP Lembit Opik to see the problem for himself and highlight

the problems being faced.

Lembit Opik commented: “There are two simple objectives for the

Montgomeryshire Canal. Firstly we need to get these weeds cleared and

make it useable again, and secondly we need to get ourselves connected

to the British canal network. Both of the objectives are achievable and

affordable. There is lots of evidence showing us that investment on the

canal pays for itself. For every pound we spend on the canal we get

approximately £6 in return to the tourism industry. By sorting out our canal

it opens up a tourism artery – I am going to make sure we do exactly that.”

The horse-drawn boat Sian can be seen cruising the Montgomery Canal

from April to October and is a popular local attraction.

IN brIEFiWa’s Branch achievement aWard has been made to stoke-on -trent Branch.This was particularly in recognition of the branch’s continuing work on the Burslem Port Project, Uttoxeter Canal restoration, Cheshire Locks campaign, close working with boat clubs and waterway societies in their area and lobbying of local politicians, particularly Staffordshire Moorlands MP Charlotte Atkins, IWA’s 2008 Parliamentarian of the Year. The award was presented to alison smedley, secretary of Stoke-on-Trent Branch.

iWa is going on the road and wants to have a look at grass roots participation and what goes on at branch meetings. It will be a light hearted but serious appraisal, involving playlets and workshops to share experiences, and to practice new skills and learn from others in a safe and non-stressful environment.

The key topics will be: how to keep your members and interest them more in branch activities; analysis of the membership survey and how we can best respond to members requirements and wishes; and, not least, SOS 2010 - sharing tips and thoughts on how to make it work for your area and let others know what we’re achieving.

The seminar, to be staged at Head Office on 6th February, is open to everyone and transport from the nearest station and accommodation will be available if required. To register an interest and receive further details please contact [email protected] or contact Head Office on 01494 783453.

cLive henderson has been reappointed as IWA national chairman, whilst Les Etheridge, John Pomfret and Vaughan Welch have been appointed as IWA deputy national chairmen with effect from the November meeting of trustees.

British WaterWays’ annual winter stoppage programme includes more than £28m of improvements and major engineering projects, including the replacement of nearly 200 lock gates. Other major works to be carried out between November and March next year include a £1m refurbishment of the Wilmcote flight on the Stratford Canal, essential engineering works to the summit reservoirs in the Pennines, and continuation of the £2.5m repairs to Vale Royal Lock on the River Weaver.

The BW stoppage programme is available as a download from www.waterscape.com/stoppages.

the irish postal service An Post

has issued a stamp to commemo-

rate the 250th anniversary of the

founding of the Guinness Brewery

in Dublin. Arthur Guinness com-

menced brewing at St James’s

Gate in the city in 1759. Exports to

England started ten years later

and, using the grow-

ing network of canals

in Ireland, Guinness

was soon to be sent all

over the country.

The 82c stamp and

cover were designed

by Zinc Design. They

feature a portrait of

Arthur Guinness on the stamp, and

the first day cover photograph depicts

Guinness barges moored at Victoria

Quay on the River Liffey circa 1910.

For further details visit www.irish-

stamps.ie.

StaMP oF aPProval

Hug

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tter

the horse-drawn hotel boat sian is one of the premier attractions of the montgomery canal.

a first day cover showing guinness

barges on the river Liffey.

AN

Pos

t

News.indd 15 21/10/09 11:20:16 am

IWA FREIGHT

The BriTish WaTerWays project team for the restoration of

Stourport’s canal basins won the Best

Heritage Project title at this year’s

National Lottery Awards, broadcast

live on BBC TV on 5th September.

The restoration project received

an incredible show of public

support throughout all stages

of the competition and won the

prestigious title of Best Heritage

Project and a £2,000 cash prize to

spend on the scheme. BW stated

that the lottery funding has been

vital to this extensive restoration

project, which has truly made

a huge difference to the local

area and the community, giving

Stourport a new lease of life. The

award has enabled the project

to be recognised on a national

platform.


nEWS

nEW BRIdGE on THE MAcclESFIEld…FolloWing nine years of negotiation and fund raising by Bollington

Civic Society and Macclesfield Borough Council (now Cheshire East Council),

a new footbridge, numbered 26A opened on 29th August, connecting

Clarence Mill and the towpath of the Macclesfield Canal. Clarence Mill

contains more than 80 apartments and many small businesses, and the mill

and the houses are at the end of a cul-de-sac.

The new bridge provides quick access across the canal to the towpath

and nearby recreation ground. It also gives towpath users, and boaters

mooring on the nearby embankment, access to the mill and its facilities,

which include the Waterside café and Discovery Centre. Attendance at both

these venues has increased by in excess of 30% since the bridged opened.

… And AcRoSS THE SEvERnPlanning Permission has been granted for a new footbridge and

cycleway crossing of the River Severn at Diglis, Worcester. The bridge is

being built by cycling charity Sustrans and local councils, and will provide

foot and cycle access from the canal basin and the Severn Way on the east

bank of the river, to the open space and riverside paths on the west bank.

Henry Harbord from Sustrans commented: “I am certain that this project will

really open up the riverside environment for everyone in Worcester to enjoy.”

The new bridge is scheduled to open in June next year.

AWARd FoR STouRpoRT

Flood deFence plans in Leeds

have taken a step forward with

senior councillors giving their

backing to the proposals. The

decision by the council’s Executive

Board to support the proposal

which includes approval of a design

and vision guide for the project

should allow the plan to go before

the Environment Agency’s national

review group in October. The

council has announced it is willing

to put £10m into the scheme to try

to ensure the city gets the sorts of

defences it wants.

If the scheme wins both agency

and Government approval, work

could start in late 2010 or 2011.

A report to the board said the

agency’s preferred option for Leeds

was a £145m scheme requiring no

council or other third-party funding.

But the report added that a

steering group of council, British

Waterways, Yorkshire Forward and

Yorkshire Water representatives

felt the agency’s preferred option

would block some waterfront

views and prevent access to parts

of the riverside.

Leeds came close to serious

flooding in 2007 and 2008. The

agency has estimated that a major

flood in the city would affect 4,500

residential and commercial properties

and cause £400m in damage.

The proposed defences cover a

19km stretch of the River Aire from

Newlay Bridge and on through the

city centre to Woodlesford.

A SAfer LeedS?

Tim

Bod

ding

ton

The new bridge at Bollington.

artist’s impression of the new diglis bridge.

looking across stourport’s clock Basin to york house.

News.indd 16 21/10/09 11:20:34 am


Winter NEWSINlaNd WatErWayS advISory CouNCIl appoINtmENtSSeven new memberS have been

appointed to the Inland Waterway

Advisory Council with effect from

January 2010. The Waterways

Minister Huw Irranca-Davies has

appointed Mike Cooksley, John

Dodwell, Amanda Nobbs, Tamsin

Phipps, Colin Powell and Alan

Stopher. The Scottish Minister

Stewart Stevenson has appointed

Ronnie Rusack.

Mike Cooksley is the Chair of

Weaver Valley Management Board

and Visit Chester and Cheshire, a

board member of Natural Economy

North West and a former vice-chair

of Anderton Boat Lift Trust.

John Dodwell is the Chair

of Commercial Boat Operators

Association, a director of Freight by

Water and a member of the British

Waterways Advisory Forum.

Amanda Nobbs is the Chair

of the Environment Agency

Thames Regional Flood Defence

Committee, a member of the

Environment Agency Thames

Regional Environmental Protection

Advisory Committee and a former

chief executive of the Council for

National Parks.

Tamsin Phipps is the Public

Affairs Manager for the British

Canoe Union, an official for the

International Canoe Federation and

a volunteer for a local community

narrow boat (the Falcon Adam).

Colin Powell is the Principal

Country Parks and Grant Officer for

Neath Port Talbot County Borough

Council, a member of Afan

Forest Park Tourism Growth Area

Project Board and has a 25-year

involvement with canals in Wales,

in particular with restoration works

on the Neath and Tennant canals.

Ronnie Rusack is the Chair of

Seagull Trust Cruises, a member of

British Waterways Scotland Group,

a member of the Freshwater &

Saltwater Group, a member of the

Scottish Pleasure Boat Operators

and was the sole owner/operator

for 35 years of the Bridge Inn in

Ratho which employed 70 staff and

included two restaurants, four bars

and three canal boats.

Alan Stopher is a retired Property

Services Assistant Executive Director

for Tameside Metropolitan Borough

Council, a former project director of

Huddersfield Canal Company and

has advised on the Cotswold Canals

restoration project by leading the

Tameside Metropolitan Borough

Council independent review team

commissioned by Stroud District

Council.

All of these new Members will

replace those who are leaving

IWAC at the end of the year.

After serving at least two three-

year terms, the IWAC Members

leaving at the end of 2009 are

David Dare, Christine Johnstone,

Wyndham Mitchell, John Pomfret

and Fiona Willis.

IWAC members are unpaid.

Ministers appoint a minimum

number of twelve members,

including two whom Scottish

Ministers appoint. The Scottish

Minister Stewart Stevenson has also

reappointed existing IWAC Member

Duncan McGhee for a further

three-year period.

For more information visit

www.iwac.org.uk.

SloW boatS to Stratford britiSh waterwayS and

the London Thames Gateway

Development Corporation

(LTGDC) have launched their

search for an operator to run a

new commercial boating base

at Limehouse Basin, which will

include a waterbus service to the

Olympic Park. The project is part

of the leisure and regeneration

plans for Limehouse Basin and

the Lower Lea Valley. The vision

for the Limehouse Quay scheme

includes moorings for restaurant

barges, community boats and

Thames sailing charters as well as

waterside businesses.

As the lead regeneration

agency for the Lower Lea Valley,

LTGDC’s aim is its transformation

into a vibrant, high quality

and sustainable mixed use city

district with unrivalled landscape

containing new high quality

parkland and water features.

Mark Blackwell, Business

Development Manager, British

Waterways said: “The London

2012 Olympic & Paralympic

Games, coupled with the

construction of the Channel

Tunnel Rail Link and nearby

Stratford City, provide a superb

opportunity to breathe new life

into east London’s canals and

rivers, creating a world-class

waterway legacy for London. The

vision for the Lower Lea Valley

is for a ‘Water City’ – a new

destination where leisure and

business opportunities are created

around the waterway. We are

looking for an operator who can

help us turn Limehouse Quay into

a leisure destination, that’s got

colour and character. It’s perfectly

located with its own DLR station

and a direct waterway route to

the Olympic Park.”

Limehouse Basin is at the start

of a waterway route to Old Ford

Locks on the River Lee Navigation,

where visitors will be able to

access the Greenway and the

western spectator entrance to

the Olympic Park. The route will

also take in Three Mills Island,

Bromley-by-Bow, which is home

to the world’s oldest standing

tidal mill.

The waterbus service to

the Olympic Park will be one

of many floating business

opportunities on offer at

Limehouse Quay. Mark Blackwell

commented: “At 4mph the

waterbus service is realistically

going to appeal more to those

visitors wanting a leisurely

journey to the Olympic Park,

seeing east London from a

different perspective. The service

will be able to offer visitors an

unusual way to travel to the

Olympic Park via its surrounding

network of historic canals and

rivers. The waterways are rich

in history and wildlife and will,

we believe, surprise and delight

visitors in the lead up to, during

and after the 2012 Games.”

Information for potential

boating base and waterbus

operators is available from

www.britishwaterways.co.uk/

limehousequay.

BoSTon Lock AWARdthe deSign of the new Black Sluice Lock at Boston, the first part of

the Fens Waterway Link, has been recognised with a shield as part

of the Boston Preservation Trust’s Civic Pride awards. “The waterway

team has worked tirelessly to bring this lock back into use,”

commented Environment Agency area manager Andy Baxendale at

the awards ceremony. “It represents the EA’s dedication to working

with its partners to improve people’s quality of life, and to protect

the environment.”

News.indd 17 21/10/09 11:20:53 am


IWA FREIGHT

PROGRESS AT BELVEDERE

As long Ago as 1991 Cory Environmental submitted an application

to the then Department of Energy to construct a waste to energy

facility on the site of a former borax works at Belvedere on the Thames

opposite Dagenham. Such are the planning procedures that work

finally got under way in 2008.

The arguments in favour of the scheme were reduced pressure

on landfill sites (many now being phased out), electricity generation,

local heating and, of particular interest to IWA’s then Inland

Shipping Group, maximising use of transport by water. Indeed,

Cory Environmental, with its seven tugs and 47 barges, is the largest

lighterage operation on the Thames and moves some 600,000 tonnes

of waste a year to landfill sites in Essex. Some years ago the firm was

the recipient of IWA’s Vivian Bulkeley-Johnson award for its whole-

hearted promotion of waterborne freight and on several occasions

IWA gave support in its tussles with officialdom.

The new facility will take 585,000 tonnes of waste a year from

existing barge transfer stations at Wandsworth, Battersea and

Walbrook (City of London) and 500,000 tonnes of this will arrive by

barge. The 180,000 tonnes of residual ‘bottom ash’ will be moved out

by barge in covered containers for recycling into road building material

and construction aggregates. Existing barges are to be upgraded and

four new tugs are due for delivery during 2010 from the Damen yard

in the Netherlands. These have been specially designed for Thames

work. The plant will feed 66 MW into the electricity grid and there are

plans for the use of residual heat for local heating.

Going on stream in 2011, the facility will be operated by Riverside

Resources Recovery Ltd, a Cory subsidiary, and it is difficult to understand

why a scheme which has such inherent sustainability faced the opposition

it did from planners, politicians and the public. Cory is to be commended

on its persistence in the face of opposition and in providing a facility

which demonstrates a high degree of joined-up thinking and a possible

model for waste disposal on other waterway arteries – the Severn and

Trent being obvious examples but could the Lee Navigation not be

brought into the picture? The Olympic Development Authority is, after all,

putting a lot of emphasis on legacy.

HERE AND THEREA view from the regions is

that things have been looking up

with respect to general enquiries

regarding water transport – even

on smaller waterways. However,

restrictions on navigation are

never good news and make

it difficult for barge owners

to provide the longer-term

guarantees of capability that

customers must expect.

Draught restrictions are in

operation on the Sheffield & South

Yorkshire Navigation and Green Line

Oils are already unable to load to

full capacity to the Rotherham wharf

that they serve. While the Three

Mills Lock is now able to take

Olympic traffic, access to the Lee

Navigation is affected by a 12 inch

reduction on permissible draught

on the Limehouse Cut and the

Lee below Old Ford, as BW effect

maintenance work on waterway

walls on the Bow Back Rivers.

A recently signed Memorandum

of Understanding between Crossrail

and the Port of London Authority

should put five million tonnes of

excavated material on to barges

for movement to a planned 600ha

nature reserve at Wallasea Island

on the Crouch estuary in Essex.

The material will be clean and

uncontaminated and therefore ideal

for land reclamation. Proximity of the

Park Royal Crossrail construction site

to the Grand Union Canal also raises

the possibility that excavated and

construction material could be moved

by barge. Mayor Boris Johnson

has said that use of barges “is a

supremely brilliant plan.” Not quite

our words but just what IWA has

been saying for nearly 40 years – we

can but hope that the action matches

his rhetoric!

Wood, Hall & Heward’s

movement of construction waste

and material at several sites on the

Paddington Arm and Regent’s Canal

demonstrates the value of water

transport in servicing waterside

construction sites in urban areas.

This needs to be far more widely

appreciated in all local authorities

with waterways and by politicians

of all levels who represent them.

Over the summer, the Fusedale H of

Humber Barges has been engaged on

a three-month contract with Lafarge

for movement of aggregate from

Besthorpe to Whitwood – a sign of

‘green shoots’ in the construction

industry perhaps?

The granting of planning

permission to Peel Holdings’ for their

scheme for a multi-modal freight

interchange on the Manchester

Ship Canal between Barton and

Irlam must be good news for water

freight in that region. Port Salford

is to have two berths for sea-going

container ships and the associated

distribution park will offer the

potential for interchange between

sea, road, rail and inland waterway

transport. Clearly, this opens the

opportunity that Manchester once

again becomes a significant port

and the MSC ceases to be the

grossly under-utilised artery that

it has become. Maximum inland

penetration of sea-going ships must

be encouraged for a whole range

of environmental reasons.

EA BARGE AUCTIONThe environmenT Agency offered 28 barges and workboats

for sale by tender in September. Most of the craft were from the

EA’s Thames dredging fleet, and have potential for use on London’s

waterways, including the River Lee and the Grand Union Canal.

The boats date back to the days of the Thames Conservancy when,

following the 1947 floods, a long-term programme was instigated to

increase the capacity of the river.

The elegAnT houses on St

Marks Crescent in Camden back

onto the Regent’s Canal. They have

had a number of distinguished

residents in the past, including

historian A. J. P. Taylor, trade

unionist Clive Jenkins, and

Viscount St Davids, who was a key

figure in the waterway movement

and founder of the ‘Pirate Castle’,

Camden’s community boating

project which provides training

and water-based activities for

young people.

A new resident continues the

tradition of ‘social responsibility’

when carrying out work to upgrade

his property by making sure that

rubble and building waste are

disposed of in a sustainable manner.

The waste material is being taken

away by barge to the Powerday

recycling facility at Willesden.

REGENT’S CANAL TRAFFIC

Tom

Cha

plin

Tom

Cha

plin

News.indd 18 21/10/09 11:21:08 am


PlEASE SEnd AnY nEWS And vIEWS on InlAnd WATERWAYS fREIghT To DaviD Hilling c/o iWa HeaD office

InlAnd WATERWAYS fREIghT

While the Belvedere project will have been 20

years from drawing board to

start-up of operation, Three

Mills Lock and 350-tonnes barge

access to the Olympic site took

a mere three years but it could

still be argued that what might,

indeed should, have been a

‘gold’ for waterborne freight,

sees it still struggling from the

starting blocks.

The Olympic Delivery

Authority can certainly claim that

it has more than met its target

of 50 per cent for traffic to and

from the site by ‘sustainable’

transport modes but this has

been achieved by rail operations

– and even they feel that they

could have done much more.

As for water transport, after

the official lock opening in June

Bennett’s Barges started moving

out containerised waste and

in September the Green Barge

Company started taking out

‘filter cake’ (a by-product of

decontamination of soil on site)

which could amount to 3,000

tonnes a week. These are steps

in the right direction but if the

£19 million investment in the

waterway improvements are to

be justified there must be some

really big strides forward.

BW’s sustainable transport

manager has said that there is

strong interest in waterborne

freight from site contractors and

it is vital that everything possible

is done, by all the authorities

concerned, to turn interest

into action. There needs to be

a far greater sense of urgency

to tap traffic potential while

the Olympic Park is still under

construction and a proactive

approach to ensure that as

regeneration continues post-

Olympics, water transport has a

significant role.

Much has been made of

the role of ‘legacy’ as a factor

influencing London’s successful

bid but the literature available at

ODA’s recent ‘open house’ was

almost entirely in terms of water

as a landscape feature spanned

by new bridges and essentially

recreational in character. So

what about transport? The Lee

Navigation provides a transport

artery that could be used for

the movement of waste and

recyclables and a unifying

regional axis for a rationalised

waste disposal network.

SLOW OUT OF THE OLYMPIC BLOCKS

piling underway on a fender pole just to the prescott channel side of the bridge at the junction with the river lee proper.

view looking south with

prescott channel going off to

the left. Notice the leisure

boat moorings created in the centre of the

river lee on the short section

before a sluice prevents further

navigation in this direction.

prescott lock awaits the start of regular waterborne traffic to the olympic site.

view looking north towards the A11 crossing with cap welding of one of the fender poles in progress.

Tom

Cha

plin

PHO

TOS:

Mik

e H

addo

n

News.indd 19 21/10/09 11:21:42 am

The IrIsh state electricity company

has announced plans to build a gas-

turbine power station beside the

Trent & Mersey Canal in Burton-

on-Trent. The power station would

be built between the suburbs of

Branston and Shobnall, in a triangle

of wood and scrubland enclosed

by the canal (offside) and the

A38 road. There would be two

chimney stacks which, at over 200ft

high, would be three quarters of

the height of the nearby derelict

Willington power station.

The Irish company, Electricity

Supply Board (ESB) International,

claims that the plant will be odour-

free, and that “noise levels will

be kept within permitted limits.”

They expect to start construction in

2012, and open the plant in 2016.

It will have a 25-year life.

The works will include a gas

pipeline to Alrewas, following

an as yet undisclosed route. An

underground cable will connect

to the National Grid an another

disused power station in Drakelow,

and the works will include a

canal crossing. Both the defunct

Drakelow and Willington sites are

propsed for revival as similar gas-

turbine power stations.

Local meetings are to be held to

gauge local reaction to the scheme,

following which an application will

be submitted to the Department of

Energy & Climate Change.


nEWS

Punt Police on the camCambrIdge CounCIl is spending £10,000 on three ‘punt

police’ in high-visibility jackets marked ‘Enforcement Officers’

to patrol the River Cam. The Council has introduced this

initiative as a result of some high profile incidents between

rival punt operators. Their task is to clamp down on touts

who use ruthless tactics as they try to attract tourist

passengers (a single 12-seat craft, of which there are 260 on

the river, can earn operators up to £150 an hour). In the past

three years there have been 31 reported incidents between

rival touts, including threats of violence involving knives. One

visitor suffered a broken hip after being knocked over in a

tussle and boats have been sunk and bolt-cutters used to set

craft adrift. Whilst they do not have the power of arrest, the

officers are able to enforce bylaws by reporting incidents to

the police and the Council.

A local hire boat operator has stated that it has been the

best year on the river for a long time, due to the officers’

presence. IWA advocates the use of Police Community

Support Officer patrols on towing paths around the inland

waterways as a cost effective means of opening up access to

more people and making the local community and boaters

feel more secure in using them.

trent Valley imProVementsa projeCT to rebuild community

links and celebrate the natural

and cultural heritage of the

River Trent has been given the

green light after the Trent Vale

Landscape Partnership received

approval for it’s £2.8m scheme

from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

As the application has passed

the second phase of the funding

process a £1.6m grant will now

be made from HLF with the rest

of the funding coming from

partners and in-kind support

from volunteers and community

groups.

Work will commence on the

scheme in January 2010 and

will benefit the parishes along

the River Trent from Newark

to Gainsborough. Projects

will include archaeological

investigations, creation of a Trent

Vale grazing herd, renovation

of a key heritage building,

conservation of hundreds

of hectares of vital wildlife

habitat, a small grants scheme,

environmental and heritage

education work, improved

moorings, heritage festivals, visitor

guides and much more.

The scheme, which will run for

three years, will directly create five

jobs, help secure many more and

create training opportunities for

hundreds of people.

Sean McGinley, British

Waterways’ Acting General

Manager said; “British Waterways

is delighted that the hard work

of the partnership has been

recognised by the confirmation of

this grant from HLF. This scheme

provides a unique opportunity to

create an identity and long lasting

legacy for the communities on this

part of the River Trent and we’re

looking forward to what promises

to be a very exciting future.”

MoRE SuccESS foR AndERTonFor The sIxTh consecutive season, the Anderton Boat Lift in Cheshire

has received a Visitor Attraction Quality Assurance Scheme Award from

Visit Britain. “With its unique blend of history and heritage, the boat lift

and visitor centre has so much to offer visitors looking for a day out,” said

boat lift manager Tim Turner. “Winning the award consecutively maintains

our profile, and has certainly attracted visitors from further afield.” For

details of opening times telephone the visitor centre on 01606 786777, or

visit www.andertonboatlift.co.uk.

canalside Power station for Burton

Hug

h Po

tter

Cruising past newark Castle on the river Trent.

The proposed new power station at burton with the canal shown in blue.

News.indd 20 21/10/09 11:22:02 am


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Ref 1016 Escape 2006 Sea Otter Centre Cockpit Cruiser32 ft aluminium shell with high quality fi tout. Very easy to handle with virtually no maintenance. Forward cabin with galley and comfortable well-appointed saloon. Rear cabin with shower room & toilet and fi xed double bed. This is a Special Equipment version so includes many extras including a bow thruster. A comfortable easy boat. No more blacking! £54,950

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Ref 1020 58ft Semi-trad Christal Haze 2005 shell, launched in 2007.Reeves hull with build by Weltonfi eld Narrowboats. Whis-pergen power station.Conventional layout in maple with solid maple trims and fl oor. Victron inverter/charger. Beta 43 + PRM150. Hydraulic bow-thruster. A superb boat in as-new condition that would cost well over £100,000 to buy new. A bargain at £79,950

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Ref 1018: 52ft Semi-Trad Bowstones. Recently extended and refi tted. Would make an ideal liveaboard boat. £27,950. SOLD.Ref 1007 : Giocoso 58ft cruiser stern. Isuzu engine, standard layout. Fixed double, separate bathroom. 1800W inverter SF stove, diesel boiler, Maple fi nish. £42,950 SOLDRef 1004: Shroppie Lass 51ft trad by Banbury Boats. A cosy boat with a warm feel. Vetus engine, much work done following full survey. £32,000Ref 1009: Half Pint. A go-anywhere ‘bijou’ boat, just 23 feet long. Ideal day-boat with occasional overnight accommodation. £8,950 only. Under Offer.Ref 1010: Following the prompt sale of their boat here, Scenic Boatbuilders are starting another 58ft boat shortly. Sailaways to any level of completion also available.Ref 1023: NEW 55ft Tug-style Trad. See website or call for more details.

LOCATED IN THE HEART OF CHESHIRE ON THE MIDDLEWICH BRANCH OF THE SHROPSHIRE UNION CANALAll viewings accompanied by brokerage staff. Open 7 days a week. Credit facilities available

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Other Boats

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BOATS WANTEDSpace availableNOW

UNDER OFFER

p021.indd 1p021.indd 1 21/10/09 16:48:2521/10/09 16:48:25

TheInterview

THE INTERVIEW

Keith Goss talKs to famous actor and seasoned inland waterways campaiGner timothy west


Keith Goss: How did you first become involved with inland waterways?Timothy West: It was way back in the mid 1950s, when I was a student. I just happened to be visiting friends in Bath when I noticed that there was to be a public meeting about restoration of the Kennet & Avon Canal. I decided to go along, was enthused by the project and became involved, eventually becoming, along with my wife Prunella, a patron of the Kennet & Avon Canal Trust.

KG: And you campaigned long and hard for the K&A’s full restoration? TW: Yes, we supported the campaign for many years, and it was a great moment when the canal was reopened throughout in 1990.

KG: When did you first go boating?TW: That was not until the mid 1970s when Lynn Farleigh, an actress friend of ours, lent us her 45ft narrowboat for a week. We spent a blissful holiday on the Oxford Canal and loved every minute of it. Within a couple of years we had acquired our own narrowboat, a 60ft craft built by Barry Morse at Banbury, which we still own to this day.

Unveiling a plaque at Stratford to commemorate

David Hutchings’ contribution to waterway restoration.

The full reopening of the Kennet & Avon Canal in 1990

was a great occasion for all who had been involved in

its restoration.

Stan

ley

Holla

nd

BW

Star Interview.indd 22 21/10/09 11:22:39 am


KG: So which waterways have you cruised?TW: Most of the canals of the Midlands, the Grand Union Canal to London, the Llangollen, up to Ripon in the north, down the Northampton Arm and along the Nene. And I have on occasions lived aboard for a period – at Bath, Bristol and Leeds – when it has been convenient for work commitments.

KG: But the Kennet & Avon Canal remains your favourite waterway does it?TW: Yes, it does. It has such special memories for us. After the canal was reopened throughout in 1990 our boat was the first to cruise the entire length between Bath and Reading and that was a great thrill. Over the years we have returned many times, cruising out of our moorings at Newbury. It’s all very lovely but we especially enjoy the section west of Hungerford, where the canal runs through such endearing places as Crofton, Great Bedwyn and Wootton Rivers. I also made a four-part series about the K&A for Harlech TV which was fun to do. I’ll always enjoy the K&A but it has to be said that maintenance standards have fallen below those on the rest of the system, with leaking lock gates, broken paddles etc. The local British Waterways people do their best but the problem is shortage of money.

KG: You are a member of Inland Waterways Association. When did you join?TW: It was in the early 1980s. I supported the aims of the Association, of course, and as an enthusiast it just seemed the natural thing to do. And Sonia Rolt is a great friend of ours, so how could we not join?

KG: Are you an active member?TW: Not terribly active I admit, although I do give talks at branch meetings from time to time. I gave one at Coventry recently, talking partly about the Higher Avon project.

KG: I gather you’re a patron of the Avon Navigation Trust?TW: Yes, the River Avon is a beautiful river and I would dearly love to see it made navigable from Stratford up to Warwick to link with the Grand Union Canal. But it’s desperately hard to make progress on the scheme, due almost entirely to widespread opposition from riparian landowners, who are dead set against people boating past on the river. It’s really rather sad.

KG: And you’re involved with The Waterways Trust too I believe?TW: Yes I’m a trustee of TWT as well – so I guess you could say I’m something of a serial patron/trustee! I am trying to raise awareness of the difficult times being faced by our waterway museums, especially the one at Gloucester. I am campaigning for proper state funding for these museums, and for free public entry, about which I feel very strongly.

KG: Looking forward, are you confident about the future of the waterways? Are you concerned about the funding crisis?TW: Yes of course, we all have to be anxious about the shortage of money available to maintain the system. But I have heard whispers that there could possibly be some more funding for ‘heritage’ after the general election so that could benefit the waterways. So I’m trying hard to remain cautiously optimistic that things might be about to improve.

KG: How would you feel about a new body being established to look after the waterways instead of BW, a National Trust style organisation making greater use of voluntary labour – the so called ‘Third Sector’?TW: I would welcome anything that simplified and unified the management and maintenance of the inland waterway system, and if it enabled volunteers to play a greater part, then so much the better.

KG: Among all your major film, stage and TV roles, you are of course especially well known to waterway enthusiasts as the presenter/narrator of the TV series Waterworld. How did that series come about?TW: I was approached by the producer Keith Wootton and asked if I wanted to do the series, and of course I jumped at the chance. It was so much fun to make the programmes and I got the chance to meet so many interesting people and visit lots of canalside locations I’d never been to before. We did nine series but, sadly, it doesn’t look as if there will be any more.

KG: Do you get recognised a lot when you’re out on the waterways? Is that something of a pain?TW: Yes, I do get lots of folk come up and talk to me but, in the main, it’s enjoyable to meet people in that way. Sharing locks and having a natter is one of the pleasures of being out on the waterways. But just occasionally people can be mildly irritating.

Someone will ask me what programmes I’ve been in and when I tell them they say things like: “Oh, I didn’t like that at all”, or “I’ve never seen that, it’s shown on Fridays and that’s my pub night”!

KG: What are you working on at the moment? Have you any exciting projects coming up?TW: There are always lots of things in the pipeline, it’s a matter of waiting to see which of them come to fruition. As a matter of fact I’ve just finished making an episode of Lewis in Oxford with Kevin Whateley. Kevin is a good friend and we always recall the time I nearly got him drowned on the Bristol Avon! I took him and the rest of the cast out for a trip on our narrowboat and it was after a period of heavy rain. In the fast running current we got swept onto the weir at Swineford Lock and very nearly over it. It took the combined efforts of a passing canoeist and a very large lorry to get us off the weir – otherwise I think we would still be there to this day!

KG: Given all your inland waterway interests, do you have time to get involved in other projects and hobbies?TW: Prunella and I are supporters of the SOS Childrens Villages charity which helps orphaned children around the world, particularly in Africa and Asia. Through the scheme we have ‘adopted’ a young girl in Bangalore, which is both rewarding and deeply moving. And I am a very keen member of the Paddle Steamer Preservation Society, and have enjoyed numerous memorable trips aboard the Waverley. We are currently engaged in trying to get the Maid of the Loch fully restored and operating again on Loch Lomond – how marvellous that will be when we achieve it.

KG: So what unfulfilled ambitions do you have?TW: That’s a difficult question to answer. My acting career has already been varied and richly rewarding. In terms of travel, I’ve been lucky enough to have visited many wonderful countries around the world, but I would still love to see China one day. And I haven’t explored all our inland waterway network yet – there’s still the Mon & Brec, Gloucester & Sharpness and Chelmer & Blackwater, among others, for me to get to. And some of the delightful French waterways, like the Canal du Nivernais, would be splendid for a holiday. Not to mention the Shannon, Barrow and various canals in Ireland – there really is so much still to do. It’s all very exciting.

I WOULD WELCOME ANYTHING THAT SIMPLIFIED AND UNIFIED THE MANAGEMENT AND MAINTENANCE OF THE INLAND WATERWAY SYSTEM.

Star Interview.indd 23 21/10/09 11:22:51 am


Narrowboat holidays on the Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal. Gentle cruising through the

spectacular Brecon Beacons National Park. Modern fleet of 2/6 berth narrowboats,

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short breaks available.

country craft

Tel: 01874 730850Web: www.countrycraftnarrowboats.co.uk

Saul Junction Marina

Unique and attractive locationAt the junction of the

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Wide variety of cruising availableHigh quality facilities block.

Minutes from M5 (J.13)Competitive rates held for 2009

To reserve a mooring or make enquiries call the marina

Tel – 01452 740043 Email – [email protected]

www.saulmarina.co.uk

Widebeam, Trad, Tug or Cruiser style

p024.indd 1p024.indd 1 21/10/09 16:00:5021/10/09 16:00:50


Keeping things simple.We don’t just supply Adverc Battery Management systems and alternator controllers. Our twenty-six years experience has gone into making life on-board easier. So let us show you how to get the best from a twin alternator set-up, for example.

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p025.indd 1p025.indd 1 21/10/09 16:53:4821/10/09 16:53:48

The Association of Inland Navigation Authorities (AINA) is staging its annual conference in London on 2nd November, at which

the key topic will be volunteering and its role in restoring, maintaining and improving the inland waterway network. The keynote speech will be given by Waterways Minister Huw Irranca-Davies, who will set his address within the context of volunteering within the wider community – 11.6 million people volunteer at least once a month in the UK, with an estimated benefit to the nation’s economy of £27.5 billion.

The conference will examine the scope for waterways volunteering to be substantially extended beyond restoration projects and will look at how it can become more accessible to local communities. It is hoped that examination of the issues will

promote better understanding of existing and potential volunteering across the network and sets out with three principal objectives: to raise awareness of the value of volunteering and the associated opportunities to the nation’s inland waterways; to identify effective approaches with a view to their potential application in the management and use of the inland waterways; to consider how navigation authorities, working in partnership with the voluntary sector, can develop a cohesive strategic approach to volunteering as a key element of their role as custodians of the inland waterways.

There will be presentations from ten bodies, including Waterway Recovery Group, Environment Agency, Community Boats Association, The Waterways Trust, Volunteering England and the Cabinet Office for the Third Sector.

60 YEARS OF VOLUNTEERINGIt was in 1949 that Douglas Barwell purchased the unnavigable Lower Avon for just £1,500 and began the modern era of voluntary work on inland waterways. His Lower Avon Navigation Trust successfully restored the river up to Evesham and reopened it in 1965. It set the pattern for voluntary schemes throughout the country and was followed by the restoration of the long derelict southern Stratford Canal under the inspirational leadership of David Hutchings. Volunteer labour – some coming from local prisons – did the hard graft on the subsequent Upper Avon project, this section of the river being reopened to navigation in 1974. Other major schemes saw volunteers descending in large numbers to work on the Ashton and Peak Forest canals, resulting in the popular Cheshire Ring cruising circuit being back in business by 1974. A notable event occurred

VOLUNTEERING

Your waterwaYs NEEd YOU!


Could far wider use of volunteers be the solution to the funding problems facing the inland waterway network? We investigate some of the issues involved

Above: WRG volunteers at work on Droitwich Barge Lock.

opposite top: The Lower Avon

was the first major voluntary

restoration project.

opposite Centre: The ‘Big Dig’ at

Welshpool in 1969.

opposite bottom: Restoration of the Caen Hill Locks on

the Kennet & Avon Canal brought

about reopening of the entire

waterway in 1990.

FAr right: WRG volunteers tackle

scrub clearance on the Grand

Western Canal.

Volunteering.indd 26 21/10/09 11:23:20 am

Your waterwaYs need you!


on the Montgomery Canal in October 1969, when some 300 volunteers arrived at Welshpool to clear, reopen and rewater the waterway through the town – effectively saving it from disappearing underneath a proposed bypass.

Over the years the volunteer-led restoration successes have kept on coming. Some 35 years of campaigning and physical work by members of IWA and the Kennet & Avon Canal Trust saw the reopening of the entire navigation between Reading and Bristol in 1990, whilst the Huddersfield Narrow and Rochdale canals were reopened in 2001 and 2002 respectively.

And the work goes on. Throughout the year members of IWA branches and canal societies are out on the waterways, rebuilding locks and bridges, clearing vegetation, trimming hedges and tidying up towpaths. Projects are underway throughout the country, from the Wey & Arun in the south to the Lancaster Canal in the north. Some schemes, like the Droitwich, are close to completion, others are decades away from being finished.

Today the vast majority of canal volunteering takes place away from the main network, on waterways undergoing restoration. Not all of it, however: IWA and Birmingham Canal Navigation Society members regularly undertake clean up ‘blitzes’ on the far flung outposts of the BCN; IWA’s West Riding Branch provides volunteers to man Castle Mills Lock at the entrance to the River Foss in York (see page 38); the Shropshire Union Canal Society

has installed visitor moorings at various points along the ‘Shroppie’; and Macclesfield Canal Society members help boaters through Bosley Locks on busy summer weekends.

Waterway Recovery Group has been instrumental in co-ordinating and supplying volunteer labour for restoration and maintenance work throughout the waterway network for almost 40 years. WRG was established in 1970 by a group of enthusiasts, led by the late Graham Palmer, who had been active in restoration work since the mid 1960s, many of them in the IWA London & Home Counties Working Party Group. A feature of WRG’s early years were the ‘Big Digs’, when large numbers of volunteers were supplied to carry out large scale restoration or remedial work. These took place at locations throughout the country, including Dudley, Manchester and Woking. In recent years WRG has acted more as a co-ordinating force, supporting local IWA branches and canal societies on worthwhile projects, although it also runs a programme of some 20 Canal Camps annually, on waterways throughout the system. It is almost impossible to overstate WRG’s contribution to the waterway network over the years – without the efforts of its skilled organisers and dedicated volunteers many of the canals we blithely cruise on, walk beside and fish in today would simply not exist in their present form. (A full length article on Waterway Recovery Group was published in the Autumn 2008 issue of Waterways. To find out more visit www.wrg.org.uk.)

Wat

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VOLUNTEERING


Learning from othersWhen British Waterways launched its Twenty Twenty Vision document (see Autumn 2009 Waterways) it referred to the importance of “making the most of the support from individuals and communities, increasing volunteering and potentially fundraising.” It is this same sentiment that will form the focus of discussion at the forthcoming AINA conference in London.

But are not BW, along with others such as the Environment Agency, a little late in arriving at the party? Did not other organisations recognise the importance of maximising volunteer labour years – or even decades – ago? Every time UK Athletics (formerly the Amateur Athletics Association) organises a major championship or Grand Prix meeting, do they have to employ and pay the track judges, timekeepers, starters and other officials? No, they are all volunteers. And when Usain Bolt, Tyson Gay and other superstars of track and field arrive for the London Olympics in 2012, will they be under the supervision of a host of well paid officials? No, the 2012 Olympic bid costings were based on the utilisation

of voluntary labour at the athletics stadium and other sporting venues – otherwise the entire enterprise would have been untenable.

But for an even better example, perhaps we should take a look at the National Trust. Like BW, the Trust is charged with the responsibility of taking care of a hugely important part of Britain’s heritage, stretching throughout the nation and receiving millions of visitors annually. The Trust is not backward in putting these visitors to work. In 2008, some 52,000 volunteers between them contributed over 3 million hours of (unpaid) work to the Trust, at an estimated value of £22.3m – just think how far that sum of money would go in maintaining and improving the waterway system. Nor is it all light forestry and tidying up work that these volunteers carry out. The Trust maintains an excellent website whereby you put in your postcode and learn what opportunities exist in the vicinity. Try it – you may discover vacancies for event organisers, drivers, receptionists, site stewards, education officers etc. Even

some of the volunteer co-ordinators are themselves volunteers!

There are other examples too. Cycle charity Sustrans operates with a very small staff, but benefits from a huge team of volunteer rangers who ‘adopt’ a section of route, keep it in good order and look out for serious problems – a model that would be admirably suited to the inland waterways. Sustrans also has volunteer engineers to help with bridge and tunnel works.

A host of other jobs for which BW engages expensive external contractors, from the provision and maintenance of IT systems down to simple leaflet production, could be done much more cheaply by skilled and committed volunteers. Pertinently, engaging volunteers could be a way of soliciting contributions from the countless millions who enjoy the waterways but pay nothing towards their upkeep: the walkers, cyclists and casual visitors. It is important to emphasis, however, that additional voluntary labour would serve to complement the work carried out by IWA branches and canal societies rather than replace it.

TOP LEFT: A team of volunteers assembled by IWA and Grand Union hire company Wyvern Shipping gathered late last year…

TOP RIGHT: … and pulled a huge

volume of rubbish from the canal.

ABOVE: Cyclists enjoying the Kennet & Avon Canal at Bradford-on-Avon – it is hoped that more such users can be persuaded to join the voluntary movement.


A ROLE MODEL Of course you don’t have to look too far to see just how effective the prudent use of voluntary labour can be – just as far as Essex in fact, where the fortunes of the Chelmer & Blackwater Navigation have been turned around in just a few years. In an extremely poor state of repair when IWA – through its subsidiary company Essex Waterways Ltd – took over in 2005, the navigation today is almost unrecognisable from that time. Lockgates have been replaced, sluices overhauled, new footbridges built, more and better moorings provided with a range of associated facilities, banks repaired, dredging carried out, and much more besides. And although there are two full time employees - a manager and a lock-keeper at Heybridge Basin – as well as an administration assistant and a number of part-time residential caretakers, the vast bulk of the improvements to the waterway have been carried out by volunteers.

Working parties from Waterway Recovery Group have attended regularly, but it is arguably the teams of weekday volunteers who have played an even greater role in upgrading the standard of the navigation. These are drawn from the local IWA branch and the Chelmer Canal Trust, but they also include local boaters, walkers and cyclists. And, making a valid comparison with the National Trust model, these volunteers do not just carry out the simpler tasks such as towpath maintenance and hedge trimming, but rather they are trained to operate all manner of machinery, including boathandling to RYA Level 1 standard. This enables them to use, among other equipment, the company’s workboats. There are no serious Health & Safety issues, because adequate supervision is always provided.

Regular consultation meetings are held at navigation headquarters at Paper Mill Lock, and are attended by boaters, walkers and anglers, together with local parish councillors and villagers from Little Baddow and Woodham Walter; everyone has the chance to identify ongoing problems and suggest solutions. Users of the navigation are stakeholders in the true sense of the word: they identify difficulties which need to be addressed, then they get out there and do the necessary work to help put things right.

So could the Chelmer & Blackwater blueprint be made to work nationwide? It would be naïve to make a direct comparison between this 14-mile, fundamentally river navigation and the extensive British Waterways network with its vast array of embankments, cutting, aqueducts and tunnels, all with their associated engineering challenges. Nevertheless, there is a great deal of quiet satisfaction down in Essex about the progress being made on this lovely navigation and clearly there are some important lessons which could be learned by BW and others.


The way forwardSo is it all too good to be true? It is conceivable that the successful contribution of voluntary labour within the National Trust operation could be replicated on the inland waterway network, but there would have to be a major change of attitude on the part of BW. Too often, perhaps, BW is perceived as adopting a ‘cautious bordering on negative’ attitude to volunteers, frequently citing Health & Safety concerns to justify its reluctance to embrace the concept of wider use of volunteers. However, recent statements suggest that a fundamental shift in BW’s mindset could perhaps be on the horizon.

But ultimately it may take a change in BW’s status to kick off a new era of voluntary work on the system. People are understandably less likely to devote their free time to a Government agency than to, for example, a charitable trust or community interest company. So if and when BW moves to the third sector, the case for which it outlines in its Twenty Twenty Vision document, the chance to develop a voluntary labour force on a par with that of the National Trust would be there for the taking. And the reward of such a course of action could be immense: a more affordable, better-managed inland waterway system.

PROjEct PugwAshBritish Waterways is celebrating the importance of volunteers to Yorkshire’s canals and rivers by recognising those involved with volunteer project, Project Pugwash, which has dramatically benefited the region’s waterways over the past 12 months.

Once a year BW celebrates the contribution of volunteers by presenting an “acknowledgement” award to ten projects that have illustrated the successful partnership between volunteer groups and the waterways. In Yorkshire, Project Pugwash was chosen for its enthusiastic and supportive approach to volunteering on the waterways, helping to engage many new people through boating experiences and Towpath Tidy events. Laurence Morgan, BW general manager for Yorkshire, presented the volunteer team with their award at an informal ceremony at Yorkshire’s regional head office along the River Aire in September.

In 2008 BW was involved with volunteer-led projects that contributed 15,994 volunteer days to the promotion and upkeep of the waterways worth in excess of £1 million.

The lovely Chelmer & Blackwater at Little Baddow.

WRGies in action at Heybridge Basin.


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p031.indd 1p031.indd 1 21/10/09 15:40:3721/10/09 15:40:37


RESTORATION

Fens Link DevelopmentsThe official head of navigation on the reopened South Forty Foot Drain

is on the A52 at Donnington Bridge, although some boats have already

travelled further. However, there are currently no moorings at Donnington

Bridge, the nearest being at Swineshead Bridge, four miles downstream.

Lincolnshire County Council has now confirmed that it is preparing plans

for moorings at Donnington Bridge, but the A52 is a very busy road. Before

moorings are sited there, a new cycle track and walkway will be built beside

the A52 from Donnington Bridge to Donnington, two miles away, in order to

create a safe route into the village.

Meanwhile, the council is continuing work on the detailed design to

take the navigation above Donnington Bridge, which will include channel

widening. Black Hole Drove pumping station will have to be bypassed, and a

number of bridges and service crossings will have to be reconstructed on the

route to Guthram Gowt. A new navigation channel will be built, with a new

bridge under the A151, as well as a new lock to take the navigation into the

River Glen.

Wey & Arun neWs funds for ongoing restoration of the Wey & Arun Canal were

boosted by in excess of £1,000 following a sponsored cycle ride on

Sunday 6th September. The ride followed in the footsteps of the

Wey & Arun Canal Trust’s annual ‘Poddle’ sponsored walk. This,

the first ‘Pedal’ attracted 22 cyclists, who followed a figure-of-eight

route amounting to some 30 miles. The circuit included stretches

of the canal between Bramley, where the ride started and finished,

and Loxwood. Not quite up to the Tour de France standard, but

the leading riders nevertheless completed the ride in less than four

hours – an excellent achievement.

Meanwhile, progress continues to be made on the Wey & Arun

project. An elegant brick bridge now spans the tail of Loxwood

New Lock, which had to be constructed by the Trust to enable the

pound to be lowered to allow passage under the main road bridge

at Loxwood. The back pumping system for the lock has just been

installed beside the top offside gate. Attractive traditional local

wooden fencing beside the canal contrasts with the ugly high fence

on the road bridge, which the Trust had to install at the insistence

of the local council to ‘protect’ horse riders.

John

Sul

ley

The presence of voles has

caused the long-running

Chichester Canal restoration

project to come to a halt. The

long-term aim of the restoration

of the canal, widely supported in

Chichester, is to restore the canal’s

link with the sea, allowing boats

to sail in via a lock straight up to

the canal basin, not far from the

city centre.

Major expenditure including

work on road crossings and

improvements to the sea lock,

possibly running into millions,

will be needed before the final

objective can be achieved.

Meanwhile, volunteers have been

working on improvements to the

towpath and eroded banks.

Voles are a legally-protected

species and landowners are

obliged to look after their

habitat. West Sussex County

Council is the owner of the three-

mile waterway and has required

work to halt while the vole

habitats are secured. Unlike other

parts of the country where there

has been a dramatic decline, at

this site the population is said to

be thriving.

VoLes HaLt CHiCHester restoration

Black Hole Drove pumping station on the South Forty Foot Drain.Bridge spanning the tail of Loxwood New Lock.

Back pumping system for the lock has been installed beside the top offside gate.

Traditional local wooden fencing beside the canal.

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RestorationUpdate.indd 32 21/10/09 11:25:23 am


RESTORATION UPDATE

Improved prospects for the thames & medwayThe Thames & medway Canal was a short cut (seven miles, as

opposed to 47) between the two rivers. It was never a success, as it saved

little time and barge skippers preferred to avoid its tolls. In 1844, the failing

canal company formed a railway subsidiary, and built a single-track line on

the towpath through Strood Tunnel. Barges and trains shared the tunnel

for a while, but by 1849 the South Eastern Railway had taken over the

company, and installed a second track. The canal between Gravesend and

the tunnel mouth at Higham was abandoned in the 1930s. Development at

Gravesend resulted in the canal’s stop lock, and a length of canal beyond,

being built over, although Gravesend Basin remained in use.

In 2003, outline planning permission was given for Albion Quay, a

development of 1,000 dwellings, and 8,500 square metres of other

premises, on what is now a derelict industrial site straddling the canal at the

west end of Gravesend Basin. This was followed in 2006 by an application

for full planning permission, but that has still not been granted. Gravesham

Council would like to see the area regenerated, and so discussions with the

developer have recommenced. The council supports the reopening of the

canal between Gravesend and Higham, and the developer has agreed to

protect its route. However, several issues have arisen.

The developer had not realised how wide the canal was, and so had

reserved too narrow a route for it through the site, but may now be willing

to widen it. The proposed road access to the development crosses the stop

lock on the level, as there is insufficient space to provide a fixed bridge with

adequate headroom. A moveable bridge would be required for navigation,

but this could be costly as it will have to carry a two-lane road, and it would

also be part of a bus route. Two low pedestrian bridges are also proposed,

but building them higher should not prove expensive. A major concern

is that the developer wants to leave the stop lock infilled, and the canal

bed beyond dry and only partly excavated. The Thames & Medway Canal

Association is concerned that restoring the waterway later would be much

more expensive than doing it as part of the development, and that a future

restoration might be opposed by the new residents along the route.

The outer gates of the basin’s river lock have been removed, and so it

is now usable for only short periods when the tide in the Thames makes a

level with the basin. The council would like the developer to reinstate the

gates to encourage greater use of the basin, which could be a haven for

inland craft travelling between London and the Medway, or those making

a Channel crossing. Reopening the canal to Higham could usefully provide

many new moorings.

IWA has provided engineering advice on how best to treat the canal

through the Albion Quay site. If an economic solution can be agreed for

undertaking the restoration as part of the development, perhaps involving

some grant assistance, then the Thames & Medway Canal may soon see

more use than it ever has before. adrian stott

david mCCarThy mBe of

the Waterway Recovery Group

presented a cheque for £500

to David Fox of the Chesterfield

Canal Trust at the IWA National

Festival. The cheque was a

contribution to the Trust’s Staveley

Town Lock Fund.

Waterway Recovery Group has

worked on the Chesterfield Canal

many times, recently building a

new washwall at Renishaw. Mike

Chase who was in charge of this

recent work camp explained the

reason for this generosity saying:

“We always receive a wonderful

reception from our colleagues at

the Chesterfield Canal; we read

about the appeal and decided

that this was a good way to show

our appreciation”.

Funding is already in place for

the new Staveley Town Basin,

upon which work will start after

the imminent completion of a

road scheme that has involved

the restoration of half a mile

of canal. However, in order to

lower the canal so that it can

get under the railway bridge

further east, a new lock must be

built just beyond the new basin.

This will be Staveley Town Lock,

number 5a.

WRG SuppORT fOR ChEsTERfiElD CANAl RESTORATION

Cotswold CanalsThe heriTage loTTery Fund (HLF), Stroud District Council

and the Stroud Valleys Canals Company have now signed the

official Funding Agreement. This confirms that the full HLF grant of

£11.9m is available to the project. As lead partner, the council can

now move forward with the project. Work is expected to begin in

October with construction of a new bridge over the canal at Upper

Mills, Stonehouse and dredging between Stonehouse Ocean and

Haywards Bridge. This should be welcome news to residents at

Bridgend, whose homes have been affected by flooding.

The agreement had to be renegotiated following the sudden

withdrawal of British Waterways from the project last year due

to budget cuts and funding issues caused by the need to repair a

major breach in the Monmouthshire & Brecon Canal.

Artist’s impression of the proposed Albion Quay scheme.

WRG recently built new ‘narrows’ for a footbridge near Renishaw.

Feab

rex

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RESTORATION

New CyCleway plaNNed for the derby CaNalThe Derby & SanDiacre canal TruST wants to build a new cycleway

at a cost of between £700,000 and £1m, along the route of the former

waterway. The plan is for it to run for seven-and-a-half miles from the

Erewash Canal junction at Sandiacre to Pride Park, via Breaston, Draycott

and Borrowash.

The Trust wants the track to be the first step towards rebuilding the Derby

& Sandiacre Canal and making it navigable again. There is already a path

along the one-and-a-half miles between Draycott and Breaston. If planning

permission is granted for the £40m-£60m canal project, it would become

the waterway’s towpath.

However, the Trust is struggling for initial cash to help it unlock a £42,500

grant from Derby City Partnership to cost and design the path. Chairman

Rob Hartley said the trust needed to show its intent by raising, or “match-

funding”, £17,000 towards the project itself. Two property developers

planning to build on intact parts of the canal, at Draycott and Spondon, had

been expected to provide some cash but the current downturn in the real

estate markets meant this promise of support has been withdrawn.

A planning application for the track is to be submitted to South

Derbyshire District Council, Erewash Borough Council and Derby City

Council provided the three authorities grant outline planning permission

for the trust to develop the canal corridor. It is expected that an application

would be registered with the councils in November. The Trust hope that

planning permission could be granted by the end of the year and the path

built by next June.

The Trust would apply for money to build the path from, among other

groups, the three councils and East Midlands Development Agency. The

plans have been backed in principle by urban regeneration company Derby

Cityscape. Any individual or business wishing to help should e-mail

[email protected].

The MiD-WorceSTerShire MP Peter Luff visited the

Droitwich canals project in mid

September. He walked through

the new tunnel under the A449,

witnessed dredging of the Barge

Canal between the A449 and

the River Severn, and saw the

restoration of the two locks

between the river and the tunnel.

Having seen the progress

with the project for himself he

took the view that it will bring

new life to the town and with it

future economic opportunities.

He felt that the project

represented a real reason for

optimism in difficult times.

He congratulated British

Waterways and all their partners,

especially the volunteers in

the Droitwich Canals Trust, on

what has been achieved, adding

that he believed that the new

Worcestershire Cruising Ring

being created would be one

of the most popular waterway

destinations in the country,

representing a huge boost to

local tourism.

MP visits Droitwich canals

sankey canal setback A newly installed bridge, near to the new St Helens Chamber

building in the town centre, stands just a few feet above the

surface of the water making passage along the canal impossible.

It was built by developers Langtree to create a walkway to the site

of the proposed new St Helens rugby league stadium. At present,

boats cannot use the town centre stretch of the canal because of

various obstructions but the Sankey Canal Restoration Society hope

restoration work will soon make the canal navigable, at which

time the bridge may be raised. Local councillors have criticised the

installation and the apparent lack of consultation with the local

restoration society.

bedford & MiltoN KeyNes progresslocal councillorS and Mid Bedfordshire MP Nadine Dorries

have congratulated Bedford & Milton Keynes Waterway Trust on the

progress being made with the proposed link from the Grand Union

Canal in Milton Keynes to the Great Ouse at Kempston. Recent

achievements include:

significant progress on the underpass near Stewartby which

will carry the waterway beneath the A421; the installation of a

waterway interpretation board at the Forest Centre (three more are

to be installed along the River Great Ouse in Bedford as the result

of a £7k Lottery grant); and the purchase of a parcel of land to ease

the passage of the waterway from Stewartby to Kempston.

The Trust has been working for eight years to get this far and the

first piece of the 26km waterway is in place. The link is expected to

be completed over the next 10-20 years. For more information on

the scheme visit www.b-mkwaterway.org.uk.

The Barge Canal is the focal point of Vines Park in Droitwich.



RESTORATION UPDATE

Ulster Canal MeetingThe reopening of the Ulster

Canal to join Lough Erne with Clones

was discussed at a meeting in early

September attended by a number

of Stormont officials. The Agriculture

and Rural Development Minister

Michelle Gildernew MP MLA and

Environment Minister Edwin Poots

MLA, along with Lagan Valley MP

MLA, the Rt. Hon. Jeffrey Donaldson,

attended a Blackwater Regional

Partnership showcase on the need for

the Ulster Canal to be reopened.

A spokesperson for the

Blackwater Regional Partnership

explained that canals are being

restored and regenerated all over

Europe as people realise their

potential. The Partnership believes

the Ulster Canal restoration is an

iconic project that has the potential

to provide direct benefits for the

local communities living along the

canal corridor. This includes the

economic benefits in providing

employment during construction

and the resulting increased

tourism and private investment

opportunities.

The Ulster Canal was an active

waterway between 1841-1931,

and is seen as a missing strategic

link between waterways in the north

and south of Ireland. Some 96km in

length, it spans five local authority

boundaries. Listed built heritage

features along the canal include locks,

lock-keepers cottages and aqueducts.

The waterway is thought to have

the potential to generate £8m to the

economy, generating countless jobs

during construction. The southern

Ireland government is committed

to reopening the canal from the

Shannon to Clones. In supporting

the bid, claims have been made that

each boat on the water attracts 78

people to the waterway and the canal

creates an opportunity for both land

and water based recreation.

ExCiTing PlAns for ThE CroMforD CAnAl The Friends of Cromford Canal have launched plans to completely

restore the historic Derbyshire canal in an ambitious £57m scheme

which would provide a major boost to the county’s economy. The

Friends wants to make its entire 17-mile length – from Langley Mill to

Cromford and Pinxton – navigable by boat by 2039. The Friends are

joining forces with Derbyshire County Council to win backing from the

Big Lottery, which has already handed out substantial grants to other

UK waterway schemes.

The scheme is said to have the enthusiastic backing of Derbyshire

County Council, and British Waterways believes that the scheme has

the potential to secure millions, rejuvenating the area with new housing

developments and marinas.

The Friends hope that the canal will bring prosperity through

employment during construction and after it is finished, with a massive

increase of visitors to the area.

The canal restoration was one of the local schemes featured at

IWA’s National Festival. For more information on The Friends visit

www.cromfordcanal.org.uk.

Leawood Pump is probably the Cromford Canal’s best known feature.

High Peak Junction is the setting for a shop and exhibition.

A steam train crossing the infilled line of the Pinxton Branch at Ironville.

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IWA NATIONAL FESTIVAL


“Wot no mud?” was the comment from many seasoned

National Festival visitors at this year’s Redhill event, and indeed festival organisers could hardly believe their luck this year. Very dry weather during the build up, some heavy showers which quickly dried during the preparations on the Friday and a lovely dry weekend overall meant that the site stayed pristine, giving a great welcome to visitors. Great support from BBC Radio and television in Nottingham and Leicester, ticket competitions on Smooth Radio plus a mention on Radio 2 on Saturday morning combined with substantial local press coverage resulted in queues at the gates every morning and an estimated footfall of nearly 20,000 over the three days.

National Chairman Clive Henderson used his opening speech

to launch the new campaign against waterway funding cuts, called “SOS – Save our System”. This calls upon all IWA members to engage with other waterway groups and lobby MPs, local authority figures and others to reinforce the message about proper waterway funding being vital for a sustainable future (see pages 6-7).

The IWA marquee was dramatically revamped this year and proved to be one of the highlights of the show. With a “stop and browse” shop design, café, children’s play area with miniature diggers and tractors, it proved very popular with visitors. With a good selection of Wild Over Waterways (WOW) activities and a Waterway Recovery Group mini-bus and bricklaying next door, the whole area was very impressive. Over 100 new members were recruited during the weekend, so the IWA message clearly came across loud and clear.

The IWA Promotions & Communications Committee ran a

quiz for visitors, based on picking out key words from the IWA banners around the site and this helped to reinforce IWA’s image and branding. The winner of the quiz will receive a free boating holiday in 2010 from Riversdale Barges in Ireland.

Advance ticket purchasers also entered a quiz for a boating holiday, courtesy of UK Boat Hire, and Central Marine Services donated a Zodiac Zoom inflatable craft in return for a free raffle (donations were welcomed). The proceeds from the raffle were divided between IWA and the local Air Ambulance Association - the boat being won by a local visitor.

Trade exhibitors reported brisk and profitable business – a point reinforced by the number of visitors leaving in the afternoon laden with purchases. Many traders promptly signed up for Beale Park 2010 at the exhibitor’s evening on the Sunday night, allowing them to take advantage of the significant discounts being offered.

Success on the SoarIWA National festival 2009

TITLe PICTURe: Boaters and campers enjoy the sunshine at Redhill-on-Soar.

National Festival.indd 36 21/10/09 11:26:54 am


EntErtainmEnt GalorEThe attractions this year included the Kangaroo Gymnasts, the Raptor Foundation with their hawks and owls, classic cars, a staged rescue of a “body” from a crashed car by the Nottingham Fire & Rescue service, live music, and line and Morris dancing. The evening entertainment included some excellent live bands, more performances by Mikron Theatre and the excellent “Beatless” tribute band on Monday night.

WOW was also very busy this year with over 350 children taking part. With bricklaying from WRG, knot tying from the Guild of Knot Tyers, the Green Blue environment quiz and much more – the children were as busy as ever. One of the visitors interviewed by Radio

Nottingham commented on how much there was for children and what a “fantastic event” it was for families.

The Festival Awards Ceremony was held on the Monday morning and the Chairman of West Berkshire Council, Cllr Geoff Findlay OBE and his wife were present, to receive the Festival’s Tiller Pin trophy from the Mayor of Rushcliffe, Cllr Peter McGowan, ready for the Beale Park 2010 Festival. Their ladies also received a surprise later when the “Tigers” parachute display team landed in the arena and presented them with a well known brand of chocolates.

When the Festivals Committee announced the Redhill Marina site, in the shadow of Ratcliffe-on-Soar Power Station chimneys, there

were considerable misgivings from various sources. The IWAF team worked very hard throughout the year to allay those fears and it was immensely satisfying therefore that the site was widely regarded as one of the best for some time.

Given the current economic climate, it was also pleasing to achieve exhibitor numbers of 230 traders, 245 visiting boats and 305 camping units. These included huge RV’s, motorhomes, caravans and tents.

Make sure you join us at Beale Park in 2010. This will be our Tom Rolt Centenary Event – celebrating the birth of one of our founders so we hope to make it an extra special Festival – reflecting his many talents and interests. Don’t miss it!

Gillian Bolt

FEStiVal aWarDS & PriZE WinnErS

AWARD DESCRIPTION KEEPSAKE PRIzE WINNERGeneral CategoryRank, Hovis McDougall Best Festival Cake 2 Bottles of wine Rose WyattPenny Briscoe Best Junior Drawing Model Narrowboat William BlundellCruising CategoryA P Herbert Longest Journey RCR Gold membership David Jarvis on Orchid 2 Robert Aickman Most Enterprising journey RCR Silver membership Tony Parkes on Tom TugNationwide Anglia Best non-continuous journey RCR Bronze membership Di & Rhys Jones on Wandering WhimbrelStand CategoryMastervolt Award Best commercial stand E.on Carriage Clock Michael Porter with Back Cabin Antiques & Coll. Canal Boat Award Best non-commercial stand £100 cheque Friends of Cromford CanalBoat CategoryWaterways World Best Amateur fit out Muc-Off Cleaning Kit P Spooner, nb Wibble Alfred Ritchie Cockerel Best Working boat Muc-Off Cleaner Mike Pinnock, nb FazeleyOffley and Slack Prop Best Cruising Club E.on Umbrella St Pancras Cruising Club (Andrew Phasey)Calor Rose Bowl Best kept galley Calor Barbecue Anthony Wainwright, cruiser Millenium FallonMarian Munk Trophy Best private craft E.on Carriage Clock David Pemberton, nb HyskeirLionel Munk Trophy Best commercial entry Muc-Off Cleaner Cauldon Boat’s Fiddlestick Free

Success on the SoarIWA National festival 2009

FEStiVal DVDSDon’t forget to order your Festival DVD. Professionally produced DVDs of the Redhill Festival are available at only £7.50 for 45 minutes of ‘Sunny Festival Memories’. Contact Gillian Bolt at gillian.bolt@ waterways.org.uk to order your copy.

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Busy foodstalls; and exhibitor boats; 350 children took part in WOW events; Geoff Findlay, chairman of West Berks Council, receiving the Kingfisher Tiller Pin from Peter McGowan, Mayor of Rushcliffe; Stephanie Horton of River Canal Rescue presenting the A P Herbert Trophy to David Jarvis.

FEStiVal SuPPortErSThank you to all our supporters, particularly Rushcliffe Borough Council and Event Chairman, Ron Hetherington, plus Ratcliffe-on-Soar Power Station, East Midlands Trains, UK Boat Hire, The New & Used Boat Company, Calor, Beta Marine, Voltmaster, River Canal Rescue, Redhill Marina, the Erewash Canal Preservation & Development Association, A S Taylor Transport, Riversdale Barge Company, Central Marine Services and British Waterways. And, of course, a very big thank you to Waterways World who are our headline sponsors.

PHOT

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Ala

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s

National Festival.indd 37 21/10/09 11:27:19 am

It has been a busy and rewarding summer for the Yorkshire Ouse Section of IWA’s West Riding Branch. In late April local IWA members, in conjunction with the River Foss Society, began promoting the

‘secret’ River Foss as an ideal way of exploring more of York by boat, access to the little known river being from the Ouse by way of Castle Mills Lock. Since then IWA members have been manning the lock under the authority of head lock-keeper Anthony Martin, the chairman of the Yorkshire Ouse Section. The lock is able to accommodate large craft, being 112ft long by 20ft wide.

There has been a good response to the promotion of the Foss, with boaters coming from throughout the system to explore the 1½ miles of navigable river. Notable summer visitors included the former commercial barge Syntan, now owned by the Beverley Barge Preservation Society, which had journeyed to York to participate in the city’s waterway festival in July. Built in 1949, Syntan was used to carry a wide variety of cargoes during her working life. A month later the former Grand Union Canal Carrying Co ‘Royalty’ class motorboat Victoria also ventured up the Foss, accompanied by the modern narrowboat Kismet. Another ‘VIP’ visitor was Ripon Boat Club Chairman David Leach who explored the river aboard his motor cruiser Shaleen.

Castle Mills Open DayThe Yorkshire Ouse Section also staged a Castle Mills Lock Open/Information Day on 26th September, once again with the support of the River Foss Society. The event was a success with a good turnout of visitors and excellent coverage on BBC Radio York, although planned boat trips along the Foss unfortunately had to be cancelled due to exceptionally low water levels in the river. Nevertheless, good publicity was generated, both for local waterways and IWA’s wider campaigns.

the Ouse newsThe Ouse News is the popular and well produced Newsletter of the Yorkshire Ouse Section. Its latest edition, Autumn 2009, is notable for being the first to be financed entirely by selling advertising space and through donations. It covers all matters of local interest, reports of recent events and a diary of what’s coming up, but the last couple of issues have centred on the Section’s attempts to promote use of the River Foss.

Further inFOrMatiOnIWA (Yorkshire Ouse Section) operates Castle Mills Lock in the centre of York on a voluntary basis. There are no navigation fees. Suitably sized craft may navigate for 1 ½ miles to Huntington Road. At least two days’ notice should be given. For further details contact Tony Martin on 07588 236597, e-mail [email protected]. Alternatively visit www.york.gov.uk.

38 / IWA WATERWAYS / winter 2009 IWA WATERWAYS / autumn 2009 / 31

OUR FRIENDSIn The nORTh

THE RIVER FOSSThe source of the River Foss is a spring situated beside, and flowing into Oulton Reservoir near Newburgh Prior, some four miles north of Easingwold. From there to the Blue Bridge in York, where it joins the Ouse, is a distance of 19 ½ miles. In 1806 part of the river was canalised as far as Sheriff Hutton Bridge, but today it is only navigable for 1 ½ miles above Castle Mills Lock. Headroom is restricted by Peasholme Green and Foss Bank bridges, the permissable height at normal water levels being 2.4 metres. Although there are moorings in Castle Mills Lock Basin (Ouse side of the lock), there are no overnight moorings on the Foss itself. There are only limited opportunities (subject to length) for turning beyond Rowntree Wharf.

In earlier days the Foss formed a large pond within the city centre (the Kings Fish Pond), which provided fish for the city’s markets. It also created a marsh which served as part of the city’s defences. There is no city wall between Layerthorpe Postern and the Red Tower as the marsh is virtually impassable.

Walkers are able to explore the river by way of the Foss Walk, which follows much of the river course from Blue Bridge to Oulston Reservoir and then on to Easingwold, a distance of 28 miles. From Oulston Reservoir there is an alternative route via Coxwold and Husthwaite, adding a further 11 miles to the distance of the walk.

Another good way of exploring the river is by canoe – York Canoe Club recently celebrated its 40th birthday and always welcomes new members (www.yorkcanoeclub.com).

For further information on the River Foss visit www.riverfosssociety.co.uk.

Beverley Barge Preservation Society’s barge Syntan entering the Foss. Some of the IWA volunteers who have been manning Castle Mills Lock.

The ‘Royalty’ Class motorboat Victoria and narrowboat Kismet in Castle Mills Lock.

Ripon Boat Club chairman David Leach and his wife entering the Foss aboard their motor cruiser Shaleen With them is head lock-keeper Anthony Martin (left)..

FriendsintheNorth.indd 38 21/10/09 11:28:07 am


p039.indd 1p039.indd 1 21/10/09 14:54:0821/10/09 14:54:08

Of course many of the problems relating to swimming in canals arise as a result of the summer holidays, and in August the Leicester Mercury reported a spate of vandalism on the Grand Union south of Leicester. “Vandals have smashed open locks at a canal grounding dozens of boats and affecting about 20 miles of waterway” the paper reported breathlessly, going on to say “A mile-and-a-half stretch of waterway

had almost vanished after the wreckers forced open lock gates near Westminster Drive, letting the water rush downhilll”. This apparent tsunami effect was somewhat tempered by a statement a little further on from a BW spokesman who implied that in fact the damage had been done to paddle gear: “it looks like they’ve just smashed them…with a lump hammer or an axe”. Bored schoolchildren were blamed for the incident.

All seemed to have been forgotten the following week however, when the same paper announced “New waterways strategy planned”. Leicestershire County Council was due to “endorse a plan covering 23 miles of the River Soar and Grand Union Canal, between Kilby Bridge…and Loughborough Meadows. Key proposals include improving access and signage for pedestrians, cyclists and boaters, linking up wildlife sites as a continuous corridor, and

promoting visitor destinations and facilities” to which one may say, ‘Well, Whoopy-doo!” But what of protecting all this munificence once it has been put in place and the local Council Tax has duly come up with the wherewithal? I suspect that once it is in place we shall still be seeing very similar headlines about vandalism, for, like so many other well-meaning initiatives, it is strong on capital expenditure but not so much on subsequent maintenance.

Vandals on the leicester section

One of the tendencies that I have observed during this last summer is for what is called “Wild Swimming”. It has been promoted on TV as well as the press and it involves people plunging into water other than swimming pools. Harmless fun you might say and the sort of thing that human beings have been doing for centuries. Not so according to The [Doncaster] Star last July, whose front page carried the banner headline “DANGER”. Four open water sites were pictured which included the River Don and “Canals”. It seems to me that an interesting debate is opening up here, for, whilst there is undoubted pleasure in swimming in an unregulated environment, there are a number of important considerations to be taken into account before leaping into the water, often accompanied by loud shouts. The Star identified six hotspots in the Doncaster area, one of which was “the River Don at Bambury Bridge, Denaby” but two more were listed as “South Yorkshire Navigation canal at Ferry Boat Lane, Mexborough” and “South Yorkshire Navigation canal at Thorne Bridge, Thorne”. A spokesman for Doncaster Council stated that “Some of the main dangers of entering open water are that the water is extremely cold which can cause cramp, potentially making people unable to swim or walk.

Also the depth of water and what is underneath the surface of the water is unknown in most cases and could result in serious injuries”. As an organisation that represents all users of inland waterways, IWA is of course aware of such problems, but it seems to me that there is a balance to be struck between encouraging the use of non-regulated water, especially rivers, and warning of the horrendous consequences of plunging into unsuitable water. In particular, the use of navigable waters for swimming should, I believe, be strongly discouraged although I must stand corrected by a better authority than myself. Readers may be aware that the classic account of the canals in wartime, Maidens Trip by Emma Smith, has recently been re-published in unexpurgated form (a so-called Children’s Edition of the 1960s was dreadfully emasculated). Recently the magazine You published an interesting article commemorating this. It contained an interview with Emma Smith herself, now a lively 85-year-old lady living in West London. Images of Emma and the boats taken in 1944 appeared and she reminisced “In hot weather we’d jump overboard…we’d hold on to a rope and let the boat pull us along. We didn’t think about the canal being a sewer; one was less fussy back then.”

the dangers of Wild sWimming Of course, we may be certain

that nothing sells newspapers like bad news, and this summer saw all the nationals covering the sad accident at Cropredy on the Oxford Canal in which a mother was killed following and accident on a hire cruiser. As usual the simple (at least to the likes of us enthusiasts) details of the canal environment proved completely baffling, even to local journalists. According to the Banbury Guardian the incident occurred at “Varneys Lock near Old Wharf”, while the curiously-named Banbury Cake told its readers that the incident was at “Broadmore [sic] Lock”. What is even more worrying though is the fact that the police spokeswoman who

spoke to the Guardian did not seem to be aware that a boat was involved in the incident. “There were no other vehicles involved” she was reported as saying. The two papers also were unable to get the police officer’s name right, giving two different versions. Once again though sensationalism tended to get in the way of factual reporting, although the Daily Mail presented as balanced and unsensational an account as any, concluding with a statement from APCO “Holiday-hire boating is a very popular activity and each year more than half a million days are safely spent on board inland boats, which makes this tragic accident all the more unusual.”

OxfOrd Canal Tragedy

More positively The Times carried an article about canals by Richard Morrison entitled “Still waters run cheap: why Britain’s biggest secret deserves our support”. His opening remarks are worth repeating in full: “At a time when taxpayers are expected to bail out super-rich bankers and buy dogfood for the super-shameless MPs, may we have a round of applause (OK, make it ironic if you must) for some people who want to free themselves from Government’s nannying grasp, rather than begging for more dosh? I’m talking about British Waterways’ proposal to

take its 2,220 miles of canals and rivers out of state control. Instead it wants to reform itself as a kind of aquatic National trust…” Passing over why, after over sixty years of high-profile campaigning by this Association as well as others the waterways should still be regarded as “secret”, the article was well balanced and thoughtful and, amazing to relate, did not overlook the freight aspect. The Olympics site, it said, “shouldn’t be a one-off. Britain needs to use its sea lanes and inland waterways to take as many juggernauts off the roads as possible”.

Still WaterS run Cheap

40 / IWa WaTerWayS / autumn 2009 IWa WaTerWayS / winter 2009 / 4140 / IWa WaTerWayS / winter 2009

WaTerWay CUTTIngS

Waterway Cuttings.indd 40 21/10/09 11:28:32 am

WaterwayCUTTINGS

DAVID BLAGROVE TAKES A LIGHT-HEARTED LOOK AT WHAT THE PAPERS HAVE HAD TO SAY

CUTTINGS PLEASESend all your waterway cuttings to

David Blagrove at IWA Head Office, Island House, Moor Road, Chesham HP5 1WA

VaNdalS oN The leICeSTer SeCTIoN

40 / IWA WATERWAYS / autumn 2009 IWA WATERWAYS / winter 2009 / 41

The Doncaster Free Press as well as The Star reported on plans for a 500 boat marina at Stainforth. At present the proposal is merely a plan but both papers reported that a decision, presumably of the local Planning Committee, was expected in October. A little way further south the Derby Telegraph stated in August in banner headlines that “£57m canal restoration would bring in tourists ‘by tens of thousands’”. The reference was to the Cromford Canal and the paper gave the story a two page centre spread and, at the same time, printed information about plans and progress for the “Derby & Sandiacre Canal”. Both articles were supportive, in an intelligent way, of the proposals. The importance of such projects in revitalising local businesses was not overlooked. The landlady of a pub at Whatstandwell on the Cromford Canal was quoted

as saying “I cannot think why anyone would not welcome the scheme. It would especially benefit pubs that serve food for day-trippers”. And to boaters, madam, I would add. When the canal is restored, perhaps readers will remember the landlady of the Derwent Hotel and call in! And whilst on the subject of the Cromford Canal the Yorkshire Post (yes, I know, you were all wondering when I was going to get round to mentioning that august journal) told us that the Friends of the Cromford Canal were auctioning off a rare map of the Erewash Canal (which connects the Cromford with the Trent and the outside world) on e-bay. The map “Surveyed in 1776 and drawn by F. Smith…includes a distance table and shows the route of the canal from the River Trent to Langley Bridge”. It was due to go on sale in September.

SUpporT for reSToraTIoN projeCTS

The reopening of the bottom lock of the Cromford

Canal in May 2008.

From a bit further afield we have a report in the Shropshire Star that “Volunteers from across Britain who are helping to restore the Montgomery Canal … have unearthed a historic narrowboat with a tragic past.” This referred to the WRG summer camp at Crickheath on “the Mont”, where work

was temporarily suspended when the remains of the boat were found. (Or so the paper said. Can we really believe that WRG would be diverted from its task for even a second by such a discovery?) It seems that what was found were the remains of the boat “Usk”, a Shropshire Union craft, which

was involved in a tragic accident at the locks at Trench on the Newport Branch in which a boatman was decapitated when passing under a guillotine lock gate. Tony Lewery, accurately described by the paper as “Canal expert”, told the paper “After that no-one wanted to work the boat because they

thought it was jinxed” The boat eventually was abandoned on the Montgomery Canal, and WRG subsequently rediscovered it. “So little of the Usk was left that all the volunteers can now do is photograph the remains and record the site before the dry section of the canal is restored”.

HISToRIc NARRoWboAT uNEARTHEd

Finally some items from even further away than the Welsh borders come from Europe. Two French local papers L’Yonne Republicane and Journal de Gien carried features about our member Nicholas Hammond, an architect with the Royal Commission for Historical Monuments. To the delight of the French. Nicholas has been studying a flight of seven locks at a place called Rogny, which were originally designed and built between 1605 and 1608, some century-and-a-half before our own Bridgwater Canal. The journalists barely suppress their mirth (if my translation is not at fault) “It remains a mystery to this expert, which he is unable to explain: why were no French engineering works mentioned during the visit of the Duke of Bridgewater to the Canal du Midi?” We may well ask the same question I suppose. Presumably the Duke, like Peter Simple’s Alderman Foodbotham of Bradford Tramways and Fine Arts Committee “took no cognisance of such foreign gewgaws” And just to complete euro-British misunderstanding, a correspondent has sent me an extract from a Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf. This journal’s Travel

section published a front page report on a family that hired a boat from Canal Cruising Co at Stone. Obviously something has become lost in transmission between England and the Netherlands. The accompanying map shows a hitherto unknown canal called the “Rent & Jersey” running between Stone and Stoke on Trent, while away to the South East of the latter city, Longton, one of the Five Towns has been renamed “Dresden”. Does this indicate a twinning or a subtle attempt at a porcelain take-over? Of five photographs, presumably supplied by an agency, four show boats and canals other than those which the article was about and the fifth, purporting to show Star Lock at Stone shows a wide lock (it is in fact “Big Lock” at Middlewich, much further north on the “Rent and Jersey”).

BOAtIng On tHe Rent & JeRsey

Boating on the ‘Rent & Jersey Canal’ – alias the Trent & Mersey.

Waterway Cuttings.indd 41 21/10/09 11:28:49 am


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LETTERS


inboxDo you have something to say about IWA or Waterways?It’s your magazine so please write and tell us your views. We will aim to publish responses to any letters that ask questions about any aspect of IWA policy or decision-making.Please write to The Editor, Waterways, c/o IWA, Island House, Moor Road, Chesham HP5 1WA or e-mail [email protected]

Here we go again? IWA ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION RATES

Adult, single £27.00Joint/Family £34.00

Details of all other rates are available from IWA Head Office – see the Directory on page 44.

The recent announcement, by British Waterways management that they are considering transfer into the ‘Third Sector’ (Volunteer/Charity) prompts the title of this letter.

I have just stepped down after 23 years of membership of the IWA Trustee Board and its navigation committee. In that time I have seen BW grow from a simple structure into the expensive monolith it is today. Not that I have any criticism of the BW people at the operating end of the waterways, but BW administration has just grown and grown. In the end it outgrew the available money.

When I became involved in IWA committee work, the redoubtable Sir Frank Price headed BW and John Heap was IWA Chairman. Sir Frank was appointed to preside over a decayed post-war network by the equally redoubtable Barbara Castle. He was a ‘City Man’ but, unlike his successors, not from the finance or business sector. His City had been London and his experience was in running the capital via the London County Council. He was a ‘down to earth’ administrator who also had superb political skills. He was also a waterway enthusiast. Most of his successors have been bankers or city executives appointed according to the whim of the government in power. By the time I became NE Chairman in 1987, Sir Frank had moved on and Sir Lesley Young, a banker, chaired BW and Ken Goodwin was our National Chairman.

Between the Humber and the Mersey there were two waterway areas covering an approximately equal length of waterway. The whole of the Leeds & Liverpool Canal was administered from a small cluster of offices in Wigan with a small sub-office at Bradford.

The River Aire, the Aire & Calder, Calder & Hebble, the Selby Canal, the Ure Navigation and the ‘Remainder’ waterways, the Ripon Canal and the Pocklington Canal, were administered from a small office at Castleford. At that time, BW did not manage the Ouse Navigation nor Linton Lock Navigation.

Stuart Sim was a young area engineer and manager at Wigan and Peter Barnes was area engineer and manager at Castleford. Under them they each had an assistant engineer stationed at a sub-office.

All the area engineers responded to the chief engineer at the BW Head Office at Watford. Yes there was a Head Office staff at Watford but, quite modest in numbers. No chief executive, no regional general managers or other senior posts.

Then in the 1990s BW decided to reorganise into a modern corporation. That meant adding an additional tier of management. So BW regions were established, each with its regional manager, support staff and office. That in turn led to a tier to oversee the regions. That was based at the BW Head Office. Henceforth the chief engineer would not be ‘in charge’. A chief executive was appointed to head a much-expanded Head Office staff. From that stemmed most of the senior posts we know today.

Did the reorganisation lead to more workers or efficiency on the actual waterways? No! Did it lead to more expense? Yes!

The latest reorganisation is being implemented as I write. We will be back to a number of areas dedicated to servicing the track with all but routine maintenance tasks managed by the Corporate Engineering Department. Despite the recent round of ‘white-collar’ job cuts the regions still exist, even though they are now called ‘areas’, with their senior managers and staff. It is doubtful that any economies made at that level will actually filter down to maintaining the track. They will just help to balance the books in the face of reduced Grant in Aid from the Government.

In fact, like many organisations that we regard as important, BW is facing serious cuts in funding. None of the previous reorganisations seemed to have provided a satisfactory answer to balancing income to the spending required. And I wonder if the latest proposals to move into the Third Sector are just a ‘shot in the dark’?

Whatever the answer, it is important that IWA members support the SOS campaign recently launched by IWA. In doing so we show our willingness to give BW and the Environment Agency a fighting chance to keep the waterways in the order befitting a ‘national treasure’.John Reeve, Retiring North East & Yorkshire Region Chairman

MoRE on ThE WILTS & BERkS CAnALI very much enjoyed the feature on the Wilts & Berks Canal in the Autumn 2009 issue of Waterways, and was delighted to read of the efforts to restore it. However, the suggestion that it doesn’t enter Berkshire (although “it did once”) confuses the historic county with the current local government area.

The English counties existed for hundreds of years before county councils were created in 1888 purely for administrative convenience. As we have seen, even since 1974 local government boundaries and council names have changed several times at the whim of politicians, but the better view surely is that the historic counties continue to retain their own identities: certainly, the people who have been brought up and live there would say so. It would be more correct to say that the canal inhabits that part of Berkshire which is (for the time being at any rate) administered by Oxfordshire County Council.

By the way, if you want an example of a true misnomer, the Great Western Railway’s “Berks & Hants line” which runs beside the Kennet & Avon Canal never got into Hampshire at all!David Lyall, Cheltenham

The Spring 2010 issue of Waterways will be published in January 2010. Editorial copy closing date is 4th January 2010.

Waterways magazine plays a vital role in communications between IWA Head Office and members. We are always striving to improve our standards of editorial content and production, and the advertising support Waterways attracts is important to both the development of the magazine and the promotion of IWA and its campaigns. When you contact any of the businesses advertising in Waterways please tell them where you saw their advertisement.

Inbox.indd 43 21/10/09 11:29:15 am


DIRECTORYDIRECTORY

HEAD OFFICEIsland House, Moor Road, Chesham HP5 1WA . Tel: 01494 783453 e-mail: [email protected] Website: www.waterways.org.uk

Vice Presidents: Harry Arnold, David Blagrove, Chris Coburn MBE, David Court OBE, Brian Dice OBE, David Fletcher CBE, Illtyd Harrington JP, David Hilling MBE, Tony Hirst OBE, James Hoseason OBE, John Humphries OBE, The Viscountess Knollys DL OBE, The Earl of Shannon, Sonia Rolt, Audrey Smith OBE, David Suchet OBE, Sheila Suchet, Paul Wagstaffe MBE, David Wain OBE

All Trustees and National Committees can be contacted via Head Office. Board of Trustees: Clive Henderson (Chairman), Doug Beard, Ray Carter, Alastair Chambers, Les Etheridge (Deputy Chairman), Alan Platt, John Pomfret (Deputy Chairman), Paul Roper, Peter Scott, Paul Strudwick, Vaughan Welch (Deputy Chairman), Ian West

Finance Committee: Les Etheridge (Chairman). Contact via Head Office. David Carrington, Mike Dyer, Gordon Harrower, Nick Parker, Gillian Smith, Ian West, Alan Wiffen, Kerry Williamson

Navigation Committee: Roger Squires (Chairman). Tel: 0207 232 0987. [email protected] John Baylis (Deputy Chairman), Alastair Chambers, Ian Fletcher, Steve Connolly, Peter Kelly, John Pomfret, Peter Scott, Vaughan Welch

Restoration Committee: Vaughan Welch (Chairman). Tel: 0121 477 9782. [email protected] Chris Birks, Geraint Coles, Tony Harrison, Tony Hinsley, Martin Ludgate, Keith Noble (Deputy Chairman), Paul Roper, Andy Screen (Deputy Chairman), Luke Walker

Promotions and Communications Committee: Jerry Sanders (Chairman). Tel: 01283 716 158. [email protected] Arnold, Helen Bedingfield, John Bedingfield, Ray Carter, Madeline Dean, Elizabeth Payne, Jim Shead, Gillian Smith, Frank Wallder, Vaughan Welch, Helen Whitehouse

Waterway Recovery Group: Mike Palmer (Chairman). Tel: 01564 785293. [email protected]

Inland Waterways Enterprises Limited Board of Directors: Les Etheridge (Chairman). Contact via Head Office Neil Edwards, Clive Henderson, Ian West

IWA Festivals Division: Ian West (Chairman). Tel: 01564 230104. [email protected]

Inland Waterways Freight Group: John Pomfret (Chairman). Tel: 01788 891027. [email protected]

Hon. Consultant Engineers: Roy Sutton, BA Hons MICE, Tony Harrison, BSc (Hons), DHE, MICE. Tel: 01491 872380

Hon. Consultant Planners: Bob Dewey BA (Hons), MBA, MRTPI, Martin Jiggens

IWA Committee for Wales: General secretary, Gerallt Hughes. Tel: 01341 250631.

Essex Waterways Limited Board of Directors: Roy Chandler (Chairman), Colin Davis, Neil Edwards, Jim Jenkins, John Pomfret. Navigation Manager: Colin Edmond

REGIONAL CONTACTS East Midlands Chairman: John Pomfret. Tel: 01788 891027. [email protected] Eastern Secretary: Nigel Long. Tel: 01733 553782. [email protected] London Deputy Chairman: Roger Squires. Tel: 020 72320987. [email protected] North East & Yorkshire Chairman: Peter Scott. Tel: 0114 2301870. [email protected] North West Chairman: Alan Platt. Tel: 01352 720649. [email protected] South East Chairman: Paul Roper. Tel: 0118 9813381. [email protected] West Secretary: Peter Kelly. Tel: 01752 843556. [email protected] West Midlands Chairman: Vaughan Welch. Tel: 0121 4779782. [email protected]

BRANCH CONTACTS Avon & Wiltshire John Gornall. Tel: 0117 962 4644. [email protected] Birmingham, Black Country & Worcestershire Vaughan Welch. Tel: 0121 4779782. [email protected] Stephen Foote. Tel: 01763 838936. [email protected] Jan Thurston. Tel: 01702 529553. [email protected] Chester & District Gillian Bolt. Tel: 0151 678 9300. [email protected] Melville Errington. Tel: 01494 678056. [email protected] East Yorkshire Mrs Chris Stones. Tel: 01482 875894. [email protected] Gloucestershire & Herefordshire Martin Turner. Tel: 01291 650605. [email protected] & Reading Paul Roper. Tel: 0118 9813381. [email protected] Hertfordshire Michael Wright. Tel: 01727 860137. [email protected] Ipswich Charles Stride. Tel: 01728 831061. [email protected] Kent & East Sussex Roy Sutton. Tel: 01342 317569. Lee & Stort John Shacklock. Tel: 01992 465643. [email protected] Leicestershire David Hastie. Tel: 0116 2608027. [email protected] Lichfield Phil Sharpe. Tel: 01889 583330. [email protected] Penny Carnell. Tel: 01469 530138. [email protected] Manchester Steve Connolly. Tel: 01942 679310. [email protected] Merseyside & West Lancs Andrew Lawton. Tel: 01695 572389. [email protected] Middlesex Robin Bishop. Tel: 020 8452 2632. [email protected] Milton Keynes Peter Caswell. Tel: 07702 668924. [email protected] North & East London Roger Wilkinson. Tel: 0208 4589476. [email protected] North Lancashire & Cumbria Madeline Dean. Tel: 01257 231861. [email protected] Northampton Jan Andrews. Tel: 01604 858023. [email protected] Nottinghamshire & Derbyshire Contact via IWA Head Office. [email protected] Ron Heritage. Tel: 01869 277400. [email protected] Peterborough Nigel Long. Tel: 01733 553782. [email protected] Shrewsbury District & North Wales David Aylwin. Tel: 01691 830403. [email protected] Solent & Arun Brendan Whelan. Tel: 01903 816012. [email protected] South London Lesley Pryde. Tel: 07787 372408. [email protected] South Wales Jeff Roberts. Tel: 01225 872095. [email protected] South Yorkshire & Dukeries Mavis Paul. Tel: 0114 2683927. [email protected] Stoke on Trent Alison Smedley. Tel: 01538 385388. [email protected] Sue Roy. Tel: 01926 497845. [email protected] West Country Chris Jewell. Tel: 01288 352298. [email protected] West Riding Alastair Furniss. Tel: 0113 2539401. [email protected]

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The builders of steel hulls and superstructures.

“Sailaway” boats a speciality

Make home completion an easy option by having a professional lineout.

★ Full choice of engines available.

Be Confident, buy ColeCraft

Colecraft Engineering Ltd.,

Southam Road, Long Itchington,

Southam, Warwickshire CV47 9QL

Telephone: Southam (01926) 814081/817070.

Fax: (01926) 815124.

Website: www.colecraft.co.uk

Established over 30 years

THE BUILDERS OF STEEL HULLS AND SUPERSTRUCTURES

FROM ★ Shell Sailaway ★ Line-out TO★ Fully Fitted ★ Wide Beam ★ Semi- Traditional ★ Cruiser Stern

COLECRAFT ENGINEERING LTD.Southam Road, Long Itchington, Southam, Warwickshire CV47 9QL

Telephone: (01926) 814081Email: [email protected]

www.colecraft.co.uk

p045.indd 1p045.indd 1 21/10/09 15:44:0221/10/09 15:44:02


Glebe Farm, Stockton, Southam, CV47 8JGTel: 01926 812134 Fax: 01926 810354


A.B. TUCKEYA family business of 25 years’

experience providing a reliable, friendly and personal service to transport narrowboats by road, up to 70’ long and 25 tonnes in weight. We also have a 35 tonne and 70

tonne crane for hire.

We offer lock free cruising on our well appointed2-7 berth narrowboats.Boatyard services include:

Diesel • Gas • Solid Fuel • Pump-out • Moorings

For a free colour brochureTel/fax: 01772 769183

Website: www.arlen-hireboats.co.ukor call in and see us at Ashton Basin, Tulketh Brow, Preston, PR2 2SD

T.R. Boat HandlingRYA Recognised Teaching Establishement

“The experience increased our knowledge & confi dence well above our expectations” Howard and Sue, Doncaster

The ideal present that lasts forever1,2 and 3 day RYA courses aboard our narrow boat or your own craft

RYA Inland Waterway Helmsman certifi cate for both beginners and the experienced from £95.00

Friendly and understanding instructor also ICC & CEVNI courses MCA Boat Master Grade 3

“Thank you for a fantastic day. Your guidance, gentle coaxing & patience got the best from both of us”

Sharon and Steve, Belper

Book your course now

Tel: Terry 01785 824012 Mob 07947 337492

WATERWAYS ADVERTISING Winter 2009

Index to AdvertisersAB Tuckey ...................................................................... 48ABC Leisure Group ........................................................9Adverc Battery Management ..................................... 25Arlen Hire Boats .......................................................... 48Axiom Propellers .......................................................... 25B.C Boat Management ....................................................8Barclays Marine Finance .................................................3Bargee Bill ....................................................................... 48Blisworth Tunnel Narrowboats ................................ 48Boat Shed Grand Union ............................................. 25Boat, Caravan and Outdoor Show .............................5Botany Bay ..................................................................... 48Braunston Marina ......................................................... 31British Waterway ......................................................... 45Caldwells ...........................................................................4Canal Cruising Co ........................................................ 39Canal Junction ............................................................... 45Castle Narrowboats .......................................................8Channelglaze .................................................................. 45Church Minshull ............................................................ 42

Church Minshull Brokerage ....................................... 21Colecraft Engineering .................................................. 45Country Craft Narrowboats ..................................... 24Debdale Wharf ................................................................8Elite Furnishings ............................................................ 24Fenland District Council ................................................4Fox’s Boats ..................................................................... 42JL Pinders ........................................................................ 42Land and Water ............................................................ 24Lee Sanitation ................................................................ 24Limekiln Ltd ................................................................... 21M & R Controls ............................................................ 42Maestermyn Group .........................................................8Mel Davis ...........................................................................4Mercia Marina ..............................................................IBC Nottingham Boat Sales ................................................ 39Orchard Marina ............................................................ 39Pennine Cruisers .......................................................... 42Powercell ........................................................................ 31PRM Marine ......................................................................3

Reeves Boatbuilders ..................................................... 24Riversdale Barge Holidays .......................................... 31Rose Narrowboats ..........................................................8Shobnall Boat Services ................................................ 45Swanley Bridge Marina ...................................................4Tattenhall Marina .............................................................9Taylors of Fenny ..............................................................4Teddesley Boat Co .........................................................4The New & Used Boat Co ................................... OBCTingdene Marinas ............................................................2Towergate Mardon .........................................................9TR Boat Handling ......................................................... 48Ventnor Farm Marina .................................................. 45Videoactive ..................................................................... 39Websters Insulation ..................................................... 42Wharf House Narrowboats ...................................... 24Whilton Marina ........................................................... IFCWorcester Marine Windows .......................................8

Waterways is distributed free to all members of the Association with a readership of over 20,000. Advertising in Waterways offers a precisely targeted medium for businesses in all fields connected with inland waterways, such as boating, hiring, insurance, building, publishing, catering,

chandlery or brokerage.

To advertise in IWA Waterways please contact Tony Preston, Advertising Manager, 151 Station Street, Burton-Upon-Trent, Staffordshire, DE14 1BG. 01283 742 965 or [email protected]

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