IWA BULLETIN - SEPT 98 - 2 OF 2 (LONG)
Justin Taberham
BW have closed the Digbeth Branch of the Birmingham & Fazeley Canal
between Aston Junction and Bordesley Junction in order to carry out
emergency repairs to a collapsed wall at Lock 4.
Erewash Canal
Plans have been submitted by Hillsdown Holdings for a new leisure based
development on the old Vic Hallam site at Langley Mill. This includes
land on both sides of the Erewash Canal from Anchor Bridge to Derby Road
Bridge and will include a new canal crossing for a main road diversion.
BW hope to obtain improvements to the Canal and a permanent mooring area
as a result of the development and local opinion appears to be in favour
of it as it will clear up several near-derelict sites.
Fens Waterways
Following publication of the Fens Waterways Regeneration Strategy, two
meetings for user groups have been held, one at Ely on 28th July (hosted
by East Cambridgeshire District Council) and one at March (hosted by
Fenland District Council) on 14th August.
One possible project that seems to have found favour is restoration and
development of Soham Lode. The Lode is still just navigable for very
light craft, although hardly ever used, but has no active navigation
authority. There are pointed doors at the Great Ouse entrance and these
are maintained by the Environment Agency, but these are solely to
prevent Ouse flood water entering the lodes and normally they present no
hindrance to navigation.
Depth of Soham Lode is about one metre, but air draft is restricted and
there is no winding hole at Soham. One problem appears to be that most
cruising guides and maps omit the Lode. A sign at the entrance to the
Lode may be a start, especially since at least two members of Soham Town
Council are boat owners!
Gloucester & Sharpness Canal
BW brought in the new short term licence fees on the Gloucester &
Sharpness Canal and the River Severn and a new £20 charge for passing
through Sharpness Lock with effect from 1st August. The Lock charge
does not apply to boaters with a BW licence for a period of 3 months or
longer. This is likely to be limited to a maximum of 16 free passages
for such licence holders per annum in the future; for the next 12 months
there will be no limit, but usage will be monitored.
Huddersfield Narrow Canal
BW have invited tenders from contractors for the three large projects to
complete re-opening of the Huddersfield Narrow Canal within Kirklees
(the North Eastern part of the canal).
The 3 projects are the refurbishment of Standedge Tunnel (estimated cost
£5m), construction of 365 metres of new canal through the Bates and
Sellers factories in Huddersfield (estimated cost £4.2m) and the
reconstruction of the canal through Slaithwaite (estimated cost £ 2.5m).
Llangollen Canal
BW have asked IWA’s Shrewsbury & Border Counties Branch for views on the
possibility of charging all visiting boats for towing path moorings at
Llangollen in conjunction with a new off-line mooring basin in which BW
would charge for daily moorings. This is to try to control an
increasing problem of lack of moorings in Llangollen.
IWA’s view is that there should be free mooring against the towing path
for at least 24 hours, but that charges might be justified for boats
staying longer as there is a genuine problem on this part of the Canal.
IWA also considers that local traders ought be asked to contribute
towards the cost of building new off-line moorings in the town.
Charging for use of the new off-line moorings might be acceptable, so
long as the choice of free 24 hour towing path moorings remains and the
length of current towing path moorings should not be reduced.
Rochdale Canal
Although final agreement has yet to be reached between all parties, it
appears that a resolution has been found concerning the earlier
difficulties over the sale of the Rochdale Canal by Town Centre
Securities to enable the Millennium Lottery Funding to proceed.
Whilst negotiations are progressing, final agreement has yet to be
reached with English Partnerships concerning the matching funding; this
needs to be resolved before English Partnerships become incorporated
into the new Regional Development Agencies next year.
For the present, some advance funding has been agreed and works have
commenced in Manchester which need to be complete by April 1999. These
works include the extension of navigation from Ducie Street Junction as
far as Redhill Street in Manchester and the restoration of 8 locks and
some bridge works. Some of the works undertaken may appear a little
‘out of sequence’, but this is related to English Partnerships’
requirements.
The bad old days - infilling in the early 1970s - and the first lorry to
navigate the Rochdale Canal
Rochdale Canal Trust have announced the following stoppages for winter
maintenance on the Yorkshire (Eastern) section:
n Gauxholme Flight (nos. 20 - 24) will be closed for extensive repairs
from 2nd November to 30th January.
n Locks 6, 7 and 10 will be closed from 4th January to 19th March for
gate replacement and works to be undertaken by the Environment Agency to
prevent flooding in Mytholmroyd.
n Tuel Lock will be unmanned between 2nd November and 19th March.
Anyone seeking passage should telephone the Trust’s office (01422
844990) for assistance.
n Future maintenance of the Littleborough Flight is still unresolved and
use of the section is therefore uncertain.
River Thames
The Environment Agency have announced their programme of winter
maintenance closures on the River Thames. Closures planned before the
end of the year are as follows:
Sonning Lock - 9th Nov to 13th Dec
(Replacement of Tail Layby)
Chertsey Lock - 9th Nov to 11th Dec
(Replacement gates)
Whitchurch Lock - 30th Nov to 20th Dec
(Replacement Head Layby)
Days Lock - 7th to 10th December
(Chamber Repairs)
There are no closures planned for the period 21st December to 3rd
January. Updated information should be checked before undertaking
journeys at any time between November and March at the local navigation
office or by telephoning the Agency’s Navigation Information Line: 0118
953 5520.
Ulster Canal
A report in the 14th August edition of the Irish Times says that the
authorities both north and south of the border have been quick to pour
cold water on a study which proposes re-opening the 60 mile Ulster Canal
at a cost of about £80 million over 4 years. This is 2.5 times the cost
of re-opening the Shannon-Erne Waterway.
Wey & Arun Canal
During the last week of July, volunteers helped lay a further section of
plastic membrane, 73m long and weighing a quarter of a tonne, to seal
the leaking canal bed of the Wey and Arun Canal below Brewhurst Lock.
Once laid the membrane was covered with 4 to 6 inches of clay. This
part of the canal feeds water to the Loxwood Link section on which the
Wey & Arun Canal Trust runs its regular trip boat operation.
Summary of Current Consultations
From Subject Submission Date
British Railways Board Review of Property Held / Disposal options 23rd
September
Dept Culture, Media & Sport Approach to investment in culture /
tourism 2nd October
Dept Environment T & Regns Review of Tree Preservation Orders 28th
August
Dept Environment T & Regns Review of Water Abstraction Licensing
Systems 7th September
Dept Environment T & Regns A waste strategy for England and Wales
25th September
Dept Environment T & Regns Legislation Review - Integration of EA
and SEPA 20th October
Dept Trade & Industry Review of Assisted Areas 30th October
Environment Agency ‘Agreeing Access to Water - A Practical Guide’
28th September
Environment Agency River Aire LEAP 30th September
Environment Agency River Calder LEAP 30th September
Environment T R Select Cttee Integrated Transport White Paper 25th
September
Highways Agency Road scheme compensation for movable dwellings 4th
September
H M Customs & Excise Potential Aggregates Tax 31st August
Min of Agriculture Fish & Food Salmon & Freshwater Fisheries Review
31st August
The summer holidays have brought the usual crop of consultation papers
(see above) as Parliament goes into recess. Although most appear
peripheral to the Association’s interests, there are often hidden
implications which make it worth registering a waterways interest and
investigating the true intentions behind the consultations:
n The British Railway Board property review could affect land that has
implications for freight transfer for carriage by inland shipping and
might also affect property of concern to waterway restoration schemes.
n The Department for Culture, Media & Sports review of investment in
culture and tourism could affect potential funding for waterside
businesses and influence the perceived economic attraction of
restoration schemes and the preservation of, and enhancements to,
existing waterways as well as waterway museums and similar attractions.
n The review of Tree Preservation Orders appears to be mostly a
procedural review, but many trees alongside existing and restorable
waterways are protected by such Orders. IWA has provided a submission
to the Department of the Environment, Transport & the Regions
emphasising the value of trees in the waterway landscape but supporting
the existing statutory exemption permitting the removal of trees
obstructing or causing a hazard or threat to navigation. A provision to
allow for the removal of trees obstructing the restoration of derelict
waterways was also been suggested.
n The Waste Strategy for England and Wales may have potential
opportunities for inland shipping and the carriage of waste by waterway
as well as relevance to Landfill Tax.
n The review of legislation concerning the Environment Agency and the
Scottish Environment Protection Agency is intended to examine the
possible rationalisation of the regulatory mechanisms within each
Agency.
n The DTI’s review of Assisted Areas could bring about changes in the
areas where particular funding opportunities are available for waterway
restoration to support local employment.
n The Environment Agency’s ‘Agreeing Access to Water’ is a draft ‘good
practice’ guide which is mainly aimed at rivers where there is no Right
of Navigation, but also applies to canals and other water courses.
n The Environment, Transport and Regional Affairs Select Committee (of
the House of Commons) has decided to examine the issues raised in the
Government’s Integrated Transport White Paper which was published on
20th July. Memoranda responding to the proposals are invited from
interested parties.
n The Highways Agency’s consultation on road scheme compensation for
movable dwellings has particular relevance to residential boat owners
with permanent moorings, who are not currently eligible for compensation
in the event of new road schemes affecting their moorings.
n H M Customs & Excise consultation on a possible tax on aggregates
would affect the dredging of aggregates from rivers such as the Trent.
Many waterways run along river valleys which have been considerably
exploited for aggregate quarrying in recent years; there is increasing
concerning that continuing demand for high quality aggregates will lead
to worsening blight on some of these landscapes.
n The Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Review is a major consideration of
all legislation concerning fisheries and their management and includes
Close Seasons for fishing in canals as well as all other waters. The
review will continue into 1999 and IWA will be making submissions to
coincide with each part of the review.
Planning Minister, Richard Caborn, issued a consultation paper on 31st
July, on the possibility of the Planning Inspectorate recovering the
costs of planning inquiries on appeals from applicants. If implemented,
this might have the effect of putting off some waterway developers from
pursuing unpopular developments, but might act against waterway
restorers pursuing difficult permissions.
LEAP Action plans have recently been received for the Lower Thames,
North Cornwall (includes the Bude Canal), River Dart.
The Action Plans are the Agency’s response to earlier consultation plans
and set out the Agency’s plans for the given areas over the next five
years. They are a useful opportunity to see if earlier comments have
been taken on board, and indicate where further lobbying or persuasion
may be required.
Further details on any of the above consultations are available from
Alastair Chisholm at Head Office.
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--
Justin Taberham, Operations Manager, Inland Waterways Association
Registered as a Charity No. 212342
Web site: http://www.waterway.demon.co.uk
personal: use "justin" rather than "iwa"
Martin Ludgate
Justin Taberham <jus...@waterway.demon.co.uk> writes
>Huddersfield Narrow Canal
>
>BW have invited tenders from contractors for the three large projects to
>complete re-opening of the Huddersfield Narrow Canal within Kirklees
>(the North Eastern part of the canal).
>
>The 3 projects are the refurbishment of Standedge Tunnel (estimated
>cost
>£5m), construction of 365 metres of new canal through the Bates and
>Sellers factories in Huddersfield (estimated cost £4.2m) and the
>reconstruction of the canal through Slaithwaite (estimated cost £ 2.5m).
>
Boat' magazine:
An article in the new (October) issue headed 'Crunch time for
Huddersfield Narrow' states that the restoration is 'poised on a
knife edge as English Partnerships make the final decision on
their UKP 12Million funding for hte Huddersfield Canal', and
seems to be saying that they won't decide whether to fund it at all
until November.
I thought that funding for the HNC was already sorted. Is this not
true? Are the tenders being invited in the hope that funding will be
agreed? Or is EP's November decision a 'Rubber stamp' that is
hightly unlikely to be turned down? (In which case the magazine
article is rather misleading)
--
Martin Ludgate
Tony Hinsley
>
> Following publication of the Fens Waterways Regeneration Strategy, two
> meetings for user groups have been held, one at Ely on 28th July
> (hosted
>
> One possible project that seems to have found favour is restoration
> and development of Soham Lode. The Lode is still just navigable for very
> light craft, although hardly ever used, but has no active navigation
> authority. There are pointed doors at the Great Ouse entrance and
> these are maintained by the Environment Agency, but these are solely to
> prevent Ouse flood water entering the lodes and normally they present
> no hindrance to navigation.
>
> Depth of Soham Lode is about one metre, but air draft is restricted
> and there is no winding hole at Soham. One problem appears to be that
> most cruising guides and maps omit the Lode. A sign at the entrance to the
> Lode may be a start, especially since at least two members of Soham
> Town Council are boat owners!
>
Not only are the councillors boat owners but both are IWA members. They
also are variously associated with EAWA & WRG etc.
The most important thing to do is publicize the Lode and to definitively
test the water and air drafts - without a winding hole it needs 2 nbs to
try it push-you-pull-me. Any volunteers? Answers before 14th September
6:30pm, the next Council meeting. As my boat is at Shackerstone still, I
won't be able to get it home before next Spring.
If volunteers are forth coming, local & waterways press publicity will
be arranged.
--
tony hinsley
Hinsley & Co
Consultant Engineers in electrical, mechanical & building services.
Brian L Dominic
Taberham) wrote:
>Erewash Canal
>
>Plans have been submitted by Hillsdown Holdings for a new leisure based
>development on the old Vic Hallam site at Langley Mill. This includes
>land on both sides of the Erewash Canal from Anchor Bridge to Derby Road
>Bridge and will include a new canal crossing for a main road diversion.
>
>BW hope to obtain improvements to the Canal and a permanent mooring area
>as a result of the development and local opinion appears to be in favour
>of it as it will clear up several near-derelict sites.
>
Ho-bloomin'-ray!!
The whole area has been a mess for a good number of years and any
improvements (which MIGHT include facilities of use to boaters) are
more than welcomed. It might also provide an incentive to cruise the
full length - there isn't much of one at present, apart from the
plaque to say you've done it!
Brian
(who passes it regularly)
Michael J Wooding
<domin...@proweb.co.uk> writes
>apart from the
>plaque to say you've done it!
We've got one of them
The Woodings
--
Michael J Wooding - nb DRACO http://www.g6iqm.demon.co.uk/draco.htm
NABO Webmaster http://www.clearlight.com/~nabo
email: na...@clearlight.com
The Cutpics site: http://www.vhfcomm.co.uk/cutpics.htm
The Springer Owners Club site: http://www.vhfcomm.co.uk/springer.htm
Mike Stevens
>
> It might also provide an incentive to cruise the
> plaque to say you've done it!
I alwats find "because it's there" is incentive enough. We did
the whole of the Erewash last year but didn't know about the
plaque. Can you e-mail with details, please? (& I'll see if I've
got adequate photographic evidence).
--
Mike Stevens
nb Felis Catus II
THIS IS POSTED TO THE CANALS MAILING-LIST (and hence also to
uk.rec.waterways). PLEASE DO NOT CROSS-POST, COPY OR QUOTE IT TO
ANY OTHER DESTINATION WITHOUT MY PERMISSION.
Any off-list replies, please, to michael...@which.net
Colin Shepherd
From: Mike Stevens <mike...@which.net>
To: can...@blacksheep.org
Subject: Eerewash Canal (was Re: IWA BULLETIN etc)
Reply-to: can...@blacksheep.org
I alwats find "because it's there" is incentive enough. We did
the whole of the Erewash last year but didn't know about the
plaque. Can you e-mail with details, please? (& I'll see if I've
got adequate photographic evidence).
--
Mike Stevens
nb Felis Catus II
Similarly for me , we cruised to the top and back in May, apart from
the anti vandal locks and the beer in the pub at the top it was a
very enjoyable trip.
**********************************
*
Colin Shepherd *
*
Finance Officer *
London Business School *
*
Tel (44) 0171 262 5050 *
Fax (44) 0171 724 7875 *
E-mail C.SHE...@lbs.ac.uk *
**********************************
Mike Stevens
>
> Similarly for me , we cruised to the top and back in May, apart from
> the anti vandal locks and the beer in the pub at the top it was a
> very enjoyable trip.
Didn't get into the pub, as I couldn't force my way through the
soundwaves of loud music emanating from it.
--
Mike Stevens
nb Felis Catus II
THIS IS POSTED TO THE CANALS MAILING-LIST (and hence also to
Michael J Wooding
<mike...@which.net> writes
>Didn't get into the pub, as I couldn't force my way through the
>soundwaves of loud music emanating from it.
When we were ther in 97 they didn't do food - so we used one of the 3
Indian take-aways in the village - and they delivered to the boat
Mike