Positionstatement and acknowledgement of purpose for the NorthWalsham & DilhamCanal EastAnglian Waterways Association Limited P*siti*nstate;^n+nt and acknowiedg*ment of purp*se i*r th€ NorthW*lsham & DiihamCana! t2l Foreword 3 i3l Consultation 4 l4l Preface 4 t5l Description 5 t6l Involvements 6 tAl No.1Honing Lock tBl HoningStaithe 7 tCl No.2Briggate Lock 8 Roger Sexton (Chairman) tDl BriggateMillpond & Staithe 8 EastAnglian Waterways Association lEl No.3Ebridge Lock 9 lFl No.4Bacton Wood Lock 10 I applaudthe workthat hasgone into the production (Austin) tcl Royston Bridge 10 of thisdocument which orovides a visionto enhance t7l PresentUse for Recreation 11 the benefitsand attractionsthat the NorthWalsham andDilham Canal affords to NorthNorfolk. Thanks are Features 12 t8l dueto allthose who havecontributed so generously t9l Environment 1? with theirtime. knowledge and sheer hard work to the [10]Vision 14 project.As madeclear on page4, this isa live documentand it isimportant that as many others as [11]Delivery 15 possibleget involvedto improveand developthe work [12] SiteInformation 16 that hasbeen initiated here. Maps& Designations 17 [13] The EastAnglian Waterways Association was founded [14] Pounds 17 in 1958to covera widearea of easternEngland and the canalreoresents one of itsearliest involvements. [15]Acknowledgments 18 HenceI wasdelighted we wereable to assistwith the [16] ContactUs 19 formationof the NorthWalsham & DilhamCanal Trust to providea locally-basedorganisation to helpcare for thisfine waterwav. flastAnglian Waterways Association Limited Positionstaternent and acknowledqement CIf pl.jt-p*se for the NarthWaisham & DilharnCanai Thefollowing organisations have been consulted Thisdocument is the culminationof overtwelve years of throughoutthe compilationof thisdocument; experiencein promoting,coordinating and delivering voluntarywork on Norfolk'sonly locked canal . lts r NorthWalsham & DilhamCanalTrust purposeis to outlinethe EastAnglian Waterways . TheEAWA and the NW&DCTenvisage that thiswill Association's(EAWA) and the NorthWalsham and be a livedocument and, as such, will seek Dilham (NW&DCT)position to engage CanalTrust's regardingthis I with the manyindividuals and organisations that waterwayand to acknowledgeour joint desireto see havean involvementwith the canalso asto review improvementin the canal'sstatus over the nextten years i and amendthis publication to reflectmore widely and beyond. the varietyof usesand interestsit affords. J We hopethat throughcollating information detailing the {I interconnectivityof the canal'sfeatures with the $ environmentaland recreationalfunctions that it currently I I provides,we will be ableto stressthe importanceof this waterwayin a new context.To this end we haveoutlined our approachthrough the articulationof a visionthat we J feelis attainable through positive management and I partnershipworking to targetmutually agreed and I I consentedworks at a locallevel. I Na.l Honing Locki|920's) Finallyit isworth acknowledgingthat thisdocument is the resultof manyindividuals' efforts, in the main,given on a completelyvoluntary basis and at theirown personalexpense. The EAWA is a registeredcharity and our directorsand membershail from manydifferent backgroundsand haveexperience of numerous disciolines. I Thereare other canals in Norfolksuch as the HaddiscoeCut andthe WaxhamCut but the NorthWalsham & Dilham Canalis the onlyNorfolk Canal with Locks.The other waterways in Norfolkwith locks(the Aylsham Navigation and BungayNavigation) are river navigations. EastAnglian Waterways Association Limited Pasitionstateffi+nt and ackn*wiedcemeniof nurp*s* f*i- ihs i'l*rth w*aisha;-n& Dilh*rn Canal TheNorth Walsham and Dilham Canaljoins the River Ant,just aboveWayford Bridge, in the parishof Smallburghand passes through the parishesof Dilham, EastRuston, Honing, Worstead, Witton, North Walsham,Swafield to AntinghamPonds in the parishof Antingham.Along this route the canalrises into some of the morepicturesque scenery of NorthNorfolk where sectionsof the waterurraybecome distinct and individual in theircharacter. This has the effectof makingthe navigationseem longer than the approximatenine miles of itslength. Despiteits dereliction the canalis an integralpart of NorthNorfolk. lt isan importantcomponent of No.iHaning Lack {X92#'s} industrialheritage in a predominantlyrural county. lts existencepresents a contradictionto the recognised imageof the unlockedwaters of the navigablerivers It isworth statingthat thiswaterway is a true canalin andman-made lakes known as the Broads.This is that it isalmost entirely (84V') a new cuttingand becausethe canalsits apart from thisperception and distinctfrom the uppercourse of the olderRiver Ant, would be betterdescribed through its associated locks, whichran 1 1.29 miles from source to confluenceand bridges,staithes, watermills and rollingcountryside. whichis defined to a largedegree, by historicparish boundaries.Where the waterwaydoes follow the path of the old riverit isgenerally on a muchaltered elevation. Thisnew waterwaywas a comparativelylate undertaking,its Act gainingRoyal Assent on the 5th May1812 and construction being completed in September1826. lt wasdesigned to andcontinues to, utilisemany tributaries of the pre-existingwatercourse, though,for a canalthis arrangement isnot unusual.lts constructionwas always a compromisebetween the previousriver's industrial purpose of providingthe watermillsalong its length with powerand the marriage of thisfunction with the requirementto providewater for the workingof the locksafter 1826.The primary Eeiow Honing Lotk (2# A) intentionof thisenterprise was to extendthe reachof the localtransport network provided by the Broads waterwaysand thereby afford an increasein trade. Despitethis aim, traffic was neversignificant and the lasttrade on thiswaterway was.carried in 1935.Since thenthe structuresand cuttingshave degraded and falleninto disuse, despite no officialabandonment havingbeen formalised or enacted. iast A*g!!an'f,'.JaterwdysA.ssoclcti*n Liry:iied Positionstatement and acknowledgement of purpose for theNorthWalsham & DilhamCanal [6]Involvements TheEast Anglian Wateruuays Association (EAWA) has Followingconsultation between the EAWAand a beeninvolved with the North Walsham and Dilham numberof interestedparties in April 1997,it became Canalfor manyyears. Since 1956 interest in the apparentthat a full environmentalassessment of the waterwayhas advanced through several iterations canaland adjacent habitats should be carriedout. To this leadingeventually to theformation of the North end the EAWAcommissioned Ecological Associates to Walshamand Dilham CanalTrust (NW&DCT) in 2009. undertakea detailedecological survey. This work covered the samearea as the 1996engineering study and was ln 1994,following a meetingbetween the EAWAand undertakenbetween October 1997 and December theNorth Walsham Canal Company Ltd, an engineering 1998.One of the principleacknowledgements of the surveywas commissioned covering the canal up to No.4 studywas that; BactonWood Lock. This work, completed in 1996, indicatedthat the lockswere in a reasonablestate of repair;and that restoration would be practicable. Thecanal and associatedhabitats form a corridor which effectivelylinks a numberof regionallyand nationallyimportant wetland sites. The continued existenceand ecologicalstability of the canal enhancesand safeguardsthe wider conservation interestof many of the wetlahd sitesin the catchment,by allowingspecies transfer Followingcareful consideration of the findings of the ecologicalstudy the EAWAsought to initiatevoluntary workparties on thecanal. These began in December 2000and were aimed at drawingattention to the waterwayand to attemptto haltfurther degradation of thecanal structures. This progressed initially under the leadershipof Graham Brown (2000/1), then Kevin Baker (200212006)and since 2006 has been led by David Revill. Overthe lastdecade work parties have continued with an increasingregularity and are an ongoing feature of the EAWAand NW&DCT activities. Onthe following pages you canread a briefsummary of the sites(A to G)we have LockPaddle (2011) beenworking o,n and our achievementsto date. @ f-tt AnglianWaterways Association Limited **:lti*r 3l*t**r"."-=!";n* *ikn*z;'-;i**44=u*i*! ='.:r**=*i+r i-* ilcii* ;.f4*iz**ir-,& *:in*r* e air+i TheEAWA and NW&DCThave been involved at thrssite Ourinitial work partyat thissite on Pound2 wascarried out sinceholding a work partyhere on 29thSeptember on 29thOctober 2006. Since that datethe sitehas been 2002.This is the first lock on the canaland links the rest clearedfor oermissiveaccess. Walkers enter the staithefrom of the waterwaywith the tidalinfluenced waters of the nearbyWeavers Way Long Distance Footpath and its Pound1 whichcuts its way 2.3 milesdownstream of proximityto the canalinspired the creationof a circular the lockto the RiverAnt nearWayford Bridge. There is a walk,linking the WeaversWay with the wateruuay.This wellused public right of way(Honing Footpath 22 & work wasaided by the awardof grantfunding as part of DilhamFootpath 7)that runs beside the canalfrom the the EuropeanUnion's Leader+ Broads and Rivers lockto TonnageBridge and canoeists regularly venture Programme.The clearances around the staitheand upstreamto the lock.Most of our voluntarywork formationof a walkhave been warmly welcomed by local partieson thissite have concentrated on clearingthe residentsand walkers alike. as such we continueto maintain lockstructure and improvingcanoe access. andimprove this