Norbury News 40 May 2015.Qxd
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ISSUE 40 - MAY 2015 Meet the newest boater on the cut ABY Elizabeth is certainly a boat the historic narrow-boating community Bchild. Born last month to David will be able to get together. Ray and his partner Sarah she has “Whole families use to live their entire lived on board David's boat Ant lives in the back cabins of boats like since returning from the hospital Ibex so I am sure Elizabeth and Sarah and will get her first taste of back- will be comfortable for a week or so.” cabin life when the couple take their If Elizabeth's early-hours arrival is any- working boat, Ibex, to the Historic thing to go by she may well help Narrowboat Rally at Braunston in ensure David can 'get ahead' on the late June. journey to Braunston, with lots of early Hardly surprising really, as David is a starts. dedicated boater who was also intro- David added: “I suppose we are all duced to narrow-boating at a very concerned about how we get more early age. He is not only something of young people involved in the water- an expert on historic narrowboats but ways and I can't help hoping that his day to day life is spent surrounded Elizabeth will be at the helm of an his- by all types of boats as Manager of toric boat a few years down the line. Norbury Wharf Ltd on the Shropshire “I enjoyed lots of boating as a young Union Canal. child and I want her to have that Elizabeth arrived 3.15 in the morning of Elizabeth expeience too” April 9, weighing in at 5lb 11½oz by which time David had managed to adapt the accommodation on Ant to fit in a cot bed for Elizabeth and make room for all the many other essentials a new baby needs. Resourceful David, who still has a large smile on his face, week's after Elizabeth's arrival, said: “Sarah is very resourceful and we have managed to give Elizabeth everything a new baby needs on board. “Ibex is a sort of new baby too, at least she is to me, and I have been getting her ready for this summer over the past few months. “It will be wonderful to be able to take Elizabeth and our working boat to David Ray and Sarah with their baby Elizabeth and Ibex, whose back cabin Braunston where a lot of my friends in will be home for the family for a week or two this June. INSIDE THIS ISSUE Diesel price drops cuts holiday prices page two New dradging experiment by C&RT page three Boaters take key partnership roles page four Norbury News 2 BargainsBargains May Day buzz DIESEL - Our fuel is the cheap- at Norbury est at a Y the time most of you read commercial Bthis we will be recovering from the excitement of the boatyard Norbury Canal Festival – a May Day celebration that has grown on the in popularity in recent years. With trading boats lining the waterways - towpath, art craft and plant and FAME stalls to say nothing of boat and FAME trips exploring the lovely Enjoying a trip on one free. It can Shropshire Union Canal, it of Norbury’s day attracts both boaters and visi- boats - part of the change on a tors from a wide area. Food in abundance, both from poster advertising weekly the Junction Inn and food this year’s event stalls, including a Mexican food And it doesn't stop as the day Saturday and Sunday nights. basis but it bar, accompanied by a real ale darkens with a special marquee If you missed all the excitement festival and plenty of activities behind the pub with guest acts this year, put it in your diary for is now at: for youngsters makes the and local bands on both the May Day 2016. weekend buzz. 59.9p Diesel drops holiday prices he fall in diesel prices Norbury Wharf's Managing boats for the vacant weeks BATTERIES Tis not only benefiting Director, Simon Jenkins that are now available.” boat owners who buy said: “Unlike some hire A quick check on the - 110amphr Norbury's FAME-free firms we include diesel in Norbury website will show diesel at the lowest price the whole hire package and, the discounts now available, batteries at a boatyard on the canal as it is now costing us less despite the fact that the hire JUST system, the benefit is also to fuel the boats we are boat holiday season will JUST being passed on to poten- passing this saving on to soon be in full swing. £64.95 tial hirers. anyone who books one of New T&Cs get minor changes The Canal and River Trust introduced it's to cruise when away from their home moor- each when new Terms and Conditions for all boaters ing, claiming the requirement to cruise is on May1, but it seems a highly critical not new and the amendment to the terms you buy four assessment of the document by the and conditions had only been made to or more in National Association of Boat Owners has make this requirement much clearer. led to some small scale changes. The trust goes on to say: “... other changes the same The changes around the definition of a were requested on the basis that they were home mooring, the liability of joint owners either alleged to be outside the powers of transaction. of a boat and an assurance that C&RT will the Trust or claimed to be unfair, unreason- onl;y attempt to recover 'reasonable costs' able or unnecessary. We have not made £69.00 each from boats owners have had a cautious and these other changes on the basis that we muted reaction. do not accept that any of the revised terms if sold The Trust has also made some changes to and conditions are outside the powers of singly. its plans to pass boaters' data on to a wide the Trust. range of third parties and the circum- “We are also satisfied that the other specif- ECOFANS stances in which staff can come aboard pri- ic terms and conditions that were ques- vate boats and moorings. tioned are fully justified and reasonable for The original It has not substantially changed the us to include.” and best fan requirement for boats with a home mooring for your How about a mucky break...? stove just f you want a canal holiday with a real difference Ithe Waterways Recovery Group, which does magnificent work restoring some of our lost canals is looking for new volunteers. £114.50 Their summer camps involve lots of mud and machinery and you can join and book a place on the WRG website They have some great sites this year from the Stover Canal to the Driffield Navigation all with a variety of work going on. Norbury News 3 Get afloat Site testing best and try the fun of dredging disposal boating Take a trip he Canal & River Trust on Victory, Thas opened a pilot dredging treatment site Defiant, near Coventry as part of its plans to carry out £80m Bounty - our worth of dredging over ten day boats for years. With new legislation, the cost of 10 people. disposing of dredging via landfill has increased dramatically in You can recent years, and the aim of the enjoy up to site is to provide a cost efficient enjoy up to place to process dredgings that 17 miles of aren’t suitable for other uses, such as being spread onto agri- the beautiful cultural land or re-profiling eroded canal banks. Dredging waste drying out at the new testing site. Shropshire It is now illegal to take ‘wet waste’ This opens up opportunities for a The project will see a floating dig- to landfill, so the Trust has decid- range of uses for the dredged ger clearing 12,000 tonnes of Union canal ed to explore other avenues of material including: landscaping; mud and silt from the bed of the with no locks processing dredgings. capping for landfill sites and; use River Soar, with almost nine miles Because of the nature of the in land restoration. of the river dredged in two phas- and 6 pubs! dredging work, which can result The volume of material should dry es. The first phase from Belton in lots of material being dredged down by a third on average, Road in Loughborough to Zouch at once, it is difficult and costly to which reduces the amount going Lock near Hathern - should be find companies to take the dredg- in to landfill, and the associated completed by the end of May.The ings. costs to the Trust. second phase of the project will At the treatment site, the Trust is Vince Moran, operations director then focus on the river between trialling various methods of drying at the Trust, said: “This is great Junction Lock near Rothley and out the dredgings, which will then news for boaters. If the trial site Lime Kiln Lock to the north of be reused or, if they are contami- proves successful we will have Leicester city centre with work nated, safely taken to landfill. more control over our dredging expected to be completed by the The site has been set up in part- works. We will be able to plan end of June. nership with Land & Water and with greater confidence about the Mark Weatherall, project manager FCC Environment Ltd, and the availability of places to deposit or the Trust, said: “We’ll be dredg- trial is part of investigating the the dredged material, which can ing something like 12,000 tonnes need for, and viability of, setting be notoriously difficult and expen- of mud and silt from the river up a network of such sites.