NABOThe Magazine of the National AssociationNews of Boat Owners Issue 6—November 2012

CONFUSION OR CLARITY? CRT’s continuous cruiser initiative K&A mooring strategy GOOD NEWS: LICENCE FEES PEGGED BAD NEWS: EU diesel tax to rise FLOATING HOMES NABO response to the houseboat consultation 2 NABO News Issue 6 November 2012

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ISO 9001 T: 01869 363687 www.barrus.co.uk BUREAU VERITAS Certification E: [email protected] The Power Behind The Brands NABO News The magazine of the National Association of Boat Owners Issue 6 November 2012 Table of Contents Front Cover Photo Competition 5 Editorial This month’s cov- 6 Chairman’s column er photo is from News Matthew Veasey, showing the breach 7 NABO AGM, Licence fees, Breaches near Dutton Hollow latest, That sinking feeling?, CRT and on the Trent & CCs, EU proposal on licences and red Mersey Canal diesel, Mobile phone reception www.facebook.com/ LittleLeighVillage 12 Bottom too near the top? 15 Waterways Ombudsman, Canal Laureate Win yourself a year’s 16 Crossword free membership by 17 Snippets from past NABO News—1997 sending us an image for the front cover of Boating the new NABO News. In the first instance please 18 Dawdling down to Droitwich send a low resolution JPEG by email. The photo Talking points should ideally be portrait format with a width of at least 1800 pixels. 24 K&A mooring strategy 28 Floating homes NABO Calendar 2012 30 Letters Council Meetings in 2012: Contributions Saturday November 17th (AGM) Articles, letters, cartoons and photos are most Saturday November 24th welcome. Images and photos in JPEG format The AGM is at the Beef and Barge pub at please. Brookhaven, Trowbridge Road, Widbrook, near Contributions to [email protected] Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire, BA15 1UD (01225 Next NABO News Copy Date 309318). Council meetings are normally at the Waggon and Horses, Church St., Oldbury, West Please email or post your contributions by Midlands, B69 3AD. Remember that members 8th December 2012 are welcome to attend meetings—just let the Secretary or Chairman know in advance (con- tact details overleaf).

NABO News is published by the National Association of Boat Owners FREEPOST (BM8367), Birmingham B31 2BR Editor: Peter Fellows

Whilst every care is taken to ensure that the contents of this newsletter are factually correct, we accept no liability for any direct or consequential loss arising from any action taken by anyone as a result of reading anything contained in this publication. The views expressed are not necessarily those of the Association. The products and services advertised in this publication are not necessarily endorsed by the Association. 4 NABO News Issue 6 November 2012

The NABO Council Regional Representatives:

Chairman North Western Waterways: David S. Fletcher Richard Carpenter (details left) 72 Main Road, Hackleton, Northants NN7 2AD North East, Yorkshire and Humber 01604 870107, 07719 276 659 Share Owners Representative [email protected] Howard Anguish Vice Chairman, Moorings 2 Broadley Croft, Welton, Brough, East Yorks Simon Robbins HU15 1TD 01482 669 876 Nb Centurion, Kensal Green Moorings, [email protected], [email protected] Ladbroke Grove W10 4SR London Waterways 0208 9644 516 Simon Robbins (details left) [email protected], [email protected] South East General Sec, Promotion & Recruitment Geoff Wood Richard Carpenter 07968 491118 [email protected] Mill House End Farm, Grape Lane, Croston, Southern Waterways Leyland, Lancashire PR26 9HB Andy Colyer (details left) 07989 441674 or 01772 600886 [email protected] Rivers Treasurer Stephen Peters (details left) Stephen Peters Midlands Waterways 325 Alcester Road, Wythall, Birmingham B47 David S. Fletcher (details left) 6JG 01564 824927 East Midlands Waterways [email protected] Joan Jamieson Legal Affairs 60 Waddington Drive, Wilford Hill, Nottingham Geoffrey Rogerson NG2 7GX, 0115 981 2047 51 High Path Road, Guildford, GU1 2QQ [email protected] 07768 736593 Anglian Waterways [email protected] [email protected] Minutes Secretary The Thames Vacant Louis Jankel Continuous Cruising & Webmaster 07831 197171 [email protected] Vacant Graham Paterson [email protected] [email protected] 0118 986 3959 [email protected] Council Member Southwest Andy Colyer Additional Contacts The PO, 21-23 Holcombe Lane, Bathampton, Bath BA2 6OL Assistant For The Disabled [email protected] Philip Ogden News Editor Wharf Cottage, Finwood Road CV35 7DH Peter Fellows 01564 782516 19 High Street, Bonsall, [email protected] Derbyshire, DE4 2AS Administration [email protected] Melanie Darlington 111 Maas Rd, Northfield, Birmingham B31 2PP [email protected] Technical, BSS & MCA Representative Trevor Rogers 12 Greenham Mill, Newbury, Berks RG14 5QW 07990 594221 [email protected] NABO News Issue 6 November 2012 5 The Editor’s Column Bouquets and brickbats Peter Fellows gets his party clothes ready for the AGM

y the time you read this it will be approach- and Residential Boat Owners Association. This ing six months since the CRT took over follows a statement in NABO News on NABO’s Bthe waterways and now is a good time to position earlier this year and much debate in the look at how things have started off. There has, of letters pages. The CRT announcement came just course, been an enormous number of appoint- as we were going to press and NABO will make ments to the various advisory groups and local its response in a future issue. partnerships, and it will take some time for these There are also updates on the CRT consul- to all bed in and begin to work—and to see how tation on houseboat permits and CRT’s efforts CRT Trustees are able to coordinate and make to deal with the serious canal breaches due to sensible policies from the outcomes of these heavy rain in September which has caused it to diverse deliberations. At present there are, as rethink how it will spend its funds. So in the last might be expected, some plusses and minuses as six months CRT Trustees and managers have reported in this issue. certainly been busy, with four important policy A bouquet is due to CRT for the new dredging statements and work on the ground to deal with policy, which promises to be more transparent, the unprecedented drought-then-deluge that has with increased funding and a request for inputs not occurred for 100 years—not a bad start, but from boaters. If you know somewhere that has there remain issues to be addressed. some high spots let the local waterway manager Elsewhere in this issue Louis Jankel reports know and CRT promise this will be taken into on progress with consultations between the EA account when planning dredging priorities. and Thames user groups, there is my own two However, there remain issues to be addressed pennyworth on a visit to the Droitwich Canals with the new K&A moorings strategy as report- and there are articles on boat safety following a ed by Geoffrey Rogerson. Elsewhere in this issue number of recent sinkings. CRT has announced its policy towards continu- I look forward to seeing you at the AGM on ous cruisers, which has the support of the IWA the 17th November. 6 NABO News Issue 6 November 2012 The Chairman's Column Something old, something new Chairman David Fletcher rallies his troops for a rousing AGM

e have all heard of the seri- tion plus 2% as for the last two years. ous breach and stoppages This increase on the licence income Won the T&M in the last few is a tidy sum, not enough to mend a weeks. CRT could have done with- breach, but enough for something out it at any time, but not in the first that makes a difference to boaters’ months of the new organisation. experience and not just lost in the The local team are obviously pulling big bucket of money that is need- out all the stops to get it fixed and ed for maintenance and overheads. get boaters moving again. It is an Now the pressure is on the EA to awakening to the new opportunities follow suit on their registration fees for fundraising and it must be done; and hold increases down to inflation we should welcome the chance to as well. ask new contributors who enjoy the In the last few weeks the CRT system to give money, spreading the Trustees debated the age-old issue of load; and give too if we are able and bona fide navigation. NABO made willing. We are all thinking how it a submission prior to the meeting could have been avoided, perhaps by based on items from NABO News, the return to the policy of lengths- including one from Tony’s ‘snippets’ men who would have that important of articles from the early days of local knowledge. As an engineer NABO. Last year, we took the lead who has worked on old equipment, I to sit with BW to help with the re- am only too aware of the fine judge- vised wording of the guidance notes, ment between keeping things going so we are satisfied with them at the at low cost and throwing in the tow- moment. As I write, the paper from el for expensive replacements. We the CRT meeting has been released. should support the engineers who There is much to agree with and a have to make these judgements and few hoary old favourites to mirror the funding they need to make them the new proposals for mooring on Correction more precise. I wonder if, with the the west end of the K&A. There will Last month I let you all current spell of weather swings, we be a lot of work needed in the com- down with some incorrect are seeing circumstances not seen ing months to gather views, form a wording in this column when within recent experience. Our role consensus and go into print. referring to Sally Ash, CRT as boaters is always to tell naviga- Enough of CRT. We are coming Head of Boating. I apologise tion authorities if we are concerned up to another AGM and there is a and accept that my written about something. lot to think about for our future: comments were of an where we are going and how we unacceptable standard and Licenses pegged to inflation fall short of proper respect should spend our energy. You are for Ms. Ash and CRT, who I welcome the CRT announceent always very supportive, but there are doing a difficult job. that from 2014 boat licence increas- are just not enough of us at the mo- NABO is from time to time in es will be held at inflation only. This ment, both as members and on the disagreement with navigation will provide confidence to newcom- Council. We have some hard deci- authorities, but I should not let ers and some relief to we who are sions to make. Please try and be that impinge on the accuracy paying the significant sums. Next there to support the Association and of what I write. year the increase will be at infla- give your views. NABO News Issue 6 November 2012 7

NABO AGM NABO Boater's Forum NABO’s AGM will take place at The Beef and Starting at 12.30 after the AGM Barge pub near Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire, A chance to put your questions to on Saturday 17th November commencing at Mike Rodd of the K&A Trust and 10.30am with the venue open from 10am for tea NABO Council members. and coffee. The format this year is to quickly run Open to all through the formalities, elect officers (nomina- tions received are shown below), and hear our so please pass on this invitation to attend our forum to any boating or canal friends Chairman’s review of the past year combined with an open session about NABO's role and its future position. After lunch at 12.30pm (free to retired to enjoy his journey around the system. all NABO Members who attend), we plan one of John has been responsible for so much of our our ‘Boaters Forum’ sessions and our Guest for move to embrace new technology as well as his this is Mike Rodd, a NABO member but better viewpoint as a bona fide continuous cruiser. known as Chair of the K&A Trust. The Forum is Members are reminded that the new Council open to all comers—not just NABO members— can co-opt people to become Councillors, and so and boat clubs and marinas within striking dis- if we have willing helpers who may like to try a tance of Bradford on Avon have been invited. It’s role there is a mechanism in place to join us. informal and Secretary Richard Carpenter keeps The Beef and Barges's address is at some form of order. With NABO Councillors Brookhaven as part of the marina, BA15 1UD, past, present and future on hand there is always Tel: 01225 309318. We are able to arrange lifts a great deal of experience in the room to discuss from Bradford on Avon Station—just let me issues affecting boat owners. Everyone will have know if you require one. a chance to join in the debate about all issues and it is a unique opportunity to better understand all that is involved, without it being too formal. Boat Licence Fees: NABO Council 2013 and beyond The following existing Councillors have been nominated and have indicated their willing- CRT Trustees have decided to limit boat li- ness to stand for election again: David Fletcher, cence fee increases to inflation only for three Stephen Peters, Andrew Colyer, Peter Fellows, years from 2014. Their decision was made at the Simon Robbins and Geoffrey Rogerson.We same time as endorsing the third and final year also have a new nominee, Jane Taylor, an in- of BW’s planned licence prices, which will see li- dependent councillor and psychoanalyst based cence fees rise from 1st April 2013 by 4.6% (2% in the Staffordshire/Derbyshire area, who lives above inflation). Simon Salem, CRT’s Marketing aboard nb Ofira with her partner. Jane hopes Director, said: “Whilst boaters alone can’t be ex- to be able to bring her skills to NABO and help pected to pay the full cost of looking after the wa- boaters and their boating needs by understand- terways, their boats are integral to the appeal of ing and communicating with them at all levels. the canals and rivers and therefore to the ability Richard Carpenter has offered to continue as of the Trust to win support from other sources. General Secretary subject to the new Council’s In making a three year decision to peg licence approval, but will not be a full Council member fees to inflation, we have listened to boaters’ due to other pressures (permitted in our consti- clearly expressed desire for certainty over future tution in the case of General Secretary, which fees. We have also done what we can to limit in- is seen as an administrative role). At a recent creases, recognising that the number of boats on Council meeting, all expressed many thanks for the waterways has remained static and that boat- the work put in over the past few years by John ers face significant financial pressures as part of Slee, who has stepped down from Council and the wider effects of recession.” 8 NABO News Issue 6 November 2012 News Breaches latest In late September, heavy rainfall caused a large breach that closed the at Dutton Hollow, south of Dutton . There was also significant damage to a supporting em- bankment at Croxton Flash near Middlewich. Vince Moran, CRT Operations Director report- ed: “Our civil engineering contractor is on site at Croxton Flash and has started work, which in- cludes laying an access track. At least 50 metres of embankment will need to be repaired work- ing from the river below, which will be challeng- we got through the summer! Just before the Trent ing. At Dutton, the Trust's engineers are assess- & Mersey breach, we were planning to release ing various solutions for what will be a complex the £2m contingency fund to undertake main- repair given the challenges of access to the site— tenance and repair projects this winter such as half a mile from the nearest bridge and the em- lock grouting, bridge painting and maintenance, bankment is on a steep slope. A ‘finger in the air’ stabilisation of Woodseaves Cutting and some estimate is that 1,000 tonnes of material has been additional dredging. Then the Trent & Mersey washed away. We had not recorded any leaks at breached, with the repair estimated at £1.75m. the embankment before the deluge or any oth- The choice was either to defer the additional er reasons to be overly concerned. We are really projects or overspend by around £1.5m. To de- grateful to the member of the public who alerted lay any of the works now would cause inconven- us to a developing problem at the site so that we ience to boaters and probably cost more in the were able to get stop planks in before the breach end. So I am pleased to say we have decided to happened.” overspend so that we can undertake the majority The canal and towpath remain closed from Big of planned projects and fix the Trent & Mersey. Lock to Bridge 179 at Whatcroft and at Dutton This means using some money from next year so Hollow from Acton Quay at Bridge 209 to Bridge there will be less around in 2013/14. We’re plan- 213. Between Whatcroft and Acton, the canal ning to have the Trent & Mersey fully open by level is navigable and customers are able to ac- Spring, but we don’t need any further unforeseen cess the services at Anderton. Anderton Boat events this year! I’d like to thank the boaters and Lift remains operational for access to/from the members of the community who have contrib- . uted to the breach appeal, which now stands at over £11,000. This financial support wasn’t avail- able a few months ago and is an indication of the Update by Vince Moran opportunities presented by being a Trust. Details of how to donate can be found at: www. This time last year our focus was on the worst canalrivertrust.org.uk/breach or alternately text drought in over 100 years and we were re-jigging BREACH to 70800. our plans to release around £1m for drought al- leviation measures. Then the rains came! Flash rains hit us first at Hebden Bridge where tor- rential downpours tore up stretches of towpath, gouging channels and ripping down walls—with additional unplanned costs of around £300k. Then we discovered that an area of the Mon & Brec Canal was beginning to leak badly. The so- lution is relining at a cost of around £1.5m—so that was almost £2m of unplanned works before

Top photo: Nick Jones. Courtesy of Middlewich Guardian Bottom: www.flickr.com/ourvale NABO News Issue 6 November 2012 9 News

Everyone moved to the stern to try and bail out A sinking feeling? the engine room, but were unable to cope with Following a number of recent sinkings and par- the amount of water entering. The engine room tial sinkings where water entered through the filled and flooded into the main cabin submerg- weed hatch, the Boat Safety Scheme committee ing the aft coaming, resulting in the vessel sink- has reminded owners of boats with weed hatches ing within ten seconds. None of the crew or the to make a routine of checking weed hatch covers. dog had lifejackets, but they were rescued by a You should especially check that the hatch seal- nearby rigid inflatable boat and a police launch. ing gasket is in good condition and effective. You The hull of the vessel had been completely dou- should also inspect the hatch body and cover, at ble-plated and the increased weight resulted in a least annually, to make sure they are still in good reduced safety clearance with the bottom of the condition with no early signs of problems. At the engine room vent approximately 65mm above same time, monitor the distance to the waterline: the waterline. With three people on the aft deck, the accepted standard is at least 150mm between the engine room air vent became submerged by the weed hatch top and the normal waterline, but 50mm and the resulting flooding and sinking of changes to ballasting or adding equipment dur- the vessel was inevitable. ing the boat’s life may mean the stern sits lower The following safety lessons should be care- in the water. Also the natural pull-down of the fully considered by owners before stern when underway causes water from the pro- venturing onto the tidal Thames: it is a Category peller to test the weed hatch seals every time the C waterway, where wave heights of up to 1.2m boat is put in gear. So, if you don’t do so already, may be encountered and vessels should be suit- make it a routine to check that the hatch cover ably prepared for these conditions. Through- bolts are fully tightened before setting off and hull fittings, vents and exhaust outlets should any time after the hatch has been used. be positioned as high up as practicable to meet the conditions likely to be encountered. Where these cannot be moved to a safe location, consid- eration should be given as to whether the boat is suitable to navigate the tidal river. Where modi- fications have been made to a vessel, such as the extensive use of double-plating, it is important to check that sufficient clearance remains for the vessel to safely navigate the waterway. Lifejackets and other safety equipment should always be provided when navigating the tidal Thames and it is strongly recommended that lifejackets are worn at all times when on deck.

…and another The Port of London Authority has issued a safety bulletin in response to a narrowboat sink- ing in Limehouse Reach in August. The boat was delivered by road to South Dock Marina for a new owner who set off for an overnight berth in Limehouse Marina a short distance up the . The boat had five adults and a dog on board. Shortly into their trip the crew noticed a change in the engine note and opened the engine room hatch to find the engine half-submerged. 10 NABO News Issue 6 November 2012 News CRT and CC As the debate goes on, CRT issues a policy briefing

The briefing and policy n October, CRT’s Council and mum time limits at visitor moor- paper is available at http:// Trustees, with the support of the ings, including new signage canalrivertrust.org.uk/media/ library/2153.pdf IIWA and the Residential Boat showing a limit of total days per Owners Association (RBOA), an- month as well as the maximum Geoffrey Rogerson examines the implications on page 24 nounced their interpretation of the stay time for a single visit. law relating to continuous cruising The introduction of extended and proposed a number of new ini- stay charges to deter overstay- tiatives to address perceived misuse ing, backed by more frequent site of licensing and mooring rules. visits by the Trust’s enforcement Greater clarity for continuous team; and cruisers on how to comply with A strategic role for the Trust’s the licence terms, backed by Waterway Partnerships in identi- sufficient enforcement to avoid fying priority areas for action. continued growth of non-com- pliance. “Those who live aboard

Stronger enforcement of maxi- at their home mooring and those continuously The CC Debate cruising within the spirit There has been much discussion of late in letters to NABO of the legislation will not News and elsewhere about continuous cruisers. This is NABO’s position: be adversely affected by We support genuine continuous cruisers who navigate the new initiatives.” bona fide within the terms of the 1995 BW Act. We support proportional enforcement of the 1995 Act At ‘hot-spot’ locations on the west- (section 17) specifically on bona fide navigation and we ern end of K&A and within London, support significant funding for enforcement of the Act. CRT is already discussing solutions We support the publication of summary boat checking with local boaters. There will also data so that the extent of any problems is clear, and to give be more focus on validating new greater transparency on enforcement by CRT. applications for licences from boat- We suggest that any new initiatives are justified by evi- ers without a home mooring, and dence-based decision making and legal transparency. ‘strengthening boater education’ in We understand the need for time-limited interim solu- respect of boat licence terms and tions where residential boaters are disadvantaged though conditions. previous lack of enforcement. Simon Salem commented: “Those To summarise, the continuous mooring debate is divisive; who live aboard at their home moor- boaters should stick together. All boaters have a responsibil- ing and those continuously cruising ity to use the waterways unselfishly and, where a boater is within the spirit of the legislation shown to not be bona fide navigating, NABO supports pro- will not be adversely affected by the portional and even-handed enforcement to encourage un- new initiatives.” selfish behaviour. NABO is pleased to see these long-stand- Alan Wildman, chair of the ing issues high on the list of CRT priorities. They need to be RBOA, commented: “RBOA wel- resolved within a set timescale, with clear terms of reference comes the commitment to tackle the that can lead to a workable and widely supported conclusion. question of non-compliant continu- NABO News Issue 6 November 2012 11 News ous cruising patterns. It recognises that CRT is making a commendable effort to assist those whose lifestyle falls outside the continuous cruis- ing licence terms. There is certainly no desire to drive anyone from the inland waterways, only to find a way for us all to work and live together in harmony and within the rules.” Paul Roper, Chairman of IWA’s Navigation Committee, said: “IWA has been concerned about this is- sue and so welcomes the acceptance by CRT that something needs to be urgently done about the problems Canalman caused by non-compliant continu- ous cruisers, and in fact anyone over-staying, especially on visitor proper regard to applying sympa- moorings. We look forward to a thetic transitional arrangements for prompt resolution of this matter for any residential boaters who may cur- the benefit of all users, whilst having rently be in default.”

through the use of agricultural diesel. Therefore It pays to read the the Commission should consider submitting pro- posals to harmonise watercraft licences at Union small print! level, to encourage regular technical checks and Mike Annan notices new EU licence proposals to prevent tax evasion by discouraging the use of and changes to red diesel tucked away in an agricultural diesel. amendment to the RCD If unopposed at the meeting, this would be- come the EU’s stated position and it then in- A committee of the European Parliament re- structs its President to forward its position to the cently published its proposals to amend the Commission and to National Parliaments. Don’t Recreational Craft Directive (RCD) which ap- be confused: the license they refer to is not a wa- plies to all new boats. As you would expect, terways licence but the equivalent of a driving much of it related to the technical details of ma- licence. Do we want one, do we need one? It will rine engines and boats and probably most are not be a version of the International Certificate of controversial to any of the member states, since Competence (ICC) and could become compul- they seek to keep boats up to date with advanc- sory for all boaters. Is that really a part of the rec- ing technical standards. However, tucked away reational craft directive? I think not! Plus, if you is one important proposed amendment that cannot win the arguments about the use of red doesn’t really belong there, but it is to be consid- diesel by boats, why not try and slip in some con- ered by the European Parliament in December trols through this innocuous piece of red tape. this year. This proposal works on the principle So we must ensure that our representatives of ‘he who shouts loudest’ and comes primarily in Brussels consider this proposal and that our from the Belgian and Netherland’s representa- Waterways Minister clearly understands the tives. It reads: views of boaters and NABO. Why not write to (26a) there is no harmonisation or level play- your MEP—they will be at the Parliament meet- ing field with regard to watercraft licences or tech- ing on 11th December. The main document is on nical checks, and tax evasion can still take place the NABO website. 12 NABO News Issue 6 November 2012 News Bottom too near the top? CRT’s dredging strategy as outlined to the Navigation Advisory Group. Extract from a presentation by Graham Holland, Head of Asset Management

hy Now? Previous ‘prom- pre-treatment is required on-site to ises’ made to users were lower the water content by vacuum, Wnot always well defined and centrifuge, lime, mixing, spreading, processes were not as clearly defined drying—each of which is expensive, as they should have been, leading laborious and may increase dispos- to concern from user groups about al volumes. Waste regulations make past ‘arbitrary’ decisions on dredge disposal increasingly expensive and depth etc. A failure to communicate costs have doubled between 2003 reasons for decisions has led to re- and 2006. Disposal on-site as back- quests from user groups for a coher- fill to pilings or as bank protection ent written strategy. The is preferred. Disposal to local agri- current review will also ‘put cultural land is covered by environ- to bed’ some historical in- mental legislation and disposal to a ternal and external miscon- licensed Trust-owned tip is possible ceptions about minimum but there are few left with adequate open channel dimensions capacity. Disposal to a licensed waste and dredge depth, and pri- site has high transport costs (gener- oritise dredging against ally £100-200k/km, but >£500k/km other major works projects when dredgings are classed as con- and within strategic ex- taminated) and there are few sites penditure categories. available in UK.

Methods of Depth identification, normal dredging, waste water levels and channel design Photos: treatment and considerations CRT disposal 1990’s research gave an average sedi- Excavation us- mentation rate of 6mm/year, which ing floatingimplies that 100 km per year requires dredgers and dredging. We have traditionally as- hoppers is nor- sumed a 25-year cycle of dredging, mal; land-based but the latest research methodology excavators are and software is now allowing bet- possible if access ter analysis and shows that 40-year allows; water in- rural and 50-year urban cycles may jection dredging be appropriate. There is an 8-year is used on riv- hydrographic survey cycle cover- ers; cutter suction dredging is rarely ing the full network, using GPS- used; hoeing and raking is used for controlled single point echo sound- weed and debris removal; and final- ing for surveys of reservoirs, docks ly spot dredging is used but often and tidal waterways. The survey has high unit costs due to site set- output produces a contour bed plan up. Liquid waste is now banned so and digital terrain model that ena- NABO News Issue 6 November 2012 13 News bles volume calculations for dredg- as reservoir storage if dredging is How much? ing and reservoir capacity. A GPS- carried out?). The calculation results Generally £100k to £200k controlled scanning profiler collects in a Matrix Score, that together with per kilometre. a swathe of data across the canal bed customer complaints of obstruction When classed as at many thousands of points, which and weed growth, allows sections of contaminated, greater then allows us to extract cross-sections at waterway to be ranked to produce a £500k per kilometre. any point. The cross-section data is priority list for dredging planning. Waste Regulations make used to calculate Dredging Priority The timing of dredging depends on this increasingly expensive Trigger (DPT) compliance. The data many factors, including land agree- —costs per km doubled is compiled into the national survey ments, disposal issues, nesting sea- from 2003 to 2006. database and is used in a ‘Network son, protected species, SSSIs, boat Series of Acts and Stewardship Score’ calculation. traffic, and the potential for fish kills Regulations 1998 to The ‘controlling water level’ is due to reduced dissolved oxygen, 2005— these are still established to ensure the accuracy which is less likely in winter. The na- continuing. and repeatability of surveys and the tional dredging team at Hatton con- Traditional disposal to GPS height and position is found on siders potential dredging projects landfill or to banks and a controlling weir to an accuracy of alongside other asset repairs. A term behind bank protection are most cost effective. <20mm. Work is currently under- contract is drawn up with Land and way levelling all the weirs across the Water Services, with an agreed min- Liquid waste is now network, with 958 completed so far. imum throughput, which results in banned so pre-treatment required—eg. lime, The current 70/30 DPT compliance a contract discount when achieved. centrifuge, PFA. map shows that of 3078 km of canals and rivers, 217 km (7%) fail and so New dredging strategy Annual Dredging trigger further consideration. A pro- The new strategy and methodol- Expenditure posed 90/10 DPT compliance map ogy is to be published, with clearly shows 488 km (16%) or double the defined responsibilities for survey- Year Cost Length number of failing lengths and better ing, ranking, prioritisation, approv- (km) matches customer complaint data. al, design and delivery. The DPT is 98/99 £500,000 * BW previously committed to to be logically defined and published 99/00 £1,685,000 * dredge to the original canal profile and based on lock width and cill 00/01 £2,778,000 143 01/02 £3,773,000 113 if it could be determined, with ca- depth constraints where possible, 02/03 £6,817,000 90 veats about bank stability, ecology plus an allowance of 1m for boats 03/04 £4,950,000 95 etc. Pre-dredge surveys probe to the to pass plus a dynamic draught al- 04/05 £2,230,000 40 ‘hard bed’ to try to determine the lowance. The DPT is to be continu- 05/06 £4,649,000 64 original profile. The design is gen- ally reviewed as better data becomes 06/07 £5,132,000 58 erally trapezoidal and we aim for a available. The 8-year hydrograph- 07/08 £4,770,000 53 minimum 0.5m depth at wash walls ic survey is to continue, but we no 08/09 £2,978,000 45 unless there are moorings, with side longer commit to dredge to origi- 09/10 £3,453,000 64 slopes generally 1:3. A 1m wide x nal dimensions, although we will 10/11 £3,546,000 * 11/12 £3,742,000 * 0.3m deep shelf is left on the offside take them into account if they can for emergent vegetation. be determined. A generic dredge * no data depth of 1.35m will be used if this Ranking—the dredging matrix can be safely accommodated, or a score clear explanation given if different. Sections of canal that are identified We will have improved customer as ‘failing’ trigger further work, tak- comment analysis and further re- ing into account traffic type (is the search on sedimentation rates based waterway commercial or leisure on modern surveys. Greater con- use?), boat usage (what are the an- sideration will be taken of naviga- nual lockage figures?) and water tion difficulties and hot-spots and management (could the pound act the km length pass/fail criteria will 14 NABO News Issue 6 November 2012 News: Dredging Policy

change from 70/30 to 90/10, so dou- bling the number of failing lengths. There will be an increase in the ratio of spot dredging to mainline dredg- ing over next three years, subject to completion of a spot dredging re- view. We will introduce planned cy- clical ‘linear spot dredging’ on some navigations and better identification of feeder dredging requirements. There will be better communica- tion of the programme and designs to NAG and Waterway Partnerships and compliance with all defined pro- cesses is to be monitored and traffic- lighted. The Trust will develop fur- ther proposals with Land and Water for dredging waste treatment sites.

Annual dredging expenditure This has risen from £500,000 in 1998/99 to £3,742,000 in 2011/12. The current 10-year average is £4m/ year, which excludes approximately £0.75—1m/year for spot dredging. The total dredging expenditure is to rise steadily from £5.3m (2012/13) to £10.5m (2021/22), but kept under review for efficiency savings. This gives £80m of investment over 10 DPT 90/10 compliance map: problem areas shown in red years and possibly more depending on the Trust risk profile.

Poor mobile phone reception? A poor mobile phone signal is a prob- lem in parts of the waterway network and until now the best you can hope for is that it improves as you cruise to a different area. Sitefinder is a govern- ment database of mobile phone trans- mitter base stations around the country, hosted by Ofcom. You can search for the nearest base stations using a postcode, street name or town name, or the database can be used to find the name of the phone company, operating characteristics and type of transmission at each base station site . The Sitefinder map is at www.sitefinder.ofcom.org.uk. NABO News Issue 6 November 2012 15 News The Waterways Canal ‘Laureate’ CRT and the Poetry Ombudsman Society have appointed This is my final annu- boating poet, Jo Bell, to al report as my term as bring a new perspective Ombudsman is about to the canals and riv- to end and a successor ers. Locklines is part of will shortly be in post. a wider partnership be- In the report, I comment tween the CRT and Arts on the changes affecting Council , which the Ombudsman scheme aims to attract more visi- during my seven years tors to the waterways in post and the fact that through innovative arts the nature of complaints projects. Jo is a poet, archaeologist and boat- Hilary Bainbridge, has not changed signifi- dweller, past Director of National Poetry Day Waterways Ombudsman cantly. and Cheshire Poet Laureate. Her recent show, since 2005 I said: ‘Some issues, Riverlands, is about the in Northants particularly those exac- and she is also working on a new book Fireships erbated or created by the unhelpful and some- with poet Martin Malone. times inconsistent clutter of Waterways legisla- Jo came to the canals as an archaeologist, tion, crop up very regularly. I would number working with historic , and she has among those continuous cruising, houseboats, lived aboard her 67ft narrowboat Tinker for a mooring management, mooring fees, insecurity decade, mostly in the Midlands and North West. of residential boaters and ‘end of garden’ moor- “The canals are England's truest way to travel; ings. I can deal with individual cases but unfor- long green lines where people go to think, walk, tunately cannot myself resolve any of the signifi- fish and gongoozle. Good poetry is about notic- cant underlying issues with the law.’ ing,” says Jo. News of her journeys and projects will be on Twitter: @canalpoetry, her website: “Some issues, particularly www.jobell.org.uk and a taste of her work below; those exacerbated or created by the unhelpful and sometimes Springtime at the Boatyard inconsistent clutter of Waterways You can keep your cuckoos. legislation, crop up very We hear Spring's first song in the sound of angle-grinders, regularly.” brazen as a mating call across the yard: the saw blades and the welders The Waterways Ombudsman has powers to in- working between weathers vestigate complaints about like a nesting bird; and swarf and, now, CRT. Until July 2012, I also had as bright as daffodils on workshop floors. power to investigate complaints about British Waterways in Scotland. I can only consider com- You can keep your catkins; plaints which have already been through the we have rust like pollen on our skins. organisation’s own complaints procedure. The We walk between steel shells Ombudsman is independent and impartial, and and smell the fresh blue boiler suits when appropriate, can make binding recommen- of all the coming days, dations. when warmth will stretch our hulls Hilary's last annual report can be download- and make of summer afternoons a shed ed from www.waterways-ombudsman.org/docs/ for building this year's stories. Annualreports2011-12.pdf 16 NABO News Issue 6 November2012 Crossword NABO News Crossword Nº 8 By Canaldrifter

1234123456785678

9 10

11 12 13

14 15 16 17 18

19 20 21 Answers to Crossword 7 Across: 1 Chester, 5 Shallow, 9 Leeds, 10 Liverpool, 11 Uncannier, 12 Grebe, 13 Insects, 15 Lengths, 17 Joshers, 19 Speed up, 21 22 23 24 25 26 Truck, 23 Bluebells, 25 Applauded, 26 Roast, 27 Derwent, 28 Deep end. Down: 1 Calculi, 2 Exercises, 3 Tyson, 4 Rallies, 5 Several, 6 27 28 29 Arrogance, 7 Loose, 8 Walkers, 14 Check mate, 16 Tidal wave, 17 Jutland, 18 Sub edit, 19 Sounded, 20 Posited, 22 Upper, 24 Barge. 30 31

Across Down

1 Star goes under at Thames lock (7) 1 Cloth attachments on a working boat (7) 5 Forty poles shaggy? (7) 2 Hitch worn out on the Weaver (9) 9 Canal of the countryside (5) 3 Dark until broken (5) 10 Biker finds branch on top of boat's engine (6,3) 4 Sorry hike goes wrong around the NE of the system (9) 11 Degree of infinity (3) 5 Central point of a scenic cruise? (5) 12 BSS checks, not cricket! (5) 6 Eggs on small boat crew, we hear! (3) 13 Onward east of the Clyde? (5) 7 Broadcasting from the flight? (2,3) 14 Lift the boat, and throw it! (5) 8 Sportswear for PE in the bottom of the boat? (3,4) 16 Eventually, in the early morning, we hear (2,3,4) 13 Fast hire boats (5) 19 Vessels carrying beer in Australia (9) 15 Total income is obscene! (5) 20 A subject to pick out (5) 17 Sank in the lock? (9) 22 Makes secure going up and down? (5) 18 Claim pint off proposer (9) 24 Rest for a snap? (5) 19 Seasonal old Thames boat company? (7) 26 Note the debt (3) 21 Boat on which curries are devoured? (7) 27 Reservoirs that fed the Stratford canal (9) 23 Old gas group favoured by the Queen! (5) 29 Penetrating means of seeing (1-4) 24 Markers will be markers, it seems (5) 30 Sir also hides amongst the crew (7) 25 Bridge over the Yorks Derwent (5) 31 Waterway based theatre group perform at yards (7) 28 Shortly the Senior Doctor will appear (3) NABO News Issue 6 November 2012 17 NABO celebrates 21 years Snippets from NABO News Tony Haynes continues his rummage with a look at NABO Newsletters from 1997.

97/1 January 97/4 June 1997 heralds a new look cover. Letters: No less than six : Associated British members wrote in to say that Ports are very concerned about the a boater running his engine safety of narrowboats on the tidal and a generator at 11.30pm Trent and would like to close the riv- deserved to have his genera- er to them. tor stolen! Cycle permits: BW will try a pilot 97/5 August scheme by making a charge of about £12 for a cycle permit on the K&A. A Charity?: David Fletcher, If the scheme works it will extend to (BW’s CE), floated his idea the rest of the country in 1998. about how BW could be K&A: has won £25m from the changed to Charitable Trust Lottery Grant. status. 97/2 March BSS costs: A questionnaire produced some horrific an- Consultation: The Ombudsmanswers. Of 140 returns the av- found BW guilty of maladministra- erage cost has been over £400 tion over NABO's complaint that a with a top figure of over £3000. steep rise in licence fees over three Ombudsman's statement: “Dr years constitutes an important poli- Fletcher (BW’s CE) makes it clear to cy change, which BW had not com- me that he finds it time-consuming municated to users prior to the in- to deal with pressure groups such as creases. NABO. However, he has to accept Forth & Clyde and Union Canals: that pressure groups are a fact of get £32m from the Millennium life and they exist to champion their Commission. In four years’ time the members. He may find this irritating waterway will be opened from sea to but he has a responsibility not to let sea with a new feature, the Antonine his irritation show.” Wheel, linking the two canals in Letter: (From the neighbour of the place of eleven abandoned locks at boater who ran his generator at Falkirk. 11.30pm in Worcester). There are no : a £2.7m grant from the houses within a mile of the moorings Millennium Commission will make and he had consulted his neighbour- the link from the ing boaters. The particular generator to the Leeds & Liverpool possible at is very quiet. last. 97/6 September 97/3 May Licence fees: will increase by 13.3% Letter: A member reports that he despite howls of protest from user was running his boat engine and groups. a small generator at Worcester at BW fined: BW is fined £18,000 for 11.30pm when thieves attempted to allowing a company to abstract more steal his generator from off the deck. than its legal quota of water from the He gave chase and recovered it. T&M during drought conditions. 18 NABO News Issue 6 November 2012 Boating Dawdling down to Droitwich A trip down the reopened Junction and Barge Canals in the company of Peter Fellows

In brief ith the opening in 2011 of tained to authorise construction by The Droitwich Barge Canal the two restored Droitwich the 'Company of Proprietors of the is a broad canal, opened in WCanals, there is now a Navigation', which 1771, which links Droitwich new mid- (mini) had powers to raise £33,400 by issu- Spa to the , six ring of 21 miles and 33 locks, ing shares and an additional £20,000 locks and six miles away at comprising the Droitwich Barge if required. Although Brindley was Hawford Mill, . The Canal, Droitwich Junction Canal, officially in charge, he was busy Droitwich Junction Canal is Worcester & Birmingham Canal and building the Trent and Mersey Canal a narrow canal, opened in 1854, which has six locks River Severn. at the time, and so resident engineer over 1½ miles and links John Priddey found the contractors. Droitwich to the Worcester and History The working capital of £13,400 was Birmingham Canal at Hanbury Natural brine springs have made raised by issuing 134 shares, mostly Wharf. Both were abandoned Droitwich an important centre for bought by local people, and con- in 1939. The restoration plan salt production since before Roman struction started in 1768. As work began in 1973, with the Barge times. Improvements to the River proceeded, a further 66 shares were Canal reopened in 2010 and Salwarpe were promoted on many issued, raising another £6,600, and a the Junction Canal in July occasions to get the salt to wider loan of £3,500 was taken out, mak- 2011. markets, but they all failed: an Act ing the total cost £23,500 (about of Parliament was first obtained in £1,497,000 today). 1662 to construct six The resulting broad Barge Canal locks on the river, but was capable of taking Severn the work was aban- which were 14.5 feet wide and 64 doned in 1675; another feet long. Like most of Brindley's Act in the 1670s author- canals, it was a contour canal to re- ised improvements to duce the number of embankments the Rivers Salwarpe and and cuttings required. The 90o bend Stour and a fourth at- near Salwarpe Church was neces- tempt was made in 1703. sary because the more obvious route In 1747, there was a pro- to the north of the church was spe- posal to make the river cifically excluded by the Act. The ca- Cherry Orchard Salt Works Salwarpe navigable and nal was 5.7 miles long, and included in 1755 there was anoth- eight locks, with a total fall of 56.5 er scheme to construct feet. The official opening was on a pipeline to carry brine 12 March 1771 and the canal was to Hawford on the River commercially successful, with the Severn, but again these first dividend being paid in 1775. By all foundered. 1777, the £100 shares were trading With salt produc- at £160. tion increasing, in 1767 The canal company’s fortunes Droitwich Council started to decline after 1830, when asked a source of brine was discovered to survey a route from at Stoke Prior to the north east of the town to the River Droitwich. Much of the salt was Severn. The followingtransported to Birmingham on the The Henry year, an Act was ob- Worcester and Birmingham Canal, Photos from the collection of Max Sinclair NABO News Issue 6 November 2012 19 Boating: Droitwich Canals but tolls were also negotiated to Navigation Company’. The com- use the Barge Canal to link via the pany worked to improve the canals, River Severn for sales in dredging 73,000 tons of mud from and . The new railways took the Droitwich Canals in 1881, and away further trade but an Act of altering the upper cills of the locks Parliament was obtained in 1852 to in 1888-9, to give a navigable depth construct the Droitwich Junction of 6 feet. The locks were 77 feet by 15 Canal. This was intended to elimi- feet and could accommodate boats nate the overland transport of both carrying 115 tons. But the company Max Sinclair, who has been salt and the coal used to evaporate realised that the canals were not rewarded for paving the way the brine. To make it easier to com- profitable and by 1906, the costs of for the transformation of the pete with the railways, the locks on maintenance exceeded the income Droitwich canals, winning the Barge Canal were lengthened, and they were gradually allowed to the English Heritage Angel so that coal could be carried from decay. Commercial production of Award for the Best Rescue of the River Severn through both ca- salt was discontinued in the early a Historic Industrial Building or Site. nals without having to tranship it to 1920s: the last boat to use the Barge shorter boats. The Junction Canal Canal was in 1916 and the Junction The award celebrated "his was opened in 1854 and was one Canal did not see any traffic after drive, commitment and vision that made the restoration of the last canals to be built in the 1928. An Act of Abandonment was of the Droitwich Canals ‘’ era. It was 1.75 miles obtained in July, 1939. possible", English Heritage long and included six locks, the fi- said. Restoration nal one connecting the canal to the Mr Sinclair is modest River Salwarpe. After 160 yards on In 1963, a campaign for restora- about the award He said: the river, the original sluice through tion was started by Max Sinclair, "It recognises all these which the Barge Canal was supplied who suggested that it could be volunteers. That's all that with water was converted to a wide completed in under two years. The pleases me... At last, after lock. This was 75 by 15 feet and had Droitwich Council realised the po- years and years and years in four sets of gates, so that it could be tential amenity value of the canal the wilderness, the work has used whatever the level of the river. and a restoration group was formed been recognised." Subsidence caused by salt extraction in 1969, as part of an IWA campaign was a problem and the lock had to be ‘Safeguarding Britain's Waterways’. rebuilt in 1875/6 and 1903, the first This led to the formation in 1973 of time to raise it by 9 feet and the sec- the Droitwich Canals Trust, a lim- ond to raise it another 5 feet. ited company with local authority As the financial position of the support, which began work on the Worcester and Birmingham Canal restoration. In 1975, the canal ben- Company worsened, it received efitted from the Manpower Services offers from three railway contrac- Commission’s Job Creation Scheme, tors to buy both its canal and the which provided people to work Junction Canal to convert them into on restoration and maintenance. railways. The company accepted an Funding included £200,000 from offer, but the bill was defeated in Wychavon District Council in 1980 1866, as was a second attempt the for work in Vines Park, including a following year. In 1873, the company new mooring basin, and an award received an offer from the Sharpness from Shell for a new swing bridge. New Docks Company to take The section of the Barge Canal over its canal and both Droitwich through Vines Park was opened in Canals. An Act of Parliament was October 1986, enabling the Trust's passed in 1874, and the new com- trip-boat to provide longer trips. pany became the ‘Sharpness New An engineering feasibility study in Docks & Gloucester & Birmingham 1994 concluded that full restoration 20 NABO News Issue 6 November 2012 Boating: Droitwich Canals

Council, Worcestershire County Council, BW, The Waterways Trust and the Droitwich Canals Trust. The Partnership’s aims were to create and manage a linear canal park that would conserve and enhance the en- vironment and provide a range of recreational opportunities. In 2002, BW assessed the cost Lock 1 and the River Severn of completion at £9.5m. In 2004, the Heritage Lottery Fund awarded £4.6m to the project, with other funding provided by Advantage West Midlands and local councils. BW took over the lease of the canals from the Trust and submitted a plan- ning application for their restoration on behalf of the Partnership in 2007. By this time a total of £10.5m had Lock 2 been promised, some of which de- pended on match funding, and the Restoration Partnership needed to raise £1m to release the other fund- ing. Although the majority of the 7 mile length of the canals was still in existence, a 550 yard stretch between the and Hanbury Locks had to be complete- Tunnel under the A449 ly rebuilt. An existing culvert for the Body Brook was used to allow the canal to pass under the motorway. The Barge Canal and Junction Canal were connected by canalising a 600 yard stretch of the River Salwarpe through the centre of Droitwich. The river was made wider and deeper, and a new weir was constructed next to the new lock 7 to maintain water levels. To minimise mixing of canal Coney Meadow Riverbed was possible, but identified prob- water with river water, a pipeline was Before and after pictures lems of passing beneath the A449 at built under the towpath, from above of the restoration Hawford and ensuring an adequate lock 7 to below the Barge Lock. Photos: BW water supply. Widespread public A housing development along the support and recognition of the eco- river bank was intended to partially nomic, social and environmental fund the river improvements, but benefits that restoration would bring the developer withdrew from the to Droitwich led to the formation of scheme, which resulted in delays to the Droitwich Canals Restoration the full reopening of the canal. The Partnership in 2001. Members of the Barge Canal was officially opened partnership were Wychavon District in September 2010 and the whole NABO News Issue 6 November 2012 21 Boating: Droitwich Canals canal was completed by mid-2011. Constructing a tunnel under the Further information The total cost of the restoration was A449 dual carriageway. Droitwich Waterways (Pamela £12.7 million. The Droitwich Canal Locks 3-4 and 7-8: partial demo- May) Trust Ltd at Trust has now been succeeded by lition of lock 4 walls to remove www.worcs.com/dwpmt the Droitwich Waterways (Pamela poor facing brickwork, rebuild- and www.worcs.com/dct/ newpress.htm May) Trust Ltd., which has taken ing and re-pointing, new gates over the residual assets of the Trust, and other work as for Lock 1. BW’s Droitwich Barge Canal including the Pamela May commu- Lock 5: drilling and grouting to Restoration Guide can be downloaded from http:// nity boat. correct a bulge and voids in the www.waterscape.com/media/ BW, as lead partner, managed the lock wall. Removal of a pedes- documents/23654.pdf delivery of the construction works. trian bridge at the lock tail. New The Droitwich Canal at These included: gates and other work as for lock 1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Lock 1: removal of silt, up to 9 Lock 6: Removal of pedestrian Droitwich_Canal feet deep in the chamber, rebuild- bridge on the lock tail. Sealing Marina, WR9 ing 4-8 courses of bricks of both a serious leak through the canal 7DU. Tel: 07970 626807 walls, re-pointing 10-12 courses bank, underneath the by-weir droitwichspamarina.co.uk of bricks and reinstatement of channel. New gates and other sandstone and brick copings to work as for lock 1. lock edge. New lock gates from All works were undertaken by the BW’s Bradley workshop, escape WRG and other volunteers except ladders set into recesses, ground for installation of new lock gates and paddle gearing and operating quoins. stands, mooring bollards and lay- Building a new access bridge to ing of new brick-paved, gate op- the rugby club. erating ‘quadrants’. Installation of pontoons in Lock 2: perhaps the worst condi- Netherwich Basin. tion of all the locks; significant Installation of an interpretation silt removal, rebuilding and re- and audio trail. pointing 12-16 courses of bricks, New canoe pontoons for use by reinstatement of sandstone and local schools, installation of otter brick copings, removal of farm holts, owl and bat boxes. access bridge and construction of 24 hectares of brownfield land re- a small footbridge, installation of generated. a new byewash. Extensive dredging of 5 miles of 22 NABO News Issue 6 November 2012 Boating: Droitwich Canals

Left to Right: the Barge Canal. Reed fringes re- Hanbury Junction, the first struc- A tight fit under the M5 tained to support wildlife. ture is the narrow junction bridge, Secure moorings in Coney Meadow reedbed estab- followed a few hundred yards lat- Netherwich Basin lished as a 5.5ha wildlife habitat er by the first of three deep narrow Mural in Netherwich Basin using reeds displaced when the locks. A volunteer lock keeper was Photos: Peter Fellows canal was dredged. on hand to assist and to explain the The economic benefits of the res- operation of the side ponds. The toration are calculated as: paddle gear was unexpectedly hard £2.75m p.a. additional visitor work for such new gates. Then past spend from 322,000 additional the huge new 238-berth Droitwich visitor days, including 20% boat- Spa Marina, with its 70m entrance ing increase on W&B Canal & structure—one of the largest en- River Severn, 3,300 new boat trances onto a canal in the UK—so movements, 12,000 cycling visits, boaters have no excuse for hitting it! 2,000 canoe visits and 3,500 an- Pumpout, water and diesel are avail- gling visits p.a. able at the marina; useful as there 196 Full Time Equivalent jobs. are few facilities as yet along both £144,000 calculated annual Droitwich canals. There are also fa- health benefits. cilities for cranage, a slipway, toilet/ £3,088,800 increase in values of shower block and laundry. adjacent houses. Then down the new staircase The restoration project was rec- locks and a further lock onto the ognised by the Institute of Civil River Salwarpe. A boater has writ- Engineers (ICE) West Midlands ten ‘Clear your roof now!’ on the when it won the Construction lock bridge and this is good advice, Award and it was declared the because a few hundred yards down- overall winner. The Partnership’s stream is the tunnel under the M5. achievements were also recognised There is a height gauge across the by it being awarded the Outstanding river, but it is very close to the tun- Achievement Award in the 2012 nel entrance, giving little time to Waterways Renaissance Awards run remove items from the boat roof if by the Waterways Trust. they are too high. A series of pilings on the offside allows boaters to tie Cruising to Droitwich up to clear the roof, but this might Cruising the new canals from be a tricky manoeuvre if the river is NABO News Issue 6 November 2012 23 Boating: Droitwich Canals

No rest for the wicked: Robin Smithett's wish list for the Barge Canal 1 A noticeboard in Droitwich giving the state of the River Severn, or a number to call. 2 Resurface to towpath between Barge Lock 2 and the A449 tunnel, which gets very muddy. 3 Fender or mark Junction Canal bridge 15 to keep boats away from underwater metal. 4 Repair Vine Park wooden fendering. 5 Install timber baulks to flowing fast. It would seem better to ful wildlife. There is a guide boats into locks that have put the height gauge below the above lock 6, which the guide books were built without wing lock, but maybe there are good rea- claim to be suitable for 70-foot boats, walls. sons why this is not possible. We had but which looked closer to 60 feet. 6 Cut back reeds on the about 2 inches to spare between the The only other winding hole is a cou- Barge Canal to allow boat and the tunnel roof—the tiller ple of miles from the River Severn access to the bank in case pin being the highest point on the and there are few mooring places or of emergency and create boat, which I had forgotten to check access to the bank along the canal. visitor moorings on the for! Then through a canalised river This is not a major issue for boaters Barge Canal. section, where the new towpath wanting a through passage, but if the 7 Increase the length of the has no mooring rings or bollards to river is closed when a boat arrives at winding hole at bridge 14. prevent boaters mooring here, and Lock 1, Hawford, there is no place to 8 Install lighting on pontoons on to the junction with the Barge moor, other than the lock landings, in Netherwich Basin, a Canal at the wide Barge Lock on the and no opportunity to wind. New water point at Hanbury edge of Vines Park. After remem- moorings above Lock 1 are there- and a sanitary station at bering to operate the swing bridge fore a must as soon as funds can be Droitwich. over the lock first, there was a fall of found, even if they are just a wooden 9 Reinstate the spill weir about four inches and some youths jetty on scaffold poles. above Lock 1 at Hawford to in the park offered to close the gates. Robin Smithett, writing in the avoid flooding the lockside and realign the piling to Cruising through Vines Park was June 2012 issue of Wych Waterways allow two boats to enter reminiscent of entering Bancroft magazine, published by the breasted. Basin from the canal in Stratford on Droitwich Waterways (Pamela May) Avon: the quiet canal suddenly giv- Trust, gives his wish-list of future ing way to crowds of people enjoy- improvements to the two canals. ing a sunny afternoon in the park. The Droitwich Canals Trust should Two further swing bridges and on be congratulated for the amount to the secure pontoon moorings at of work that they have achieved to Netherwich Basin at the other end get the canals reopened on a rela- of Vines Park. These are excellent fa- tively small budget. Cruising them cilities with rubbish disposal nearby was a real pleasure. These improve- and a water point on the first pon- ments can’t happen overnight—look toon. at what still needs to be done to The Barge Canal is lined with the K&A, twenty years after it reo- reeds for much of its length and is pened—but they would make cruis- scenically very attractive with plenti- ing this new ring even better. 24 NABO News Issue 6 November 2012 Talking Points K&A Mooring Strategy Geoffrey Rogerson expresses his concerns over issues raised by the recent towpath mooring plan.

The briefing and policy ome years ago, as readers of recommendations and implement a paper is available at http:// NABO News may recall, the controversial mooring plan that has canalrivertrust.org.uk/media/ Squestion of ‘roving mooring national implications. library/2153.pdf permits’ was raised. NABO at this I will deal with the points in the time took legal advice and subse- order that they arise in the towpath quently had a meeting with BW (in mooring plan document. 2011) at which we were told that the roving mooring permit proposals Paragraph 2. had been dropped. Stuart Samson, To improve access to popular visi- our former chairman, was instru- tor moorings by boats being used for mental in analysing the legality and leisure and holiday purposes, and to implications of any such plan. As stretches of ‘unmoored’ water by an- you will see from the following, the glers. idea has re-emerged in the recent To have stretches of ‘no mooring’ ‘towpath mooring plan’ produced by exclusively for anglers would seem CRT’s Director of Boating, Sally Ash, pointless as the anglers’ use of the for the K&A Waterway Partnership. canal, with the exception of formal NABO Council has asked me to matches, is at best sporadic. To deny address certain issues raised and put the ability to moor at these stretches forward our views in the hope that to ALL boats is quite unacceptable. it will assist the partnership sub- committee in its deliberations. In Paragraph 2.4 addition, as a member of the K&A To clarify local rules and achieve un- Mooring Strategy Steering Group derstanding and compliance through (MSSG) during the last year when effective, positive, communications these issues were debated, I am and support, reducing dependence † Members other than NABO: able to comment on the work done on requirement for exercise of legal IWA, K&A Trust, RBOA, AWCC, APCO, Wiltshire County by the MSSG during this period. enforcement powers. Council, unaffiliated boaters, Months of work were undertaken ‘To clarify local rules’. Any such Valley Parish Alliance, in the MSSG by members of the rules must not exceed the powers National Bargee Travellers national and local user organisa- given in the 1995 Act. Sally Ash Association. tions†. Many aspects of mooring comments that she would anticipate were examined, though it has to be the mooring plan being introduced acknowledged that the group failed elsewhere; accordingly any changes to achieve full consensus. Now the would have to be legally acceptable Local Partnership is to take on this nationally. difficult task. Partnerships were set up to guide CRT decisions about Paragraph 3.1 spending, to develop local engage- Designate visitor mooring stretches; ment, raise external funding and sign them clearly at start and end make recommendations to the local points; specify ‘return rules’ in the waterway manager. I would question form of max. x days within any cal- whether the local Kennet and Avon endar month. Partnership is best placed to make There is no power within the 1995 NABO News Issue 6 November 2012 25 Talking Points

Act to establish ‘return rules’ or any with Sally Ash, that for example, form of maximum days within any Claverton was a different place from calendar month. Any such local rule Bathampton. Members of the MSSG would be open to legal challenge. walked the entire length of the ca- nal between Bath and Devizes and Paragraph 3.3 NABO provided a map indicating New type of ‘Community’ mooring places, attached, which was consid- permit for continuous cruisers who ered to be generally acceptable. We have been recorded by the Trust as would point out that it would be being resident on the towpath in purely for guidance, as the 1995 Act July 2012. Approx. 20 locations each does not permit place to be defined accommodating up to around ten specifically. boats to be designated where permit holders can stay for up to 28 days at Paragraph 4, Paragraph 2. a time before moving on to another We are now seeking advice from one—or any other length of towpath the Kennet & Avon Waterway providing they comply with the rules Partnership on the details of the for that location. plan and how implementation might The concept of 20 locations times work. To assist with this, we are sepa- 10 boats, assuming an average length rately sending to them some possi- of 50 ft per boat would remove a fur- ble draft schedules detailing visitor ther 2 miles of moorings for all other mooring locations and maximum boaters. Apart from being unaccep- stay times, neighbourhood defini- table, this is in direct conflict with tions, new ‘community’ mooring BW/CRTs own declared intention zones and terms and conditions for of reducing on-line permit holder the associated mooring permit. Our moorings by one for every ten new suggestions for these are based on marina berths available. discussion within the mooring strat- egy steering group (2010/11), but Paragraph 3.3ii, since the group did not achieve con- Permit holders will be treated as sensus, we are asking the Partnership having a home mooring and permits to review and make the case for any will be subject to all applicable terms amendments to the draft schedules. of the mooring agreement for our di- It is stated above that the sugges- rectly managed moorings. tions are based on discussion within The community mooring permit the MSSG. However, our responses would seem to endeavour to estab- show that most MSSG members are lish a new category of boater other quite clear that the concept of the than that of the 1995 Act section community mooring permit was 17 3(c) i and ii. The wording is quite never raised. We would appreciate clear in the Act: ‘either/or’. copies of the draft schedules for our perusal. Paragraph 3.4 Define neighbourhoods for boaters Paragraph repeat 4, 5.1 without home moorings and, using (BW numbering) additional Trust resources, enforce Local government—Ken Oliver continuous cruising rules (14 day (Wilts CC Canal Officer) limit) strictly. While Wiltshire County Council In an endeavour to define neigh- is represented on the sub group, I bourhoods it was established by cannot see that Bath and North East the MSSG at our very first meeting (BaNES) will be happy 26 NABO News Issue 6 November2012 Talking Points

to accept decisions affecting their is permitted—this is for the benefit of part of the canal without being rep- anglers and to enhance the general resented. The responses we have visual landscape amenity. Boats are received indicate that the national an attractive feature, but not if they boating organisations are very un- are moored almost nose to tail over happy that, following the year they long distances. spent on this whole problem, they Previous comment re: anglers ap- are not represented on the follow- plies. As far as general visual land- up. In particular they are concerned scape amenity is concerned, when that any recommendations made by walking the canal the MSSG group the partnership have the potential to felt that there were already many affect national canals which are of places where boats did not moor, if course their main responsibility and only because it was not possible. brief. Paragraph 5, 6.1, Paragraph 4 Paragraph 5, 6.1, Paragraph 2 Time limits and return rules What has been missing in most cases Setting maximum stay times is ef- from our time limits is any indica- fectively meaningless without clar- tion of how soon a boater may return. ity on rules for frequency of return This has hampered our ability to en- to the location. In determining the force the stay limits. best approach for implementing this, Any time limits on returning to we needed to make the rule simple moorings again can be for guidance and unambiguous for boaters, and only, within the context of ‘bona fide it needs to be practical to implement navigation’. by ‘back office’ systems. This led us to discard the option of a ‘no return Paragraph 5, 6.1, Paragraph 3. within x days’ approach in favour of The schedules need to allow for some a ‘maximum x days within any one lengths of towpath where no mooring calendar month’ rule. Boaters wish- NABO News Issue 6 November 2012 27 Talking Points ing to stay longer may purchase daily BW, has led to unhappiness within extended stay permits. Our boat the group. Members of all the major data checker will post a note onto the boating organisations were repre- boat with at least 24 hours’ warning sented and just as the question of en- of when the extended stay permit re- forcement was due to be discussed, quirement starts, and the amounts the committee was abruptly termi- accruing will be invoiced by post nated; this after a year’s work by vol- to the licence holder’s address with unteers. The subsequent appoint- an alert being sent by text message. ment of the K&A Local Partnership Debts will be pursued in the first to carry on the work of the MSSG has instance through normal collection been criticised as there is no repre- procedures, but if these remain un- sentation by the national bodies; yet paid, we may decline the renewal of we might well expect that any new the boat’s licence. ‘rules’ could be applied nationally. With regard to maximum total The proposals put to the Partnership day limits not applying to hire boats, bear little or no relationship to what we would point out that boats from was discussed by the MSSG (i.e. ‘an- the new Foxhangers Marina may gling-only lengths’, ‘breathing spac- regularly weekend at the Barge Inn at es’, ‘return rules’, etc.)—all of ques- Seend, and similarly the boats from tionable legality. the Bradford on Avon Marina may The fact that the proposed rov- regularly weekend at Bradford on ing/community mooring permit has Avon either above or below the lock. been put forward as emanating from Accordingly to differentiate would discussions by the MSSG is patently be unfair, illegal and generally a non- untrue and would appear to be an sense. With regard to unpaid debts attempt to introduce something that we would point out that as long as has not been consulted upon; and a boat conforms to the requirements is not only contentious but also of of the 1995 Act, BW/CRT are bound questionable legality. to issue a licence. BW/CRT does not An attempt to obtain details of have the power to remove a licence the proposed schedules given to the for unpaid charges etc. These should K&A Partnership has been refused. be dealt with through the small Are we to assume that whereas the claims court. MSSG work was open and transpar- ent, the schedules recommended to Paragraph 6.3 the K&A Partnership are now to be 6.3 ‘Place’ definitions kept secret? Under any reasonable These are needed to provide the lo- code of conduct the above arrange- cal context to our guidance for ments should have been transparent boats without a home mooring. and open—to date, they have been Continuous cruisers without one neither. of the new ‘community’ mooring That proposals put to the permits must comply with these. Partnership have not been made The draft schedule provided to the available to the former members of Waterway Partnership draws on the the MSSG is unacceptable. Should work of the MSSG. this latest attempt to introduce the Comments as in 3.4. roving/community mooring permit etc. come to nought, then serious Comments arising from the above. questions must be raised regard- The arbitrary ending of the MSSG, ing the judgement of the CRT in yet formed at the specific request of again pursuing this set of ideas. 28 NABO News Issue 6 November 2012 Talking Points Floating homes The CRT consultation on houseboat mooring permit terms and conditions David Fletcher responds on behalf of NABO

ABO attaches great impor- to change this. tance to all mooring strategies Nas they have a significant im- Houseboat Certificate benefits pact on all styles of boating and the CRT has stated that: ‘The reason why enjoyment of the waterways. NABO some people prefer to have a house- welcomes written terms and con- boat certificate is because it carries ditions for Houseboat Certificates some ability to assign the mooring (HBCs). These should be based permit upon sale of the boat.’ There upon the applicable laws. It is not are other unstated benefits: for ex- for the CRT to apply terms that are ample, HBCs give better mooring in conflict with these laws or cre- rights including basic protections ate additional requirements that are against being evicted from moorings not covered by these laws. NABO and being made homeless. The right regards the provision of HBCs as to assign is in itself a poor justifica- an important contribution to the tion for paying the additional cost housing market, the options for resi- of mooring. NABO finds the CRT dential boating, and the social con- statement insensitive and inappro- tribution to the waterways. NABO priate. deplores the small number of HBCs currently available and the apparent Cost of a houseboat certificate mystique over the terms and condi- NABO does not support a differ- tions. Written terms and conditions ent cost for HBCs. CRT state in the will go someway to set aside this consultation document that there mystique. is no difference in practical terms between the HBC and the pleasure Definition of houseboats boat licence, so there should be no NABO is satisfied with the proposed difference in cost. The differential wording: “1.4 Houseboat means a in mooring prices provides a premi- boat whose predominant use is for a um for CRT, and this should be the purpose other than navigation and medium for this and not to distort which, if required for the purpose, the licence costs and create a prec- has planning permission for the site edent of different licences for differ- where it is moored. A houseboat may ent costs. be used for navigation from time to time provided it does not become its Right of assigning an HBC and predominant use.” associated mooring permit The definition of ‘Houseboat’ is NABO notes that there is an anoma- set out in the 1971 British Waterways ly in the uncontrolled right of a hold- Act and the 1995 British Waterways er to assign CRT moorings and be- Act. These definitions are defined lieves this is arguably wrong without for the purpose of licensing and the regulation (there are tried and test- law of the land. CRT has no powers ed models under the mobile homes NABO News Issue 6 November 2012 29 Talking Points

legislation, where the pitch owner trol assignment of HBCs. Lack of a Photo: Kyo Koike, University of gets a proportion of the sale value). licence or bad track record of pay- Washington Libraries However the right to assign an HBC ment: NABO regards this as a mat- is part of the law, and CRT cannot ter of proportionality. It would be reasonably undermine this right by wrong to prevent assignment for a refusing to assign the mooring per- late payment or other minor issue mit. with licence fees. NABO is unhap- NABO concludes that assign- py that licence issues be linked with ment of the mooring permit should payment for services. CRT should be in parallel with the right to as- use normal payment recovery for sign an HBC. To do anything else these latter items and not mix these would not be in accordance with the with licence terms which are a fun- law and the intent of the law. CRT damentally different issue with their should consider this in the long own specified redress for CRT. term for primary legislation if they require further powers. However it Exceptional mooring sites in is noted that assignment of moor- London ing costs that shelters moorers from NABO notes that there are discrep- review in costs is an unreasonable ancies for some sites and supports benefit, and unfair to others enjoy- bringing them in line with the law. ing similar facilities. However previous terms and condi- This review should apply either to tions are a matter of contract, and if all HBC holders, if there is a legal ba- CRT requires relief from these then sis for this, or to none at all. NABO this is a matter for negotiation, per- does not support generating new haps arbitration and settlement. terms and conditions for new HBCs NABO does not support the use of in an attempt to solve this problem. BW Acts to bully HBC holders in CRT has no power to introduce two negotiations. levels of conditions for HBCs. NABO notes CRT’s obsession with auctions and with the view that Assignment of HBCs and these alone can reflect market con- associated Mooring Permits ditions. NABO does not agree with CRT suggests conditions to con- auctions. 30 NABO News Issue 6 November 2012 Have Your Say Letters to the Editor Opinions expressed here are independent of NABO policy and statements made have not been verified as true.

Waterways Tennis ing ones meet my needs. Not being a residential boater, RBOA is not an option, and I am unable I am pleased that NABO continue to publish the to see the IWA as sufficiently a boaters’ organ- diametrically opposed views of those trying to isation, so NABO certainly appears to be my moor in places that are occupied by overstaying strongest choice. After meeting your chairman boaters. I am also pleased to read the response a couple of times, he has not given me the hard by CRT Trustee John Dodwell; at least CRT rec- sales pitch, (which I appreciated!), but has been ognise that there is a perceived problem in this good enough to do things like arrange for sample area. I don’t think that, as Panda Smith suggests, magazines to be sent. If I’m honest, these didn’t there is a marginalisation of the rights of those immediately grab me in a way that said ‘I must who wish to live on a boat without a permanent join’ and it has taken me a while still to decide mooring. All that is being asked is that boaters to do so. However approaching three weeks ago, do not stay in one place, usually where the facili- I finally decided to sign up online. I quickly re- ties are, continuously. After all, the clue is in her ceived a standard email along the lines of ‘Thank association’s title (Travellers). you for registering as a NABO member on the I have never suggested that ALL continuous website. Your payment has been received’, but to cruisers do not move; I have met many on my date that is all I have received, either electroni- cruises who are also concerned about boats that cally, or through the post. do not move and usually start a conversation: “I Now, I’m not exactly sure what I was expect- am a continuous cruiser, and I do!”. I will sign off ing—I don’t think anything ever stated—but I again using nb Holly as my current home moor- suppose I might have anticipated some kind of ing is on the Wey Navigation, a river and not a ca- initial ‘welcome’ pack, perhaps either containing nal, so I cannot take Simon Greer’s view that the the last published magazine, or at the very least title ‘canalboat’ would be more appropriate. He telling me when I might expect to receive the next seems to be rooted in the canal network and does issue to be published. This seems a fairly usual not see other boating opportunities. I presume thing to happen when subscribing to something he also believes that owners of all those boats on like this. At the moment I’m not exactly feeling the ‘small ships’ register are smallminded! like an ‘included’ new member of NABO. Mick Joy, nb Holly Additionally, I have seen notification of an AGM at Bradford-on-Avon in November. However, I have not had notification of this CRT job creation scheme? from NABO in any way—I have picked it up on Two days ago, a hopper and pusher tug passed Facebook and on canal based Internet forums— us descending the Atherstone locks. An opera- if I were not involved in these, I would so far tive was in the hopper busily shovelling out mud have been unaware. I would politely suggest that INTO THE CANAL! if NABO is keen to both increase its member- Sadie Dean ship, but also participation of its membership in NABO events, it could probably learn something from listening to my initial impressions. A new member’s experience Alan Fincher

I have for a while felt I would like to give my sup- Editor’s note: I will definitely be taking up port to an association dedicated to inland boat- Alan’s points with the new Council after ing, but have felt unsure whether any of the exist- NABO News Issue 6 November 2012 31 Letters to the Editor the AGM. NABO’s response is not as good as it should be and this is another example of what happens when it does not have enough people to help out.

Licence (refund) evasion? I have left the Canal & River Trust waters for good and my boat is on the Wey at Pyrford. I have of course already bought a NT licence as well as the short-term licence I needed to come down the Thames from the South Oxford. When I applied for a CRT licence refund, I received a reply stating “... unfortunately you are not en- I name this boat … titled to any credit for the unexpired period of If you have you spotted a boat name that made you smile, four months in respect of the licence for the please let me have a photo to use in future issues. Thanks above vessel” and referred me to the Terms and to Peter Lloyd who spotted this one at Kings Lock in Conditions. The sum in question is around £220, Middlewich. He commented “You might like to compare it to the other picture taken in Stoke on Trent”. being one third of the purchase price of the an- nual licence in December 2011, costing £667.51. I am utterly enraged by the CRT’s refusal to make a refund for one third of a year on my licence, which I see as pure and simple theft of my mon- ey. Why should they get away with this? Indeed, I would argue that in law it has questionable valid- ity: the retention of monies paid in respect of a vessel that CRT knows to be no longer occupying their waters can be regarded as theft or retaining monies by false pretences. The purchase of a CRT licence is mandatory, not voluntary. When I buy from an on-line re- The day before tailer or sign up with a power supply or mobile phone company, it is reasonable that I should Anything can happen on a river. concede to any terms and conditions the seller Give me an hour of daylight anywhere, may choose to impose since, if I dislike them, I I’ll look for water. This afternoon have the option of declining to purchase. I am it’s Wellingborough, where the Nene exercising choice, not fulfilling a legal obligation. has looped its smoked-glass gut around the mills. That is not so with a boat licence. People whose vessels have left CRT waters indefinitely should A painted bandstand on the civic paving stones, not be obliged to make a gift by default to the pushchair babies squinting at the sun Trust of several hundred pounds. The licence and seagulls neat as handkerchiefs; purchaser should be eligible, on surrender of the yellow leaves by railings, benches glossed licence discs, for a pro-rata refund of any part of with drunks and lovers: the river pushes by. the unexpired period of the licence. I intend to fight this and I wonder how many The river gathers up and spends itself, other boat owners realise that if they leave CRT a silk-slub carrying the weirs in its weave. waters they won't get anything back on their li- Be mindful. Pay attention; sip the day, cence. I certainly didn't know this. be glad of all its minutes and its weathervanes Ann Berry spinning all directions, bright and high. Jo Bell