Contents: Branch Committee p3 Chairman’s Corner River News p6 Chelmer & Blackwater p11 St Neots Lock ‘Diamond 44’ Branch News Denver Sluice Cam News Welches Dam AGM Appendices Ouse News - Spring 2014 The Great Ouse Branch Newsletter covering the Great Ouse and tributaries Campaigning for the conservation, use, maintenance, restoration and development of the Inland Waterways. The Inland Waterways Association ‘Spotted in Westview Marina’ Photo: Fred Ray The views expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the Inland Waterways Association or of the Great Ouse Branch. They are, however, published as being of interest to our members and readers. p18 p14 p25 p23 p20 p16 p22 p4
Transcript
Contents:
Branch Committee p3
Chairman’s Corner
River News p6
Chelmer & Blackwater p11
St Neots Lock
‘Diamond 44’
Branch News
Denver Sluice
Cam News
Welches Dam
AGM Appendices
Ouse News - Spring 2014The Great Ouse Branch Newslettercovering the Great Ouse and tributaries
Campaigning for the conservation,use, maintenance, restoration and
development of the InlandWaterways.
The InlandWaterwaysAssociation
‘Spotted in Westview Marina’Photo: Fred Ray
The views expressed in thispublication are not
necessarily those of theInland Waterways
Association or of the GreatOuse Branch. They are,however, published asbeing of interest to ourmembers and readers.
Having greatly enjoyed the 2013 National Waterways Festival at CassioburyPark, I was saddened to hear that due to the £40K loss incurred there willbe no more ‘nationals’ for the foreseeable future. However, the good newsis that the river festival at Stratford upon Avon will go ahead with a strongIWA presence rather than as a joint enterprise. Having already made ourplans, we along with several other branch members, are still intending toattend as it provides a good excuse to visit the waterways in that area.
Our longest serving member, Ian Wright, has reluctantly decided not torenew his membership after supporting the IWA for 66 years. Ian, whojoined in 1947, was one of the stalwarts who supported Robert Aickman inthe legendary early campaigns, including the battle to save the Brecon &Abergavenny Canal. The fact that we are now able to cruise a largelyrestored national canal network is largely due to the persistence and hardwork of such people. We are greatly in his debt and thank him for his manyyears of loyal support.
If, like me, you have wondered why certain boats seem to have a charmedlife and have been able to flout the much vaunted 48-hour mooring policyalong Ely riverside, we now know the answer. The Secretary of State hasyet to approve the new byelaw and East Cambridgeshire District Councilis, therefore, unable to enforce the rules along the newly acquired sections.It is not known when approval will be given – but let us hope it will bebefore the cruising season gets underway! ECDC have pointed out thatthey will not be able to enforce the regulations when boats are breasted upas, due to health & safety concerns, officers are not allowed to cross thenearside boat to post a notice on the outer one. It would seem that daft ‘elf& safety’ jobsworths are still alive and kicking!
The prospect of increased navigation licence fees has raised its head onceagain as the Environment Agency considers the budget for the next fewyears.
Ouse News Page 5
Keith Alderton
This follows a three year period when licence fees have been raised eachyear by 2% above CPI, bringing the total increase since 1998 to 127%(compared with a CPI increase of 43%). This is not good news for boatersstruggling on a fixed or depleted income! There is still no news regardingpossible revision of the interchange agreement between the EA and CamConservators for navigating the River Cam.
You will note that, following justifiable criticism at last year’s AGM, wehave reverted to the former practice of circulating both hard and electroniccopies of the relevant documents prior to the meeting. Hopefully this willenable everybody to have ample opportunity to study the information pro-vided in advance, so that we can complete the necessary business in theusual snappy manner and leave as much time as possible to hear the annualpresentation from the Environment Agency.
By the time you read this issue, the worst of the winter flooding will hope-fully be behind us and we will all be thinking about preparing for the boatingseason once again. We can only hope for another long, hot summer.
IWA Eastern Region
I am pleased to note that Great Ouse Branch member Richard Collett-Fenson has been duly appointed to the position of Eastern Region Chair-man. We have been without a Regional Chairman for some time and Iwould like to thank Richard for volunteering to take up the role and lookforward to working with him over the coming months. It should also benoted that the position of Regional Secretary is still vacant, although weunderstand that there is a volunteer willing to take up the position in March.
Please be aware that the Annual General Meeting for the Eastern Region,which branch members are invited to attend, will be held on Tuesday, 18thMarch. All members are eligible to stand for election to the regional com-mittee. Anybody wishing to do so should complete the consent form at-tached to the Agenda prior to the meeting. Details of both the regional andbranch AGMs are outlined in the separate newsletter supplement.
Ouse News Page 6
The Environment Agency carried out a major dredging scheme throughoutthe summer on the River Great Ouse just upstream of Hermitage lock andon the Hundred Foot River. This work was predominately for flood riskmanagement purposes, but alsoprovided good benefits for navi-gation and water resources. Wewould like to say a big thank youto our boating customers whowere extremely cooperative whenthe works were being done andtook notice of our river signageshowing the safe way to navigatepast the work.
River News from the Environment Agency
Earith dredging
Major improvements to Godmanchester lock visitor mooringMajor improvements have been carried outnext to Godmanchester lock to repair thevisitor mooring that was closed to boatersa couple of years ago. The old brick moor-ing has been replaced with a new steel sheetpiling structure, concrete pathways and anon-slip GRP floor/edging. The design,based onour stand-
ard landing stage used at other sites, suchas St Ives lock, has been specially adaptedto suit the site. This includes a curved de-sign to help maintain a good depth of waterin front of it. We are looking forward toseeing boaters use this mooring once againfor overnight stays in Godmanchester.
Before
After
Ouse News Page 7
Axe & CompassHigh Street, Hemingford Abbots,
Huntingdon, PE28 9AH01480 463605
Facebook: The Axe & Compass, Hemingford AbbotsTwitter: @axeandcompass
Only a short walk from the moorings atHemingford Grey or Houghton
Sunday Roasts,Homecooked Food,
Real Ales,Quiz Night Tuesday,Large Beer Gardenwith Play Area,
Pool Table
Traditional English Pub
Desilting work at lock sitesTowards the end of the summer we were able to get heavy machinery intoCastle Mills and Godmanchester to carry out desilting and remove hun-dreds of tonnes of silt from the approaches to the locks. We have alsobeen very active throughout the summer maintaining marker buoys at Cas-tle Mills and Hemingford locks in-forming boaters of shallow areasnear the downstream landing stages.At the time of going to print we areorganising similar machinery to bebrought to the river at Hemingfordlock in March/April 2014 after thewinter flows.
Excavators clearing theentrance to Castle Mills Lock
Ouse News Page 8
Working closely with the emergency servicesThroughout the year our Waterways River Inspectors work very closelywith the Police and Rescue Services tohelp tackle crime or provide rescue serv-ice assistance along our rivers. MattYallop, Andy Hubble (Waterways RiverInspectors) and PCSO officers in the StNeots area recently carried out ‘joint’river patrols on our boat “Ouseabout”.We also look for opportunities to promoteBoatwatch and other local initiatives tohelp make our rivers a safe place to enjoy.
Enforcement activity still a priority for our Waterways Staff
Our Waterways River Inspectors and lockkeepers have been very busy through theyear checking boat registration and byelawcompliance on the River Great Ouse and itstributaries. The compliance rate for boat reg-istration remains very high (97%) across theAnglian Region. Unfortunately, we have stillneeded to issue approximately 350 offencetickets for non-compliance such as boats notbeing registered, failing to display a currentregistration disc or not displaying a boat reg-istration number. Many of these tickets will
lead to court case prosecutions or warning letters being issued to offenders.Please make sure you always display your current registration disc in a loca-tion that is visible for Waterways officers and lock keepers to inspect.
Please keep up to date with any work being carried out on the River GreatOuse by visiting the Environment Agency’s website at www.environment-agency.gov.uk . Alternatively you could telephone our lock keepers atHermitage on 01487 841548 for further information or follow us on twit-ter @PaulSeparovicEA .
Ouse News Page 9
We would like to remind our customers of the risks of navigating on theRiver Great Ouse when flows and water levels are above normal, followingperiods of heavy rainfall. At certain flows we ‘reverse’ the locks with guil-lotine gates: an operation that pins back the pointing doors and sets the lockready for discharge, if required. This effectively turns the guillotine gate intoan additional sluice, which for safety reasons closes the affected locks tonavigation. The lock is isolated and padlocked to stop any unauthoriseduse when it is ‘reversed’.
Red warning signs are displayed at our guillotine gate sites and we alsoswitch on a LED red light, warning any upstream river traffic that the lock iseither set ready for discharge or is actually being used for discharge. StrongStream flags are also displayed at various locations along the river.
When we ‘reverse’ the locks we issue our Strong Stream Advice messageinforming river users that locks are ‘reversed’, flows and river levels areabove normal and we strongly advise against attempting to navigate.
We will call your landline/mobile phone (or both) free of charge informingyou via an automated messaging system when Strong Stream Advice hasbeen issued or cancelled. Text and email facilities are now also available.We strongly recommend all river users to sign up and receive this free serv-ice for the rivers Great Ouse, Nene and Ancholme (or all three).
If you would like to receive our Strong Stream Advice message please call01522 785943 or visit our website for further details.
Green Strong Stream Adviceflag informing boatersStrong Stream Advice is
cancelled
Make sure you know when Strong Stream Advice is issued
Ouse News Page 10
Ouse News Page 11
The Chelmer & Blackwater NavigationIn October, members were treated to a first class talk on the Chelmer &Blackwater Navigation by Roy Chandler, Director and Chairman of EssexWaterways Ltd. The presentation covered the recent history of the naviga-tion which has involved the IWA Chelmsford Branch and the first sevenyears of its operation by Essex Waterways Ltd. It is many years since wemoored our 22ft. Dawncraft Goosey Gander on the canal and things havenow certainly changed for the better. In those days, some thirty years ago,the navigation was ruled with a rod of iron by an ex-military gentlemanwhose sole objective in life seemed to be to prevent pleasure boats usingthe canal. I well remember the battles that the Chelmsford Branch had withthis obnoxious man in the early days. However, all’s well that ends well!Below is an account of Roy’s talk: Keith Alderton
The Chelmer & Blackwater Navigationis a 14 mile river navigation running fromHeybridge Basin to the city of Chelms-ford in Essex. It opened in 1797 follow-ing authorisation by an Act of Parliamentin 1793. It is a conservation area through-out and its 13 locks and original bridgesare listed structures. There is a public towpath for its length. It has remained in the ownership of the original companysince its opening and operated purely for commercial traffic until 1972.
In the 1950s Chelmsford Branch arranged a trip for IWA members in anadapted lighter. In the 1970s they arranged a series of boat rallies andcampaigned for it to be opened for recreational use.
Although this happened, Springfield Lock and Springfield Basin in Chelms-ford remained derelict; so in 1985 the Branch published a report entitledSpringfield Basin and Beyond which was well received. It promoted therestoration of Springfield Basin and the construction of a new navigable cutto connect the Navigation to the rivers in Chelmsford.
Ouse News Page 12
As nothing had happened by 1992 the Branch decided that they wouldhave to be more active. They arranged a series of partnerships with theNavigation Company, local authorities, National Rivers Authority and landowners to undertake the restoration of Springfield Basin and Lock.
Roy explained the project, with some detailed illustrations of the work un-dertaken with the Branch rebuilding the lock and restoring the feeder chan-nel and then the grand re-opening in 1993. The restoration was the catalystfor a series of waterside redevelopments encouraged by Planning Briefsfrom the Local Authority. The development included shops, restaurant, apart-ments and a new mooring basin. Development continues today.
The Branch continued its partnerships until 2003, seeking funding and or-ganising repairs to locks and weirs on the Navigation.
However, in 2003 the original Navigation Company went into Administra-tion and most of the useful assets including tea rooms, pub, trip-boats andlock houses were sold to pay debts. During this period all the authoritieswere approached by the Branch, including the Environment Agency andBritish Waterways, but none were willing to take on the waterway.
As the IWA has been campaigning since 1946 to reopen canals, the Branchappealed to its Trustees not to let a working waterway close. Support wasforthcoming and Essex Waterways Ltd was formed as a volunteer leadcompany wholly owned by the IWA and, in November 2005, it took re-sponsibility for maintaining and operating The Chelmer & Blackwater Navi-gation. It is a not-for-profit company with all monies being spent on main-taining and improving the waterway.
Essex Waterways has now been successfully operating for seven years andRoy illustrated and explained some of the many repairs and improvementsmade during this time, both large and small.
Ouse News Page 13
These included four major lock repairsin the first four years, installation of serv-ices to mooring sites, expansion of moor-ings at Sandford Lock, bridge rebuild-ing, bank and wharf piling and an ambi-tious project to replace a timber chunker(culvert) beneath the Navigation atHeybridge. This project alone cost
£750,000. Much work is carried out by both regular and visiting volun-teers including regular Waterway Recovery Group Canal Camps. Whilstgrants were available initially, Essex Waterways now relies upon incomefrom its moorings, visiting boats and growing willows for cricket bats.
The Chelmer & Blackwater Navigation is in good hands and has a securefuture, although the proposed new navigable cut in Chelmsford still remainsas a hope for the future.
Ouse News Page 14
St Neots Lock has been the subject ofmuch controversy amongst Great Ouseboaters, for one reason or another, overmany years.
The lock has had nearly two millionpounds spent on it in the last ten years,lengthening it to increase capacity and,more recently, to replace the guillotine
gate. None of these works has ever gone to plan – always resulting inincreased temporary navigation delays and massive over-budget expense.
However, love it or hate it, I think mostboaters agree that it is better than it usedto be – except for the awful bridge overMill Lane. It is such a shame that thiscouldn’t be improved when demolition ofthe mill and residential development onthe island made work on the lock possi-ble.
Local people are often inconveniencedby flooding of Mill Lane and the road isoften closed for several days when theriver rises. Diversions can add consider-ably to journey times for local drivers.
St Neots Lock
Ouse News Page 15Neither Cambridgeshire County Council, responsible for the road and bridge,nor the Environment Agency, responsible for the sluices and the navigationhas expressed any real interest in solving the problems for boaters or driv-ers. Usual reason, of course - no money - although there have been missedopportunities in the past.
Now, an interesting new idea is being proposed by a local residents’ group– MilHEFAs. They are looking for support to promote a scheme to build araised causeway over the sluices to keep the road open in times of flood.The scheme would also include a hydro-electric generating plant which,over time, could defray some of the capital costs. It’s all in the very earlyexploratory stages at the moment.
The MilHEFAs website, where they are asking for views and support (andpotential investors) is well worth a look – www.milhefas.org.uk. It surelyhas to be a good thing when local people look to find innovative ways tosolve local problems where the authorities have failed to come up with asolution. That’s just the sort of thing that instigated many improvements tothe navigation over the years. The authorities don’t always get it right, as weknow!
But, purely from a boater’s point of view, it would seem to me rather a pityif the whole of the problem at this site was not addressed and the awfulbridge improved both for navigation and road safety at the same time.
David Mercer
IWA Peterborough BranchPeterborough Branch has invited members of the Great Ouse Branch toattend its Annual General Meeting. This will be held on Wednesday, 19thMarch at the Peterborough & District Indoor Bowls Club, Burton St, Pe-terborough, PE1 5HA. The meeting will start at 7.30 pm and should finishby 7.45 pm. Irven Forbes from the Environment Agency will be attending.So, if you can’t attend our AGM on Thursday, 27th March, perhaps youcould catch up with developments on the river at the Peterborough meet-ing. John Hodgson
Ouse News Page 16
On the west bank of the Great Ousebetween Ely and Littleport, almostopposite the entrance to the RiverLark, there is an EnvironmentAgency 48 hour mooring called“Diamond 44”. This unusually namedmooring was constructed after acommunity group staged an event in2004 to celebrate the 60th anniver-sary of the boat race being held onthe river in 1944.
There were four unofficial boat races held away from London during theSecond World War. As none of those competing were awarded blues,these races are not included in the official list:1940, 1945 – At Henley-on-Thames1943 – Sandford-on-ThamesAnd in 1944 – River Great Ouse, Ely, Littleport to Queen Adelaide
2014 will be the 70th anniversary of this event; but 10 years ago THOU-SANDS of people braved the bitter cold and flurries of snow on the day ofthe re-contest to watch Cambridge gain their revenge for defeat in the GreatOuse Boat Race of sixty years previous.
The day’s events began early in the morning when the then Dean of Ely, theVery Rev Dr Michael Chandler, laid a wreath on the grave of his predeces-sor, Charles Merivale, one of the founders of the Boat Race in 1829.
He then led a service in Ely Cathedral that was addressed by the Bishop.During the service, commemorative medallions were presented to six vet-erans of the original race - Martin Whitworth, Donald Ramsay, Ian Phillippsand David Paul from Cambridge with Dr Michael Brooks and RichardTurner-Warwick from Oxford.
‘Diamond 44’
Ouse News Page 17
The action then moved outside as groups of re-enactors gave the city a1940s flavour and the veterans unveiled a plaque on The Old BoathouseRestaurant, where they had started their epic encounter when it wasAppleyard’s Boathouse.
They then sailed to the Queen Adelaide course on board the RiverboatGeorgina, arriving just in time to see a Spitfire make three dramatic passesover the crowds gathering for the big event.
More than 5,000 people lined the banks - as they had in 1944 - by the timethe present Oxford and Cambridge veteran crews set off along the mile-and-a-half course from the River Lark to Queen Adelaide bridge.
With Olympic gold medallist Tim Foster umpiring from the historic steamlaunch Consuta, the Cambridge crew took an early lead and pulled aheadthroughout the race, passing the finishing line four-and-a-half lengths ahead.
The day finished with a post-race dinner at The King’s School.
Meanwhile, at the Maltings, Ely’s Mayor entertained a group of fellow civicleaders and revellers enjoying a 1940s-style dance with the Umbrella BigBand.
Apart from the mooring there are other remind-ers on the East bank. A Portland stone markeris placed at the finish line and another threemarkers at half-mile intervals before the riverjunction. This stretch of river still is used fortraining by the Cambridge crew from their Elyboathouse.Our thanks go to Terry and Jack for the useof facts from their leaflet ‘River Heritage Walks’ and the website:http://www.digian.com/diamond44/website/index.cfm
Peter & Jean Webb
Members who have movedto the branch:
Winter MeetingsBranch News
Members & Visitors welcome.
Our February meeting will bea ‘fish & chip supper’ togetherwith a waterways themed quiz.
are at 8 pm on Thursday eve-nings at the Cole’s RoadCommunity Centre, Milton(North Cambridge) CB24 6BL.
Ouse News Page 18
THURSDAY 27TH FEBRUARY 2014
THURSDAY 27TH MARCH 2014Our March meeting will be ourAGM and update from the rivermanagers of the EnvironmentAgency.
Branch Dinner at the Pike & EelHotel, near St. Ives.
FRIDAY 21ST FEBRUARY 2014
Cancelled due to lack of support
SATURDAY 5TH APRIL 2014Visit to Welches Dam plus publunch. Meet at Horseway Lockat 11.00 am.See further details on page 23
SATURDAY 3RD MAY 2014Gathering of boats at Reach,followed by an evening meal atthe Dykes End. (Book yourplace with Stephen Foote).
Barbecue & quiz if sufficientsupport.MONDAY 5TH MAY 2014IWA stand at Reach Fair.
SUNDAY 4TH MAY 2014
Felicity & Philip Turner,Milton, Cambs.
John Peal,Yelling, Cambs.
Jeff Crow & family,St Ives, Cambs.
David Birchall,Saffron Walden, Essex.
Simon Chandler,Newport, Essex.
Ellen Dexter,Christchurch, Dorset.
Mrs M Charter & FamilyBury St Edmunds.
We welcome the followingnew members to the branch.We hope you will introduceyourselves to us whencoming to an event ormeeting:
Ouse News Page 19
(Authorised to examine all private boats and in addition,residential boats provided they are fitted with a gas
Why not come along to our next meeting on Thursday 27thFebruary2014. We shall be having a ‘waterways themed’
quiz and a fish & chip supper.
Details of more meetings are on Page 18 and the map above should help youto find the exact location in Milton! (If you have a problem finding us pleasephone Stephen Foote on 07774 613557)
Ouse News Page 20
In this part of the country, flows have been below normal for the time of year.The ground has only just become saturated; so, depending on rainfall, itmight get a bit more interesting down here.
There has been a huge amount of water coming down the Bedford part ofthe Ouse and this has tide-locked discharge out of Denver Sluice since Christ-mas. Part of Denver Sluice did sustain some damage on the tidal surge onthe 5th December. This has meant that two sets of the Vee doors have beenstop logged off.
Heavy Rainfall in East Anglia - Report on conditions from Denver Complex
Dan Pollard
Vacancies
The IWA Great Ouse Committee has a vacancy for aSocial Secretary, which involves arranging our four branchmeetings. We also hold committee meetings approximately
every six weeks.Please contact: Keith Alderton (Chairman) on 01366 727236
GOBA has vacancies for committee members. Meetingsare held on the third Thursday of every month, with a few
hours work between meetings.Please contact: Ian Cox (Chairman) at
Waterways WondersOur November meeting comprised an illustrated talk by Richard Thomas onWaterways Wonders. Richard is well known to us and has presented talksto us on several previous occasions, the last one being about the steamnarrowboat President. As usual, Richard’s talk was both educational andentertaining and was attended by some 25 members.
Richard gave us a detailed tour of some of the engineering marvels aroundthe waterways system, including the Foxton Inclined Plane, PontcysyllteAqueduct, Harecastle Tunnel, Anderton Boat Lift, Bingley Five Rise Locksand Falkirk Wheel; together with fleeting glimpses of many other impressivefeatures.
If you missed the November meeting, don’t worry, as I am sure that we willask him back again before too long.
Keith Alderton
The Cam Conservators battle to bring some order to the operation of puntson the river has suffered a setback as a result of a recent court case. TheHigh Court has ordered the Conservators to pay legal fees amounting tosome £32,000 following a ruling relating to the use of an unauthorised puntstation at Garret Hostel Bridge. Although the judge ruled that the Conserva-tors were acting within their powers to restrict punt operations to six author-ised stations in the City, he ruled against the Conservators on a technicalmatter relating to a previously held appeal. In his summing up the judgesuggested that that the Conservators go back to Cambridge and spend theirtime conserving the Cam rather than spending money on expensive and un-necessary legal litigation. It is alleged that the Conservators spent some£60K fighting the case. However, the operator concerned has been allegedto operate punts in a commercial capacity without a valid registration andhas been further summoned to appear in Cambridge Magistrates Court forfailing to abide by the Conservators’ byelaws.
More Punt Wars On The Cam
Keith Alderton
Ouse News Page 23
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Visit to Welches Dam onVisit to Welches Dam onVisit to Welches Dam onVisit to Welches Dam onVisit to Welches Dam onS a t u r d a y , 5 t h A p r i l 2 0 1 4S a t u r d a y , 5 t h A p r i l 2 0 1 4S a t u r d a y , 5 t h A p r i l 2 0 1 4S a t u r d a y , 5 t h A p r i l 2 0 1 4S a t u r d a y , 5 t h A p r i l 2 0 1 4
The Great Ouse Branch, together wi th thePeterborough Branch, has arranged the above visit.We will meet at 11.00 am on 5th April at HorsewayLock (2 miles east of Chatteris). From there we willwalk to see the sections where leakage is a problemand then visit Welches Dam. Peterborough memberswill provide some background to the challenges facedwith re-opening the lock. There will be a presentationand a question and answer session at a venue yet tobe decided. We can then adjourn for a local publunch.
Further details will be emailed nearer the date. Youcan, of course, contact me on 01353 658581 or [email protected] Peter Webb
Don’t forget our meeting on Thursday, 27thFebruary!
There will be a ‘waterways’ themed quiz,followed by a fish and chip supper.
There is no need to book - just turn up.
The meeting will startpromptly at 8.00 pm andwill cost £7.00; this will
include entrance fee as well as a cup of tea and fish &
chips.
Ouse News Page 24
The Inland Waterways Association is a non-profit distributing company limitedby guarantee. Registered in England No 612245. Registered as a charityNo 212342. Registered Office: Island House, Moor Rd, Chesham, HP5 1WA.Phone No 01494 783453.
Horseway Lock Horseway to Welches Dam
Welches Dam
Views of Welches Dam
Ouse News - Appendix 1
Notice is hereby given that the Annual General Meeting of the Eastern
Region of the Inland Waterways Association will be held on Tuesday 18th
March at Peterborough Indoor Bowls Club, Burton Street,Peterborough PE1 5HA at 7.30 p.m
Agenda1. Apologies
2. Approval of the Minutes of the AGM held on 20th March 2013
3. Matters Arising from those Minutes
4. Chairman’s Report
5. Election of Committee Members (see notes below):
a) The Chairman of the Region is elected in a separate ballot and theChairmen of each of the branches within the Region are membersof the Region committee ex officio. This is an election for theremaining members of the Region committee.
b) Under the 3 year rule the period of office of those elected at the2011 AGM comes to an end at the forthcoming AGM. All of thoseindividuals are eligible to stand again for election. There is no limitto the number of members of the committee and therefore no limitto the number of those who may stand for election.
c) It is no longer necessary for those who wish to stand for election to be nominated and seconded but all who wish to stand must agree to do so. Consents from members of the Region who wish to stand for election at the AGM 2014 must be deposited with the Acting Region Secretary [Roger Green, 70 Windmill Close, Ellington, Huntingdon, Cambs PE28 0AJ or email: [email protected] ] before the start of the Annual General Meeting
Consent Form
I agree to stand for election to the Eastern Region committee at the 2014Annual General Meeting. I am a member of Eastern Region
(Sign) —————————— Print Name ————————————
Eastern Region Annual General Meeting
Ouse News - Appendix 2Notice is hereby given that the Annual General Meeting of theGreat Ouse Branch of the Inland Waterways Association will be heldon Thursday, 27th March 2014 at the Community Centre, Milton,Cambridge, CB24 6BL at 8.00 p.m.
AGENDA1. Chairman’s welcome and apologies for absence2. Approval of the Minutes of the AGM held on 28th March 2013 - printed in Appendix 33. Matters Arising from those Minutes, not included on this agenda4. Chairman’s Report - printed in Appendix 45. Secretary’s Report - printed in Appendix 56. Treasurer’s Report and presentation of accounts - printed in Appendix 67. Election of Branch Committee8. Close of Meeting
Notes: (following the amendment of Byelaws dated 14/3/09)1. Accounts are audited by IWA Head Office. There is no need to adopt the accounts or appoint an auditor.2. There is no longer any limit to Committee numbers. Members serve for 3 years after which they retire but may seek re-election.3.There are 4 committee members due to retire by rotation who are: Carole Alderton, Enid Hodgson, Keith Alderton and John Hodgson.4. New Committee Members are most welcome. Those who would like to stand must sign the consent form below and send to the Branch Secretary, John Hodgson (Address on page 3) before the AGM.
INLAND WATERWAYS ASSOCIATION CONSENT FORMI agree to stand for election at the Annual General Meeting of the GreatOuse Branch. I am a member of the Great Ouse Branch.
(Sign) .................................................. Print Name ............................
Date ...............................
Ouse News - Appendix 3
Minutes of the Annual General Meeting of the Cambridge Branchof the Inland Waterways Association on Thursday, 28 March 2013.Held at the Community Centre, Milton, Cambridge at 8.00 p.m.
Present: Keith Alderton (Chairman) plus 17 Cambridge Branch membersand visitors.
1. Apologies for absence. The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting and noted apologies for absence from: Roy Thompson, Roly and Jean Griffin.
2. Minutes of the Annual General Meeting held on 22 March 2012 The minutes of the previous AGM were displayed at the meeting. It was
explained by the Chairman that the previous minutes, Chairman’s, Sec-retary’s and Treasurer’s reports were not printed in “Ouse News” inorder to save increasing postage and production costs and reflecting thereduction in income via the Head Office “per-capita” allowance. It wasproposed by Carole Alderton, seconded by Derek Bradley that these beadopted as a true record. This was agreed unanimously.
3. Matters arising from the AGM on 22 March 2012 It was noted that, following the vote at the last meeting to change the branch name to the “Great Ouse Branch,” this had been subsequently approved by the Trustees.
4. Chairman’s Report The Chairman’s report was printed and available to those present. There was nothing to add to those notes. There were no questions for the Chair-
man.
5. Secretary’s Report The Secretary’s report was printed and available to those present. There was nothing to add to these notes. There were no questions for the Sec-
6. Treasurer’s Report. The Treasurer’s report and accounts were available to those present.
There was nothing to add to these. There were no questions for theTreasurer although it was noted that there is no payment for membershipof GOBA. It was explained this is because the branch is not a member
but will consider this at the next committee meeting.
7. Election of Committee Members. Derek Bradley, Stephen Foote and Peter Webb were due to retire by rotation after their 3 year term of office. A consent form having been received by the Secretary from each of them, it was proposed by Jack Maiden and seconded by Meg Foote that they be re-elected to the Committee. This was agreed unanimously.
8. There being no further business - the meeting closed at 8.12 pm.
I am pleased to report that the branch has had another successful year witha good level of interest and attendance at all of our autumn/winter meetings.In addition, we manned our stand at both the Reach Fair and at Ely Aquafestproviding us with the opportunity to inform the general public about theaims, objectives and activities carried out by the IWA locally and at nationallevel.
We have also held preliminary talks with the volunteering co-ordinatorsfrom head office and are considering developing some form of voluntaryactivities with a view to improving local waterways. Fortunately, the Envi-ronment Agency is now taking a more enlightened attitude towards allow-ing voluntary work to be carried out on the local rivers and we are hopingto be able to get some meaningful work underway.
We have been approached by residents at Burwell to help them improveaccess by clearing overgrown trees and vegetation along Burwell Lode andinitial advice has been given from HQ as to how to proceed. All of thisdepends of course on the willingness of volunteers to come forward.
Ouse News - Appendix 4 cont’d.
Although branch membership remained fairly static throughout most of theyear, we have recently seen a fall from 374 in April 2013 to 338 in Januarythis year. Without doubt many people on fixed or depleted incomes havefound their finances to be under strain of late, resulting in the need to reducetheir expenditure or to cease boating all together. I would like to thankthose members who do not attend meetings but continue to subscribe be-cause they value the work carried out by the IWA for their continued silentsupport.
Our branch is financially sound and the effect of the reduced per-capitagrant has so far been offset by increased donations at meetings, enhancedadvertising revenue and reduced printing and postal charges.
I would like to thank our small but dedicated committee for the consider-able efforts made on your behalf throughout the year.
Keith Alderton
Ouse News - Appendix 5:
I mentioned in my report last year that new members living in some postcodes along the natural run of the river were allocated to PeterboroughBranch by Head Office on joining. This anomaly has now been addressedand agreed by both Peterborough Branch and Head Office that new mem-bers in those post codes will be allocated to the Great Ouse Branch infuture. Existing members are free to ask Head Office to transfer if they wish.
We are now having the newsletter printed and distributed by Head Office.This has resulted in a welcome reduction in costs and some members havebecome “e-members” receiving all their correspondence electronically, whichalso reduces costs. This continues to be important as the Head Office per-capita allowance will again be reduced. The overall costs of operating thebranch are being off-set by the continuing success of the advertising in “OuseNews”.
Secretary’s Report 2013-14
Ouse News - Appendix 5 cont’d.
It is understood that other members prefer the traditional paper methods,particularly for the newsletter. The branch magazine continues to go fromstrength to strength, but let that not foster complacency! Our editor, CaroleAlderton, would be grateful to receive articles, long or short, from membersfor inclusion. This spreads the load and introduces more variety.
The revised Interchange Arrangement between the EA and Cam Conserva-tors (CamCon) for navigation licences above Bottisham Lock continues,with agreement for further revision between the two appearing to be almostas far away as ever. IWA, GOBA and others continue to try to negotiate abetter arrangement for all involved, not least the users (their customers) whoseem to be the last people both authorities want to consider.
The inflation + 2% increase for the River Great Ouse system is again ex-pected to be applied, despite objections from user groups, resulting in a4.6% rise from April 2014.
On a similar topic, I can report that the decision on whether to transfer thenavigation responsibilities of the EA to the Canal and River Trust (CRT) hasbeen deferred for three years. This is disappointing as the uncertainty doesno good to the boating community, nor the navigation authority and meansthat boaters will have to continue to put up with fee increases and largelyineffective efforts of the EA for longer than hoped. This poor performancehas again been noticeable over the past year, in particular with the amount ofdredging that needs to be done especially immediately downstream of Cas-tle Mills lock. This has been promised to be addressed since last April and isstill not completed! It is now in a dangerous state and EA still show no signof action! I cite this merely as an example of their overall performance andas an example of the navigation issues which IWA, GOBA and others havebeen pressurising local managers to address, often without success or ap-parent interest.
I reported last year that the branch was a consultee of the East Cambridge-shire Council initiative to take over more of the moorings at Ely. This hasnow been agreed and the Council will take over the management of theremaining stretches they were not previously responsible for.
Ouse News - Appendix 5 cont’d.
The bureaucratic wheel grinds ever slowly and they are still waiting for finalconfirmation and authorisation from the Secretary of State! The branchwas also a consultee to Cambridge City Council on their options in chang-ing their mooring policy at Riverside. Of the options offered we recom-mended to “permit mooring on Riverside Wall, integrating the area into theCity’s mooring policy”. This was passed to the Regional Committee to makethe recommendation on behalf of all five branches in the region thereby,hopefully, having greater influence.
We still would like to recruit a Social Secretary. The main responsibilitywould be to arrange the four branch meetings. Whilst this has, for the lastfew years, been organised by the existing committee members betweenthem, it would spread the load and input other ideas into the committee.Would all volunteers please form an orderly queue!
The events are mentioned elsewhere in this newsletter (with fuller reports inearlier editions of Ouse News) but I would like to especially mention thevisit to the Denver Sluice complex in April. This was a huge success (a fullreport appeared in Ouse News) with members and their friends attending.As a result, it is planned to hold a similar visit in conjunction with Peterbor-ough Branch to Welches Dam, see the newsletter for further information.
At the close of the AGM last year I asked those present who would like abranch dinner to mark the anniversary of the forming of the branch. Most ofthose present indicated they would be interested. In the event, when thiswas advertised in Ouse News, only two people outside the committeewanted to attend. Regrettably, this event has been cancelled.
The branch section of the IWA web site is still in operation so please have alook at this. I found the easiest way was to go to the IWA home pagewww.waterways.org.uk and follow the links from there to the branch via“local” along the top.
Finally, I would like to wish everyone a sunny and happy boating seasonand hope to meet as many of you as possible somewhere on our lovelysystem. John Hodgson
