Ouse News - Summer 2016 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 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. Photo: Carole Alderton Contents: Branch Committee Chairman’s Corner Letter to the Editor Hartford Marina Book Review John Bunyan Boat Bedford/Milton River Cam Update ECDC Mooring Reach Weekend OuseFest Branch News River News from EA p2 p3 p5 p5 p6 p8 p12 p16 p18 p19 p21 p22 Keynes Link p10 Reach Fair - It has taken a few years, but they seem to have ‘got the hang of this now’!!
Transcript
Ouse News - Summer 2016The Great Ouse Branch Newslettercovering the Great Ouse and tributaries
Campaigning for the conservation,use, maintenance, restoration and
development of the InlandWaterways.
The InlandWaterwaysAssociation
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.
Photo: Carole Alderton
Contents:Branch CommitteeChairman’s CornerLetter to the EditorHartford MarinaBook ReviewJohn Bunyan BoatBedford/Milton
River Cam UpdateECDC MooringReach WeekendOuseFestBranch NewsRiver News from EA
p2p3p5p5p6p8
p12p16p18p19p21p22
Keynes Link p10
Reach Fair - It has taken a few years, but theyseem to have ‘got the hang of this now’!!
I must admit that it has been rather quiet over the past few months, withnothing very exciting happening on our rivers that I am aware of. No doubtthe cold spring has kept everybody’s enthusiasm for waterways activities incheck for a while. We did, however, manage to get away for a very enjoy-able ten day trip with Meg and Stephen Foote down the GU from Blisworthto Marsworth Junction and back in May. We were lucky to have largelysunny weather although the persistent cold North East wind seemed to bewaiting for us around every other bend in the canal. At least we were ableto light-up the trusty solid fuel stove when we needed to thaw out!
We were also fortunate to have chilly but bright weather for our activities atReach Fair over the May Day Bank Holiday weekend (see the report onpage 18). Our thanks must go to the Environment Agency for clearingReach Lode and to GOBA for improving the moorings at the head of navi-gation since we were last there. It is important that boaters continue tocruise the Cambridgeshire Lodes in order to demonstrate to the navigationauthority that they still form a much valued part of our local waterwaysnetwork. It must be remembered that although it is now only a small village,Reach was once a major inland port with six or seven small basins at theback of large merchants’ houses. The Lodes themselves are thought to beof Roman origin. The story goes that in medieval times ‘Reach was a citywith nine churches when Cambridge was only a village’. A fair has beenheld there every year since the 10th century, making it one of the oldest inthe country. There is now a move to extend the Reach Conservation Areato cover the Hythe Peninsular (where we hold our gatherings) as it is in thisarea that the remains of the old port are believed to be situated. We fullysupport this initiative.
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Keith Alderton
From the presentations made to the branch by the Cam Conservators andthe Environment Agency in February and March this year, has come a re-quest from both organisations for members to carry out voluntary projectsin their respective areas.
The EA’s plans are still at an early stage and could possibly involve suchwork as providing crew members for their patrol boats, thus allowing themto double-up their efforts.
The Cam Conservators have floated theidea of us helping to paint and tidy up thearea surrounding Bates Bite Lock. Com-mittee members have recently held ameeting with the Camcon River Manager,Jed Ramsey, and Emma Matthars fromIWA head office to progress the idea and
an initial work party was arranged for the 9th and 10th July. Gail Mead haskindly agreed to be Volunteer Co-ordinator and the point of contact for allinterested parties. We have long complained that we have not been allowedto carry out voluntary work in our area – now is the time to stand up and becounted! So please come along and make a contribution at subsequentevents. All adults are welcome and any necessary protective clothing willbe supplied, together with lunch and hot drinks.
It is with regret that we report the death ofJohn Young
John was an early member - joining in October 1971. He proved tobe a very active committee member and helped to organise the IWANational Rally in Ely in 1973. He was also chairman of the ‘Saveour Lodes’ campaign during the late 1970s. John was a seniordepartmental member of staff at the Welding Institute.
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Letters to the editor:The story of Jester the last icewherry continues. Previousowners Pippa and Miles write :
‘Our albums are in storage andnot accessible right now but wefound a box of random snapsand attach a photo of ‘Jester’ onthe beach at Hoo on the Medway. We had cut away the rottedstem and were ready to fit a new stem post.’________________________________________________________________________PRESS RELEASE-JUDGES RULE-HARTFORD MARINA HOMES ARE NOT
‘VESSELS’Issued on behalf of Respondents - Boaters at Hartford MarinaOn April 15th 2016, almost a year to the day since Peterborough CrownCourt quashed the Hartford Two’s convictions under Article 2 of the Envi-ronment Agency (Inland Waterways) Order 2010, the Divisional Court ofthe Queen’s Bench Division sitting in London affirmed the correctness ofthe judgement of the Crown Court.In delivering the lead judgment of the Court, Lord Justice Lindblom saidthat the Crown Court had been “right to find” that the “floating houses” atHartford were “homes on water” rather than vessels capable of navigation:and in concurring judgments Mr Justice Teare and Mr Justice Holroyd bothfound themselves “unable to accept” that the homes at Hartford could bevessels. Mr Justice Holroyd added that to his mind, “a vessel …… must benavigable” and that these floating houses are most emphatically not that.The Environment Agency does not have a right of appeal against this deci-sion but has to request permission to do so. Given the strength of the judg-ment, which is likely to feature in the official Law Reports, and the fact itaffirms decisions of the higher Courts of respectable antiquity, it is thoughtunlikely they will obtain such permission.
The full Approved Judgment is here:http://www.hartfordmarinaca.org/Environment_Agency_v_Gibbs_and_Parker_judgment_15
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Book Review by Anthony Marris
‘Waterways Past & Present’
Derek Pratt has compiled a second edition of his hard back book, Water-ways Past & Present. This time it is paperback and in e-book formats.Derek has taken the opportunity of updating the photographs and text topresent an up-to-date illustration of the inland waterways today. He has
divided the book into two parts, the first being avery brief summary of the major canals together,usefully, with coverage of the principal rivers andcanals away from the central hub. Part two is de-voted to particular topics which have caught his in-terest, be they history, civil engineering, restorationor even waterside inns.
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Derek Pratt contrasts the waterways as they were some 50 or so years agoand today. This is a useful time lapse as the photographs are sufficientlyrecent for the reader to recognise many of the features whilst also showingthe changes which have occurred. With a recent picture of the Naptonlocks taken from Napton Hill in our family, I was particularly intrigued by aphotograph Derek publishes of the same view taken in 1974 which showedhow recreational boating had already taken hold – the difference being thatthe boats were then GRP cruisers which are now already a minority on thecanal network.
At first I couldn’t quite work out quite what sort of book this was – was ita coffee table book to leaf through or was it a more detailed analysis inphotographs, with text, the history of the waterways and their present use?In the end I came to the conclusion that it served both kind of reader well.With its carefully crafted photographs, it is easy to dip in and out of, yet atthe same time there is detail in the author’s text which an enthusiast wouldfind interesting and in some cases novel.
Waterways Past & Present – a uniqueportrait of Britain’s waterways heritageby Derek Pratt, published by BloomsburyGroup August 2015
News & ViewsDo you have an article, comment or photo youwould like to share? We would be very pleasedt o r ec e iv e i t ! Co n t ac t t h e e di t or at :[email protected]
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Volunteers wanted for the John Bunyan - Bedford’s Community Boat
The John Bunyan, Bedford’s community boat, was floated to enable peopleto enjoy the wonderful river environment in Bedford and to build support toget the Bedford & Milton Keynes Waterway Park created. Crewed byvolunteers we are looking to expand our team both on land and on theboat. We ask volunteers to do 2-4 sessions (of between 4 and 6 hours) amonth and full training is given. We are in particular need of Boatmasters (qualified to a minimum of Tier 2for Category A waters) who are available during the summer months (Julyand August) and experienced helms. Land crew roles we are recruiting forare to support our Sales, Finance, and Rostering teams.
If you’re interested in any of these roles, or want to find out more about theJohn Bunyan and the Waterway Park project see <http://www.johnbunyanboat.org/> or contact [email protected]
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John Bunyan Boat takes to the water for the new cruising season
With the arrival of spring, theJohn Bunyan Community Boattakes to the river again for itsfourth season on Bedford’sbeautiful River Great Ouse.Since its launch in July 2013 theboat has carried over 15,000
people on private and public cruises.
The 2016 programme started on Sunday 1st May cruising from Priory Ma-rina, calling in at Sovereigns Quay (next to the Star Rowing Club) andcruising up to Kempston. On Thursday afternoons the cruises run fromSovereigns Quay towards Cardington Lock. Other regular public cruisesinclude a three hour cruise to The Anchor, Great Barford for lunch, a cruisefrom the Town Centre to The Barns Hotel for Afternoon Tea, a Saturdayevening Fish & Chip Supper Cruise, the very popular Sunset Cruise andAfternoon Tea Cruises run in conjunction with The Bedford Swan Hotel.The highly acclaimed Thursday evening Jazz Cruises continue on a monthlybasis featuring top jazz musicians.
The John Bunyan boat is run by a team of well-trained volunteers in sup-port of the Bedford & Milton Keynes Waterway Park Trust and is licensedby the Maritime & Coastguard Agency. It carries up to 50 passengers andis disabled-friendly, having a wheel chair access lift and toilet. The boat isalso available for private charter hire for local groups, parties, weddingcruises, school parties.
Full details can be found on the website: www.johnbunyanboat.org.
Tickets for the public cruises can be purchased on line, and at The Travel &Tourist Office at Bedford Bus Station, or the Corn Exchange Box Office,No. 13 St. Paul’s Square or by phoning 01946 817456
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The consortium spearheading the ambitious 200-year old plans for a newwaterway park linking Bedford town centre and Campbell Park in MiltonKeynes has launched a dynamic new strategy for the project in order topromote it as part of the key infrastructure required to promote growth inthe Oxford/Milton Keynes/Cambridge growth corridor.
Building the proposed Bedford to Milton Keynes Waterway Park will trans-form the region, bringing not only economic, environmental and social ben-efits, but also improved flood prevention and waterway management. Nowis the time for top level commitment to create the project.
Provision of the “missing link” in the nation’s waterways network will pro-vide a vital route linking the River Severn to the Wash. The 24km waterwaypark between the Grand Union Canal at Milton Keynes and the River GreatOuse at Bedford will boost tourism and economic growth as well as facili-tating the movement of water to help manage flood risk and at times trans-fer water to areas where it is most needed.
In seeking to promote the benefits of the project local charity, the Bedfordto Milton Keynes Waterway Park Trust, is supported by the wider B&MKWaterway Consortium, which includes the local authorities of BedfordBorough, Central Bedfordshire and Milton Keynes; SEMLEP (South EastMidlands Local Enterprise Partnership); Canal and Rivers Trust (C&RT);Environment Agency, the Forest of Marston Vale and Milton Keynes ParksTrust. Jointly they have commissioned a new brochure which summarisesthe new strategy for the Waterway Park. It highlights the route betweenBedford and Milton Keynes and emphasises the positive impact the projectwould have on the area. At the same time the Trust has approved a 3 yearBusiness Plan which sets out the tasks it is aiming to undertake to helpmake the Waterway Park a reality. The brochure and the business plan waslaunched at the B&MK Waterway Partnership Conference in Milton
Dynamic New Strategy for the Bedford/Milton KeynesWaterway Park
Keynes on 26th May and posted on the Trust’s website.
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Jane Hamilton, Chair of the Trust, commented: “We have set ourselves somebig challenges in order to strengthen our case to partners at local, regionaland national level that ours is a project which can have a positive and trans-formational impact on the region. With the recent increased emphasis givenby Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, to infrastructure and eco-nomic growth across the west-to-east Oxford/Milton Keynes/Cambridgecorridor we believe that now is the time to demonstrate that the project is amust. The new brochure will help take that message to a much wider audi-ence
“I urge everyone interested in what we are doing to look at our business planand note the targets we have set ourselves. We need support in funding andif people think there are tasks where they can help, then they should get intouch. We need you!”
Hilary Chipping (Deputy Chief Executive at SEMLEP), said: “The Chancel-lor has asked Lord Adonis and the National Infrastructure Commission todevelop a plan for unlocking growth, housing and jobs in the Oxford/MK/Cambridge corridor. The Bedford to Milton Keynes Waterway Park Con-sortium believes this project can make a significant contribution to growth inthe area”
Nick Webb, Chief Executive of The Forest of Marston Vale Trust said:“We’re proud to be an active member of the Consortium and to be playingour part in supporting this ambitious project. The Waterway Park will be amajor asset for the area, helping to deliver the vision of environmentally-ledregeneration, which is at the heart of transforming the area through creatingthe Forest of Marston Vale. The Waterway Park will provide a ‘spine’ ofgreenspace, paths and cycle-ways, as well as a new waterway, all runningthrough the heart of the growing Forest of Marston Vale – together they’llcreate a thriving, attractive place to live, work and play.”
http://www.b-mkwaterway.org.uk/Press release received from the Bedford to Milton KeynesWaterway Park Trust
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River Cam Update from Jed Ramsey, River ManagerWe’ve had some cracking days on the river so far thisyear. Since we’ve settled into our new office at Clayhithe(and no longer in the tin shed hidden in the yard) I’vebeen able to see a good number of boats passing through.Our visitor mooring is also seeing good use which ispleasing – we’ll be doing some repairs on the visitormooring later this year to keep it in tip-top shape.
River CrewAs you can see in the picture overleaf we’ve had a busy time out on the riverkeeping the navigation looking its best. We’ve been working on bank repairsalongside the A14 bridge; trying to improve the seal at Baits Bite Lock (this isproving quite a challenge!); recovering the odd abandoned boat or two and, ofcourse, trimming up and down the towpath. We’ve also recently taken on anapprentice on a three-year programme which includes a full training programmeand one day a week in East Anglia College.
New Season Registration
This year we are remaining the same with our fees for visiting boats (i.e. you canget a Cam visitor licence for 3% of your annual licence if you buy it with your EAlicence, or 5% if bought later on). Our powered licence fees have reducedslightly to bring them in line with the EA. For anyone still waiting for their paperform from us, we are running a little behind with the registration process but weare open to online applications. If you’d like a paper form do drop us a line andwe’ll put one in the post to you.
I often also get asked about the efforts we make to ensure everyone is registeredon the Cam. To give you a feel for this – there are 240 (or so) powered boatson the Cam of which 220 register each year with full insurance and valid boatsafety certificate.
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There are 20 that fail to do so; of these I normally manage to help 6-8 of themto get their insurance and safety in place through some prodding by our bailiff.The remaining 12 or so end in court. We’ve just been to court last week withthe first batch of prosecutions and will be back there in June. It’s the last optionfor us as it would be better for everyone to register, but unfortunately in somecases we’re left with no choice but to prosecute.
Patrol BoatI’m currently in the market for a patrol boat for the Conservancy. We’ve got asmall budget of about £10k available and I hope to find something not toodissimilar to the patrol boats used by the EA. If you know of anything that couldbe suitable please do drop me a line.
Diary Dates
Upcoming events and works on the Cam. Please see our online calendar forfull details of times and locations. Please note that for all events the river is stillnavigable and where possible we try to publish contact numbers of eventorganisers to help arrange passage. We also try to limit events to one day perweekend so that the Cam is always fully open for part of the weekend.
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CONSERVATORS OF THE RIVERCAM
Navigation authority for the River Cam, between Cambridge and BottishamLock
Visiting the Cam
We would very much like to welcome you to the Cam this year. We’vebeen working with the Environment Agency to improve the licensing situa-tion for visiting boats.
Currently all boats with an EA licence need to add a ‘Cam Premium’ totheir licence to visit Cambridge. This is 3% of your annual licence fee (ifbought at the time of your annual renewal) or 5% if bought as a later add-on. We also offer the 3% fee for Gold Licence holders.
Prices are typically around £18-£32 for most GOBA members and willallow multiple visits up to 90 days in total throughout the year.
There is no longer a block licence in place for GOBA members so pleaseremember to get your visitor licence or ‘Cam Premium’ in place.
You can obtain your licence online via our website with a simple form to fillin and pay with Paypal or a credit / debit card.
Jed RamsayRiver Manager
www.camconservancy.orgFollow us on twitter: @camconservancyFind us facebook: facebook.com/camconservancy
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ECDC Mooring
On 16th March 2016 a Stakeholder meeting was held at The Council Cham-ber, East Cambs District Council (ECDC) to review the Ely mooring policyand disclose the results of its latest questionnaire. The meeting was attendedby ECDC councillors and officials, representatives from IWA, GOBA, RYAand other local groups. The Environment Agency (EA) were going to at-tend but nobody turned up.
After a welcome by Cllr Richard Hobbs, Lewis Bage from the council gaveus a review of the first 6 months of the mooring enforcement scheme, thena breakdown of the answers he had received from the questionnaire.
At the date of the meeting he told us that since 6th September 22 mooringcharge notices had been issued to 6 boats (one boat had 15 issued!). Therehad been 4 appeals - 3 accepted and 1 rejected. At the time of the meeting3 cases were in progress of going through the courts.
The questionnaire had had 16 responses and Lewis summarised the an-swers provided. In general the majority were in favour of the new mooringarrangements. If a summary of the meeting had been sent to me then moredetail could have been provided.
Due to council spending cuts ECDC are not continuing the £4000 pay-ments to EA for the moorings from A142 Road Bridge to first Rail Bridge(or for their half share of the pumpout) so the council had hoped that EAwould be present at the meeting to explain what was going to happen.
In the meantime it appears that these moorings will NOT be visitor moor-ings, but will be leased moorings administered by Bridge Boatyard. Per-sonnel changes at EA have hampered the paperwork so things could alter!
Shame about the mooring in Ely. First we lost the mooring just north of therail bridge and now the length between Bridge Boatyard and the road bridge-this is about 30% of the length we had 20 years ago. Peter Webb
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Reach Weekend - Report by Peter WebbThe annual branch gathering was held as usual over the first May Bank
Holiday weekend. We only had 3boats mooring at Reach on the Satur-day. The local pub, The Dykes End,had had a fire in its kitchen so theevening meal was rebooked at theBlack Horse, Swaffham Bulbeck. Acouple of cars taxied the boaters to themeal and finally 17 members had an ex-cellent evening; good food and goodcompany.
Sunday morning was dull, giving an opportunity for dog walking andgeocaching. By lunch time the sun was out but with a good breeze, so outcame the BBQs and picnic chairs and tables. Although still only 6 of us, itwas decided by all that we attempted the quiz. Jean & I were joint winners- BUT we had set the quiz back in 2014/15, even so we only got 22 out ofthe 28 questions correct!
Some boaters went to the village church for a “Songs of Praise” service.Later we all returned to the village hall for another quiz run by the locals.Our team of 6, plus a dog, came a very creditable 4th out of almost a dozenteams.
Monday was an early rise for me as the branch sales gazebos and equip-ment arrived just after 8 am at our pitch for the Reach Fair. Another breezybut generally sunny day. More boats arrived during the day so at one point8 boats were present. Interesting day on the stand - visiting children werevery keen using the water pump on the model canal, some stock items weresold and although several people were interested we did not recruit anynew members. Spots of rain came down about 3:30 pm, so the crowdsdeparted gradually and we were able to pack up. By 5 pm the site wasalmost empty - this was good as less than hour later the heavens opened!
Reach Lode
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It is disappointing that the same core of people help with the sales stand,most having done it for many years; it would be nice to see new people
help. It’s great fun helping thepublic understand the IWA.
OuseFest ReturnsOuseFest is a fortnight of events from July18th-31st celebrating the Ouse Washes land-scape, heritage and communities, with over100 events happening from St Ives to
Downham Market. OuseFest is part of the Ouse Washes Landscape Part-nership scheme, a larger project supported by the Heritage Lottery Fundto promote the area. For those out and about by boat over the fortnight,there are plenty of events where you could moor up nearby and join in.Boaters might particularly enjoy the Environment Agency’s tours of theDenver Complex. Given by site superintendent Dan Pollard, on Mon 18th,Tues 19th & Mon 25th. these tours are a chance to find out how the vitalinfrastructures at Denver Complex protect the fens from flooding and regu-late water levels for navigation. Book by calling 01366 382013.
‘I’ll show you how to workthe lock’
‘Should we let the childrenhave a go? We didn’t buy itjust for the committee afterall!’
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On Thursday 21st July at 7pm in Chatteris Library there will be a talk aboutthe Manea Colony and the Fenland Ark, the Floating Church of the fenswhich operated in the 1900s to serve isolated communities. Places are lim-ited - call 0345 045 5225.Or for those fascinated by the history of Fenland pumping engines, three ofthese will be open to the public on 24th July as part of our Wind Steam andDiesel Trail. Prickwillow Museum will be running their engines and holdinga Family Fun day from 11am-4:30pm, with kids activities and refreshments,Stretham Old Engine will be running from 1:30-5pm, and the Wind Pump atWicken Fen will be open from 10am-5pm as usual.In Ely, enjoy a specially selected programme of evocative Fenland films onSunday 24th July from 4:30pm at the Babylon Gallery (book by callingADEC 01353 616991), or on 31st July explore Cawdle Fen on foot withthe Fenland Ramblers (meet outside the Maltings at 11am). More informa-tion at www.fenlandramblers.org.uk.On July 23rd in St Ives there will be free craft activities for children on HoltIsland from 10am to 3pm. In the Corn Exchange there will be a display ofRiverport history and the evening will see The Merrie Wives of St Ives playperformed on the Quay! Find out more at www.stivesoldriverport.co.ukDownham Market is putting on an Arts Trail over the fortnight. On Tuesday19th between 10am-1pm come and try your hand at fenland crafts from ragrugging to basket making in Downham Market Library (this event is alsorunning in Ely on Sat 30th July between 1-4pm at Ely Museum).At the Jenyn’s Arms on 24th July between 4-5pm, enjoy a family play withmusic and song by the Lavender Hill Mob set in 1702, telling the story oftravellers lost in a Fenland fog who stumble across an isolated inn. Ticketsare free. On the 28th July from 7-9pm the Ship Inn on Brandon Creek willhost a lively talk about Fenland folklore and legend. Places are free butlimited so book yours by calling Sara Marshall on 01353 865028.Full programme of events at www.ousewashes.org.uk/ousefest
Winter MeetingsBranch News
Members & Visitors welcome.
are at 8 pm on Thursday eve-nings at the Cole’s RoadCommunity Centre, Milton(North Cambridge) CB24 6BL.
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Our October meeting will be a talkby John Dodwell about the formationof the Canal & River Trust andpotential takeover of theEnvironment Agency navigations.John is a C&RT Trustee and formerIWA General Secretary.
THURSAY 27TH OCTOBER 2016
We welcomethe followingnew members
to the branch. We hope youwill introduce yourselves to uswhen coming to an event ormeeting:
THURSDAY 24TH NOV 2016
‘Sluices & Staunches’ - anillustrated talk by Ivan Cane.
THURSDAY 23RD FEBRUARY 2017
‘Boating Across the Wash’ - anillustrated talk by Simon Judge.
THURSDAY 23RD MARCH 2017
This will be our branch AGM,together with an update from theRiver Managers of the EnvironmentAgency.
Diane Cook, Cambridge
Members who have movedto the branch:
Dr Frances Ward & Dr PeterPowell, Bury St. EdmundsNick & Georgina Mead,Caxton, Cambridge
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In the previous issue I mentioned that the planned winter works programmeon the River Great Ouse had largely still yet to be undertaken. I am pleasedto say that the majority of the planned winter works have now all beencompleted and, as promised, I have provided some photos and an updateon some of the key works carried out. At the time of writing there are stilla few odds and ends from the 2015/16 winter works programme that havespilt over into this season but the majority of planned preventive mainte-nance and capital works are now completed.
There are still some works planned on the Relief Channel downstream land-ing stage and visitor moorings where some of the floatation tanks on thesefloating platforms have deteriorated and taken on some water causing por-tions of the deck to list. These floatation units will be replaced as part of theongoing works. In the interim your attention will be drawn more to the newtemporary control measures we are putting in place to ensure your safetywhilst out using the waterway. We have reviewed the temporary measurewe use between identifying an issue and a fix being applied. This has in-volved utilising more heavy duty fencing and clearer more prominent signage.Whilst this has already had the impact of drawing more attention and gen-erating more feedback about items awaiting repair, I am reassured thatpeople are noticing and being able to steer clear of defects and better ableto stay safe whilst out on the river.
For those of you who have already ventured out onto the water this seasonI hope you’ll notice the areas of priority bushing works that have beenundertaken in conjunction with our Field Operation colleagues. Many partsof the river system received attention to varying degrees, with highest prior-ity given to those areas we had received most reports about and where itwas deemed vegetation overhang was significantly impeding navigation.Needless to say we are still collating intelligence and information on otherdeveloping hot spots so that this can form future winter tree cutting / bush-ing programmes with our Field Operations teams. More detail includingimages can be found on our twitter feed: @PaulSeparovic or in our twittersnippets.
River News from the Environment Agency - Paul Separovic
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St Neots LockYou will be pleased to hear that business as usualhas now resumed at St Neots Lock with the sitereturning back to full public operation; although Iknow there will be some of you who appreciated ahelping hand through this site. There are currentlyno restrictions or closures currently in place at thislocation. During the emergency closure restrictionperiod since last July we assisted over 1200 boatsthrough the lock. As part of the road to recoveryand the re-opening back to normal we had to re-move the gear box from the guillotine gate and sendit off for investigations. The images show the box in
the workshop in variousstages of being strippeddown whilst away up inYorkshire.
Investigations concludedthat there was no issuewith the gear box on thegate and that the originalissue of the gate travelling
was as a result of the balancing set up with the gate. This has now beenaddressed by removing additional fittings such as the eel pass and triangularcapping off of the top of the gate where alternatives will, in time, be found.The gate now shows no signs of travelling at any stage in its operation so theissue has been fully resolved on site, although further investigations continueinto the gate design with the consultants and contractors who installed thenewer gate design back in 2012. There’s just a mid-week two day closureplanned in late June to undertake a final inspection to check that everythingis as it should be with the gate below the waterline; also coinciding with gateworks at St Ives Lock at the same time to ensure they remain fully service-able and to minimise the risks of any further disruption.
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The images showCardington Lock duringa drain down inspectioncarried out this spring.These inspections arecarried out on a rollingprogramme and ideallywe would like to under-take one every decade
per lock structure. Thisvery much depends onthe levels of capital fund-ing waterways receivewhich in turn is influencedlargely by levels of grantfunding from central gov-ernment.
These works largely follow the principal of planned preventative mainte-nance and allow us to investigate causes for concern and attempt to addressthese whilst the lock pen is empty. These works are usually planned in to bedone over a two week period but can, on occasions, be extended furtherdepending on what is found and what work can be achieved at that time.Other factors such as bad weather and high flows can also delay these typesof inspection.
Whilst Cardington lock was drained we took the opportunity to investigatethe cause of the stiff mitre or ‘v’ door operation that we had received numer-ous items of feedback about. In the end around 20mm was shaved off ofthe pintel pins (these sit in cups at the bottom of the lock door posts andeffectively form the hinge). This has allowed much more free movement inthe lock doors.
Cardington Lock Drain Down
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Castle Mill Lock Downstream Shoal ReprofilingFollowing the winter high flows and is-sues with the sluice gates at Castle Millwe have had to revisit the area adja-cent to the downstream landing stageand carry out shoal reprofiling of thegravel bar that forms in the area. Thishad shifted in the high flows and en-croached back into the navigation chan-nel. As the photo shows we utilised aformer Environment Agency piece ofkit called the ‘Smalley’ via our contrac-
tors to redistribute the gravel that forms the shoal. They shifted approxi-mately 800 cubic metres of gravel over the two week period and re-estab-lished a minimum 12 metre wide navigation channel to an average 1.4 metredepth. At the same time we also drove in some poles to attach some new instream signage and string a line of channel marker buoys to better guideboats into and away from the lock past the landing stage.
Upware Access Track ImprovementsDuring the winter pe-riod we close off theUpware access trackto our moorings toprevent damage andrutting to the bankalong Burwell Lode.However, some se-vere rutting had alsooccurred between thehighway along the ac-cess track onto the bank. Whilst traffic was quiet we were able to undertakerepairs and have vastly improved the access track. We also re-profiled thegradient to direct water away from neighbouring properties, across the trackand towards the lode. This work has improved the appearance of the areaas well as access to the moorings, the flood bank and extensive Rights ofWay Network in the area.
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Now that the channel is once again clear and navigable we are looking atmedium to long term solutions to try and reduce the amount of gravel thatkeeps forming in the cleared channel. This includes working with colleaguesto try and resolve the recurring issues with the sluice gates, as this contributesto the problem, and other methods such as piling or installing some baffles toslow flow and force the gravels out of suspension in the water causing thegravels to drop out before they reach the navigation side of the channel. Thisis being done in conjunction with ecology colleagues as the gravel bar formsa beneficial and unique fish spawning habitat that is seldom found elsewhereon the river at the scale it is found at Castle Mill.
Guillotine Gate High Level AccessImprovementsA number of lock sites referred to in the pre-vious edition have had high level access im-provements carried out to their guillotine gates.Although the types of improvements won’taffect how the lock is operated and you won’tdirectly notice any difference in how the lockworks, they are a vital health and safety pieceof work under the lifting equipment or LOLERregulations that ensure our staff operator safetywhen they are accessing the top of the gatesto undertake maintenance, inspections and re-pairs. These works will also make it easier to access the guillotine gates tocarry out regular maintenance activities and inspections, so this also has indi-rect benefits to you as users of the locks. This is especially welcomed by anumber of our engineers who are approaching retirement and found the pre-vious access at the top of the ladder, and then having to scale some addi-tional guard fencing, increasingly challenging! A secure ladder anchoring pointand nice new gate is much easier to negotiate especially on those chilly windydays! There are a few final snags and alterations that contractors will beaddressing on sites over the summer. This won’t affect lock operation, butyou may notice them on site if you’re passing through this season, so youshould now be a little wiser as to their presence and what they are up to.
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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.
