Wednesday 23 January
Londoners told: Stop dumping household rubbish on the canal
The Canal & River Trust has announced a growing problem of household rubbish being dumped on London’s towpaths. It says the problem is particularly acute on the eastern half of the Regent’s Canal, in Islington, around Broadway Market in Hackney and at Mile End Park. "The Trust has been faced with bins overflowing with household rubbish and domestic waste. We empty the bins in the morning and within hours they’ll be full again,” said a spokesman in a press release on 23rd January. “The bins are designed to be used by passers-by for disposing of light litter such as drink cans and food wrappers. But it seems a selfish minority are bringing bags stuffed full of domestic rubbish.” The Trust says that the rubbish is clearly of domestic nature, because much of it features household waste like food tins, bottles or food preparation put into supermarket carrier bags. The areas concerned all feature large numbers of liveaboard boaters without permanent moorings. However, the Trust spokesman was very careful to say that there was no evidence the problem originated with them, and it could not be sure who was responsible. Rubbish collection has been outsourced to utilities group Fountains, who are responsible for emptying the towpath bins and the three boaters’ refuse points at Little Venice, St Pancras and Old Ford. Representatives of the London continuous cruisers have in the past criticised the presence of only three refuse points on the eight-mile canal. In the past some boaters have suggested a rubbish boat should service the canal, but the Trust said that this would only work if it was daily and reliable, and that this was unaffordable. It says that to report overflowing bins, people should call the London office on 020 7517 5560, but appealed again for people not to use the bins for domestic rubbish.
Andrew Denny | 5.11pm | 1 comment
Today's news from the web
- ‘Barge rage’ as locals protest over boaters' smoke & noise in Islington standard.co.uk
Barge owners living on Regent’s Canal are being confronted by residents over noise and pollution. Homeowners are reported to have marched to the edge of the waterway in Angel, Islington, to complain about smoke from boat engines pouring into their kitchens, bedrooms and gardens. Resident Sarah Morris, 21, said the noise made it difficult to sleep: “Summer is the worst because we normally keep windows open. But winter can be bad when they burn smoky coal. People have gone to the towpath to complain but often are shouted at.” Nearby residents include Boris Johnson....
Monday 21 January
Today's news from the web
- Newsreader topples into BCN canal after losing her footing while texting dailymail.co.uk
A Birmingham radio newsreader plunged into a freezing canal in the city as she texted her boyfriend. Laura Safe, who works for the Capital FM Breakfast Show, lost her footing after she walked down the steps of the Mailbox shopping centre and slipped into the icy water. She was hauled to safety by property boss Neil Edginton who spotted the drama unfolding as he walked along the canal on Wednesday....
Sunday 20 January
Today's news from the web
- Grieving boater's suicide after death of brother staffordshirenewsletter.co.uk
A grieving narrowboat dweller hanged himself a month after his brother had taken his own life, an inquest heard. Robert Gallacher, originally from North Lanark- shire in Scotland, had been “affected deeply” by the death of his brother Tony in August 2012, Cannock Coroner’s Court was told last week. He returned to Scotland for his brother’s funeral but was moored along the Shropshire Union Canal, close to the Anchor Inn at High Offley, near Eccleshall, when he died....
Thursday 17 January
CRT advertises for new financial trustee
The Canal & River Trust has been advertising for “an exceptional financially qualified individual” to join its board of trustees, overseeing its Audit Committee and joining the Trust’s Investment Committee.The move follows the early resignation, for personal reasons, of the original trustee in this role, Marisa Cassoni. She was appointed only last March, before the Trust was launched, and after retiring as finance director of the John Lewis Partnership.
Along with high-powered financial experience the new trustee will be expected to have “an empathy with the natural and built heritage of the inland waterways.”
The post is voluntary and unsalaried, and will be an initial three-year appointment for around three days a month.
CRT chairman Tony Hales said: “We are seeking an exceptional trustee who is as enthusiastic about the waterways as we are and who can play a vital part in ensuring they continue to flourish.”
The post is being advertised on exec-appointments.com and in the Sunday Times: http://appointments.thesundaytimes.co.uk/job/427688/trustee until 4th February.
Andrew Denny | 12.30pm | add a comment
Today's news from the web
- Burnley's £3m Weavers’ Triangle plan includes new wishbone canal bridge thisislancashire.co.uk
A striking Y-shaped footbridge is to be built to help form the gateway to the Weavers’ Triangle in Burnley. The 'wishbone' structure is part of a £3million investment for the town's former cotton heart-land. It will link the new university training college and planned offices in Slater's Terrace with Sandygate Square, the landscaped heart of the mill complex, over the Leeds Liverpool Canal. The bridge will be just yards from where The Queen, Prince Philip and Prince Charles arrived on a barge to tour the site in May last year....
Tuesday 15 January
Today's news from the web
- Devon County Council pledges £3 million to repair Grand Western Canal thisisexeter.co.uk
Devon County Council is pledging up to £3 million to repair and modernise the Grand Western Canal by 2014. Council leader John Hart said the money would be included in the authority’s capital budget which will be examined next week. The decision follows the catastrophic breach of the canal wall at Halberton in November following torrential downpours. Mr Hart said today: “This is an historic feature with many listed structures along its length. “It is a major tourist attraction and vital to Mid Devon’s economy and to Devon as a whole. “I am awaiting a detailed report on exactly what we can do and what it will cost but I believe Devon County Council has a duty to restore the canal and to do that as quickly as possible....
Monday 14 January
Today's news from the web
- Lorry crashes into Lancaster canal bridge lep.co.uk
A canal bridge has been closed after a 7.5 ton lorry crashed into its parapet and knocked sandstone bricks into the water below. Police said the HGV was trying to cross the Lancaster Canal bridge, known as Moon’s Bridge, in Hollowforth Lane at Woodplumpton, near Preston, when it collided with the wall. The rear of the lorry was left hanging partly off the bridge and heavy lifting gear had to be used to rescue the vehicle. The driver was unharmed. The bridge is now closed to motorists and the canal below is also out of operation. Moon’s Bridge Marina, which is on the southern side of the canal and home to more than 100 boats, is still open for business, but is now only accessible by car from Woodplumpton Road....
- Devizes MP: 'I am not a celebrity. It is not the jungle' independent.co.uk
... To be fair, one of her constituency towns, Marlborough, is twinned with Gunjur, in south-west Gambia, and she is going as part of a long-running exchange programme. She is paying, and insists she's not "making any political points". She defends taking her middle child out of school, saying she will learn a lot. But Eliza clearly has her mother's measure: when Perry suggested a canal-boat holiday on the Kennet and Avon Canal, which is in her constituency, she said: "Mummy, if you think we're going on a canal holiday so that you can put out a press release, you're wrong."...
Friday 11 January
Today's news from the web
- Historic Dowley Gap L&L aqueduct to be opened to the public during annual maintenance work thetelegraphandargus.co.uk
A 240-year-old aqueduct on the Leeds & Liverpool Canal near Bingley will host its first open day as repairs are made to the grade II-listed structure as part of the Canal & River Trust’s annual waterway maintenance programme. The trust, which took over the running of 2,000 miles of waterways in England and Wales in July, is inviting people to walk along a 50 metre drained section of Dowley Gap Aqueduct and see for themselves what it takes to keep the landmark in working order. The aqueduct, which spans the River Aire, is being drained so that any leaks can be mended....
- Grand Western Canal campaigners launch fundraising bid to repair Halberton breach thisisthewestcountry.co.uk
Collection boxes are being distributed throughout Mid-Devon to raise funds to repair the breached Grand Western Canal embankment near Halberton. Fund-raising group Friends of the Grand Western Canal is handing out the boxes to businesses across the region and has so far raised more than £1,650 through a Just Giving website it set up to generate donations. Darren Willetts of Cameras Plus in Gold Street, Tiverton, was one of the first shops in the town to request a box. He said: “The canal is an important part of Mid Devon life and it would be terrible to lose it....
Thursday 10 January
CRT introduces National Users Forum
The Canal & River Trust has formally announced a new National Users’ Forum, which will replace the old British Waterways Advisory Forum (BWAF).As with the old BWAF, the new Forum is intended to keep the principal users of the waterways up to date with strategic developments and give an extra way for national bodies to reply on issues of national importance to their members.
The group will meet twice a year, with the inaugural meeting scheduled for 21st February 2013 at CRT’s West Midlands HQ at Peel’s Wharf, Fazeley, and the second meeting in September at a location to be announced.
Roger Hanbury, head of governance services at the Canal & River Trust, said the Forum would be open to groups with recognised national membership and invited such groups to nominate a representative to attend.
“The Forum will be another important conduit for the organisations who use and have a love for the waterways to feedback the thoughts and advice of their members,” said Roger Hanbury. The first meeting would require making arrangements for chairing proceedings, together with agreeing the Forum’s terms of reference, which could potentially differ from those of the BWAF.
“If a waterways group would like to attend and hasn’t yet nominated a representative, please get in touch with me at roger.hanbury@canalrivertrust.org.uk” he said.
Andrew Denny | 4.52pm | add a comment
Wednesday 9 January
CRT chief Robin Evans to resign
The Canal & River Trust announced today that Robin Evans will resign as chief executive in May 2013, ten years after he became head of its predecessor, British Waterways.Robin Evans revealed that he had made the decision last November, “to pursue other interests and opportunities”, after overseeing BW’s transition to a charitable trust, and felt it was the right time for a new leader.
He said: “It has been a privilege to lead these two great organisations and I am very proud of what we have achieved over the past ten years. Having agreed the transfer of the waterways into the Third Sector together with £500m of endowment property and a 15-year funding agreement from government, the Trust is on a more secure financial footing with a more positive outlook than we’ve probably ever had.
Robin Evans said he left the Trust with “the foundations for a strong and vibrant future for our much-loved waterways.”
Tony Hales, chair of the Canal & River Trust, said: “We will be very sorry to lose him. He has served with great dedication and inspirational vision. His determination to see that vision realised in the foundation of the Trust, has transformed the long term prospects for the waterways. The former Board of British Waterways and the current Trustees wish him well and thank him for his outstanding contribution to the canals and rivers we all love.”
No replacement has yet been announced, but the trustees of the Canal & River Trust will begin the selection process shortly. CRT chairman Tony Hales, who had himself planned to retire in April, will delay his departure to help ensure a smooth transition.
Les Etheridge, national chairman of the Inland Waterways Association, also praised Robin Evans’ tenure. “It will, in time, be seen to be both visionary and unprecedented,” he predicted.
“He has steered the former British Waterways, through some of the most severe and testing economic times, and has managed a successful transfer to the third sector with the formation of Canal & River Trust, complete with a dowry of a 15-year stable funding settlement from government.”
“The fact that the Trust exists today is testament to his vision, strength and determination.”
Les Etheridge warned that the role would be very hard to fill. As well as the ability to manage the Trust, a new chief executive would now need to drive a “culture change” for the organisation.
Andrew Denny | 9.49am | 1 comment
Today's news from the web
- My Boat Roofed Shed tinyhouseblog.com
The shed roof is made from a clinker built boat that is 14ft long and 7ft wide at its widest point. The boat is an inshore fishing boat made between 1900 – 1910. It was placed on a frame of 4 telegraph poles with cross beams. Once in place the walls were filled in using aluminium windows from a 1940′s caravan and single glazed windows from our 400 year old farm house....
- Skipper wedges £500,000 pleasure cruiser under Chertsey Bridge on Thames dailymail.co.uk
The skipper of a £500,000 luxury cruiser was left red-faced after it became stuck underneath a bridge on the River Thames. The 40ft long boat was too high to pass through Chertsey Bridge in Surrey and became wedged under the archway. It is understood the skipper had misjudged how much the river level has risen because of the recent wet weather and underestimated the clearance needed to get through. ...
- Could the QE2 be setting sail for the Thames? dailymail.co.uk
An ambitious multi-million pound scheme has emerged to save the much-loved Queen Elizabeth 2 by permanently moving it to London and opening it as a plush hotel on the River Thames. The vessel is currently based in Dubai and its owners are said to be in talks with China about stripping it for scrap metal. But it is hoped that this can be prevented by moving the ship to London and transforming it into a luxury hotel. She would be stationed at Carlsberg Wharf - opposite the O2 Arena, and near the Emirates Cable Car, Excel Conference Centre, and Canary Wharf....
- New-look entrance unveiled for Black Country Museum, Dudley Canal Trust & Dudley Zoo expressandstar.com
A £10.1million masterplan to link Dudley’s biggest tourist attractions and create a new 600-space car park has been unveiled. The redevelopment project in Castle Hill will create a single point of access for Dudley Zoo, the Black Country Living Museum and Dudley Canal Trust. Detailed plans for the latest phase of work aimed at boosting visiting numbers and bringing in millions of pounds in extra revenue have been submitted and regeneration bosses today released the first images showing how a new visitor entrance at Dudley Zoo will look if the proposals are approved....
- Mississippi - the 'great liquid superhighway' - blocked by drought blogs.telegraph.co.uk
It is still Ol' Man River, but it's hardly ”rollin' along” any more – and the US and the world may be about to suffer as a result. For in the wake of record drought the Mississippi River – which transports more than seven billion dollars worth of commodities in a normal December and January – is drying up. ... People who know the river are saying that they have never seen it so low. ...
- A boating holiday on the Norfolk Broads mirror.co.uk
As we pulled into Wroxham, we were swallowed into old-world England with its charming thatched cottages and – would you believe it – people actually smiling and saying “good afternoon”? ... Clear of Wroxham, with its manicured lawns, we were back to a different era. There was the sign in a pub window declaring they closed between 3-5pm, which made me realise I was definitely holidaying in the past. That is what makes the experience so special. Not for ages had our family enjoyed such a peaceful time where everyone is so friendly – whether it be other boats that pass with the crews waving enthusiastically, or the pubs and restaurants whose staff look genuinely pleased to see you and who are also accommodating to our junior first mates. On our one-week trip we stayed mainly on the rivers Bure and Ant, which took in Barton Broad and the villages of Sutton and Stalham....
Tuesday 8 January
Dudley Tunnel £3.3m visitor centre gets go-ahead
Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council has granted planning permission to the Dudley Canal Trust to build The Portal Project, a £3.3million education, exhibition and heritage centre at the northern entrance to the 200-year-old canal tunnel and limestone mines.The two-storey building will highlight the Black Country’s canal based industrial heritage and will be the most up to date canal and industrial heritage centre in the UK.
Two years ago the Trust received £118,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund to plan the project. The Heritage Lottery Fund is now considering an application for funding the first phase, while the second phase is also under preparation for consideration by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).
The first phase will cost about £2.15million, with the completed project estimated at £3.3million.
The first phase will be a two-level building with the top floor having direct access from the boat trips car park close to the tunnel’s northern Todds End portal, off the Birmingham New Road. A passenger lift would provide direct access from the lower floor to the towpath and passenger embarkation wharf. A swing bridge would also be installed to enable visitors from the Black Country Living Museum on the opposite side of the canal to access the ticket office, trip boats and heritage and learning centre.
The second phase would include an additional exhibition and lecture area adjoining the trip boat embarkation wharf.
At present access is via a sloping footpath from the car park and a narrow pedestrian bridge over the tunnel’s portal to reach the ticket office and boats adjoining the Black Country Living Museum.
The project has been warmly welcomed by Peter Mathews, chairman of the Canal & River Trust’s West Midlands Waterways Partnership, who said: “This project will provide the nation’s inland waterways network with the finest state-of-the-art industrial waterway heritage centre. [It] will be absolutely essential in promoting the area’s unique industrial heritage.”
Project Manager David Trevis Smith said he hoped funding would be secured around April or May. Once that was in place , the building’s design would be finalised and tenders would be invited. Construction could begin in autumn this year with completion in 2014
The Trust is inviting supporters to make donations to the scheme and also to find out more about the project by visiting www.dudleycanaltrust.org.uk
The canal tunnel and limestone mines form part of a Scheduled Ancient Monument with English Heritage describing them as “the best surviving remains of limestone quarrying, mining and processing industry in Dudley.” At the height of the Industrial Revolution, up to 20,000 tonnes of limestone per year were removed by boats for use as flux in local blast furnaces.
Andrew Denny | 11.26am | add a comment
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