A trustee responds
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THE Canal & River Trust Trustee, John Dodwell has asked if he may respond to some recent items contained in narrowboatworld, to which we have acquiesced.
Why I write. I've been asked why it was I who respond and not others. But it isn't only me—various staff members have written to narrowboatworld, including Vince Moran, Director of Operations.
Did you see chief executive Robin Evans' interviews in Waterways World and Canal Boat?; Chairman Tony Hales has been making speeches, and see Useful Downloads for his speech to the National Council of Voluntary Organisations with pictures of boats and his reference to waterways being at the heart of what the Trust does and that navigation and towpath access is essential.
And other trustees have been giving speeches. I've also been asked why I bother. The reason is that I have a passion for the waterways—have done for over 50 years. I know lots of others who share this passion—that's one reason why they write to narrowboatworld. It's why people like Vince Moran spend Sundays replying to Pam Pickett (narrowboatworld 1st December)—and I've personal knowledge that he's not the only senior executive who works outside a 9 to 5 regime.
So when I see people drawing wrong conclusions without having as much information as possible, I wish to provide some more information. If people still disagree—well, it's a free world but at least they do so with the benefit of more information.
Mystery photographers
I've read the concerns over mystery photographers of boats and have been in touch direct with Pam Pickett on this. Neither of us can make a lot of sense of it. I suggest that if you want to know why someone is photographing your boat, then ask them. If the person is a Trust enforcement officer, he/she will be able to show you their ID card.
Believe it or not, I heard from a boat owner going through Fradley that he came across a father and son team of boat spotters—a bit like train spotters. So the mystery photographers might be one of them. Good for the boat owner who invited them onto his boat—to their glee!
That letter
I've checked and there's no reason—in my view—to think Ralph Freeman is being 'targeted'. Whilst data protection etc stuff means I shouldn't comment on any one person's situation, I can give you some general information. Part of the enforcement procedure is to check that boat owners claiming to have a home mooring do indeed have one at the place they have specified.
Not everyone is as honest as I'm sure all you readers are. Indeed, I've heard of 16 boats supposedly moored at a place which can only take 12 (and that's not because of different boat sizes); Marinas etc sometimes get a letter asking whether in fact a boat is moored there. Some people choose to have a home mooring in the winter at one place, be a continuous cruiser in the summer and then take a winter home mooring at another place.
So keeping track of where the home mooring is isn't always straightforward. As part of their checking whether a boat without a home mooring is moving from place to place, the enforcement team take photos of boats. Why? Because if there is later a dispute whether a boat was at a certain place on a certain day, then the photo is part of the evidence.
Small traders
I've also read about small traders having trouble with the Trust. Again, I have to be careful how much I say. But what I've found is that some small traders sign an agreement to do one thing—and then do something else. When this is pointed out to them, they promise to put it right—but don't always do so. What's the Trust supposed to do? Nothing?
In some cases there are personal or health problems and the Trust tries to help and gives extra time. In one case someone trading from a boat said he was a continuous cruiser but then he stayed in the same area—but didn't want to pay a mooring fee. You can imagine the grumbles the Trust would get from other traders on boats who are paying a mooring fee or complying with the continuous cruiser rules if the Trust turned a blind eye to that.
My own view—and the Trust's—is that small traders generally add colour and vibrancy to the waterways and so should be encouraged. However, there have to be some ground rules—which are then followed by the small trader. Most small traders do. To suggest that asking small traders to follow the rules (which they themselves agreed to) is bullying them is an easy accusation to make—but not right.
Continuous cruising and over-stayers
A group of boats owners with continuous cruising licences asked me and others from the Trust to attend a meeting last month. The Trust has made it clear that those people who do continuously cruise—as they said they would on their licence application—have nothing to worry about. Real continuous cruisers are a valuable part of the waterways scene. Over-stayers—whether continuous cruisers or those with home moorings—will find the rules being enforced.
Now the enforcement team have got licence evasion down to a lower level, they are turning to over-stayers and it's intended there should be more frequent patrols in future at 24 and 48 hours moorings. After all, what's the point in having a limit on hours if nothing is done about over-stayers? The meeting heard that the Trust's research suggested that about 2,000 of the 4,400 boats licenced as continuous cruising moved less than 10kms over an approximate six months period in early 2011 between 1st January and 31st August 2011. Given that not all could be followed up at once, the Trust's staff are focusing on the 600 boats which appear to move the least.
By the way, I reckon Tom Rolt (whom I knew slightly) must be laughing in his grave at the suggestion (narrowboatworld 15th November) he broke rules about long term mooring. When he stayed at Tardebigge in the Second World War, it was out of the way on the off-side, and there weren't any rules about continuous cruising—there were hardly any pleasure boats then.
Flooding
There was flooding on many of the Trust's waterways towards the back end of November—not just when the Trent overflowed into the Trent & Mersey at Aston. (narrowboatworld 26th November). Down at nearby Weston, the Trust's staff were letting water out as residents' homes were threatened—which is why they weren't seen at Aston/Sandon.
Your readers may recall two lots of very heavy water with about a day between; the staff lowered water levels where possible in anticipation. In some places, culverts normally taking surplus water off the canal to a river saw water coming from the river back up towards the canal. Ralph Freeman mentioned that a Sandon ground paddle was out of action. I've checked and it was only reported as being out of action two days before—and since then the staff had been giving priority to more urgent flood matters
Poetry, other things and Friends
Well, I've read some pretty off-beam comments about this. Let's remember that waterways and the arts have a long connection. Robert Aickman (one of the IWA founders) had many arts connections and the 1964 Stratford Re-opening was a Festival of Arts—as was the 1950 Market Harborough Festival. John Betjeman's poem about the 1974 Upper Avon re-opening was put beside the first lock at Stratford. And to bring us up to date, when I boated over the Rochdale Canal this summer, I found separate poems on many of the balance beams, advertising the Rochdale Canal Festival.
The floating forest in a narrowboat did not cost the Trust anything (not £50k) and the poetry on lock beams wasn't the only part of a £100k scheme (narrowboatworld 25th November). The Trust is putting in £60k from its marketing budget for a variety of arts related projects. Leading waterways poet Jo Bell is a long-time boat dweller and industrial archaeologist; she recently boated from the North West to the Kennet & Avon Canal.
You'll have read about the stoppage open days—that's another part of the marketing to a wider public. The Trust wants people to realise how locks work and are maintained—and to appreciate what Trust staff do to keep the waterways open.
And if any one asks why the money wasn't spent on maintenance, may I make two points? The first is that we are trying new ways to attract people—and we won't always get it right. I'm not sure the Trust can win—do nothing and get told off for being stick-in-the-muds with no imagination? Do something new—and get told that's wrong? My second point is that these sums are vastly outweighed by the money put into maintaining the navigations—that crucial element of the Trust's work. This winter (as last winter) about £50m is being spent on stoppages with a little under 200 new gates and other repairs.
The marketing money covers more than just the arts, and is designed to bring more people to the waterways. Some of them may become Friends. The Trust knows that for years boat owners have commented that other users don't pay. The Friends' idea can help to remedy that as towpath users can join. The Trust already has over 2,000 Friends. (narrowboatworld 7th November didn't mention that the reason why the first year target was reduced from 7,000 to 3,000 was because Parliamentary delays meant the launch didn't start in April but in July.)
If boat owners wish to become Friends, then that's great. If they don't, then that's understood and accepted. Your readers will recall the Trust hopes to increase the elected proportion of the Council to 50% and has already earmarked Friends and volunteers as possible electorates.
Equipment hire
I've heard concern about hired plant being left on site after a job has been finished and thus still costing the Trust. You needn't be worried. Plant hire firms are responsible for collecting plant from site. They may choose to wait before doing so; they may want it for another nearby customer. In some cases cranes used on stoppages have gone 'off hire' for part of the stoppage period and then come back 'on hire'; the crane company doesn't take the crane away and then bring it back.
Daunting?
I don't think Frank Hurst (narrowboatworld 14th November) need get worried about the Trust declaring waterways such as the Severn, Ribble Link etc are too daunting for leisure use. Trust staff regularly lock boats out onto the Ribble and tidal rivers like the Thames, Severn, Trent and Yorkshire Ouse—and good luck to them, as long as they take the proper care.
All that the Trust's staff were pointing out about boats trapped at Anderton was that some of the boat owners themselves found it daunting to think of using the Ship Canal. I've done Ellesmere Port/Weaver twice in low lying canal tugs and found it okay. As to the Runcorn Locks Restoration Society, well, I'm a member, so more power to its elbow!
Statistics
Victor Swift (narrowboatworld 18 November) is right to warn about the dangers of statistics. There are various kinds, such as those arrived at from counting the number of boat licences and others derived from sampling techniques (like those used for political opinion polls)—e.g. for visitor numbers, as is well known. By and large, I find statistics useful as indicators of trends—whether up or down. Right now, I—and others in the Trust—am keeping a close eye on the boat licence numbers and the income they produce.
We all know the economic situation. As to the number of visitors going down, don't forget that the 13m included Scotland. Please remember that the figures I give are often news to many of the people to whom I talk—and that although you may have read the speech before, I'm addressing a fresh audience.
Publishing Trustee meeting minutes
The minutes of Trustee meetings between July 2011 and July 2012 have been on the Trust's website for some time. The website also says is it is 'the intention of the Trustees to publish the minutes of their meeting once they have been approved by all Trustees—usually happens at the following meeting. Therefore publications will usually be within a few working days of that following meeting'. The September meeting minutes were approved at the November 22nd meeting and so should soon be on the website.
Tailpieces
Dredging
Have you seen that more money is being allocated for dredging? The Trust is discussing a new dredging policy with the new Navigation Advisory Group. One aspect is to increase the ratio of spot dredging to main-line dredging. Another is to change the 'failing threshold' measure. To explain—at present, if 70% of the channel cross section in each km meets the depth criteria, then it is deemed okay. On this basis, about 7% of the total mileage fails. It's proposed to raise this so that 90% of the cross section must comply—which will mean 16% would fail. This therefore doubles the failing lengths—and actually is more in tune with what users say.
Diary of a breach
A new Trust strategy is 'getting the experts in front of the audience'. As an example, have you been following the work on the Trent & Mersey breach via
www.canalrivertrust.org.uk/news-and-views/features/diary-of-a-breach ? Paul Brown, the project manager, gives updates and recently there was a chance to put questions to him.
More income?
Did you read about the proposals to alter the weirs of the out of use duplicate Regent's locks (reversible if the locks were to be re-opened)? The plan—now out for consultation—is to increase the canal's ability to take surface water discharges. Among other things, this will enable the Trust to increase its income by charging to take drainage from new waterside developments; the Trust's Utilities division's annual c £23m income already includes about £3.5m from charging for surface water drainage. These works would be paid by for one of the developers in lieu of an annual charge.
Bulbourne Yard (GU)
Had you heard that the Trust is informally discussing this yard's future with the IWA, Wendover Arm Trust, Dunstable Boat Club, Maritime Heritage Trust, Marsworth Parish Council and others? Lock gate making ceased there some years ago. Provision will be made for operational activities to remain and the meeting (one of three) discussed what might be done with the rest. The Trust is consulting in order to get the broadest range of views about the site's future, learning the lessons of Marsworth.
Volunteers
I was impressed by the Ashby Canal Association's volunteers repairing the towpath between Bridges 25 and 26. And to hear that IWA's Lichfield Branch has been putting in mooring rings etc near Brindley's Bank at Rugeley on the Trent & Mersey. Other benefits for boaters have come from various IWA Branches' work in pulling out rubbish in Milton Keynes, Kidderminster and at Ashton-under-Lyne.
The Trust's own volunteers' coordinators have set up 16 monthly Towpath Taskforce teams, at least one in each waterway area. Their work will include clearing overgrown vegetation and painting lock gates. Anyone wanting to help can make contact via
I was pleased to see eleven different volunteer groups are getting awards from the Trust, including those working on the Hanwell Flight, Blisworth, upper Peak Forest, Caen Hill and even the Shrewsbury and Newport Canal. All this (new-ish) volunteer activity is good to see and goes beyond the useful volunteer lock-keepers.
Take Trust staff on your boat in 2013?
Some of you will be thinking of where to go next year. Please think of inviting Trust staff on your boat. As we all know, you get a different perspective from being on a boat. Why not let them share your experiences—whether it be a local supervisor, someone from the office or (as has happened in 2012) one of the top executives?
And that's enough—too much?—from me. Happy Christmas to all waterway lovers and see you in 2013.
[This article has been published in full, with the exception of minor corrections and the normal adherence to our Style Book—Editor.]