The 'brick wall'

WITH Canal & River Trust (CaRT) spending £800,000 to repair the failure of Buckland Lock on the Aylesbury Arm, it is little wonder that a boater is asking for an engineering report as to its cause, (Victor: What caused the failure?), writes Allan Richards.

However, this is just a single example of many unexplained closures due to asset and infrastructure failure in CaRT's short existence. It is also one of several cases of a boater asking for information and meeting with a ‘brick wall'.

Eight closures in nine months

It was a month ago that narrowboatworld confirmed that CaRT had no less than eight closures in its first nine months of operation (Asset and infrastructure failures). These closures led to parts of the network remaining closed for 375 days. Unfortunately, this trend has continued this year but instead of CaRT providing information, those who ask are greeted with a ‘brick wall' seemingly much stronger than its crumbling locks or culverts.

Asked to provide information

Here again is the information that CaRT was asked to provide in early November concerning its asset and infrastructure failures:

1. The place.
2. A short description of the failure.
3. The number of days of navigational closure.
4. The number of days of any towpath closure.
5. The total cost of repair (including any ancillary costs such as craning boats around the stoppage).
6. Any report that contains data as to the cause of the failure.
7. The latest inspection report together with any earlier reports referred to by the latest.

But 'manifestly unreasonable'

Two months on, it still appears that CaRT consider that it is ‘manifestly unreasonable' to ask for such information.

Why?

The supposed new dawn for openness and transparency under Chief Executive Richard Parry is already proving to be a false dawn!