PETERBOROUGH BRANCH HEREWARD WINTER 2010 www.iwapeterborough.org.uk The IWA charity registered number 212342 The views expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the Inland Waterways Association or of the Peterborough Branch. They are, however, published as being of interest to our members and readers
This document is posted to help you gain knowledge. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think about it! Share it to your friends and learn new things together.
Transcript
PETERBOROUGH BRANCH
HEREWARD WINTER 2010
www.iwapeterborough.org.uk The IWA charity registered number 212342
The views expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the Inland Waterways Association or of the Peterborough Branch. They are, however,
published as being of interest to our members and readers
CHAIRMAN’S LETTER
Alastair Chambers
Dear All, Those of you who have been following the seemingly interminable saga
that is the Welches Dam story could be forgiven for thinking that it has
all gone a bit quiet of late. Following the EA’s disgraceful and reprehensible failure to repair the Lock and their
eventual admission that they had no intention of ever doing so, we had to consider the
best course of action. The committee drafted a resolution to the Trustees, subsequently endorsed at Region,
requesting the IWA take professional legal advice with regard to forcing the EA to re-
open this statutory navigation. I am delighted to be able to report that at the recent Trustees meeting I was able to con-
vince Navcomm to put our resolution to the Trustees, where after some discussion it
was passed and Head Office was instructed to set the wheels in motion. It was agreed
that the EA CANNOT be allowed to just close navigation in this high handed, arrogant
and unaccountable manner! The National Chairman gave a presentation on BW’s plans to move into the
‘3rd Sector’ and become a charity. Subsequent to the meeting the Government con-
firmed that this will happen. However a large hole was blown in the original idea when
it was confirmed that although it remains the intention to include the EA, so far abso-
lutely nothing has been done by DEFRA in the way of legislation to enable it actually
to be done! Another superb example of joined up thinking. There remains a vast amount of work to
be done to ensure that what we end up with is what we want and not just BW under
another name, but even less accountability to us the users, BMW’s all round, financed
by massive increases in boat licences whilst legions of cyclists, tree huggers, walkers
etc continue to enjoy free access. As to what will happen to EA, if anything, watch this
space. At regional level Chelmsford Branch felt that they would be better served by being in
the London Region, and so duly left us and went off to ‘The Smoke’. Our Social season has recommenced, see your Hereward for details. Upcoming is the
Xmas Social, the highlight of the social calendar. After some discussion with people at
the last meeting we have decided to make a few changes in the format, in the hope that
it might be an enjoyable fun filled evening of jollity! This year the idea is to bring a plate! You each bring some food, a mixture of sweet/
savoury type party food, mince pies and so forth. Saves us having to sell tickets and
cater for ever changing numbers. We will organise games and fun, yes that does mean
pass the parcel! See you there, Bah Humbug
1
2
A s you will know from previous editions of Hereward the branch had for some
time planned to organise a cruise through the Old Bedford Sluice, along the Old
Bedford to Welches Dam lock and return during the period 17th to 20th September. In
the event this cruise did not take place for reasons that it is right that we explain.
At the Regional Navigation Group meeting held on 1st September, Irven Forbes an-
nounced that savage cuts had been made to the finances of the navigation department
in the Agency’s Anglia Region. These included a reduction of 45% in the Capital
Budget which had started the financial year at £2.7m. and now stands at £1.5m. De-
spite these cuts he took the position that as the Agency had agreed to the proposed
cruise many months before it would stand by the agreement reached and allow the
cruise to continue.
To make a successful cruise it is necessary for 4 elements to be in place, namely,
1. the approach channel to the Sluice must be of sufficient depth to allow craft to
pass
2. the Sluice must be operable
3. the depth of the channel in the Old Bedford itself must be adequate
4. weed growth in the channel of the Old Bedford must be under control The normal state of the route is such that it is not passable to craft. It needs a special
effort by Agency staff to put it into a useable state for a few days after which it reverts
to its original state. That is why it has always been necessary to agree a short window
with the Agency and for its staff then to seek to facilitate navigation during that win-
dow. The primary elements which have required attention have been the dredging out
of the approach channel and the dredging of key spots in the Old Bedford itself. The
fact that the former of these is necessary is linked to the siltation of the Tidal Ouse and
the virtual impossibility of making a level between the Tidal Ouse and the Old Bed-
ford while the bed levels of the Ouse are at their present high level. All of this is a re-
flection on the normal maintenance standards which have been prevalent in this area.
It is essentially the same problem as has been demonstrated in relation to Welches
Dam lock [see the article elsewhere in this issue].
We were told that the special measures necessary to open up the route for the
planned 4-day period would cost up to £20,000. We had to weigh this expenditure
against the benefits to be derived. We have adequately demonstrated in the past that
for one reason or another even after special Agency works the route is virtually im-
passable. Indeed in official IWA cruises in the period 2005 – 2009 inclusive we only
succeeded in achieving a passage by one craft through the Sluice, along the Old Bed-
ford to Welches Dam and return in all that time. That craft was a small shallow
draught trailed boat; normal draught narrowboats have not so far succeeded. It seemed
to us that given the cost and the fact that we have over the years adequately logged the
defects in this route little if anything new would be achieved by the expenditure and
that it would be to the general good if we did not for this year proceed with the cruise.
That was the decision we communicated to the Agency.
OLD BEDFORD AND OLD BEDFORD SLUICE CRUISE
Nigel Long
3
TRAGEDY AT WELCHES DAM LOCK
W hen last I reported on the situation at Welches Dam lock the Environment
Agency Navigation department was again about to refer its plans for repair of
the lock to the Agency’s internal Business committee for permission to proceed. All
that changed at the meeting of the Welches Dam sub-committee held on 27th August
when we were told that the plans had not after all been referred to that committee but
that a decision had been taken within the Agency not to proceed with any repairs. This
was confirmed at the meeting of the Regional Navigation Group held on 1st September
when Irven Forbes distributed a note which set out the Agency position. I will summa-
rise what it said and comment as I go.
1. The Agency did not have any specific legal obligations to maintain the lock
under the AWA Act 1977. [The IWA does not accept this assessment of the
legal position]
2. The estimated cost of repair was of the order of £372k - £502k which could not
be afforded from the Anglian capital budget. [As we have not been shown
any Agency plan for repair we cannot comment on the figures but they are
clearly more expensive than the plans of the IWA first put forward in January
2008, plans which would have involved the provision of voluntary work via
WRG. The Agency figures need to be tested. Sometime ago the Agency com-
missioned Halcrow to produce a report on the future of the lock. The report
was dated May 2007 and suggested that repair would cost £660,000. This was
a figure which the IWA challenged at the time; given the Agency’s own latest
reduced figures, how right we were to do so!]
3. The cost of improving the intervening channel between Horseway and Welches
Dam locks would be large. [This ignores the fact that the IWA has never
asked for any more in relation to the channel than the reinstatement of the
previous regime under which the channel was filled with water on a number
of pre-determined weekends per year.]
4. Usage of the lock was low. [Given the lack of maintenance of this route under
the Agency stewardship this is hardly surprising. The Agency ignores the fact
that a well-maintained route breeds its own success] I quote verbatim the final paragraph: “With the above points in mind it is the Agency’s view that, at this time, the benefits
of repairing the lock do not justify the level of expenditure required (£372K- £502K).
This does not mean that we do not have the ambition to improve this system and work
to increase its use. There are 3 longer term (15-20 year) strategies that could have im-
plications to the future of navigation on this system (Fens Waterways Link, Tidal
Great Ouse Siltation Strategy, Cranbrook / Old Bedford/ Counterdrain Flood Storage
Plan). Our intention is to input into these strategies and look for opportunities to im-
prove the whole system strategically in the longer term”. As to this final paragraph, the first sentence is an expression of the classic formula of
navigation authorities of old i.e. fail to maintain a route adequately, watch usage de-
4
£7.95
cline as a result and when the route finally becomes blocked claim that the large sum
which by then would be required to put the problem right could not be justified given
the limited use. We had thought that we had got away from navigation authorities that
thought that way – but apparently the Agency still finds this acceptable. Given that the
Agency could deploy such an argument anywhere on its estate which stretch of water-
way will be the next for this treatment? The remainder of the paragraph is waffle and fools nobody. You will have noted that
there is no guarantee for the route in the short or long term. There are merely aspira-
tions (hopes) which mean nothing. I may hope that the Fen Waterways Link will be
completed in the next 5 years but I know that it will not happen. So where are we? Welches Dam lock was closed in the spring of 2006 and a steel bar-
rier created on the Old Bedford side of that lock. After pressure from the IWA the
Agency commissioned Halcrow to produce its report in May 2007. The IWA did not
accept either the state of the lock as set out in that report or the projected cost of repair
and employed its own consultant engineers to come up with an alternative proposal.
This proposal was submitted to the Agency in January 2008 and provided for the build-
ing and installation of new lock gates by an organisation with a proven track record
and for additional work to be carried out on a voluntary basis by WRG. It took the
We stock Rylard & Craftmaster Paints, Anodes, Coflex,
Rust Konverta, Incralac etc.
Cont’d from page 4...............
Agency all year to reject that proposal. It finally did so in December 2008 on the basis
that it would not approve WRG to work on the lock. It was only in February 2009 that
the Agency indicated that it would produce its own plan for repair, but not until the
spring of 2010. We have never seen that plan and as we now know it is not in any
event to be implemented. We have been waiting for the Agency to take effective action on the ground. It has in
4 ½ year achieved nothing: yet it has refused help offered by the IWA. Its attitude
appears to be that if it cannot do the work it will not let anyone else do it. We can all
speculate about the reasons for the Agency taking that position given that the official
Agency policy is supposed to be to encourage volunteer work on its waterways. What the Agency has allowed to happen at Welches Dam is a tragedy; through lack of
action over many years it has allowed a statutory navigation to close with no provi-
sion for repair. The River Nene has a significant anniversary in 2011 which the
Agency is only too anxious to celebrate. By contrast the 260th anniversary of the leg-
islation which created navigation commissioners for the Welches Dam route, commis-
sioners who were the direct ancestors of the Agency, falls in 2013. Will the Agency
be anxious to celebrate that anniversary? I think not. A wake would be more appropri-
ate, for it is on the Agency’s watch that a statutory navigation which is over 250 years
old has been allowed to close. The Agency should be hanging its head in shame. Meanwhile IWA HQ is, as you would expect, taking legal advice.
ENGINE RECONDITIONERS Specialists in Petrol & Diesel engine rebuilds for marine, car & commercial applications, including cylinder head refurbishment, crack & pressure testing
Monsal Works, Somersham Road, St Ives, Cambs PE27 3LY · Tel 01480 462111
Members of Peterborough Branch may wish to attend meetings of our neighbouring
Cambridge Branch. All will be made welcome. The programme for 2011 is given
below.
CAMBRIDGE BRANCH MEETINGS
Thursday 24 February 2011: Speaker to be announced.
Thursday 24 March 2011: Branch AGM followed by a speaker from the EA on the latest in-formation regarding navigation matters in the area.
Sunday 1 May 2011: Annual Gathering of Boats at Reach Lode, a mini rally, lunchtime barbecue and quiz. Members come by boat or car and bring their own selection of food and drink. Boats start arriving on the Saturday and there is often a meal booked in a local pub on the Saturday evening. The historical Reach Fair is held on the Bank Holiday Monday.
Meetings are held at Milton Community Centre, Coles Road, Milton,
Cambridge, CB24 6BL
EA NEWS & UPDATE highlighted by Sue Cant
A s you will be aware, the Coalition Government has announced that British Wa-
terways is to be replaced with a new charitable body. The Waterways Minister,
Richard Benyon MP, has explained that the move will 'give users of the waterways a
greater say in their future management and help to ensure they remain part of our
natural and cultural heritage, of value to society and the economy’. Future funding
for the new body should come from a combination of a guaranteed, long-term Gov-
ernment contract, commercial income and growing charitable receipts from dona-
tions and legacies. We have been working closely with British Waterways and Defra for some months
now to determine whether Environment Agency navigations should be transferred
to the new body, proposed to be up and running by April 2012. An in-depth analysis
of the structures that may need to be included and options for operating navigations
independently of water and flood risk management are being investigated, before the
Minister decides if the Government are minded that our waterways should come
under the management of the new organisation. Richard Benyon MP stated at the
AINA conference in November that he will make further announcement early in the
New Year 2011. Whilst the type of body our Anglian Waterways will be managed by in the future is
still undecided, one thing we can be certain of is continuing pressures on our budg-
ets. With this in mind, income collected from boat licences is increasingly important
as it is used to directly maintain and improve our waterways. This year we have is-
You can now enquire find out about the facilities the marina will provide online at
www.visitnene.co.uk where you can also download prices, a plan of the moorings
layout, and complete a moorings booking enquiry form. Updates and photographs of
the moorings will appear on this website. This winter we aim to carry out full drain downs at Alwalton and Ditchford Locks
and repairs at Upper Barnwell Lock. Time, weather, and budget permitting we may
also carry out a full drain down at Lower Wellingborough Lock. The proposed closure schedule looks like this: Upper Barnwell Lock 10 January 2011 – 23 January 2011 Alwalton Lock 17 January 2011 – 20 February 2011 Ditchford Lock 14 February 2011 – 20 March 2011 Lower Wellingborough Lock (provisional) 14 March 2011 – 17 April 2011 As always, the overlapping dates are to allow for poor weather and river conditions.
We will do our best to keep stoppages to a minimum. Please remember that the above
dates are provisional and subject to change. Our final closure notice will be published
on our website a minimum of one month before the first closure.