Northern Navigation News Issue 15, Autumn 2015

The InlandWaterwaysAssociation

The

NorthernNavigation News

Newsletter of the North Riding Branch of theInland Waterways Association

Issue 15 - Autumn 2015

Selby Boat Centre, Boroughbridge Marina & Stanilands Marina(Thorne) are proud sponsors of Northern Navigation News

City of York Council have been carrying out works to repairthe towpath and river banks near Marygate Landing

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NORTHERN NAVIGATION NEWSAUTUMN 2015

48 Hours in York?

Unfortunately the prospect for long-term mooring in York doesnot look good. There is some good news in that the City of YorkCouncil has spent a fortune on renewing the banking alongMarygate Landing, including mooring points(see KeithChapman's photo on the front cover). However, there is no newsas yet about additional moorings along St George's Fields, excepta rumour that the banking will need a lot of remedial workbefore moorings can be installed. What it definite, though, isthat CYC plans to enforce the 48 hour rule for mooring at

Marygate in future. Does CYC have enough staff to enforce arule which they have rarely, if ever, enforced in the past.

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Saga Continues

The saga of the boaters' facilities slowly stumbles on. Still noproper facilities for the disposal of rubbish. The toilets, sluice andwaterpoint arenow all accessiblewith a CRT (BWB)key.

According to theCity of YorkCouncil'commercialconfidentiality'covers thediscussionsbetween itsofficers and theowners of therestaurant anddoes not say anything more about the lack of facilities. Anyfeedback about the mooring restrictions or the lack of facilities,please to [email protected].

Recruitment of Lock-keepers

On Wednesday 30th September 2015 there was an Open HalfDay at Castle Mills Lock York, A demonstration of the lock withhands on experience for people interested in joining the LockKeeping team. The demonstration was ably given by MichaelCadoux and Peter Hopwood. This was preceded by a talk givenby Tony Martin, the Head Lock Keeper, in the Lounge of theMasons’ Arms pub. He outlined the history of the Lock anddescribed its operation.

During the demonstration, Tony talked about the use of thepaddles whilst lowering or raising the water level in thepound, especially whilst a craft is in the pound.

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Over fifteen people turned up for the event, and four peopleagreed to sign up for Lock Keeping Training in the near future(watch this space). We look forward to welcoming our first LadyLock Keeper.

The event was part of the annual 50+ festival.

The North Riding Branch (IWA) is now actively recruiting for theLock Keeping team. We have had an agreement with IWA HQ inChesham that anybody volunteering for the IWA is covered byIWA insurance. These volunteers will have to be logged and arecord kept . Of course IWA membership is most welcome, but itis no longer obligatory.

Please contact Tony Martin on 0742-806-4863 [email protected] if interested.

Diary

Committee Membership

The next meeting will be onMonday 9th November2015 at 2.00pm at Guppy's 18Nunnery Lane, York, YO23.This can be found oppositeNunnery Lane Car Park (pay and display). Doors open at 1.30pm.Refreshments at 3.00pm. AGENDA below.

We are actively engaged in talking to the CRT over recruitingand training volunteers, such as Lock Keepers. Newarrangements over producing our popular newsletter will haveto actively pursued in 2016, so if you would like to haveinvolvement in either activity or help with other activities, whichwill effect the future of NRB (IWA), then please e-mail TonyMartin or phone: You would be most welcome on Monday 9thNovember 2015 at 2.00pm.

E-mail: [email protected] or 0742-806-4863.

Agenda

1 Welcome/ Apologies.

2 Minutes of Last Meeting (July 4th 2015)

3 Matters Arising not on Agenda

4 Financial Report – John Reeve

5 National Trustees Proposed Action on IWA Branches – PeterScott

6 50 + Festival Events Feedback – Tony Martin

7 Future of Newsletter

8 Recruitment – All

9 Meeting Cycle and Venue.

10 A.O.B.

Gone Fishin'by Brian Watson, former Lord Mayor of York

Many people have many different ideas about the Lord Mayorand his role as the civic head of the City; it is hard graft and thereare times when you have to wind down from the long hard daysof meeting important people from all walks of life.

Some manage to get a spot of golf in, but this is difficult, as forsome it means a long long walk and many minutes searching forlost balls; the tight schedules of the role of Lord Mayor make thismethod of relaxing a very difficult prospect, but I found theperfect solution --- fishing ! and the perfect place ---- the landingstage at the back of the Guildhall about 100 paces from theMansion House ( the home of the Lord Mayor in their year ofoffice). The stage was built many years ago for the mooring of

boats of councillors and Aldermen of the City in those days

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River Foss Societyformed in 1973 to protect and promote enjoyment of the

river from Pond Head (Oulston) to Blue Bridge in Yorkwhere it joins the River Ouse.

Please contact the Secretary for the the currentNewsletterwith the updated Programme or see the

website.At least one walk and one other event (talk,visit, litter pick, boattrip, etc) are organised monthly -

mainly from March until October.

Annual subscriptions :- Individual £8.00, Concession£6.00, etc. Contacts :-

Secretary – Tel no 01904 760871, E [email protected]

Membership – Tel no 01904 769168, E [email protected]

www.riverfosssociety.co.uk

88888Please note that all views expressed in “Northern Navigation News” are those ofthe authors and may not represent those of the Inland Waterways Association.

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when the office was solely for those who earned slightly morethan the living wage. The stage is accessed by an passage underthe buildings called Common Hall Lane - there is a large grilledgate that blocks off the passage at the stage end so I had to gainentrée by a route via the cellars. The fishing is defiantly worththe struggle, wonderful perch, marvellous bream, quality roachand in the cold weather a 10am regular visit by a large pike,never landed him but often had him on the end of my line tryingto steal a fish I had caught.

Besides this was the wonderful experience of a boat trip cheeringand clapping when they past as I caught one; of course therewere some down sides such as pigeons flying out through thegate and not having the sense to remember the way back onreturning, even one occasion when I went down there I found alarge dead rat halfway out of the manhole cover on the

stage, it was big but obviously miscalculated the weight of thecover. Another downside which emerged on an early visit wasthat when the boats started their engines the only fish theytroubled were the ones in the keepnet as it was nearly sweptaway; the struggle I had with it was almost unbelievable, I neverused it again!

I remember those as very happy occasions they could last fromhalf an hour to a couple of hours but they were certainly worthit!

Brian

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A view of York’s historic Guildhall from the River Ouse(Copyright Andrew Abbott/ www.geograph.org.uk)

Trustees Pick Holes in IWA Fabric

At a recent North East and Yorkshire Region meeting held inYork, Peter Scott, the Chair outlined the proposals that theNational Trustees were putting forward as changes in thestructure and management of Branches as many were strugglingwith committee membership and people to carry out specifictasks, such as monitoring planning applications that affect thewaterways in your area.

Shrinkage

If a Branch can no longer sustain its existing geographical area,then it will have to shrink to a more manageable size. Whathappens to IWA members that live in the ‘holes’? Joining two ormore Branches together has not, so far, been a success.

There was more than a little disquiet expressed by the attendeesat the Regional Meeting in York recently and Michael Cadoux,the Chair of North Riding Branch (IWA) suggested that Regionstake on the role of monitoring the ‘holes’ and making sure thatany problems experienced by IWA members living in these areasare monitored. This was thought to be a good idea. Peter Scottsaid that he would pass the idea on to the members of theTrustees Board.

Personally, though North Riding is struggling to build up itsCommittee’s strength (see Editorial above), I feel that saying thatif you can find someone to work on strategy and someone tolook after the Branch’s finances, then you have a branch? Is, well‘daft’. Surely, the number of IWA members living in the Brancharea is the clear starting point. Currently 3 people at a BranchMeeting constitute a quorum. It usually comprises of the threemain officers. This is clearly a recipe for ‘dictating’ policy to thewider membership. To shrink it even further is clearly not a soundidea.

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The overall IWA strategy is to go back to its reason for being oversixty years ago, which was to campaign for the waterways, andanything else is marginal, such as holding socials, talks, eventsand so on. The big change in the Waterway scene is the creationof the new national trust, the Canal and River Trust (CRT). It hasto be clear cut as to who carries out which role in future. Whoconcentrates on what aspect of its activities. The CRT has foundout the hard way that recruiting, training and retainingvolunteers is neither a cheap nor cost free option. The NRB iscurrently talking to the CRT at Leeds about the need for arecruiting strategy, along with training and so on. Without‘poaching’ each others’ people, some level of co-operation isdesirable. We hope to hold a joint event in York in 2016.

I would like to hear from you soon with regards to the above, asit fundamentally changes how the Branch structure of the IWAfunctions in future.

E-mail: [email protected] or text to 0742-806-4863.

Open Day at Naburn Locks on the RiverOuse

As part of “Heritage Open Days” the Canal and River Trustopened the workshops and forge at Naburn Locks to the publicfor the first time on Sunday, 13 September 2015. The restorationand opening is an ongoing project in the C&RT’s restorationprogramme. Thanks are due to their small team of volunteers.

On a pleasant autumn day with the grass cut and the whole areatidy, it was estimated that there had been 500 visitors who foundplenty of information available, tea and coffee, live musicalentertainment and C&RT staff and volunteers very willing toexplain things and answer questions.

In the 1750s a lock and weir combination was built as the mostimpressive piece of engineering on an English navigation before

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1760. An island was created which had a water mill built on it.

In 1823 the Trustees of the Ouse Navigation built the finelooking Greek Revival Banqueting House nearby.

In Victorian times a new larger lock was built alongside theoriginal one along with two lockkeepers’ cottages, offices andworkshops. Traffic is now mainly pleasure craft mostly leaving theSelby Canal and going upstream on the tidal River Ouse to reachNaburn Locks and then the relatively safe, except in times offlooding, River Ouse to York and then possibly on to Ripon.

Peter Hopwood

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Staniland Marina is operated by the same company who runs the successfulBoroughbridge Marina' in North Yorkshire. Simon Taylor and his team tookover Boroughbridge in 2006 and have built it up into a successful operationoffering many facilities including boat hire and sales etc.

With many of the staff having a boating background, a wealth of knowledge isused within the operation and this will benefit the day to day running ofStaniland Marina.

Additional facilities

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If you are interested in join-ing us at the Marina, pleasefeel free to call us for a chat,or pop in for a coffee!

01405 816992

[email protected]

Staniland MarinaLock HillThorne, South YorkshireDN8 5EP

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