Canal Keeper

Hackney's canal protected from developers

Fri, 14 Dec 2007 15:57:00 +0000

The London borough of Hackney has decided that “any planning application will have to consider the importance, vulnerability and character of the area, particularly the canal’s role as a green corridor…” This is good news in view of the numerous developments cropping up all along the canal.Hopefuly other councils will in good time adopt this stance and strangle the free-for-all development occuring along our canals and rivers

Hackney Gazette

7bn worth of waterways regeneration? Not on your life!

Thu, 13 Dec 2007 12:07:00 +0000

Waterways minister Jonathan Shaw claimed there had been 7 billion pounds of inviestment into waterways regeneration in the past few years. Thats taking things a bit far because this regeneration actually pertains to development along the canal (in Soviet style of course!) See Manchester Evening News

Virutally none of this money has been used for improvements to navigation or any of the urgently needed repairs that the waterway navigation authorities are unable to carry out.

Pass me the sick bag please Mr Shaw!

Hale Wharf takes 'shape' & Business trains

Thu, 13 Dec 2007 10:24:00 +0000

The first of the business barges, I believe it is called ~~Newark~~ Belle, recently arrived at Hale wharf and my gosh what a big business barge it is compared to the smaller ones seen at Eagle Wharf and in Paddington Basin. Is this the way forward? Much larger barges and far less waterspace for the navigation?The above picture doesnt do justice to the scene really as the channel width is essentially now that of a canal rather than a river navigation.

I have some suggestions for BW. How about business trains instead of barges? These wont impede navigation. They can be put on the towpath and stretch from Tottenham to Stonebridge lock. Towpath users can use the pathway through Tottenham marshes instead. One problem. Where will BW get its business trains from? Simple! The Victoria Line is upgrading its tube stock and no doubt the 1967/1972 stock will be come redundant with a home yet to be found.

The Isle of Wight line surely will only need a few sets as always, so the rest of the 1967/72 stock can be wheeled from their depot the very short distance across the road at Stonebridge onto the Lee Navigation towpath, where they then form an end on end line of tube stock. Now’s here’s BW chance to create the worlds longest office in deference to St Pancras’ claim to having the worlds longest bar!

Morse sidekick slates Jericho developers

Thu, 13 Dec 2007 10:09:38 +0000

Kevin Whateley who played John Thaw’s partner in Inspector Morse, relates the time they filmed an episode at Jericho. Whateley says that the majoritiy of redevelopments are “bungled by greedy property dvelopers.” He also adds that he hoped the “absolutely unique Jericho boatyard will not suffer the same fate.”

Good words from Kevin. One wonders why then despite so much opposition from people on development, why is BW still allowing them to go up? After all it was them who decided to let Jericho fall.

Jericho boatyard site plans rejected

Tue, 11 Dec 2007 23:42:00 +0000

The ongoing saga of Jericho in Oxford continues to amaze. The efforts by British Waterways in closing down the yard and evicting the boaters has come to naught so far. Locals applauded as plans for flats on the site were rejected. One local commented “The proposal dumps two large blocks of flats on this site reminiscent of Soviet housing.” (see Oxford Mail) To me that is in essence what much canalside development is becoming. Its becoming repetitive. Utterly boring. Balconies after balconies, flats after flats, and more, more more.

BW’s desire for a portfolio of unhindered canal-side development seems to be finally backfiring. Too many developments are popping up along the canal everywhere. There are many ugly developments that should have never been given the go ahead. The canal is now one linear prime property development site and it has got to stop. There’s less and less space to actually enjoy or benefit from the waterways these days despite towpaths being espoused as the get away from it all thing.

Development is encroaching on the space available and creating an alleyway that will in time be seen as a imposition on personal space. Towpaths will be seen as the route to insanity as one begins to tire and despair of the relentless facades that line the canal in a pretentious mode of embracing the waterspace when all they do is choke it. Take a look at one development in London and what do the property developers say? The canal is a ‘lilly pond’ that enhances property.

Not surprisingly, British Waterways’ own findings a few years back actually went against the very kind of thing that is happening now. British Waterways seems unable to enforce common sense upon new developments, but perhaps that is not surprising in view of its attitude towards Jericho. That is why more and more people need to stand up to it. Perhaps Jericho is the first innings in what could be a series of battles to prevent the waterways becoming a gulag?

Waterscrape spels Briscombe Port

Mon, 10 Dec 2007 11:29:17 +0000

Waterscape has announced that ‘Briscombe Port’ won 80,000 from the ITV’s Peoples’ Millions programme. The Brimscombe Port that I know doesnt seem to be the one Watercape know. I have never known it to be called Briscombe Port. I suppose its another of their goofs caused by their desire to get news, or stoppage notices out quickly. Their goofiness, amongst other things, is I suppose why many boaters call it Waterscrape.

Thames 21 Waterway Champions

Wed, 28 Nov 2007 09:17:00 +0000

Imagine Geneva, faces turned towards the camera, smiling, with the famous water spout behind. Its not people with extraordinary superpowers aka Stuart Damon, Alexandra Bastedo and William Gaunt in ITV’s ‘The Champions.’ Its Thames 21’s ‘Champions’ or to be more exact their Waterway Champions.

Thames 21 has £266,000 from youth volunteering charity v to spend over the next few years to convert (hopefully) 2,500 youngsters into ‘WC’s’ with a sense of love and duty for the London Canal system.

Will it work? Its said by ‘v’ that “Instead of seeing them as a problem to be fixed, we are giving them the chance to become a positive force for change.” Have youngsters ever been a problem? Isnt it often the adults with their type of community, social and political agenda that causes youngsters to be disillusioned? Take Thames 21 for example, their trustees dont even have waterways backgrounds, except for one who just isnt the best trustee possible because he forms the ageis of another organisation that is well noted for its non-transparency. What sort of example is that then?

What will Thames 21 do when one or two of these aspiring youngsters want a job? It’ll probably say ‘you aint got enough experience.’ Its just like many other charities, looking good on the cover but inside full of contradictions because inevitably (as one disgruntled ex charity director recently said to me) all charities exist for themselves! Its time for V to take over! Lets hear it for the real Champions!

Pass the Baston 2

Wed, 28 Nov 2007 08:53:00 +0000

Did you know BW has never had a disability officer, or an equality officer? Its odd especialy when BW wants to spend thousands encouraging more people to visit/use the waterways. A significant number of ethnic groups and disabled people live in areas the canal system threads through.

Mr Baston leaves BW

Fri, 24 Aug 2007 16:07:07 +0100

The news has been coming in this week that Eugene Baston is leaving British Waterways. I shant weep tears, for his department wheedled its way out of its obligations as a service provider under the DDA. I just hope his replacement is someone with more awareness and understanding to the plight of waterways users with different needs.

Twford Loock - Where?

Thu, 02 Aug 2007 12:21:11 +0100

This week everybody’s been commenting on BW’s attempt to spell either Twyford, or even the word lock. The very attractive lock at the top end of the Stort Navigation, has become the butt of jokes in canal related emails and on canal forums. It began life as a stoppage notice for emergency repairs at the lock.

This reminds me of the time when BW(L) sent out about 10 emails, one after the other, trying to correct a mistake. Except the mistake became the correction for an error, the correction of a correction for an error, and so on…

Starbucks upsets canal users

Fri, 27 Jul 2007 01:55:34 +0100

Starbucks, in its distinctive white castellated lock cottage at the top of Camden Locks, used to have information on the canals. There were leaflets from BW, leaflets about the waterbuses, Jasons, Walkers’ etc. Now the Regents Network has pointed out that Starbucks has a obligation to provide canal related information.

Certainly I’ve been monitoring Starbucks over the past two months, as I was interested to see if their ‘refurbishment’ would remove the canal element further. I dont see that there has been much refurbishment of the cafe! But leaflets on the canal havent featured in the cafe for ages.

Oops a Daisy at NBW

Thu, 26 Jul 2007 11:27:49 +0100

I see this week Narrowboat World uploaded a picture of the floods at County Lock in Reading, except they said it was Blake’s Lock. Took a day before the mistake was noticed and corrected accordingly. (PS its no good looking at their website, the picture now featuring is that of a unlicensed boat near Maffers…)

‘Three days updates’ is the current norm for updates on that website as I write. I just wish they were more resolute in their dedication to update regularly. To be fair I do in fact remember there was a period when no updates were being done, and they mentioned that it was due to illness.

Stort Improvements

Thu, 26 Jul 2007 11:19:21 +0100

As well as the improvements BW are doing to the section between Roydon and Hunsdon, a new walkway at Parndon is being installed. Whilst I have not yet been up there this year, I presume its the weir walkway at the lock which is being replaced or supplemented by the new walkway. Here’s a link to the Waterscape Item

NBW again

Wed, 18 Jul 2007 10:57:36 +0100

No need to coment on this latest change made today in the number of NBW updates!

NBW 2

Mon, 16 Jul 2007 20:26:38 +0100

No sooner than I discuss NBW’s rather less frequent updates, that I find during the course of today, they have in fact reduced their updates to just three a week!

Its even less of a “All the latest most of the time…”

Narrow Boat World

Mon, 16 Jul 2007 08:52:49 +0100

“All the latest most of the time—nothing comes near…Just a single click for any of the FOUR days updates”

Narrow Boat World’s claims seem to me a bit spurious. What does it mean to say “most of the time?” Before it was “all of the time” but I expect they dropped that because they couldnt keep that committment. In the past week its been updated only three times, which is what I expect they mean by ‘most’ of the time! Shouldnt it be some of the time eh?

Tower Hamlets concern at lack of use of rivers for Olympics Construction

Sat, 23 Jun 2007 23:00:32 +0100

Town Hall bosses at Tower Hamlets have “have slammed the 2012 Olympics planners over their “lack of commitment” in using the Bow Back Rivers for the transportation of construction materials for the Games site. See the East London Advertiser

Canalways website updated

Sat, 23 Jun 2007 14:13:16 +0100

The Canalways/Waterways Access Project website has been revamped and given a new look, with cross-browser compatibility (hopefully!) Its been tested on 5 different browsers and given a much simpler interface, and was uploaded to the server today.

See CanalwaysWAP

Swans die from oil slick

Wed, 20 Jun 2007 10:58:21 +0100

In the Express and Star comes this report of swans’ deaths from oil being dumped into the canal. Its a tragedy and its still common for people to dump oil into the canal.

In the New Year I discovered a massive oil slick in Little Venice, gallons and gallons of oil had been dumped into the canal, it was disgustingly thick, and my suspicions was a boater had done it (I actually suspect who but they denied it) It being a bank holiday there was not much I could do, and as BW were off on holiday there was no way I could get BW to contact the EA.

Its not the only time gallons of oil has been dumped at Little Venice. Its a regular occurrence in fact. I was with BW one day when we discovered a slick from a boat. Actually BW called the EA to sort the problem, but apart from that did nothing of any sort against the offender. I thought it was illegal to dump oil in the canal?

Thats another thing, BW’s ‘emergency procedures’ are still not disability compliant so I was (and still am) of course effectively barred from raising the alarm on this and many other canal related issues.

Back to the Bow Backs

Wed, 20 Jun 2007 09:51:50 +0100

I see that Andrew at Granny Buttons has been saying that people should walk the Bow Backs before they are closed, following a Waterscape email of 19^th June. The news was actually announced much earlier; in fact time enough for the St Pancras Cruising Club to make an extra special trip round the Bow Back Rivers Loop from its annual Three Mills gathering. And as one can see, I announced the news of the Bow Backs closure in my previous posting.