| Dear George
NABO Bulletin January 2025
Past events.
The Better Boating plan was discussed at length at the NABO council meeting on the 18th January. Council members will be looking out for the proposed improvements on stoppages, facilities and vegetation management, ready to feed back to CRT throughout the year. There will be an overall assessment made in November as to the evidence of improvements to discuss with CRT. Please help with this by emailing council with your findings as you cruise throughout the coming months.
CRT review of boat licences. The announcement of an ‘independent’ review of boat licences and the possibility of a Transport and Works Order to change legislation becomes for NABO, a ‘ground hog moment’. NABO started in 1992 as a result of BW’s petition in Parliament for what became the BW1995 Act, of bona fide fame. It took 3 years to get this through committees and sorted, and BW behaved badly. We have the corporate memory of all this and we are fortunate to have members who were there. CRT staff know nothing of what is in front of them. It is going to be a long hard mud wrestle. We are pleased to see the boater rep Penny Barber on this group. Council will be working on this in the coming weeks, identifying key issues, and no-go areas. There is an item in the February NABO News inviting comments from members. Please do respond. It very much matters.
CRT’s Terms of reference for the review can be downloaded here : https://www.google.com/url?client=internal-element-cse&cx=f7…
Bridgewater Canal Breach – On the night of the 1st January the Manchester area experienced a prolonged and very heavy rain storm. During the night, the Bridgewater canal breached on an embankment at Dunham Massey, very near to the point where the River Bollin passed beneath. The resulting devastation has of course closed the canal and the assumption is that it will remain so for an extended period. This is a very big repair job. The recovery work to refloat the many boats nearby has continued all month. The cofferdams that have been put in at Agden Bridge and just before the breach are holding despite the latest storms. Hopefully the remaining boats will be able to leave during the week. There has been no update about any proposed repairs. Here’s the link to keep an eye on this: https://bridgewatercanal.co.uk/news/
Huddersfield Narrow Canal. In the same period Lock 11W on the HNC suffered an overtopping and this washed away the supporting earth bank sloping down into the adjacent river. The lock is out of action and will presumably require a total rebuild.
Weather events The winter storms have continued to cause several stoppages around the system due to landslips and fallen trees. Woodseaves Cutting on the Shropshire Union is in the final stages of being reopened. The storm closure on December 11th not only affecting boat movement but also preventing the fuel boats from doing their usual winter runs.
Richard Parry. The announcement that CRT CEO Richard Parry will be stepping down in the summer has been met with a wide spectrum of responses ranging from ‘thank goodness for that’ to ‘he will be missed’. Whatever your view, we must hope that his replacement will have keeping the UK’s unique waterways open and navigable as their priority.
Healthwatch Warwickshire is asking for boaters’ views on accessing healthcare when on the move. Survey and info here: https://www.healthwatchwarwickshire.co.uk/news/2024-11-20/how-do-people-who-live-boats-get-health-care-they-need
another Hire Co on L&L is closing.
Morco heater warning. The previous warning not use some models of open-flued gas water heaters these is being repeated in the waterways press. It refers to products that were sold into the market between 2018 and 2023. Serial numbers sold between these dates are included in the notification. It applies to these models:
Primo 6 Litre (MP6) & EUP 6 Litre & Primo 11 Litre (MP11) EUP 11 Litre
The details are here: https://morcoproducts.co.uk/important-water-heater-safety-warning/
Future events
Here are some dates going forward.
BSS Technical Forum. Peter Braybrook will attend the meeting on 11th February at Hatton.
CRT open days. CRT are advertising open days at Caen Hill on the 8th February and Hatton on 15th and 16th February. Details here: https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/things-to-do/events/winter-open-days-2024-25?page=1
CRT periodic meeting. The next planned meeting is for March. Please let us know of any points!
Internal matters
The next NABO Council meeting will be on Saturday 22th March by zoom link. Members are welcome to join.
The next NABO News will be going to the printers shortly and will be with you in February.
If you are a NABO member and addressee and no longer wish to receive these bulletins, click here and send an email. Please add your membership number.
This block is for special content that you want to stand out. |
