Toddbrook reports published

CRT have announced the publication of the two reports on the spliway failure at Toddbrook in 2019. They have said The Canal & River Trust welcomes the Government-commissioned Independent Reservoir Review report from Professor Balmforth which examines the cause of the damage to Toddbrook Reservoir last summer and makes recommendations for the improvement of reservoir […]

CRT response to coronavirus

CRT has provided their response to the virus, which for many of us is giving normal life a bit of a rest. The headline is that the canals remain open for use. Good news. See their web page here. For NABO, all representative meetings are being cancelled, but plans are being put in place for […]

Wales and South West

Both the K&A and the Mon & Brec have seen very welcome and extensive winter work, and on the K&A we were delighted to see that CRT is at last introducing so-called ‘composite’ lock gates – basically steel but with sacrificial wooden components. Both Canal Trusts have been working on these for some five years […]

A qualified pat on the back

A qualified pat on the back Mark Tizard digs into the detail of CRT’s first monthly waterway experience survey. CRT recently published the headline results of its new Waterway Experience Survey, distributed monthly between April and September to a sample of boaters sighted in each waterway region, to get their feedback on the waterways they […]

River Thames Alliance closed down

River Thames Alliance closed down The directors of RTA Co. Ltd. held a board meeting on 19th December and agreed to cease trading and wind up the company. This followed the AGM in October, which set up an independent Review Task Group to consider all aspects of the objectives, management and governance of the company […]

Toddbrook Reservoir update

In January, CRT started work to enhance the resilience of the dam wall and spillway. This will be followed later in the year by improvements to the Todd Brook inlet channel at the head of the reservoir to provide more control over how much water flows into the reservoir, or around it via a bypass channel […]

‘Trust Aware’ permits

Following feedback from a series of meetings held with disabled boaters over the last year, CRT will now provide ‘Trust Aware’ permits to boaters who have been given reasonable adjustments to their cruising requirements under the Equality Act 2010. On a case-by-case basis, this could involve overstays on visitor or towpath moorings or adjusting their cruising […]

Challenges in the year ahead

Challenges in the year ahead Mike Rodd considers NABO’s priorities and the way forward. Coming back into the NABO chair at this time in the history of our waterways is far more formidable that it might seem – the challenges that face us are by no means simple. The next few years will be critical […]

Editorial, Feb 2020

Gently down the stream Editor Peter Fellows sees rivers featuring prominently in this issue. Since the last issue, NABO Council members have had a series of meetings with senior CRT staff and it is refreshing to note that the dialogue has improved since 12 months ago when, as Mike Rodd says in his Chair’s column: […]