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Category: Canal and River Trust
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CRT have said this tonight 23 March

Following the most recent announcement from the Prime Minister regarding the UK’s response to the coronavirus crisis, we are asking leisure boaters to stop all non-essential travel. As a result, and to help those who live-aboard (along with those who would need to travel to their boat in order to move it) we are suspending the requirement to move every 14 days. The suspension will be kept under review in line with revised government guidance, applying initially until 14 April.

We ask everyone to be considerate and make sure at least a minimal amount of essential movement is maintained to keep vital boater facilities and services accessible to those that need them. We will continue to maintain boater facilities and pump out cards are available from our online shop. (We will be urgently reviewing the implications for face-to-face sale of pump out cards and facilities keys from our public offices).

 

With immediate effect NABO recommends that cruising liveaboard members find a safe mooring with reasonable access to services and supplies and hunker down. Non liveaboard boaters should not visit their boats unless advised it’s safe to do so.

There are no instructions on BSS examinations in the current advice from CRT. If yours is due, talk to the license office and get their guidance. We are pressing for examinations to be supended for the critical period and will keep you advised. 

Listen out for further Government and/or CRT announcements.Their web site is here

Stay safe out there.

 

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Category: Canal and River Trust
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CRT have just issued these very welcome FAQs on boating in these difficult times.

You can read them here.

There is no relief on BSS examinations as yet. We have asked for three month extension and we will continue to press for this.

Whilst many will be able to get this important safety inspection completed, inevitably there will be those at high risk who simply cannot have an examiner in their home.

If you are in this position, let us know.

Remember too that the examiners have concerns too. If you are having an examination, it is polite to make them tea and then leave the boat whilst it is going on!

 

 

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Category: Canal and River Trust
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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 safety across England and Wales. 

Both the Balmforth report and a separate independent report by expert reservoir engineer Dr Andrew Hughes, commissioned earlier by the Trust and also published today, identify that serious hidden design flaws, inherent in the concrete auxiliary spillway from the time of its installation in 1970, caused its partial collapse on 1 August 2019 following several days of heavy rainfall.

Since the incident last August, the Trust has implemented measures to enhance reservoir inspection and maintenance and will now be fully reviewing both reports and acting on their findings to ensure the ongoing safe stewardship of the reservoirs in its care.

You can read the details here.

There are links to the two reports.

The NABO team will review the reports and provide some comentary in the next NABO News in April.

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Category: Other Live Issues
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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 video and telephone conferences. The work does not stop.