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Hammersmith Bridge closed to navigation.
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- Category: EA and others
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In August, the foot and cycle access over the bridge was closed after the summer heat wave made cracks in the cast iron supports deteriorate. Because the risk is of sudden collapse, all navigation on the Thames is closed under the bridge as well. The 133-year-old cast iron suspension bridge in west London was closed to motorists in April last year after the faults were detected.
Hammersmith Bridge is an early design of suspension bridge that crosses the River Thames in west London. It links Barnes on the south side of the river to Hammersmith on the north side. It is mostly used by residents on the south side to access London, and there is no direct alternative.
A Government task force has been launched to co-ordinate the bridge rebuild which will take many years and cost around £150m. The owners are Hammersmith and Fulham Council who obviously don’t have that sort of money. Ongoing investigations have been paid for by Transport for London. Proposals for quick fix for residents include a passenger ferry, or temporary foot and cycle bridge.
None of this helps navigation. So for us there are no Pool of London Passages for the foreseeable future, and no cruise boats operating from Hampton Court to central London. And there will be no University Boat races either.
Toddbrook rebuild latest
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- Category: Canal and River Trust
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The Canal and River Trust have made known details of their alternative overflow solutions to the dam construction. It was the overflow ‘spillway’ feature that failed during heavy weather in 2019. The proposals would restore the dam face to grassy slope with overflow provided in new channels to the River Goyt.
A consultation process has started on two alternative locations for the overflow. One option would be to build a new spillway to the left of the damaged dam wall which would pass through part of the Whaley Bridge Sailing Club car park. This could have an impact on the sailing club's launch slipway but the Trust - which leases land to the club - said it would make "suitable alternative arrangements".
The other option proposed would be to build a spillway through woodland to the right of the old overflow, which would go through the town's war memorial park. In a letter to residents, the trust said it would "treat this area with due sensitivity and importance".
A decision will be made in the autumn. Work will not begin until 2021, is due to be finished in 2023 and set to cost more than £10m.
You can read about is here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-derbyshire-54064795
North East, Yorkshire & Humberside
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- Category: NABO Regional Reports
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Not a lot of positive news to report for obvious reasons, and all local waterways are very quiet. However, the local waterways are starting to attract walkers once more since the exercise rules were relaxed, but no boating, even if it was allowed, because of canal closures caused by low water levels.
Pocklington Canal. Covid-19 restrictions have meant that the Pocklington Canal Amenity Society (PCAS) has suffered a big setback in its fundraising efforts this year, with all of the planned events unfortunately having to be cancelled. It was expected that by this time PCAS should have started the major restoration work at Sandhill Lock, the next obstacle to seeing the canal fully navigable to Canal Head, but this is also on hold until the pandemic situation eases. The society has also had to cancel all this season’s ‘New Horizons’ trip-boat activities from Melbourne—a very popular attraction for visitors to the canal and a major regular contribution to fundraising.
Back cruising again this summer
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- Category: NN Editorials
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Editor, Peter Fellows, reflects on the effects of the lockdown.
As this issue of NABO News was being prepared, CRT and the EA announced the resumption of boating on July 4th in England and July 6th in Wales. No-one believes that everything will go back to ‘normal’, but it is too early to tell what lasting damage has been done to waterways businesses and the services that they offer boaters. David Fletcher has recorded the timeline of events as the pandemic developed from February to June and some of the effects it has had on the waterways. Despite the end of the lockdown, it is clear that coronavirus hasn’t gone away and there are currently around 1,000 new infections every day. I’ve not seen any figures on the number of boat owners who have been infected, but a sensible assumption is that some infected but asymptomatic boaters will take to the water again in July. Although boating is relatively safe, everyone needs to be careful to wash their hands and disinfect surfaces after using service facilities, locks etc. This is likely to continue until an effective vaccine becomes available.