The Floater October 2017

Traditional launch doesn't go as planned - VIDEOS

October 2017 - A hundred years or more ago, boats on our inland waterways were often built on the bank, parallel to the cut, and launched sideways into to water. Today, it is far more common for boats to be built remote from the canal and transported by road to a place where they can be craned in. Delta Marine Services, based on the Grand Union at Warwick, does it the old way. Allan Richards was there when things didn't go quite right.

C&RT consultations go into hyper-drive

October 2017 - Within the space of a few days the Canal & River Trust has hiked boat licences, launched the third stage of its consultation on boat licences and now published it's London Mooring Strategy for yet another complex consultation. Peter Underwood takes a look at the latest offering, which hasn't yet earned the widespread condemnation of the licensing proposals.

Perhaps it is because the London Moorings strategy is born out of a genuine problem and C&RT involved lots of boaters in discussing solutions, but initial responses have not been completely dismissive.

Chantelle Seaborn strikes again

October 2017 - Many boaters and other observers have long been of the opinion that the Canal & River Trust is not serious about reopening the Northern Reaches of the Lancaster Canal and has been embarrassed by the enthusiasm and commitment of local boaters into a pretence of co-operation. Now the cracks are beginning to show, as Peter Underwood reports.

C&RT boasts of maintenance spend – but it's down £7 million this winter

October 2017 - The Canal & River Trust press release boasted in capital letters 'CHARITY SPENDS £38MILLION TO KEEP YOUR MUCH-LOVED WATERWAYS FLOWING'.

NABO joins chorus of protest as C&RT's licence 'consultation' becomes a farce

October 2017 - Having not got what it wanted from stage 1 and 2 of its licence consultation, C&RT seems hell bent on pressing on regardless – perhaps the reason it parted company with the 'independent charity', Involve, who it had engaged to run all three stages of the consultation. Involve has been replaced by TONIC, a non charitable organisation, often used by Government, with very different aims and ideals. Allan Richards investigates.

C&RT ignores early licence consultation results in Stage 3 survey

October 2017 - With licence fees set to rise three per cent, it seems boaters have presented Canal & River Trust with a surprisingly united front in response to what many see as a completely unnecessary consultation on licence fees. Despite that, it is still struggling to impose its own views, as Peter Underwood observes.

Help at hand to match boaters with experts

October 2017 - With hundreds of new boaters every year and many of them inexperienced and young – and in or around London - it is, perhaps, inevitable that many of them need the skills of experienced tradespeople writes Peter Underwood.

Facebook pages and groups like London Boaters are stuffed to the gills with requests for recommendations for boat electricians, plumbers, welders and engineers but often it is a case of the blind leading the blind.

Is C&RT below minimum safety standards?

October 2017 - While many boaters complain about Canal & River Trust's alleged 'health and safety culture' it seems it may be attempting to distance itself from minimum safety standards set by British Waterways more than a decade ago, as Allan Richards has discovered.

Did dredging kill Grand Union fish?

October 2017 - Canal & River Trust is cautiously non-committal about a major fish kill on the Grand Union canal, despite claims from local anglers that a nearby dredging operation by the Trust is to blame, but the incident has launched top level investigations at the Trust, as Peter Underwood reports.

The incident involves more than half a ton of fish on the Grove Church section at Leighton Buzzard and is being described as a 'level one' fish kill on the local newspaper's website - with local anglers convinced C&RT is the culprit.

Breaking up the boats?

October 2017 - In what C&RT describes as the largest movement of historic boats ever 11 historic vessels will be lifted from the canal basin at the Ellesmere Port waterways museum and placed in a new dry store – but nobody knows how many will survive intact, writes Peter Underwood.

Today (October 10) the historic narrow boats and barges, dating from the late 1800s to the 1950s, with the majority on the National Historic Ships Register and ranging in size from 33 to 72 feet will be lifted, using a massive crane.

More comic capers on the Lanky

October 2017 - Something C&RT's spin doctors describe as “The world’s first canal comic book” commissioned by the Lancaster Canal Regeneration Partnership (LCRP), with £15,000 of Arts Council cash, is to be launched at the Lakes International Comic Arts Festival in Kendal this October, reports Peter Underwood

Mayor's rant sparks boater demand for apology

October 2017 - An attack by the local mayor in Devizes aimed at boaters on the Kennet and Avon Canal, in which he demanded Wiltshire Council and the Canal & River Trust remove what he describes as 'unlicensed boats' from the Wharf in Devizes has prompted a demand for a public apology, as Peter Underwood reports.

According to the local website of the massive Newsquest newspaper group, Mayor Nigel Carter has 'written to both bodies to complain that several boats are moored in the town without the correct licence and little is being done to remove them'.

Annual waterways awards announced

October 2017 - The Canal & River Trust hit on the idea of awards to encourage volunteers, contractors and their own staff some years ago and the winners of the 2017 Living Waterways Awards were announced at a 'gala ceremony' in Birmingham, writes Peter Underwood

It has prevailed upon commercial contractors, Kier, Arcadis, CPC Civils, Land & Water, Vinci and Fountains to sponsor the awards that recognise the 'most exciting and inspiring waterway-based improvement projects across the UK'.

Trust focuses on towpath users in bid for funding

October 2017 - As the point approaches when the Canal & River Trust could lose much or all of its Government funding – currently a quarter of its income – it is setting out to prove to politicians that it has a real value to society and that there are genuine financial reasons to keep funding it, writes Peter Underwood.

It has just launched a massive and clearly expensive piece of research carried out by a number of consultants and universities that aims to provide a means of proving it is worthy of taxpayer funds.

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