K & A Ringing Celebration

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KENNET & AVON CANAL CRUISES INTO THE FUTURE

Almost 200 years to the day that it was first opened, 20 years since the navigation was opened once more, and 10 years after the hugely successful Lottery supported restoration project, the Kennet & Avon Canal could soon reclaim its status as a fully-fledged, working canal. The reclassification, backed by British Waterways, The Kennet and Avon Canal Trust and by canal supporters, would see the historic, 87-mile long waterway upgraded from ‘remainder’ status – one step above a derelict canal – to that of a national ‘cruiseway’.

A six week public consultation will begin on Friday 16 July to gauge opinion on the move. Following the consultation, a decision to re-classify will be made by a Minister from the waterways sponsoring government department, the Department for Food and Rural Affairs.

Mark Stephens, British Waterways’ waterway manager, said:

“British Waterways has, in reality, been managing the Kennet & Avon Canal as if it has had cruiseway status since its multi-million pound restoration.

“We think that the formalisation of this status is beneficial to the canal, helping to secure its long term future by legally stating that the canal should be maintained to a level whereby cruising craft, such as narrowboats, can safely navigate the length of the canal. Here at British Waterways we believe that this is the appropriate classification for this popular and much-loved waterway, which this year is celebrating its 200th anniversary.”
Whilst the canal is classified as a remainder waterway, legally, the maintenance requirements are significantly lower, as technically the waterway doesn’t need to support navigational craft.

The reclassification of the waterway during this the canal’s bicentenary year would be especially poignant, and a way to acknowledge the amazing works undertaken by volunteers and partnership groups to save the canal from oblivion and turn it back into a thriving leisure resource, a piece of working heritage and a linear wildlife habitat.
The Kennet & Avon Canal is regarded as a blueprint for successful waterway restoration and regeneration and the restored canal managed by British Waterways, working with volunteers from the local community and local authorities, is one of the inspirations behind plans to establish a new ‘national trust’ for the waterways.

David Rees, Chairman, Kennet & Avon Canal Trust said:

“The Trust welcomes British Waterways desire to change the status of the canal from a remainder waterway to a cruiseway canal. It has long been the ambition of my predecessors to gain this objective for we see this as a commitment from British Waterways to the long-term future of the canal and a public promise to maintain this wonderful historic waterway that brings enjoyment and pleasure to so many people.”
The re-classification notice regarding the change in status will be advertised in a variety of local and national papers, online at www.katrust.org and will be posted in British Waterways’ information boards along the length of the Kennet & Avon Canal.

The Avon Vale is given its first job

Now that the K&A Trust has been accredited as a British Waterways Self Supervising Volunteer Organisation it was with great pleasure the first job should fall to the workboat, Avon Vale.

The boat and crew were tasked to take British Waterways contractors, Hayes Forestry, from Horton to Wootton Rivers on the long pound to inspect and clear the vegetation around all the culverts.

This work took four days to complete and I am pleased to report the Avon Vale was up to the task and performed its duties completely.

John Kirby
The Avon Vale Group
Images above: the two contractors at work, Tom Fletcher and Adam Bartens. Both work for Hayes Forestry.

Caen Hill Stoppages

Caen Hill

Friday 23 July 2010 - Friday 23 July 2010

The Canal will be closed from 8am to 4pm between locks 45 & 47 to enable bottom gate repairs to lock 46

Enquiries: 07917186070
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Caen Hill

Wednesday 21 July 2010 - Wednesday 21 July 2010

The Canal will be closed from 8am to 4pm between locks 28 & 44 to enable bottom gate repairs to lock 39

Enquiries: 07917186070

£400,000 PROJECT IMPROVES KENNET & AVON CANAL AT HUNGERFORD

British Waterways, working with the Trustees of the Town and Manor of Hungerford and Natural England, will be carrying out a £400,000 project this summer to improve a section of the Kennet & Avon Canal to benefit canal users and local wildlife during this, the canal’s bicentenary year.

Over 1,500m of eroded canal bank will be reinstated and a 2,800m section of the canal from Cobblers Lock and Hungerford Swingbridge and also between Dun Mill Lock and Wire Lock will be dredged, removing around 5,000m3 of silt from the canal.

British Waterways’ ecologist, Oda Dijksterhuis, explains: “This area of the Kennet & Avon Canal is an important wildlife habitat, particularly for water voles. The works that we are undertaking along this stretch have been designed so that they balance the creation of a suitable ecological environment with the current use of the canal corridor.

“We will be recycling the dredged material from the canal and using it to create a more stable canal bank that water voles can also make a home in. These new banks will then be protected with pre-planted coir rolls that are made out of coconut husk. Any remaining dredgings will be spread on nearby agricultural land, as it makes great fertilizer too.”

The combination of dredging and coir roll planting will help to improve water quality in the canal, whilst the installation of new fencing will prevent cattle from walking on the towpath and eroding the banks.

The stabilisation of the bank will reduce the risk of water passing from the canal to the River Dunn and affecting the game fishery, and the dredging will improve the depth of the canal making it easier for boats to travel along this stretch of the waterway.

British Waterways’ Project Engineer, Paul Fox, explains: “This is a brilliant project that’s only been possible with the support and funding from Natural England and the Trustees of the Town and Manor of Hungerford.”

“The project will bring many benefits to the Kennet & Avon Canal during this its 200^th anniversary year, and will create a safer, more accessible and wildlife friendly canal for the future.”

Robert James, a Trustee of the Town and Manor of Hungerford and Honorary Commons Secretary, said: “The Kennet & Avon Canal is a wonderful stretch of waterway, and a great asset to Hungerford. This important work will see much-needed maintenance work completed whilst also enhancing the wildlife habitat that we are lucky enough to have on our doorstep.”

Representatives from British Waterways will be on-hand at an exhibition explaining the works that are planned. You will be able to view plans and ask questions, as well as finding out ways that you could get involved with helping to protect the plants and the ecological habitat along this stretch of the canal at Hungerford Town Hall, between 10.00am and 4.00pm on Wednesday 21 and Thursday 22 July.

Caen Hill stoppage update

Caen Hill Flight

Tuesday 22 June 2010 - Saturday 10 July 2010

UPDATE (02 July 2010): UPDATE (02 July 2010): The Caen Hill flight of locks is closed and will re-open for navigation on Saturday 10 July 2010.
The bottom gates of Lock 24 (Caen Hill, near to Foxhangers at the bottom of the flight) have been irreparably damaged and require immediate replacement. Similarly, the towpath in the vicinity of Locks 22 to 24 (upstream of Foxhangers) will be closed to allow access for heavy lifting equipment. Please note that the towpath heading west (downstream, toward Bath) from Marsh Lane Road to the Lock 25 will remain open to the public, as will the towpath heading east (up the flight, toward Devizes) from Marsh Lane Road. The tea room adjacent to British Waterways’ yard will be trading and accessible as usual.
BW is working hard to open the navigation as soon as possible; a pair of gates that have already been built for this winter’s stoppage works will be adjusted and used to repair Lock 24.

The Waterway is grateful for the support received, particularly from local canal businesses, toward opening the canal as soon as possible. Similarly your patience is much appreciated.

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UPDATE (25 June 2010): The Caen Hill Lock Flight will remain closed to navigation until Friday 9 July 2010. The bottom gates of Lock 24 (Caen Hill, near to Foxhangers at the bottom of the flight) have been irreparably damaged and require immediate replacement. Similarly, the towpath in the vicinity of Locks 22 to 24 (upstream of Foxhangers) will be closed to allow access for heavy lifting equipment. Please note that the towpath heading west (downstream, toward Bath) from Marsh Lane Road to the Lock 25 will remain open to the public, as will the towpath heading east (up the flight, toward Devizes) from Marsh Lane Road. The tea room adjacent to British Waterways’ yard will be trading and accessible as usual.
BW is working hard to open the navigation as soon as possible; a pair of gates that have already been built for this winter’s stoppage works will be adjusted and used to repair Lock 24.

The Waterway is grateful for the support received, particularly from local canal businesses, toward opening the canal as soon as possible. Similarly your patience is much appreciated.

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Enquiries: 01380 722859

BW ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS 2009/10

British Waterways’ Annual Report & Accounts 2009/10 is available to view online at www.britishwaterways.co.uk/annualreport

British Waterways’ 2009/10 Annual Report & Accounts, published today (1 July 2010), highlights growing momentum for the creation of a ‘national trust’ to care for the country's historic canals, rivers and docks. The proposal has won widespread stakeholder support and interest from the UK government as an example of delivering Big Society principles.

The Report details a record number of people visiting the waterways and their towpaths (up 26% to 13 million adults) together with a continued growth in the record number of boats (up 3% to 34,944). 91% of people now think that the waterways are an important part of the nation’s heritage.

Tony Hales, BW chairman, comments: “There is widespread support for the nation’s canals and rivers. A charitable trust for the waterways will allow this local enthusiasm and energy to flow into the task of ensuring a sustainable future for this important part of the nation’s heritage.”

Acknowledging that there are increasing pressures on the availability of government funding together with the current annual funding deficit of £30m in England & Wales, Tony continues: “We have a lot of work to do if we are to turn this proposal for a waterways charity into reality. The ideas and aspirations that exist amongst waterway supporters will need to be turned into hard won cash and activity to maintain, expand and improve the nation’s canals and rivers.”

Despite commercial activity being adversely affected by the recession (particularly the impact it has had on property development activities), BW restructured its operations and was able to maintain its spend on waterway maintenance and major works at over £100m (£101.6m). This included the replacement of 228 lock gate leaves as well as spend of £3.9m on dredging, £6.8m on vegetation management and £3.7m to man bridges and locks for customers. The percentage of BW’s principle waterway structures in the worst condition was further reduced to 18.7% (down 39% since 2002).

Tony concludes: “Despite a difficult financial climate, we have started to see some recovery in the values of our property estate and were still able to generate over £100m of vital self-earned income for reinvestment in the waterways.

“In this age of austerity the waterways will undoubtedly have to shoulder their share of government spending cuts which can only exacerbate the funding shortfall that currently exists across the waterways in England and Wales. This reconfirms our belief that together with waterway supporters and partners we can create a more sustainable future for the waterways by establishing a charitable trust for the nation’s canals and rivers. This is undoubtedly a goal worth achieving.”

Other highlights in the Report include the opening of Three Mills Lock, the award of World Heritage Status to Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, the launch of the Waterways Action Squad which attracted 270 youth volunteers in its first six months, and the restoration of Stourport Basins which was selected by popular vote as the best Heritage Lottery project of the year.