Boaters' Update
Think of this page as your one-stop shop for up-to-date boating news. It's packed full of useful information about boating on canals and rivers as well important safety announcements and upcoming events. To make sure you don't miss out, create a MyTrust account, check the boating communications box and we'll send you a fortnightly summary and reminder email.
18 July 2014
For the third edition in a row, I start with a big thank you. So many of you have taken the time to drop me your thoughts – the most popular subject being the Deafened Duck’s article about generators. I have an inkling that I’ll start the next edition in a similar vein because this week’s etiquette topic is something I know many of you have strong views on – do let me know them.
Of course, you’ll also find a summary of the responses I’ve had as well as a follow-up article from Dan Nicholson in response to those of you who replied to his initial ‘Mucky Pup’s’ article. As usual, you can also read the regular ‘Last week, this week’ diary and a round-up of other boating news.
- Last week, this week - what’s happening on or by the cut?
- Summary of the Annual General Meeting
- Are you going to the rally?
- The Great Poo Debate
- Five Waterway Partnerships chairs come to the end of their volunteering term
- Open meetings – a thank you from Richard Parry
- Round up of other news
If you’d like to have your say in a future edition of Boaters’ Update, or there’s a topic you want to see covered, then drop me a line and I’ll try to oblige!
Happy boating,
Damian
Last week, this week
Over the last week or so you may have heard, or seen, that:
- 10 Jul - Sir Tony Robinson supports a campaign to rescue Britain’s lost canals
- 10 Jul – With the summer holidays almost here, we suggested five free ways to keep your kids entertained this summer
- 14 Jul – Chief exec, Richard Parry, issued a thank you to all those who attended one of the open boater meetings and announced plans for future meetings (below).
In the coming week or so you might like to know that:
- 20 Jul – Aged 7 to 14? Ok, most of you won’t be but think about taking your (grand) children along to Foxton and let them become a junior lock keeper.
- 18 to 20 Jul – Head west for celebrity chefs, a cookery school and hundreds of stalls at Gloucester Quays Food Festival.
- 19 – 20 Jul – Or Head east and join the Buckingham Canal Society at the Cosgrove Canal Festival and Craft Fair
- 26 & 27 Jul – In West Yorkshire? If not, you should be! Go have some floating fun at the Dewsbury Canal Festival.
Summary of the Trust’s Annual General Meeting
10 days ago we held our AGM in Birmingham, on 8 July. We’ve used Storify to give you a blow-by-blow account of the event. Coming at the end of his first year as chief exec, Richard commented: “My first year has been thoroughly exhilarating and enjoyable. I have relished the opportunity to get out and meet the people who care for and enjoy the wonderful canals and rivers we’re responsible for. This year we have honed our long term strategy, which includes building the broad support that is so important for the future of the waterways. We are also putting the customer at the centre of all the work we do, with a great emphasis on being open and involving others in our decision-making.
“In financial terms we had a successful year, beating our target for income by over £5m and spending more on additional care of the canals as a result. As an illustration of our increased focus on listening to our customers we committed around £1m of the extra funds to clearing some of the off-side vegetation that boaters had told us was a priority.”
The day also covered some of the other highlights of the last 12 months:
- More than £120m invested in repairing and restoring the waterways
- 142 lock gates replaced or refurbished and more than 68 miles of waterways dredged, with the removal of over 90,000 m3 of silt
- Completion of the £2m+ repair to the Trent & Mersey Canal following the breach at Dutton
- Major repairs to the Monmouthshire & Brecon and Llangollen canals following the damage wreaked by the winter floods
- 32,440 licensed boats (excluding boat licences of one month or less) as at 31 March 2014 – a 0.4 per cent increase on the number recorded on 31 March 2013 (32,311)
- Volunteers gave over 51,000 days helping to look after the canals and rivers (2012/13: 29,044 days)
- Over 50 community adoption groups now look after a stretch of their local waterway
- Nearly 27,500 children discovered their local canal or river as part of the our volunteer-led Canal & River Explorers programme
- Around 10,000 people visited our winter works open days to see the heart of our repair work to keep their local waterway functioning
- We were presented with a cheque for £50k as the People’s Postcode Lottery’s ‘charity of the year’
You can read more in our Annual Report.
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Are you going to the rally?
One of your Council representatives, Ivor Caplan, had an entertaining visit to the Chester Campaign Festival and wonders if you’ll be attending one of the many similar events over the summer…
“As we have recently been to the very successful Chester Campaign Festival I am writing these thought about boating events, rallies, festivals or whatever they might be called. At this point I fully realise that a high percentage of boaters will stop reading, rallies are simply not for them. They look at where and when the major events are taking place and then head off in the opposite direction. That’s great, if you are in this category, happy cruising.
“For those still with me a few comments about the wide variety of events on offer to boaters. They range from the large such as the IWA National Festival to the small and loosely organised gathering of boaters.
“Over the years we should remember that large events have attracted many loyal followers and achieved considerable income that has been put back into restoration and other projects. However major events of this type are becoming more expensive and risky to organise so it may be that they are reconsidered in the future.
“This leaves the large number of medium to small boating events organised by a wide variety of canal societies, restoration trusts, IWA branches and many others. Many boaters enjoy the friendliness of boat gatherings without the hassle of large sites and all the formality and security required. If I might put in one plea to the organisers, even at the smallest event do try to put something on to attract the public and publicise it, getting something in the local press is usually easy and cheap. This will give the local community an insight into their waterways and the enthusiasm that boaters share, it may even attract some new members to your organisation.
“Moving on we have the more specialist gatherings of boaters, for instance those who have a particular boatbuilder or engine in common, I daren’t say what my wife thinks of these but good luck to them. At the end of the day rallies are all about comradeship, getting together with fellow boaters that you perhaps only see once a year, sharing experiences, a pint or two and enjoying yourselves. There is nothing wrong with that.
“Perhaps most important are the campaign events aimed at getting boats onto parts of the system not regularly cruised or promoting a particular restoration or improvement, as an example I mentioned the Chester Campaign Festival aimed at reinstating the lock onto the River Dee and making passage onto the upper river easier.
“Of particular value are the trailboat rallies which bring boats onto stretches of navigations that are partially restored or not linked to the main system. These events are very important in demonstrating to local people and particularly politicians the benefits that full navigation will bring to their localities.
“Finally and you heard it first through Boaters’ Update, early notice that Mrs C. is organising a rally next year for proud owners or a particular brand of porta-potti, application forms will be available shortly, printed on an appropriate type of paper of course.
“Good cruising whether towards that rally or away from it.”
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Courtesy – keep your comments coming!
One thing is blatantly obvious – you’re a passionate bunch! My inbox has been overwhelmed with advice. When we first started this thread, a few editions ago, we really weren’t sure what level of response we were going to get. Credit where it’s due – you’ve collectively surpassed, by a country mile, our expectations.
Please don’t stop just yet though. Our next topic is cyclists. What advice would you give a novice boater about cyclists? Or, what advice would you give a boater who’s just about to embark on a cycling towpath tour? Do, please, drop me a line with your thoughts.
You may remember, in the last edition, we had a couple of etiquette-themed articles. One in particular inspired many of you to get in touch. To refresh your memory, the Deafened Duck shared his frustration of noisy generators. His suggestion was that running generators should be restricted to the forenoon.
On reading the first dozen responses it seemed that most were supportive. That thought quickly vanished. Having now been through the first 60 odd responses it’s clear that the majority don’t agree. Those against the suggestion outnumber those in favour by two to one.
The most common objection was that, if you had a full-time job, you simply couldn’t charge in the forenoon except at weekends. A fair few wrote in with positive reports of ditching their generator in favour of solar panels – only having to run their engines on a few days in the deepest, darkest, depths of winter. If one of our readers is willing to give chapter and verse on solar panels then please do get in touch and we’ll happily publish it.
Of course, with today forecast to be one of the hottest of the year so far, please do bear in mind that everyone is going to want to have their portholes and windows open. If you do need to run a genny please be considerate. Oh, and think just how much juice your batteries would be getting if you did have solar panels!
In case you missed the last edition, I’ll reiterate what we’ll be doing with the feedback. Over the next few editions we’ll continue to ask for your views on a specific etiquette topic. Once we’ve received and compiled the feedback we’ll ask the Navigation Advisory Group (licensing & mooring) to distil it, which may include debates within other online forums, into the top four or five advice points for each subject. We’ll then use these to promote good boating etiquette around the network.
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The Great Poo Debate
If you recall, in the 23 June edition of Boaters’ Update, boater Dan Nicholson shared his views on dog poo. Well, actually, it was Dan’s view on the lack of dog walkers clearing up after their pets.
Dan’s been back in touch to ask us to pass on his thanks for the great response.
Some of your comments, which are still coming in, inspired Dan to follow-up his article…
“It was with very mixed emotions that I read of the tragic experiences of Suzanne and Amiee Langdon as a direct result of this offensive, anti-social and irresponsible habit. I feel sure little Amiee is not the only victim. I was also very pleased to read (and am now more enlightened by) the rest of the article from the Keep Britain Tidy (KBT) website. Especially the ability to use ‘any bin’ for disposal.
“The following was extracted from a US site on this same sorry subject. It is wholly relevant and definitely ‘cuts to the chase’. Please don’t be offended by its ‘plain speaking’.
“One single gram of dog faeces contains over 23 million faecal coliform bacteria along with giardia, salmonella, hookworms, tapeworms, whipworms, and roundworms causing numerous health problems for humans, pets and wildlife.
“Dog poo is not just ‘poo’. It is serious and dangerous faecal matter.
“Many people keep saying that dog excrement is just ‘poo’, a seemingly nice word that carries no problem at all. However, it is serious and dangerous, and not harmless. That is one of the reasons why people think that it is no big deal to not pick up after their dog or let mountains of it accumulate in their backyard for ages.
“I feel sure that trying to resolve, what is, evidently, an international issue, should involve a deal of ‘education’ and should start at home and at school. After all, we spend considerable time and effort educating our children out of nappies into the routine of using ‘the right place’, so why not pass on the same message to them about dog poo?
“And what about all the canal boat hire companies taking a bit of responsibility too......why not include this as a part of the mandatory ‘briefing’ given before the boat is taken away? It’s like any form of advertising - the more ‘reminders’ that are given - the better are the chances of success.
“Stay vigilant and ‘think PUDS’!”
One thing’s for sure, judging by the level of interest, Dan isn’t the only one exercised about this subject…
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Five Waterway Partnerships chairs come to the end of their volunteering term
Fancy leading a Waterway Partnership? Well, this autumn, the chairs of five of the Trust’s Waterway Partnerships (Manchester & Pennine, North Wales & Borders, South Wales & Severn, West Midlands and Museums & Attractions) are coming to the end of their first volunteering term. Each can apply for reappointment for a second term as part of an open recruitment process but new applicants are very welcome!
The Waterway Partnership chairs, who have a seat on the Trust’s governing Council, lead a group of local volunteers that help shape plans for each waterway and guide the Trust’s decisions about spending. The Partnerships include people with relevant business experience and expertise in areas like boating, local government, volunteering, fundraising, environment, heritage and community engagement.
The positions are advertised online with shortlisted candidates invited for interview in early September. Appointments will be effective from November 2014.
Some great achievements have been made by Partnerships and, as Tony Hales, chairman of the Trust says: “I’d like to thank all of the Chairs for their contribution to date and look forward to the process of recruiting people to these really important roles going forward.”
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Open meetings – a thank you from Richard Parry
Firstly, thank you to all the boaters and other waterway users who I’ve met this year at the 12 open meetings that have taken place around the country. I’ve enjoyed meeting all of you and have learnt a lot about what you want from the Trust – what we’re doing well and where we need to improve – from listening to your views, experiences and opinions. Overall, you’ve told us that you found the meetings useful too (over 800 people attended and 75% of those who responded to our feedback forms said the meetings were either very useful or useful).
To hear thanks from the man himself, check out Richard's video on this page.
A lot of themes have been discussed, covering all things boating and beyond. I wanted to keep you updated on the key themes and work we’re doing around these issues:
- You wanted to know more about our major works plans. We published the detailed £20m+ major works plan in April, and we’ll shortly be publishing an update. Whilst much of the work is done during the winter we plan to complete 40% during the warmer months when we can get work done more easily and cheaply.
- We’ve also set out the details of our winter stoppage and lock gate replacement / repairs programme for public consultation. That consultation has concluded and we’ve announced the revised programme earlier this week, following which you’ll have a chance to make further comments before the final plan is shared in September.
- You told me you wanted us to share more information about the local repair work we are carrying out. Our waterway teams have published their detailed ‘high priority’ repair programmes and you can find them on the noticeboard section of your local waterway page. We’ll be updating these plans – to tell you what we’ve done and any changes to the future programme – shortly. Later this summer you can expect to see updates on our dredging programme and our plans for tackling more offside vegetation
- You asked me a lot of questions and told me about problems specific to your local area. My teams are looking at all of these, fixing them where we are able to. We’ll be publishing a document showing you what we’ve achieved soon.
We’re now planning for the next wave of meetings, which will start in September with a second live Twitter Q&A and continue with face-to-face meetings from 1 October. As part of our drive to put customers first, I’ve created a role for a Head of Customer Services, which Dean Davies (the West Midlands Waterway Manager) is covering on secondment.
Dean will be participating with me in the autumn, so we can expand our meeting programme. So far, the meetings have been a mixture of weekend afternoon and weekday evening events. I would like to hear your views on what timing works best for you. Please email fran.read@canalrivertrust.org.uk with your preferences.
In the meantime I hope the vast majority of you are able to get out and enjoy our waterways. I’ve been lucky enough to have been invited out boating on the Ribble Link and the Stratford Canal in the past few weeks, as well as attending many of the superb canal and river festivals. If I haven’t bumped into you already, I look forward to seeing you out on the water in the months ahead.
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Bits and bobs
- It’s been brought to my attention that the various prompts in Boaters’ Update, asking you to drop me a line, always try to open Microsoft Outlook to write and send the email. I appreciate that not everyone uses this so, if you want to get in touch, my email is Damian.kemp@canalrivertrust.org.uk.
- On the back of the ‘Water Compliance’ article in the last edition, I’ve also been told of a story going round the Gloucester Docks area. The rumour goes that the water pipe leading to the pontoon outside Llanthony Bridge is an ancient pipe which crosses the canal and is porous. We would like to advise you that not only does the pipe not cross the canal but it is a modern water pipe that is not porous. Shortly we intend to move the pipe above the water level but we can assure you that is only to stop mooring boats damaging it and for no other sinister reason!
- During the first quarter of 2014/15 (Apr – June 2014) website users reported 304 sightings of unlicensed boats. Of these 24% have subsequently relicensed and a further 61% were already in our enforcement process, 3% resulted in new cases being opened for action, 7% of sightings were in relation to craft seen on water not enforceable by us and the remaining 5% were boats which were not identifiable through a valid boat index number but the details have been passed to our enforcement teams for further investigation. Keep up the good work!
The end,
Damian
In This Section »
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Boaters' Update 4 July 2014
Yet again, I start the edition with a huge thank you. Many of you have taken the time to drop me your thoughts on a variety on things. So many in fact that I’ve not yet replied to all of you – don’t worry, I will though! Keep them coming… There’s lots to read in this edition, including some boater’s thoughts on last edition’s ‘Mucky Pups’ piece as well as another boater-written article, this time about the potential nuisance factor of generators. -
Boaters' Update 23 June 2014
I want to start this edition with a big thank you to everyone that dropped me a line regarding boating etiquette at locks and bridges. I would love to get a similar response to the next topic (below)! Another thank you has to go out to all those that took part in, chief exec, Richard Parry’s first, live, Twitter Q&A session on the evening of Tuesday 17 June. By all accounts it was a great success with over 50 questions asked and answered. -
Boaters' Update 6 June 2014
What a busy few weeks it’s been! The Crick Boat Show weekend coincided with the internationally renowned Hay Festival where a panel discussion about how Tom Rolt’s classic book, ‘Narrow Boat’, transformed the fortunes of Britain’s inland waterways was held. -
Boaters' Update 23 May 2014
We’ve been talking about it for some time now but, finally, it’s here. That’s right; it’s the Crick Boat Show weekend! With so much to see and do you might want to buy a weekend ticket to enjoy it all or, if time is tight, day tickets are available as well as evening only ones. Whatever your plans it’s set to be the biggest and best yet! While the Crick Show is obviously a big thing in the boating calendar, there’s plenty of other news and events to read about in this edition… -
Boaters' Update 9 May 2014
Excitement is gathering pace as the Crick Boat Show nears. Taking place from 24 to 26 May, it’s a great opportunity to immerse yourself in everything boaty! Of course, as we all know, boating isn’t just about the boats. You’ll also be able to enjoy the thriving sense of community among boaters with a broad range of activities and entertainment on offer – live music from lunch until late and the show’s biggest funfair yet, with all rides free! -
Boaters' Update 11 April 2014
The clocks have gone forward, the evenings are getting lighter and Easter is just around the corner. While some boaters have been enjoying cruising over the winter, the canals and rivers will soon come alive with boat owners and hirers alike taking advantage of the longer days. Our winter works programme has come to an end and we hope you will see the benefits this summer. -
Boaters' Update 28 March 2014
Regular readers may notice a different ‘voice’ in this edition of the Boaters’ Update as stalwart editor Damian is off work at the moment (I’m sure you’ll all join me in wishing him a speedy recovery). -
Boaters' Update 14 March 2014
It’s great to see that the weather has tempted more of you out on to the cut. Hopefully you still find time to read this edition – there’s lots to get stuck into! -
Boaters' Update 28 February 2014
Finally, the skies have started to clear, the wind’s eased and the sun has made the odd cameo appearance over the past week. We’re far from out of the woods yet; we’re still getting a lot of rain on the parts of the system that are already saturated, and the impact of the weather is slowly revealing itself as the water starts to recede. -
Boaters' Update 14 Feb 2014
Coming at the end of a two week deluge of rain, this edition covered the impact on the inland waterway network. There was also important Carbon Monoxide safety advice, more reports of Richard Parry's continuing open boaters meetings, a warning about the dangers of wearing incorrect gear and a great reflective piece by John Dodwell (Trustee) about a year of important anniversaries. -
Boaters' Update 31 Jan 2014
In this edition of Boaters' Update the main news featured was a report on Richard Parry’s first boaters’ open meeting, private boating Council representative, Ivor Caplan, encouraged boaters to go exploring and we also talked about the ongoing Council election consultation. -
Boaters' Update 16 Dec 2013
Think of this page as your one-stop shop for up-to-date boating news. It's packed full of useful information about boating on canals and rivers as well important safety announcements and upcoming events. To make sure you don't miss out, create a MyTrust account, check the boating communications box and we'll send you a fortnightly summary and reminder email. -
Boaters' Update 2 December 2013
Think of this page as your one-stop shop for up-to-date boating news. It's packed full of useful information about boating on canals and rivers as well important safety announcements and upcoming events. To make sure you don't miss out, create a MyTrust account, check the boating communications box and we'll send you a fortnightly summary and reminder email. -
Boaters' Update 18 Nov 2013
Think of this page as your one-stop shop for up-to-date boating news. It's packed full of useful information about boating on canals and rivers as well important safety announcements and upcoming events. To make sure you don't miss out, create a MyTrust account, check the boating communications box and we'll send you a fortnightly summary and reminder email. -
Boaters' Update 4 November 2013
Think of this page as your one-stop shop for up-to-date boating news. It's packed full of useful information about boating on canals and rivers as well important safety announcements and upcoming events. To make sure you don't miss out, create a MyTrust account, check the boating communications box and we'll send you a fortnightly summary and reminder email. -
Boaters' Update 22 October 2013
Think of this page as your one-stop shop for up-to-date boating news. It's packed full of useful information about boating on canals and rivers as well important safety announcements and upcoming events. To make sure you don't miss out, create a MyTrust account, check the boating communications box and we'll send you a fortnightly summary and reminder email. -
Boaters' Update September 2013
Think of this page as your one-stop shop for up-to-date boating news. It's packed full of useful information about boating on canals and rivers as well important safety announcements and upcoming events. To make sure you don't miss out, create a MyTrust account, check the boating communications box and we'll send you a monthly summary and reminder email. -
Boaters' Update August 2013
Think of this page as your one-stop shop for up-to-date boating news. It's packed full of useful information about boating on canals and rivers as well important safety announcements and upcoming events. To make sure you don't miss out, create a MyTrust account, check the boating communications box and we'll send you a monthly summary and reminder email. -
Boaters' Update July 2013
Think of this page as your one-stop shop for up-to-date boating news. It's packed full of useful information about boating on canals and rivers as well important safety announcements and upcoming events. To make sure you don't miss out, create a MyTrust account, check the boating communications box and we'll send you a monthly summary and reminder email. -
Boaters' Update May/June 2013
Think of this page as your one-stop shop for up-to-date boating news. It's packed full of useful information about boating on canals and rivers as well important safety announcements and upcoming events. To make sure you don't miss out, create a MyTrust account, check the boating communications box and we'll send you a monthly summary and reminder email. -
Boaters' Update April 2013
Think of this page as your one-stop shop for up-to-date boating news. It's packed full of useful information about boating on canals and rivers as well important safety announcements and upcoming events. To make sure you don't miss out, sign up and we'll send you a monthly summary and reminder email. -
Boaters' Update March 2013
Think of this page as your one-stop shop for up-to-date boating news. It's packed full of useful information about boating on canals and rivers as well important safety announcements and upcoming events. To make sure you don't miss out, sign up and we'll send you a monthly summary and reminder email. -
Boaters' Update February 2013
Think of this page as your one-stop shop for up-to-date boating news. It's packed full of useful information about boating on canals and rivers as well important safety announcements and upcoming events. To make sure you don't miss out, sign up and we'll send you a monthly summary and reminder email. -
Boaters' Update January 2013
Think of this page as your one-stop shop for up-to-date boating news. It's packed full of useful information about boating on canals and rivers as well important safety announcements and upcoming events. To make sure you don't miss out, sign up and we'll send you a monthly summary and reminder email. -
Boaters' Update December 2012
Think of this page as your one-stop shop for up-to-date boating news. It's packed full of useful information about boating on canals and rivers as well important safety announcements and upcoming events. To make sure you don't miss out, sign up and we'll send you a monthly summary and reminder email. -
Boaters' Update November 2012
This was the November 2012 edition of Boaters' Update. Some of the news may have been superceded - please read more recent editions for the latest news and views. -
Boaters' Update October 2012
Think of this page as your one-stop shop for up-to-date boating news. It's packed full of useful information about boating on canals and rivers as well important safety announcements and upcoming events. To make sure you don't miss out, sign up and we'll send you a monthly summary and reminder email. -
Boaters' Update July 2012
This is where you'll find the edition that was published in July 2012 (on the Canal & River Trust's launch day!) -
Boaters' Update May 2012
Welcome to this bumper edition of Boaters’ Update. We’re getting very close to the Canal & River Trust’s takeover of BW’s responsibilities. We don’t know the exact date yet but this hasn’t halted our preparations. Following on the heels are the Council elections, appointments are being made to seven expert advisory groups including heritage and navigation. A huge volunteer effort is about to get underway to update canal-side signage and details of a new local rate number to get in touch with us will be published soon. -
Boaters' Update April 2012
Welcome to April's edition of Boaters’ Update. Following on from last month’s excellent announcement that His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales will be the Canal & River Trust’s founding Patron, The Charity Commission has confirmed the registration of the Canal & River Trust (number 1146792). In other boating news, there are details of a new text service for licence applications/renewals, an update on the continuing battle with water resources (lack of them!) and exciting news about Crick Boat Show. There’s also a reminder about the new listing facility for waterway businesses and organisations on the Canal & River Trust’s new website. -
Boaters' Update March 2012
This month we are delighted to report the announcement that His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales will be the Canal & River Trust’s founding Patron. There have also been a number of other important milestones for the Trust ahead of it taking over as the guardian of British Waterways’ canals and rivers in England & Wales. We take a closer look at plans for the 2012 boating season and find out more about a volunteering memory wall for visitors to Crick Boat Show. -
Boaters' Update February 2012
This month we are delighted to report on the long term government contract and funding agreement for the new waterways charity in England and Wales, bring you news about BW’s mooring permit price review and an update for all business licence holders. Plus we take a closer look at an exciting programme of entertainment planned for Crick Boat Show. -
Boaters' Update August 2011
This month we feature some watery suggestions to help make the most of your bank holiday weekend. We bring you a taste of chocolate history as the newly restored narrowboat Mendip, who prepares to recreate her old route to the famous canal-side Bournville factory. We look ahead at the options available for boaters seeking winter moorings and ask for volunteers to lend a virtual hand testing features of the New Waterways Charity’s website. -
Boaters' Update September 2011
This month we are delighted to link to an open letter from the Waterways Minister confirming the intention to proceed with the new waterways charity in England and Wales next year. And with the charity now just a few months away, we report the recruitment process for the Chairs for a number of exciting new Waterways Partnerships that will give local people a greater role in how their waterways are managed, and take a closer look at winter waterway maintenance in action. -
Boaters' Update October 2011
This month we report the new name of the charity that from next April will take responsibility for the care of the waterways in England and Wales and look ahead to what the future holds for the waterways through the eyes of the charity’s transition trustees. With the winter drawing in, we’ve teamed up with the Residential Boat Owners Association to offer guidance for BW mooring customers explaining what services will be provided in extreme conditions. -
Boaters' Update November 2011
This month we report on the nomination process for boat licence holders to stand for election to the Canal & River Trust’s inaugural governing Council. The Council will play a pivotal role in the success of the Trust when it takes over responsibility for the care of the waterways in England and Wales. As the temperature plummets we feature some boating top tips and reminders for safe winter boating and take a look at some of the options for keeping warm afloat during the colder months.
