Change and decay in all around I see.

[Tomahawk]

Non of the above relate to a company the taking away (grabbing) an expanse of water thats has Public Right Of Way , ?

But the title of the thread is change and decay. I am merely observing decay in juxtaposition with change.

As far as I am aware, the company leases the seabed to the centre of the creek. Of course I may be wrong. As to the right of way, I accept it is a difficult issue. Despite all the noise being made about navigating at LW, the reality is that it is not feasible because the tender pontoon at Underwoods is surrounded with mud until about HW -2 hours. At that point, the creek has widened very considerably such that the space to the south of the proposed pontoons is as wide as as the creek at LW. So if you can presently navigate in the width of the creek at LW, surely you can navigate in the same amount of space at HW.

 

[DoubleEnder]

Fifty years ago there were boatbuilders and chandlers everywhere. They have nearly all gone.

I remember buying two sets of Musto Ocean oilskins (very different to today’s) at a chandlery in Orford, and spares for a Baby Blake at Whisstocks chandlery in Woodbridge, in 1984. West Mersea had three boatbuilders - Wyatts, Clarke & Carter and Ben JG Clarke - in 1970.

I suppose it was the replacement of wood by plastic and the consequent drying up of repair business that did for the small boatbuilders. The London chandlers creamed off business from the coastal chandlers and were in turn wiped out by the Internet.

This has come to pass in my sailing lifetime.

There are still some. Testers at Hollowshore, Iron Wharf in Faversham both have their charms. Also sailmakers and chandlery, fresh fish good beer, railway station and a cinema….come on!
Queenborough definitely, very evocative.
the chandlery in Ramsgate is good too.
Gus at Pin Mill we all know…
aldeburgh? Harbour Marine in Southwold?
And Elephant Boatyard is a proper place
It is change, and decay yes but not yet extinction. Time for the Still Small Voice of Calm.
(but I do miss a lunchtime nosey in the Minories)

 

[LittleSister]

Next stop Southwold. Brillant oportunity for a really good set of architects to come up with a total re design for the whole area.

Only in your dreams.

It will never happen in real life. Flood risk rules out most of the higher value uses that might fund a development. The muddle/rich tapestry of ownerships, obligations and rights* (*delete according to taste) also renders comprehensive/integrated redevelopment nigh on impossible.

I am a strong advocate of imaginative and skilful design. Sadly, even if some redevelopment were to proceed there, the chances of a 'really good set of architects' being commissioned, let alone being given a brief that allows them sufficient rein to be creative in balancing the various competing considerations, is negligible.

. . .I think us boaters really need a strong forcefull person /organisation that will fight for the various Rights Of Way and Access to be retained for our public use. . .

I strongly agree.

. . .maybe they are ex Civil Serv etc who have no built in personal policy of Right n Wrong

You are very much mistaken if you think that civil servants have no sense of right or wrong. Most of those I have met (and I have had a lot of dealings with them, and worked closely with some) clearly had a very strong personal sense of right or wrong.

You are, I assume, confusing their widely varying individual personalities with their formal role, which is to set aside their own personal preferences and provide impartial expert advice, work constructively with politicians and others of all persuasions, and implement the settled policy of whatever government is in power, whether they like it or not.

 

[LONG_KEELER]

There are still some. Testers at Hollowshore, Iron Wharf in Faversham both have their charms. Also sailmakers and chandlery, fresh fish good beer, railway station and a cinema….come on!
Queenborough definitely, very evocative.
the chandlery in Ramsgate is good too.
Gus at Pin Mill we all know…
aldeburgh? Harbour Marine in Southwold?
And Elephant Boatyard is a proper place
It is change, and decay yes but not yet extinction. Time for the Still Small Voice of Calm.
(but I do miss a lunchtime nosey in the Minories)

Perhaps technically not a full boatyard but Andy Seedhouse at Woodbridge is a one of a kind now. The field of dreams for first time buyers.

 

[Tomahawk]

Fifty years ago there were boatbuilders and chandlers everywhere. They have nearly all gone.

I remember buying two sets of Musto Ocean oilskins (very different to today’s) at a chandlery in Orford, and spares for a Baby Blake at Whisstocks chandlery in Woodbridge, in 1984. West Mersea had three boatbuilders - Wyatts, Clarke & Carter and Ben JG Clarke - in 1970.

I suppose it was the replacement of wood by plastic and the consequent drying up of repair business that did for the small boatbuilders. The London chandlers creamed off business from the coastal chandlers and were in turn wiped out by the Internet.

This has come to pass in my sailing lifetime.

One must not overlook the benefits of the EU and their recreational craft directive which demands huge expense to prove compliance. A small boatbuilder simply cannot comply with such bureaucracy when they are only building one boat at a time for a single owner.

 

[Daydream believer]

One must not overlook the benefits of the EU and their recreational craft directive which demands huge expense to prove compliance. A small boatbuilder simply cannot comply with such bureaucracy when they are only building one boat at a time for a single owner.

Why not?
Is it really that hard to do it.
One just needs the will & ability to read & understand the rules. Surely, In most cases the designer will do that for him. The designer will have a better understanding of technical documents.
The builder will not be the designer, only the builder.
The expense is paid by the purchaser

 

[Tomahawk]

Why not?
Is it really that hard to do it.
One just needs the will & ability to read & understand the rules. Surely, In most cases the designer will do that for him. The designer will have a better understanding of technical documents.
The builder will not be the designer, only the builder.
The expense is paid by the purchaser

Who can buy cheaper from a volume manufacturing lot like Bendytoe or Bav.. Regulation always benefits large corporations at the expense of small business.

 

[Daydream believer]

Who can buy cheaper from a volume manufacturing lot like Bendytoe or Bav.. Regulation always benefits large corporations at the expense of small business.

That is not the point. The single boat builder is not trying to compete with the likes of the big companies. If a buyer wants something different he goes to a small builder & pays the price. Your post originally said that a small builder cannot comply with the EU craft Directive & I challenged that comment.
Small builders just need to be creative.

 

[Kukri]

One must not overlook the benefits of the EU and their recreational craft directive which demands huge expense to prove compliance. A small boatbuilder simply cannot comply with such bureaucracy when they are only building one boat at a time for a single owner.

I think you will find that the EU RCD was the product of lobbying by the British boatbuilders!

And it’s of no concern to a small yard building a one off boat from wood. There are dispensations.

What shut the small wooden boatbuilders down were complaints about noise from bandsaws and planers made by the owners of new waterfront houses. Noise is the one form of the tort of nuisance in which “coming to the nuisance” is no bar to an action.

 

[Daydream believer]

What shut the small wooden boatbuilders down were complaints about noise from bandsaws and planers made by the owners of new waterfront houses.

What biased £$%$%£%

 

[Kukri]

^ That was uncalled for. There are quite a number of instances; the subject was discussed right here a few years ago.

 

[Daydream believer]

^ That was uncalled for. There are quite a number of instances; the subject was discussed right here a few years ago.

I have not seen that discussion & do not want to get embroiled in it. I do, however, want to reply to you. Not necessarily to raise bad feeling- I did not intend to do that. I just wanted to make a point.
I had a joinery works or 25 years with an average of 20 employees on site & about 18 major machines. To say that noise is a reason to shut down a small business is really a very poor excuse. My works was right alongside houses & never in the 50 years that the family owned the site was there ever a complaint about noise. Simply because we took sensible precautions to protect the workforce. This in turn equates to protecting the environment.
A sole trader needs to do the same for himself, thus the community around him. There are many ways to reduce the noise transmitted to the outside, if one takes the issue seriously. The problem is that many sole traders are just not business competent. They may be OK with a hammer & chisel, but that is simply not enough.
Just look how many forumites complain about traders who promise deliveries & then cannot meet the date. ( yes i know large firms are just as bad) They do not have the skill set to organise themselves. Another reason they go out of business.

 

[johnalison]

Change is inevitable, but it doesn't have to be thoughtless or offensive to the eye. I thought that the Brightlingsea flats should have been the site of something architecturally ambitious instead of the not-too-ugly edifice we have, known to my friends as Brightlingsea Travelodge.

As an example of how it can be done, I have often enjoyed the waterfront in Stralsund in Germany. This was an 18thC frontage with a row of grain storehouses which are still there but with a gap from war damage. In the hole they put an 'Oceanum' for visitors. This is sheathed with steel, which looks good to my eyes (but not to everyone) and reflect the colour of the sky, making it almost disappear in some lights. You might be able to spot it.

 

[Tomahawk]

Change is inevitable, but it doesn't have to be thoughtless or offensive to the eye. I thought that the Brightlingsea flats should have been the site of something architecturally ambitious instead of the not-too-ugly edifice we have, known to my friends as Brightlingsea Travelodge.

As an example of how it can be done, I have often enjoyed the waterfront in Stralsund in Germany. This was an 18thC frontage with a row of grain storehouses which are still there but with a gap from war damage. In the hole they put an 'Oceanum' for visitors. This is sheathed with steel, which looks good to my eyes (but not to everyone) and reflect the colour of the sky, making it almost disappear in some lights. You might be able to spot it.
View attachment 122813

You are far too kind... I know it as cell block H.
Heaven inows what will happen when the steel piles rust through? Looking at it some of the walls are no longer plumb.

 

[Cobra]

You are far too kind... I know it as cell block H.
Heaven inows what will happen when the steel piles rust through? Looking at it some of the walls are no longer plumb.

Yes, it is known as Cell Block H and an absolute travesty of what should have been built on that site.
Had planning listened to what the old Brightlingsea Society had proposed for the site...low level development with alongside Barge/Smack berths, a mixture of residential and retail with the cill'ed Marina as an added bonus we would have come close'ish to replicating Maldon!
Instead what we have is an eyesore of a block of flats supported on piles that have been driven in 60' into what is almost bottomless alluvial mud! As you mention Tomahawk it is already beginning to look slightly out of kilter...I wouldn't want one of those places for love nor money!

 

[johnalison]

You are far too kind... I know it as cell block H.
Heaven inows what will happen when the steel piles rust through? Looking at it some of the walls are no longer plumb.

Travelodge was not my invention, but seemed appropriate on the one occasion Ihave been inside to visit a resident, reflecting the bland carpeted interior. I am less offended than some by the outside, though I can see that those who have spent time in HMPs may see the resemblance.

 

[Daydream believer]

..I wouldn't want one of those places for love nor money!

If they have all been sold then it is quite clear that some body does & they have backed it with their own cash.

 

[Daydream believer]

Travelodge was not my invention, but seemed appropriate on the one occasion Ihave been inside to visit a resident, reflecting the bland carpeted interior. I am less offended than some by the outside, though I can see that those who have spent time in HMPs may see the resemblance.

If a resident is happy with his carpets then that is his/her choice. I cannot see how condeming a building because a residents choice of furnishings would actually bear much merit. If leaseholders are not happy with the access areas they can change them. As a joinery fitout contractor I did change about ten such building entrances for residents, for not excessive cost ( relative to the overall cost of the properties). As a consultant, I was involved in another dozen or so redecoration projects for such places. Carefully done it can transform a place internally.
As for visiting HMP- well you have the advantage over me there

 

[Cobra]

If they have all been sold then it is quite clear that some body does & they have backed it with their own cash.

Fair comment! Presumably the views are quite reasonable from those on the creek facing side.

 

[johnalison]

If a resident is happy with his carpets then that is his/her choice. I cannot see how condeming a building because a residents choice of furnishings would actually bear much merit. If leaseholders are not happy with the access areas they can change them. As a joinery fitout contractor I did change about ten such building entrances for residents, for not excessive cost ( relative to the overall cost of the properties). As a consultant, I was involved in another dozen or so redecoration projects for such places. Carefully done it can transform a place internally.
As for visiting HMP- well you have the advantage over me there

It wasn't the residents' carpets but the ones in the corridors that gave the place the ambience of a cheap hotel. As a living-space, it could be quite attractive, though I would have wanted one of the flats with a view over the creek, as my friend has. Unlike some people, I don't condemn the place - I just think that it was an opportunity missed.