Deteriorating standards

[Knights Dream]

I regularly cruised the River with my own boat in the 90’s and have just returned from two weeks on the river with a great Linsen rental boat hired from Hobbs of Henley with the idea of purchasing something of my own . Great boat and superb service
However I couldn’t believe the reduction in standards of maintenance on the River in the 25 + years since my last visit
Pump out stations not working, water taps broken, vegetation both live and dead along the banks narrowing the channel considerably in places, public mooring areas disappeared or unavailable due to ‘liveaboards’ and other boats, some moored for weeks on “24 hour” moorings! Impossible in some areas of interest to moor. I couldn’t believe the number of abandoned and derelict boats everywhere.
Almost one in three locks were ‘self serve’ which is not great if you are someone incapacitated or old
This is June with fantastic weather and comments all around about how quiet the River was. Unless standards improve considerably the future for pleasure boating is indeed grim! It’s such a beautiful River and it’s users so badly let down by years of neglect

 

[Outinthedinghy]

Funding cuts and increased demand for maintenance is a dodgy combination.

 

[Gibeltarik]

I am not sure that 'funding cuts' are the issue as EA Thames seem to to continue to get their central allocation of funds and raise registration fees every year. Weak management of the resources available and failure to collect monies due must be part of the issue.

There is no 'increased' demand for maintenance - just maintenance!

Perhaps if volunteers were allowed to do more (eg man locks on own supervised by the double sited lockie) we would get a better 'assisted passage' service.

 

[Outinthedinghy]

I am not sure that 'funding cuts' are the issue as EA Thames seem to to continue to get their central allocation of funds and raise registration fees every year. Weak management of the resources available and failure to collect monies due must be part of the issue.

There is no 'increased' demand for maintenance - just maintenance!

Perhaps if volunteers were allowed to do more (eg man locks on own supervised by the double sited lockie) we would get a better 'assisted passage' service.

If there are no funding cuts why would volunteer lock keepers be needed in the first place?

There will by definition be increased demand for maintenance if basic jobs are put off.

Boulters is a classic example. Bottom gate on pedestal side doesn't open all the way. Due to the fact these gates are mounted on bearings which are more like the big ends in an internal combustion engine than the collar strap type used on other locks there is a weak point. There is a soft metal bearing piece which is bolted to the heel post of the gate to prevent wear to the wood as it rotates inside a two piece metal clamp. Problem is that if the bolts holding this bearing to the wood shear, which they have, the bearing moves around resulting in the gate not opening fully AND the wood being worn down during use.

People say 'oh the walkway has bent downwards' No It Hasn't. Also Boulters has an RSJ on the top of the inside of the gate recess. Well designed lock but with different maintenance requirements to other locks.

If this sort of basic problem is not addressed there WILL be an 'increased demand for maintenance' because the whole gate will need replacing rather than just the bearing needing repositioning. The heel post is going to get cut away by the opening and closing of the lock while the bearing piece is displaced.

Similarly Cookham lower lock office side gate has a major infestation of some sort of water mint plant which is destroying the mitre post. If this had been addressed earlier it would never have become a problem but now it is getting serious and compromising the structural member.

I did take all the leaves off the mint in Cookham lock lower gate recently from my little boat and was quite shocked by how invasive the plant is. Its rooting up down and sideways.

 

[Gibeltarik]

My point is that EA Navigation seem to get the money they request - but it is a flat figure and thus pays for fewer staff - coupled with an increase in management headcount - we get fewer lock-side.
Unfortunately the increase in management numbers has not been reflected in more effective management of staff on the river. For example Cookham - lockie plus two volunteers - Boulters self-service - all too often.

I agree with Outinthedinghy comments on maintenance - sadly too many minor jobs are being left until they are major - and both Boulters and Cookham are examples of this. BTW - why was Bray closed for three months this winter to install a few hand-rails? Anyone know?

 

[oldgit]

The days of largesse from the public purse have long gone ?
Always seemed curious that folks were happy ? to hand over £5K + to MDL for 30 feet of pontoon and yet whinge about £700-£800 PA to pay for 120 miles of river .

 

[thamesS23]

Went to Penton hook marina this weekend and approaching Penton lock, realised that two thirds of the lock lay-by going downstream are unusable, because it’s all overgrown with grass and weeds and you can’t see the lock bollards, so as a result everyone is manoeuvring about midstream.
Whilst I love and enjoy this river, it is going downhill in terms of standards

 

[penfold]

My point is that EA Navigation seem to get the money they request - but it is a flat figure and thus pays for fewer staff - coupled with an increase in management headcount - we get fewer lock-side.
Unfortunately the increase in management numbers has not been reflected in more effective management of staff on the river. For example Cookham - lockie plus two volunteers - Boulters self-service - all too often.

I agree with Outinthedinghy comments on maintenance - sadly too many minor jobs are being left until they are major - and both Boulters and Cookham are examples of this. BTW - why was Bray closed for three months this winter to install a few hand-rails? Anyone know?

What are they managing? The canals and rivers haven't got any longer.

 

[Outinthedinghy]

. BTW - why was Bray closed for three months this winter to install a few hand-rails? Anyone know?

I think there might have been some work around subsidence problems on the house side of the lock.

Not checked recently but isn't there some new concrete around on the lockside?

 

[oldgit]

Try living on the money a lock side job with the EA offers, bad enough down here in the wastelands of Kent, wonder what it is like in the sunny upland of the Thames trying to manage in the housing market today.
Many EA staff do not enjoy a comfy lockside cottage.
Rumours of sufficient funds for a dozen vacancies allocated for EA jobs in our neck of the woods,unable to find any takers , the money was spent elsewhere on improvements to boater facilities.
Average Rent in Maidstone 2 beds £1200. PM. £14.000 PA
EA base wage . £28.500.
Same problem with Cart.
Couple of vacancies for jobs in the waterways around NE London.
Home.co.uk: Dagenham Market Rent Summary
Similar money on offer with a 10% London waiting , a wage that might just get you a nice bus shelter.
You sometimes come away after a trip out, that the staff doing the work which enables you to enjoy your hobby could only dream about owning a boat a lot less posh then yours.
Seem to recall DEFRA cut the funding to the EA by 50% not that long ago.
Of course cuts are fine and a dandy until they affect the folks who thought it was a good idea.

Salary for Lock keeper for 2022

 

[Time Out]

Actually, I know two very successful highly paid ex estate agents that both quit to work for the EA, yes they have a house locks side but they manage very well and enjoy the new work/life balance it gives them.

 

[Pump-Out]

BTW - why was Bray closed for three months this winter to install a few hand-rails? Anyone know?

In short - poor management.

If you went back to look at the lock closure windows promulged in August 2022 (the initial notification is usually published about then) you will observe that many of the periods where around six months. The EA were, in effect, hedging their bets as to what they might have achieved, and not drilling down to fix the periods that contractors needed to complete the given works.

Best example is Hambleden - long window shown in initial notifications.



Each notification the start date was moved right - i.e. nearer to the season. February was disclosed, by the Met Office, as having been the driest Feb since Noah grounded (or something). still the works on Hambleden were not started. March we flooded (surprise) and red boards went up along the whole length of the river. Still a ten day closure was advertised for Hambleden.

Surprise, surprise they still did not fix the sluices as they had now run out of time.

So - if they knew that the works required only needed ten days why was a five month closure announced initially?

In short we need Harbour Masters to be that, not desk jockeys.
Get out on the ground people, and get a grip.

 

[Outinthedinghy]

One of the problems is that for an enforcement officer to be out on a patrol boat you need a boatman.

If I had a job where there was an option to be out on a boat all day I would be as happy as Larry !

No paperwork qualifications just 35 yars of going up and down the River so probably unemployable.

 

[Outinthedinghy]

In terms of Hambleden I think there is a full upgrade of the badly designed control systems in the pipeline. For starters the pedestals are too close to the lock edge and in the wrong position for safe use. Especially the downstream control !!

A really mad part of Hambleden lock control systems is that lock keeper power allows opening of the remote gates! I know remote sluices is normal but remote gates is too dangerous !

Obviously it was enlarged to lose excess traffic during the Regatta but this was quite a long time ago and a full upgrade would be useful.

Still if it works and people arrr having a good time on the River all is good in the world.

 

[oldgit]

Recently speaking to a member of the EA who manages the mantainance schedule on the Mudway.
One of the private contactors engaged to do some works offered the chap concerned twice the money and a company car.
He choose to pass on the opportunity simply because the EA could simply offer far more security than the risk of being let go during the next recession

 

[Pump-Out]

Meanwhile, with no notice at all, at Newnham.
(Credit Wikipedia)

On 5 April 2023, Network Rail tweeted that the viaduct would be closed for several weeks.[18][19] They had already planned some remedial ground-strengthening work for March, and an access road had been built. However, they calculated that the temporary solution would take almost as long to complete as total replacement of the abutment,[20] and on 10 April 2023 they specified the re-opening date as 10 June 2023.[21]


Nuneham Viaduct repair from downstream with south span supported and south abutment removed
The work involved closing the southern half of the river to build a temporary trestle on 24 piles driven into the river bed, which supported the southern span whilst a new abutment was constructed. This involved removing 3,000 cubic metres (3,900 cu yd) of material of the old abutment and embankment, and building new ones, requiring 5,500 tonnes (6,100 short tons) of new material and eight piles up to a depth of up to 25 metres (82 ft).[22][23] Much of the work was carried out by TMS Maritime Ltd under subcontract from Balfour Beatty.[24][25] The line was reopened on 9 June, one day ahead of schedule

 

[CJL]

LOL - a very positive spin on the issues at Newnham Viaduct there! As with everything there are two sides to every story.

Consider an alternative perspective: Network Rail failed to effectively maintain the viaduct and they scheduled repair works at the very last moment but to their horror they discovered it had deteriorated to such an extent that it was so dangerous it had to be shut at zero notice to stop an accident happening. Repairs were done so rapidly due to ever increasing costs for bus replacement services and the threat of spectacularly huge fines from the train operators that is was the cheaper option.

 

[BB1]

I regularly cruised the River with my own boat in the 90’s and have just returned from two weeks on the river with a great Linsen rental boat hired from Hobbs of Henley with the idea of purchasing something of my own . Great boat and superb service
However I couldn’t believe the reduction in standards of maintenance on the River in the 25 + years since my last visit
Pump out stations not working, water taps broken, vegetation both live and dead along the banks narrowing the channel considerably in places, public mooring areas disappeared or unavailable due to ‘liveaboards’ and other boats, some moored for weeks on “24 hour” moorings! Impossible in some areas of interest to moor. I couldn’t believe the number of abandoned and derelict boats everywhere.
Almost one in three locks were ‘self serve’ which is not great if you are someone incapacitated or old
This is June with fantastic weather and comments all around about how quiet the River was. Unless standards improve considerably the future for pleasure boating is indeed grim! It’s such a beautiful River and it’s users so badly let down by years of neglect

Lock walls are no longer cleaned, locks are becoming scruffy, it's all very sad. No one cares anymore.
Locks unmanned on a regular basis, liveaboards pumping nearly as much crap into the Thames as Thames Water, the list goes on.
Rant over!

 

[Meps1983]

Went for a walk with the mutt yesterday down to thames valley park, Reading. A lovely stroll down to Sonning lock was greeted by a rather busy and unmanned chaos! Got chatting to a chap waiting to go downstream with half a dozen others. He said that it was their 3rd day on the river and they only met one lock keeper in that time!!
Peak season now and there seems to be less lockies than there was in March!?. I can understand why people grumble about where their licence fee goes, as it doesn't appear to be going towards the locks and surrounding services. Sad to see really I hope things will/can change

 

[Vale46]

I regularly cruised the River with my own boat in the 90’s and have just returned from two weeks on the river with a great Linsen rental boat hired from Hobbs of Henley with the idea of purchasing something of my own . Great boat and superb service
However I couldn’t believe the reduction in standards of maintenance on the River in the 25 + years since my last visit
Pump out stations not working, water taps broken, vegetation both live and dead along the banks narrowing the channel considerably in places, public mooring areas disappeared or unavailable due to ‘liveaboards’ and other boats, some moored for weeks on “24 hour” moorings! Impossible in some areas of interest to moor. I couldn’t believe the number of abandoned and derelict boats everywhere.
Almost one in three locks were ‘self serve’ which is not great if you are someone incapacitated or old
This is June with fantastic weather and comments all around about how quiet the River was. Unless standards improve considerably the future for pleasure boating is indeed grim! It’s such a beautiful River and it’s users so badly let down by years of neglect

We just bought our first boat this spring moored at Shepperton Marina and as new users of the river have very similar sentiments. On the one hand it's good to see that people have somewhere to call home and awkward from our fortunate position to begrudge them that use of the riverbanks but on the other hand one could run the same argument to allow all planning rules to lapse and everywhere would quickly become a congested mess. We have twice been asked to produce our EA licence which we are happy to pay but clearly a lot of large decrepit boats rotting on the banks are not being policed as vigorously and over time it's a problem. We can't think of many or any other sectors in the UK where officialdom is so neglectful and one of the EA inspectors told us he was frustrated but had no back up to enforce anything. We feel like the law hanging fruit fir the EA to come after.