More lock works reported on BBC...

[thames cruiser]

Not strictly anything to do with the Thames, but quite interesting, and also a bit of a giggle. Quote from the BBC reporter: "these gates weigh a lots of money!"...

< http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-16775606 >

 

[TrueBlue]

Not strictly anything to do with the Thames, but quite interesting, and also a bit of a giggle. Quote from the BBC reporter: "these gates weigh a lots of money!"...

< http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-16775606 >

Excellent. Thanks. I enjoyed that - takes me back.
Bingley 5 rise staircase is great - makes the Thames minuscule in comparison. They have to be manned to stop boaters flooding the town...
The next set just round the corner are only three locks, so you have to do them yourself. Still quite deep.

Tremendous publicity for BW from the Beeb. Puts the efforts of EA to shame (I'm thinking about the resulting press coverage - not the work in trying to get coverage).
The access to Bingley locks is excellent with a very posh towpath to the left of the video's view, so public access was a doddle. Benson in comparison was a challenge - so no complaints.


Note to anyone who is interested -

Must raise the profile of the River Thames.

 

[boatone]

Not strictly anything to do with the Thames, but quite interesting, and also a bit of a giggle. Quote from the BBC reporter: "these gates weigh a lots of money!"...

< http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-16775606 >

Yes, I noticed that too. Interesting quote:
""So we'll be replacing over this winter about two hundred sets of lock gates."
Less than half that number of lock gates on the Thames IN TOTAL ! (and, before anyone gets pedantic about my arithmetic, note it says "sets" )

Note to anyone who is interested -
Must raise the profile of the River Thames.

I'm doing my best

 

[teddington_lock]

But the canal gates are tiny , and cheap.

One of our gates is the equivalent of about 10-15 of them !

 

[rr_123]

Not strictly anything to do with the Thames

Doesn't need to be; have a look at the header - The Thames Forum A place to discuss boating issues specific to the Thames and other inland waterways

Note to anyone who is interested -

Must raise the profile of the River Thames.

We should be raising the profile of the forum and getting more input from the canalists and users of other rivers IMHO. Rather than slating them for being slow, having beards, and not moving down in locks, we should be engaging them in participation on here.

Seperate debate, but maybe the day to day running of the Thames should be taken over by BW... to let the EA deal with "environmental" issues?

R

 

[TrueBlue]

I'm doing my best

Yes, you certainly are - it's the other "persons" who aren't and that excludes folks who come onto these fora and post.

It's the lurkers and the great mass of Thames boaters.

 

[TrueBlue]

But the canal gates are tiny , and cheap.

One of our gates is the equivalent of about 10-15 of them !

Well a bit of an over statement but agreed in general - but not for the staircase sets. The intermediate sets in these are extra large as the fall is more than usual and the gate has to be the fall of the lock above plus a normal gate's worth - if you see what I mean.

Bingley ones are big but perhaps the middle gates in Chester are bigger. Remember these are broad locks so one gate is about 3/4 the width of one of yours.

Bit anoraky.

 

[TrueBlue]

Seperate debate, but maybe the day to day running of the Thames should be taken over by BW... to let the EA deal with "environmental" issues?

R

It goes against the grain, but I'm beginning to wonder too. However, I can't see how the water management tasks can be separated from the lock management duties.
The control centre armed with its huge array of monitoring equipment dictate the levels in the reaches and the lockie uses his local knowledge to apply that requirement.

EA wouldn't want to relinquish that function and CART (if they are sensible) shouldn't want to take that on either.

It's a lot more complicated than folks realise and will probably be revisited many times.

The peculiar nature of the Thames navigation is a special case and most sensible folks here want to preserve that and the lock keeper service in particular.


Is there anyone out there who can put a reasoned alternative case?

 

[Alpha22]

uses his local knowledge to apply that requirement.

EA wouldn't want to relinquish that function and CART (if they are sensible) shouldn't want to take that on either.

I could be wrong, but I was under the impression that the EA were planning to hand all their navigations over to CART in a few years time.

 

[TrueBlue]

I could be wrong, but I was under the impression that the EA were planning to hand all their navigations over to CART in a few years time.

As in QI "nobody knows"

EA staff have been told to keep schtum (?sp)
CART doesn't say much about the nuts and bolts.

So everything else is pure conjecture -

Will CART manage the River - including water management aka flood relief?
Will CART pay for a lockkeeper service?
Are lock structures to be part of CART's responsibilities?

OR will everything be dumped on CART at the last moment - as appears to be happening with the canals.


No wonder Thames Boaters (well, those that can be bothered) are getting a bit twitchy - not to mention the poor lock keepers who don't know if they'll have a job or not.

 

[boatone]

As in QI "nobody knows"

EA staff have been told to keep schtum (?sp)
CART doesn't say much about the nuts and bolts.
So everything else is pure conjecture -
Will CART manage the River - including water management aka flood relief?
Will CART pay for a lockkeeper service?
Are lock structures to be part of CART's responsibilities?

I recently asked the EA the following:

Do any discussion papers, outline proposals or other documents exist which indicate how a transfer of EA waterways navigation functions to the C&RT might be accomplished?

I am particularly interested in anything that might give some indication of current thinking with regard to which particular functions might be transferred and which might remain with the EA.

I am given to understand that no such information is currently available.

So, for the time being at least, we seem to be stuck with the statement in the latest Defra announcement regarding C&RT Funding:

The inland waterways managed by the Environment Agency will transfer to the new waterways charity from 2015/16, subject to the next spending review and the agreement of the charity’s trustees.