Now I am ready to start spitting blood !
- Thread starter boatone
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bjw
New Member
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apollo
...
Hope there are no nurses or policemen reading it.....
oldgit
Well-Known Member
Oi Grumpy
If they spent the entire budget on a certain river (and you lot would still be unhappy) it would amount to about 4k per mile,if as I suspect it is for very last inch of stream/dyke/drain/brook/pond/ditch/canal/river/loch/lake bits estuary and the very fine Medway it probably amounts to more like 1/6d per mile.
There are some filthy chemical filled rivers up in the Midlands which are practically devoid of life which urgently need sorting.
If they spent the entire budget on a certain river (and you lot would still be unhappy) it would amount to about 4k per mile,if as I suspect it is for very last inch of stream/dyke/drain/brook/pond/ditch/canal/river/loch/lake bits estuary and the very fine Medway it probably amounts to more like 1/6d per mile.
There are some filthy chemical filled rivers up in the Midlands which are practically devoid of life which urgently need sorting.
TrueBlue
Well-Known Member
All very laudable; but I think B1's point is that with the likelihood of quite large funding cuts for EA Thames region in the offing, those folk who have paid to use the River (in effect), may / will see quite dramatic reduction in services which they have grown to expect in return for their monies paid in fees.
So it's incredibly galling to see that £100M is going to be spent on protecting the lesser-spotted-bladderwort and the like with one hand and screwing-the-boater with the other.
As has been seen on another thread, mayhem ensues when the locks are left unmanned.
Now this may be of little concern to experienced boaters like your goodself, but in time may well contribute to
less traffic,
leading to fewer registrations,
meaning less income for whoever manages the River,
leading less money to maintain the structure,
leading to -
less traffic and so on.
"We" will struggle on but the next generation will lose a valuable recreational resource, which is a pity (or PITA).
Oh well, at least the Bladderwort will be happy.
bulto
Well-Known Member
But who in the Midlands is paying
Captain Coochie
Well-Known Member
Whats a bladderwort ?
TrueBlue
Well-Known Member
P'raps I shouldn't rise to the bait -
But Bladderwort is
Or here -
The "lesser spotted" bit is a figment of my imagination and I use the phrase to mean some - perhaps spurious - species often used by conservationists to say "why not" to some planning application (or whatever).
In the current context LSB-W wins with £100M,
Boaters lose with increased costs and reduced services.
But Bladderwort is
Or here -
The "lesser spotted" bit is a figment of my imagination and I use the phrase to mean some - perhaps spurious - species often used by conservationists to say "why not" to some planning application (or whatever).
In the current context LSB-W wins with £100M,
Boaters lose with increased costs and reduced services.
penfold
Well-Known Member
It should be a euphemism for a politician.
oldgit
Well-Known Member
H,mm
"Oh well, at least the Bladderwort will be happy."
..and one could not wish for a better example of a "Thamescentric" view of the world than that.
A suspicion is filtering down to the outside watery world from various meetings involving representatives of Thames users groups and comments posted elsewhere,that only the hallowed stretch of water twixt Teddington and Oxford actually really exists.
On the subject of cost,a contribution of £800 or so per boat owner is a tiny percentage of the total cost of running the navigation mainly paid for by the rest of the country. ?
"Oh well, at least the Bladderwort will be happy."
..and one could not wish for a better example of a "Thamescentric" view of the world than that.
A suspicion is filtering down to the outside watery world from various meetings involving representatives of Thames users groups and comments posted elsewhere,that only the hallowed stretch of water twixt Teddington and Oxford actually really exists.
On the subject of cost,a contribution of £800 or so per boat owner is a tiny percentage of the total cost of running the navigation mainly paid for by the rest of the country. ?
TrueBlue
Well-Known Member
Firstly,
I would love to talk and have discourse about the River above Oxenford, and even more able to use the drain bit below Tedders. The truth is users of the Isis don't say much and keep to themselves and users of the Tideway are encouraged to get out of the way as quickly as possible.
Each section has its own charm, but, if you will the "middle section" is where all the action and the boats are - so that's where the loudest "noise" is.
Secondly,
As to costs, nobody is claiming that registration fees are excessive (the argument is more about whether they should be paid or not. I'm not going there...)
OTOH boaters should not have to pay more than a fair contribution for the services - such as they are - that they receive. I would hazard a guess that 95% of the infrastructure has to be there to provide drainage, flood relief and the means of maintaining those services.
Like most government departments the EA is bad at preparing and publishing any meaningful accounts and value information, so "we" don't know the actual figures.
Where we can help is in the first instance is to encourage more people to use the River and pay for it. A lot of the resources are used by folks who don't pay a penny piece in fees.
Some organisations - thinking of water abstraction and removal are not paying their whack either.
Apologies, a bit serious, but to many the noisy section is a very special place and any more degredation in facilities, once lost may never be regained and that would be a National disaster.
Andrew_Fanner
Well-Known Member
I must say that with the Oylmpics coming up and the area between Bray and Romney being likely to be a focus of attention, especially the crossing at Dorney, I'd expect that section to get, perhaps more than a normal fair share, some lovin'. Whether or not this happens remains to be seen, and indeed what happens.
Problem is, if I say "dredging the moorings " a giant foot will come down and squas...
Problem is, if I say "dredging the moorings " a giant foot will come down and squas...
Bassplayer
Well-Known Member
Spend money on the Medway? That forgotten river? We wish! Interesting though that the Medway will take the overspill from the Thames during all that Olympic shennanigans, and it has been said that no money will be spent.....
The Thames after Teddington is where river boating begins and ends - bit like the Solent for everything else boating... So it would appear anyway from the magazines, here etc ad nauseam.
oldgit
Well-Known Member
What did the Romans ever do for us eh
The Medway has not had a single penny spent on it apart from.......................
Replacing all the landing stages on all the locks and some additional ones so that you can now moor both above and below all locks.The complete replacement of the lock at Hampstead.The moorings at Yalding.The new lifting Bridge at Yalding.The new launching slip/bogs/shower/pump out at Allington.The new moorings at Allington.The new pile moorings along the entire length of the river.Lots of improvement and repairs to lock gates and chambers,building of fish/canoe passes.The full automation of the weir at Allington
Ooo nearly forgot the showers and pumpout at Yalding.
What have the EA ever done for us,still nice to know we have had and spent the dosh before those silver spoon la de da types on the Thames got there sticky mitts on it to pay for gold plated boolards or a remote control lock operating system or some such .
its all here
http://www.allingtonlock.co.uk/
The Medway has not had a single penny spent on it apart from.......................
Replacing all the landing stages on all the locks and some additional ones so that you can now moor both above and below all locks.The complete replacement of the lock at Hampstead.The moorings at Yalding.The new lifting Bridge at Yalding.The new launching slip/bogs/shower/pump out at Allington.The new moorings at Allington.The new pile moorings along the entire length of the river.Lots of improvement and repairs to lock gates and chambers,building of fish/canoe passes.The full automation of the weir at Allington
Ooo nearly forgot the showers and pumpout at Yalding.
What have the EA ever done for us,still nice to know we have had and spent the dosh before those silver spoon la de da types on the Thames got there sticky mitts on it to pay for gold plated boolards or a remote control lock operating system or some such .
its all here
http://www.allingtonlock.co.uk/
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TrueBlue
Well-Known Member
So total neglect then.
still nice to know we have had and spent the dosh before those silver spoon la de da types on the Thames got there sticky mitts on it to pay for gold plated boolards or a remote control lock operating system or some such .
Neither of which do serious Thames boaters want.
Paint that stays on the boolards (sic) would be nice
as would lock mechanisms that work.
Showers? showers? the only working ones we have at this end come from the sky.
Seeing that the Enforcement Agents are having great success in persuading folk to cough up their registration fees (Reading being snowed under with applications), perhaps we might get some chromium plated bollards to match peeps boat fittings.....
boatone
Well-Known Member
Hardly surprising the non tidal is the primary subject of comment on here - after all, it is the THAMES forum although we try to welcome folks from other inland waterways as well.
Also not surprising there is considerable discussion/argument/angst about registration fees etc compared to our coastal friends who pay absolutely nothing for the privilege of using the water.
As for the Mudway, Oldgit has already reconfirmed the significant expenditure on improvements there in recent times.
oldgit
Well-Known Member
Ahem................" the Thames and other inland waterways" ......it ses on my computor .
"our coastal friends who pay absolutely nothing for the privilege of using the water."
My £55.00 quid may be nothing to you millionaires up there
"our coastal friends who pay absolutely nothing for the privilege of using the water."
My £55.00 quid may be nothing to you millionaires up there
boatone
Well-Known Member
My £55.00 quid may be nothing to you millionaires up there
Bet you charge more than that for an hours labour - and if you don't, it's no wonder you are always whinging about your parlous financial state
Still, I will not engage in hostile banter with you on such a beautiful morning. Have a really nice day!
oldgit
Well-Known Member
Good job too,we are just off out for a quick run out,loading up a couple of crates of "pino" this very moment.
boatone
Well-Known Member
Not exactly 'pushing the boat out' vino-wise, then?