Unsightly houseboat in Lower Upnor on the Medway

[Concerto]

I cannot believe that a houseboat could be moored in this location, especially as piles have been installed.

'Monstrosity’ houseboat blighting village's river views

 

[sarabande]

FWIW, that gas cylinder installation does not comply with regs. It is uncaged, too near a window and exit door, and any leakage could go down the deck into the accommodation. But I am sure your local fire brigade will know about that...

 

[johnalison]

It's a houseboat. That's what houseboats look like. It is a bit obtrusive when seen at low water as in the photo, but it might not offend me, depending on to what extent it obscured the views, but I don't know the area myself.

 

[Concerto]

For years there have been several Thames barges moored close by outside the Ship Inn, which are in keeping with the historical side of Upnor. This houseboat is slightly down stream on an area that has been used as a wide launching ramp. I believe the launching ramp was laid during WWII as part of the preparations for the D-Day landings. No vessels have ever been moored there before and my memory goes back over half a century.

 

[Capt Popeye]

For years there have been several Thames barges moored close by outside the Ship Inn, which are in keeping with the historical side of Upnor. This houseboat is slightly down stream on an area that has been used as a wide launching ramp. I believe the launching ramp was laid during WWII as part of the preparations for the D-Day landings. No vessels have ever been moored there before and my memory goes back over half a century.

If I read /understand your directions properly , I understand that the wide aunching ramp (its quite wide) is where the TS Arethusa was moored off from ; its been used (properly or improperly?) to launch dinghys and boats from for going back many years , I recall that there had to be an aplication to the TS Arethusa organisation for permissions ?
Is that Training Organisation still operating from Upnor ?

Just maybe its that Training Organisation using that House Boat as a Training Offices etc ?

The long raised launching /boarding pier next (shown in photo) used to be a Public one ?

 

[chrishscorp]

LOL that isnt a monstrosity, its not pretty thats for sure, I have seen far far worse......

 

[steve yates]

Id be more annoyed about all those rows of plastic boats myself

 

[Concerto]

If I read /understand your directions properly , I understand that the wide aunching ramp (its quite wide) is where the TS Arethusa was moored off from ; its been used (properly or improperly?) to launch dinghys and boats from for going back many years , I recall that there had to be an aplication to the TS Arethusa organisation for permissions ?
Is that Training Organisation still operating from Upnor ?

Just maybe its that Training Organisation using that House Boat as a Training Offices etc ?

The long raised launching /boarding pier next (shown in photo) used to be a Public one ?

I am no longer up to date with what is happening at the site after the Arethusa Venture Centre closed in 2019.
What Happened to Arethusa Venture Centre?

It appears the site has been sold for an unknown sum to an unknown buyer.
Buyer to take over much-loved activity centre

The houseboat must be associated to the new owners.

 

[penfold]

The piles look recent; do they have planning for piling?

 

[Concerto]

The piles look recent; do they have planning for piling?

The piles certainly look newly place.

From the link in the original post.

"Work has been carried out recently to pile drive numerous steel poles to keep the boat secure on the site near the former Arethusa Venture Centre.

A walkway has also been installed in what Medway Council has described as potentially "unauthorised works".

The authority is looking into whether the boat has the necessary planning permission to be there. If not, it could issue an enforcement notice to get it removed."

 

[PeterWright]

Driving piles below the HW line is a matter requiring a licence from the Marine Management Organisation rather than the council planning office. You could check the MMO website to see whether these works were licensed. If not, I suspect whoever undertook the work could be instructed to undo it.

Peter.

 

[xyachtdave]

There’s a lot of piles there for just one houseboat, expect another one soon.

If it’s got permission live and let live, if someone has decided to pile the seabed and move in without, it probably should go.

 

[oldgit]

Did spot that "houseboat" from my front window last week.
The centre still has a For Sale sign outside.

Not sure who actually owns that little bit of foreshore but there would be sufficient room to moor another one or two more boats in that location.
As a resident not too concerned about this.
The Gulag of Upnor being bit of a bohemian "Brighton on Sea" cosmopolitan area.
Some local people have been known to wear sandles without socks and the paint their front doors a slightly different shade from the regulation Dark Blue.
Far more concerning is the chap buying bits of land dividing them into tiny leisure plots and flogging them off on the upper Medway .
Been going on for years.


Upper Medway at Tovil. Even worse now.


Halling.

By the time the council catches on its to late.
Latest growth area , bank opposite Allington Castle.
EA have no power to prevent the development apparently .
Scaffold pole landing stages and the results of visits to garden centres sprouting up all along the footpath.
The latest additions are not last resort accomodation but some custom built expensive bespoke floating pied à terre"s .

 

[Daydream believer]

I cannot believe that a houseboat could be moored in this location, especially as piles have been installed.

'Monstrosity’ houseboat blighting village's river views

Considering the rest of the Medway, I think it does not look much out of place, in such a depressing river

 

[Concerto]

Driving piles below the HW line is a matter requiring a licence from the Marine Management Organisation rather than the council planning office. You could check the MMO website to see whether these works were licensed. If not, I suspect whoever undertook the work could be instructed to undo it.

Peter.

A search on the Marine Management Organisation web site shows no application for any works on the Medway.
Session Timed Out - MCMS

This information has now been added to the original link as a comment.

 

[oldgit]

Considering the rest of the Medway, I think it does not look much out of place, in such a depressing river

Oi

The Medeway has always been a working river, thankfully without hordes of Hooray Henries and even worse their wannabe clones in worrying shades of "Technical Gear " infesting the place with Regattas.
Admittedly we do have a surplus of mud, but for few moments either side of high tide , the place can look quite nice .....after a couple of pints and if you squint a bit. ?
And the Dutch though us quite an attractive sailing area not that long ago ?

As for whacking piles into the riverbed suspect that ROFF might take a bigger interest than PEEL PORTS or MMO.
In the past they have extracted money from The Crown, no less, for loss of riverbed when the Dockyard was built.

A little more recent perhaps..

Various other outfits have been bought to heel, who have driven piles/moorings in the river bed big and small, , including boatyard not a million miles away from Cuxton.
A real showdown came when Waterboards were privatised in the 1970s. Cannot remember whos idea that was.
Southern Water made some assumptions and started flogging commercial Medway fishing licences to all and sundry, presumably in an effort to captitalise on their highly leveraged assets.?
They were told to pack it in by ROFF.
ROFF were told, get lost by Southern Water.
It went all the way up to the House of Lords.
Their Lordships told SW that the House of Lords were not in the habit of striking down Royal Charters which had been in place since time time immemorial and perhaps they would like to rescind any illegal licences they had issued and by the way pay for all the court costs entailed .
ROFF decided to take no action against the errant fishermen who knew full well they were breaking the law.

 

[Seastoke]

Two points from the outside
A. To have a view you need to own what is in front of you .
B. People who moan about a view , forget that the house they live in blocks a view someone else once had . It’s just selfish.

 

[Plum]

A search on the Marine Management Organisation web site shows no application for any works on the Medway.
Session Timed Out - MCMS

This information has now been added to the original link as a comment.

Have you seen this application, that was granted, for driving two piles? https://marinelicensing.marinemanag...lvdamkai1bqn5m11huqsrnr3f135bq4937mt&resume=1

Www.solocoastalsailing.co.uk

 

[oldgit]

Have you seen this application, that was granted, for driving two piles? https://marinelicensing.marinemanag...lvdamkai1bqn5m11huqsrnr3f135bq4937mt&resume=1

Www.solocoastalsailing.co.uk

Unable to open the link, however something like at least 12 piles have been driven into the river bed.
Definately sufficient to accomodate another 2 boats at least.
The land on which stands a public bog (disused) is/was probably owned by the council ?
It has been fenced off and a substantial landing stage installed to be able to access the converted lighter.

Some considerable conjecture about where the lighter was previously based, local well known marina just downstream has denied all knowlege.

 

[Capt Popeye]

Well looking to me that the New Owners are placing floating Club Houses , Homes , Building upon that watery site ? maybe its a new Club , poss selling of the Land at Upnor then basing their activities afloat ; yea agreed I much prefered the Sight of the Arethusa , it brought style , creedence , authority , Historical detail , to Lower Upnor ; after all there was /used to be a Metal Scrap Yard just up stream of these moorings , where Barges brought Scrap Metals etc ; before that it was Chalk etc which was loaded onto Motor Barges before Thames Barges ; hence the Quays along the shore line all the way to the MYC ; I have seen Cambria moored up there , undergoing a Maintenance schedule

Yep Upnor was based upon Commercial Boating operations long before the New Housing was built there , mostly on ex Stores and Horse stables etc

Then further up river at Whitwall Creek , it was used a a Barge /Boat /Naval Boat Graveyard , untill the Tunnel was built ; It was well known as a place where really good sized timbers could be had , just for the cutting them of the Boats there .

Then the RE (i think) had their base further still upriver ; they used to do Training at Upper Upnor in the wooded areas

Yep UPNOR has lotsa history , it used to have a Launching site for Trailer craft at Upper Upnor , untill it was stated , that Residents in them New Buildings objected to the Harbour Master about the use by boating fraternity anoying them

So I recall the Lauching Site was closed and left to ruin

Dunno if the launching site is still there ? anybody ?