Post by HymermutAll agreed.
When I was Vice Chair of NABO (The National Association of Boat Owners
for you land-lubbers), 20 years ago (blimee already!) our prediction was
the usable canal system will eventually be reduced to about three rings,
with the 'dead' ends being abandoned. I can still see that being the
eventual result of underfunding.
Yes, and even the BCN will be vastly reduced in scope. For instance, we
don't actually need two canals between Wolverhampton and Birmingham, and
the Curly Wurly even now is almost impassable due to weed growth.
Luckily, there are no locks on it and it serves as a reservoir for much
of the rest of the system, so it would make sense to keep it open,
Annoyingly, more traffic would clear the weed, but nobody goes there
'cos you get too much weed (And saris, hoodies and trolleys)round your
prop. Catch 22.
Post by HymermutMost of the problems arise because of lack of inspection. In the days of
working boats the lock keepers and lengthsmen would know their pounds,
walk then regularly, and note if anything was going wrong, that could be
fixed before disaster happened. That hasn't been the case for some 60
years.
Often by one bloke with the aid of a wheelbarrow full of stuff and a
shovel. :-/
If noticed a few days earlier, that was all it would have taken to avoid
the breach on the Middlewich branch.
The problem is the cost of paying all the lengthsmen. They have also
sold off all their cottages so everyone now has to commute to work,
rather than having cheap accommodation as a perk.
Post by HymermutOur solution was to involve the boaters more as volunteers, but BW then
stated that they couldn't use volunteers because of H&S issues.
CaRT can't get enough volunteers, but only uses them as lock keepers,
not inspection teams. Why? Probably because they know that if pending
faults are found they couldn't afford to fix 'em anyway.
CRT also have the same H&S issues, They use volunteers to help trim back
undergrowth, but nowadays, they are not allowed to use power tools such
as a strimmer or hedge trimmer without training, so all they can do is
pick stuff up and dump it in the workboat. The only ones allowed to use
a chainsaw are specially trained and equipped staff. (A lot of boaters
use their own chainsaws to harvest firewood and clear fallen trees,
though. They have cleared three stoppages I know of in the last month
before CRT's contractors got there. Why the **** are CRT using
contractors for this, anyway?) :-/
Post by HymermutBack in the early naughties Margaret Becket told us, if you boaters want
your canals you are going to have to pay for them and maintain them.
Thin is why CRT was created. In theory, it would become a financially
independent organisation by 2027. They have not been able to do so, and
if you look at it critically, CRT never had and still doesn't have a
chance of keeping the canals open without the DEFRA grant. I was
expecting, when I bought the boat in 2013, to now be paying double what
I currently pay. Now the grant is finally going to end over the next
twelve years or so, I am more certain that it will happen, short of a
major change in Gibberment attitudes. Unfortunately, the only income
stream that CRT have any control over is licence and mooring fees, and
any drastic increase in those will see a reduction in the number of
boats, so it won't be worth keeping the canals open. Even the hire boats
will be scrapped as they have to increase their hire fees to pay the
extra, so people will go back to cheap package holidays.
CRT spent a *lot* more last than their total income last year, by a
margin greater than licence income, though the figures are buried at the
bottom of the annual accounts, so not many of the boaters who whinge
about them taking too much seem to have noticed.
Post by HymermutWhen David Milliband was Environmental Secretary I asked him whether, if
boaters could get themselves organised, could they take over from BW
instead of CaRT. He said "Yes. Good idea. Keep me in touch."
When I took the idea back to NABO, they chickened out, which was a great
shame.
Sounds like a plan, but too many boaters are of the opinion that it's
someone else's problem.
In the boating communities there are many folks with great
Post by Hymermutorganising and practical skills, who would have volunteered their
services to keep the system going. And at least we would have known that
all of our collective licencing fee was going towards the upkeep of the
system, not into inflated salaries of high flying execs who know bugger
all about canal maintenance.
I agree about the skills in the community.
I have checked on this, and many of those at the top, including Parry,
could probably earn more by making one phone call. The equivalent at
another company that has a large landholding and much maintenance to do
(Network Rail) earns a *lot* more. Hell, I even know of the headmaster
of one private school whose salary is double what Parry makes. At the
very top of a business, you don't need to know many of the details of
how it works on the ground, but you do need to know how to raise money.
Parry is good at that, as he has proven in his previous jobs. At a lower
level, I know my local area mooring manager is willing and able to get
his hands dirty, and he has even been known to help clear rubbish off
mooring sites. Even the one he replaced knew what was going on, though
she tended not to want to chat with boaters or shift rubbish.
--
Tciao for Now!
John.