David Mack

I changed my UFO vents for mushrooms, and the hole was the same size (4 inches/100 mm). The problem I had with the UFOs was that the interiors were full of green growth, and there was no way to take them apart and clean them - the outer cover was pop riveted to the roof. Not only did they leak, but the roof under the cover was horribly rusty.

Or something like this https://heritagecookers.co.uk/oil-fired-range-cookers/uno-oil-range-cooker/

A listed building includes its 'curtilage' which is the land around it and specifically associated with it e.g. the garden of a house. So in the case of a listed lock that would include the land either side of the lock up to the canal boundary. Works which affect the setting of a listed building also require listed building consent. Either way, lockside signs should be covered.

According to Wikipedia, at around the date of the photo Dalgety had 'branches at Melbourne and Geelong; Sydney and Newcastle; Brisbane, Rockhampton and Townsville; Adelaide; Perth, Fremantle, Kalgoorlie, Albany, Geraldton and Carnarvon; and in Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin, Napier and Wellington.' The photo seems to have been taken by a Sydney photographer, looking at the writing at the bottom right.

English Heritage are responsible for the list of listed buildings (and for adding buildings to the list). But the issue of Listed Building Consent and enforcement of non-permitted changes is down to the local planning authority. Utility organisations, railway, highway and waterway authorities and similar bodies also have Permitted Development Rights, which allow them to do certain things on their operational land which would otherwise require planning permission. This would include things like the erection of signs. However permitted development powers are much more restricted in Conservation Areas and in relation to Listed Buildings, compared to other areas. So I think CRT are free to put up blue signs in most areas without seeking consent, but not necessarily in Conservation Areas or where they would affect listed buildings (or their setting). That said some local authorities may have given a blanket approval in their area. And local authorities are so cash-strapoed these days they may not have the resources to follow such things up, unless they receive a significant number of complaints. Yes the stern, currently presented to passing boaters and towpath walkers, is a lovely shape. But the bows, less visible to passers by, show the effects of years of impacts between a moving boat and fixed objects, so no longer have the same sweet curves!

Have you complained about it to Calderdale Planning? They can take action if there is a material impact on the listed structure (assuming the sign hasn't been given listed building consent).

I believe it has happened. If you want to protect against it you need to properly paint both the outside and the inside of the tube. The inside can only be done with the boat out of the water. The outside can in theory be done afloat, but the front and bottom faces of the tube are all but inaccessible in the bottom of the bows on many boats, so probably don't get properly painted.

Indeed. But I recall from my A level maths statistics lessons that in large populations with a normal distribution, the mean, median and mode converge on a single value. So when talking in terms of say the entire UK population the difference between the different averages is not material.

The housing estate nearing completion in the background was built on the site of Reliant's Kettlebrook factory. The aerial view below shows the factory site, with Glascote Basin top right and the canal and Glascote Locks on the right hand side. (Image from https://www.reliant.website/aerial.shtml)