What would you do if you were CRT?

[MtB]

5 minutes ago, cuthound said:

I agree they would complain, but I don't think many would stump up monies from their own pockets.

 

I think local councillors promising to keep it maintained would get elected over those who proposed draining it and selling off the land for housing. 

 

 

 

[cuthound]

2 minutes ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

I think local councillors promising to keep it maintained would get elected over those who proposed draining it and selling off the land for housing. 

 

 

 

 

Yeah but councillors are like politicians. They are lieing if their lips are moving ?

[CompairHolman]

I would sort out the legal basis of CRT once and for all and stop existing in a grey area of laws that haven't been properly defined. In particular the question of whether the licence is statutory or a contract, or both ?

 

I'm guessing this would end in favour of CRT and the legal dept would push me off the roof. 

[Pluto]

8 hours ago, cuthound said:

Most issues that CRT are experiencing could be readily resolved with appropriate job specification and contract supervision.  That way the work could be done to an acceptable standard at a reasonable cost.

 

However without a sea change in the management culture that is never going to happen.

One problem with canals is that there are often no specifications for what has been built, making it impossible to produce accurate job specifications for work today. Another is that engineers are taught about modern methods of construction, and sometimes do not understand the historical aspects of the technology they are trying to repair. When there were staff who stayed with a business for many years, the necessary knowledge was built up through on-the-job learning. Todays management systems seem to disregard this knowledge, with management thinking that everything is written down, often because they have never done the job they are managing. I am not saying that all we need are long-serving staff, but that the balance between academic and on-the-job learning has become distorted, with the latter becoming undervalued. It is a national problem, not just a CRT one.

[Neil TNC]

I would get more people in, like Nick Evans (ex PLA VTS / Harbourmaster), who has been employed to sort out the London tidal / bookable Locks farce...and maybe some other things...

[Mike Todd]

10 hours ago, Jen-in-Wellies said:

And that ^^^^^^ is the key problem and almost totally outside the CaRT Head Honcho's control. If they want to make it a viable long term operation with the current clown government, they'd do a Dr Beaching and close all the canals, except for a few honeypot sites and pivot in to a property development company with all those prime town and city centre locations to build on. The rural canals can be muddy ditches with lots of wildlife and a cycle track alongside.

 

Not a job I'd do for any money.

 

Jen

The history of Peel Ports?

[Jen-in-Wellies]

9 minutes ago, Mike Todd said:

The history of Peel Ports?

A bit like Peel Group is one way that CaRT could go to be financially viable. Not something I'd want to see. CaRT and BW's investment in property development does not have a good history. Many millions lost.

Edited August 11, 2019 by Jen-in-Wellies

[Grassman]

16 hours ago, cuthound said:

 

 I know, they are my local restoration trust ?. 

 

I hope they manage to complete it, because if they do it not only adds a new canal to the system, but will encourage people to use the much underused BCN backwater canals such as the Wyrley and Essington and canals off it being almost unused.

As well as this the full restoration of the Lichfield &Hatherton Canal would also open up a new through route.

[DandV]

You have an austerity government stepping away from spending on the elderly, and infirm, and those unable to pay their own way, instead they are saying that this role should be increasingly passed over to charities. Charities that they then systematically and increasingly  under resourced. The result is inadequate care, caregiver burn out and  premature descent into decrepitude and demise. And that is with people. 

So unless there is a radical change in government direction, it is unrealistic then to expect them adequately resource the care of elderly and infirm infrastructure and structures, that are not paying their way, such as the waterways and canals, any better.    Expect instead a reduction in government resources to the administering charity, caregiver staff burn out, and more descent into decrepitude and towards demise. 

Blaming the caregivers for these failings is missing the point.