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Wellbeing in Worksop....CRT in trouble


matty40s

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Try and wriggle out of this one.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-50406938

 

Get rid of the local people who know how it all works, outsource the roles or get volunteers to do it, and have an emergency call centre number manned by folks who havnt a clue about canals...

 

"It was almost like ringing someone up that had no idea where we were, what was happening, or what the reality of the situation was and the urgency of the situation.

"For several hours there could have been more water being taken from the town centre, helping to alleviate and mitigate the crisis."

 

Edited by matty40s
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We need to be careful - do we know what that sluice was for? Was it for flood management? They exist for many reasons, if it wasn't part of a flood management strategy then the consequences of opening it would not have been considered. CRT open sluice, houses downstream flooded, CRT get their arse used... 

 

Flood management has a much wider scope these days, it used to be just a case of speed the water through and let it be someone else's problem - that's no longer true. 

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"One of the things that has most angered local people is the way in which, sadly, the Canal and River Trust did not step up to respond when they could have done," said councillor Simon Greaves.

"It was almost like ringing someone up that had no idea where we were, what was happening, or what the reality of the situation was and the urgency of the situation”

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6 minutes ago, magpie patrick said:

We need to be careful - do we know what that sluice was for? Was it for flood management? They exist for many reasons, if it wasn't part of a flood management strategy then the consequences of opening it would not have been considered. CRT open sluice, houses downstream flooded, CRT get their arse used... 

 

Flood management has a much wider scope these days, it used to be just a case of speed the water through and let it be someone else's problem - that's no longer true. 

If that were the case, then CRT have been woefully inept in their response to this Councillor and press. This happened a week ago. Coming out early and stating reasons for delay would have been wise, just not turning up and then saying "We've been working really hard too"  is hardly a robust or trust engendering response.

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1 hour ago, matty40s said:

Try and wriggle out of this one.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-50406938

 

Get rid of the local people who know how it all works, outsource the roles or get volunteers to do it, and have an emergency call centre number manned by folks who havnt a clue about canals...

 

"It was almost like ringing someone up that had no idea where we were, what was happening, or what the reality of the situation was and the urgency of the situation.

"For several hours there could have been more water being taken from the town centre, helping to alleviate and mitigate the crisis."

 

 

In my opinion, rather than just bash CRT,  we need to.look at the root cause of the problem.

 

That would be the government turning BW into a charity so that it could initially limit and eventually absolve itself from financial liability for the waterways.

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1 hour ago, magpie patrick said:

Flood management has a much wider scope these days, it used to be just a case of speed the water through and let it be someone else's problem - that's no longer true. 

The things that I took from the article are that (1) people like caravan park owners were phoning CRT to ask them to open the sluice. But surely as Patrick says this needs to be part of a wider strategy - CRT shouldn't be doing this just because some member of the public asks them to. Who was in control of the flooding relief on the day? And (2) the sluice is located in a building that's not theirs, that has been deemed unsafe by the council. Given that CRT aren't an emergency service, it seems a bit harsh to expect them to put their workers in known dangerous situations.

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22 minutes ago, cuthound said:

 

In my opinion, rather than just bash CRT,  we need to.look at the root cause of the problem.

 

That would be the government turning BW into a charity so that it could initially limit and eventually absolve itself from financial liability for the waterways.

Yes that's where the problem started, but CaRT's woeful management have made a pig's ear of it all. Remember Mr Parry after the Whaley Bridge incident saying they had enough money? They have concentrated on well-being,whilst getting rid of experienced staff and replacing them with volunteers and more managers who have not a clue. In our area two very experienced and able technical managers were made redundant and replaced with someone from a greetings card company who, I've been told by those who know,  went to a staff meeting and repeatedly said he knew nothing about canals. 

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1 hour ago, Tuscan said:

"It was almost like ringing someone up that had no idea where we were, what was happening, or what the reality of the situation was and the urgency of the situation”

How familiar does that sound?

Edited by Big Bob W
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Thing is if not C&RT then who??   It's all very well bashing CRT and I admit that sometimes it does seem as if they are losing the plot. BUT I have no idea whether opening that sluice would have been dangerous to CRT staff, as they claim, or not, just like everyone else who gets on the CRT bashing wagon. CRT should put out far more information when things like this happen so that the criticisms, especially by those who pay a substantial sum of money into their coffers, are minimised. Again I ask if not CRT then who. Bottom line is that good or bad the Canal and River Trust are all we have and if it is ever taken back into government hands I cannot see it ever getting any better.

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The residents of Fishlake and parts of Doncaster are suffering badly and one of the criticisms is that with better flood defences protecting parts of Sheffield, they got it worse.

If CRT had immediately opened the sluices at Worksop then parts of say Retford and Misterton would have found themselves in the same situation. 

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55 minutes ago, hmallett said:

The things that I took from the article are that (1) people like caravan park owners were phoning CRT to ask them to open the sluice. But surely as Patrick says this needs to be part of a wider strategy - CRT shouldn't be doing this just because some member of the public asks them to. Who was in control of the flooding relief on the day? And (2) the sluice is located in a building that's not theirs, that has been deemed unsafe by the council. ...

(1). Agree.  It could be that opening the sluice to divert water into the Chesterfield would have led to that overtopping and flooding a larger number of properties elsewhere.  Although that's not what CRT seem to have said in response.

 

(2) The article says that it is CRT who have deemed the building unsafe; the council may disagree.

 

 

 

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1 hour ago, cuthound said:

 

In my opinion, rather than just bash CRT,  we need to.look at the root cause of the problem.

 

That would be the government turning BW into a charity so that it could initially limit and eventually absolve itself from financial liability for the waterways.

 

^^This.  Added to privatisations over the last few decades.

 

It also strikes me that between them, national government, local government and the agencies responsible did not have a robust system in place -- but perhaps nobody knew what the best strategy would have been?

28 minutes ago, Laurie.Booth said:

"Two homeless men almost drowned when they became trapped in an industrial wheelie bin they had been sleeping in."

 

Why is this council country allowing people to sleep in wheelie bins?

 

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