Is CaRT fit for purpose?

[magpie patrick]

14 hours ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

 

Any waterways not listed below are a 'remainder waterway' and are not required to be maintained by BW / C&RT, so, to use your terminology they are DNR

 

 

SCHEDULE 12 COMMERCIAL AND CRUISING WATERWAYS

 

PART I COMMERCIAL WATERWAYS

The main navigable channels of the following waterways : -

The Aire and Calder Navigation from the tail of River Lock, Leeds, and from the Calder and Hebble navigation at Wakefield, to its entrance to Goole Docks and to its junction with the River Ouse at Selby. The Calder and Hebble Navigation from the tail of Greenwood Lock to its junction with the Aire and Calder Navigation at Wakefield. The Caledonian Canal. The Crinan Canal. The Sheffield and South Yorkshire Navigation from the tail of the bottom lock at Tinsley to its junction with the River 'rent at Keadby. The New Junction Canal connecting the Sheffield and South Yorkshire Navigation with the Aire and Calder Navigation. The Trent Navigation from the tail of Meadow Lane Lock, Nottingham, to Gainsborough Bridge.  The Weaver Navigation and the Weston Canal from Winsford ScH. 12 Bridge to the junctions with the Manchester Ship Canal at Marsh Lock and at Delamere Dock. The River Severn from Stourport to its junction with the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal at Gloucester. The Gloucester and Sharpness Canal. The River Lee Navigation from Hertford to the River Thames at Limehouse and to the tail of Bow Locks.

 

PART II CRUISING WATERWAYS

The main navigable channels of the following waterways : -

The Ashby Canal from its junction with the Coventry Canal to Snarestone. The Birmingham Canal from its junction with the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal at Farmer's Bridge and from its junction with the Worcester and Birmingham Canal at Worcester Bar to its junction with the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal at Aldersley by way of the Birmingham level as far as the head of Factory Locks, Tipton, and thence by way of the Wolverhampton Level, including the branch leading to its junction with the Stourbridge Canal at Black Delph by way of the Netherton Tunnel. The Birmingham and Fazeley Canal from its junction with the Birmingham Canal at Farmer's Bridge to its junction with the Trent and Mersey Canal at Fradley, including the detached portion of the Coventry Canal between Huddlesford Junction and Fradley Junction and the Digbeth branch. The Calder and Hebble Navigation from Sowerby Bridge to the tail of Greenwood Lock, including the Huddersfield Broad Canal to Aspley Basin. The Chesterfield Canal from the tail of Morse Lock, Worksop, to its junction with the River Trent. The Coventry Canal from its junction with the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal at Fazeley to Coventry. The Erewash Canal from Tamworth Road Bridge to its junction with the River Trent. The Fossdyke Navigation. The Grand Union Canal from its junctions with the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal at Digbeth and Salford to its junctions with the River Thames at Brentford and at Regent's Canal Dock, including the branches to Northampton and Aylesbury and the Hertford Union Canal leading to the River Lee at Old Ford. The Grand Union Canal from Leicester to Norton Junction, including the branch to Market Harborough. The Kennet and Avon Canal from High) Bridge, Reading, to the tail of Tyle Mill Lock, and from the head of Bull's Lock to the tail of Hamstead Lock, and from the tail of Hanham Lock to the tail of the bottom lock at Bath.  The Lancaster Canal from Preston to Tewitfield, including the branch to Glasson Dock. The Leeds and Liverpool Canal from Old Roan Bridge, Aintree, to Leeds, including the branches to Tarleton and Leigh. The Macclesfield Canal. The Oxford Canal from its junction with the Grand Union Canal at Braunston to its junction with the Coventry Canal at Hawkesbury and from its junction with the Grand Union Canal at Napton to Oxford, including the branch to the River Thames. The Peak Forest Canal from the top of Marple Locks to Whaley Bridge. The Ripon Canal from its junction with the River Ure to the tail of Littlethorpe Lock. The Shropshire Union Canal from its junction with the Manchester Ship Canal at Ellesmere Port to its junction with the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal at Autherley, including the branches to the River Dee at Chester, to Llantisilio and to Middlewich. The River Soar Navigation from its junction with the River Trent to Leicester. The Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal. The River Stort Navigation. The Stourbridge Canal from its junction with the Birmingham Canal at Black Delph to its junction with the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal at Stourton. The Stratford-on-Avon Canal from its junction with the Worcester and Birmingham Canal at King's Norton to its junction with the Grand Union Canal at Kingswood. The Trent and Mersey Canal, including the branch to Hall Green. The Trent Navigation from Shardlow to the tail of Meadow Lane Lock, Nottingham, by way of the Beeston Canal and part of the Nottingham Canal and including the branch to the River Soar and the length of the River Trent from its junction with the Nottingham Canal to Beeston Weir. The River Ure Navigation from its junction with the Ripon Canal to Swale Nab. The Witham Navigation from Lincoln to Boston. The Worcester and Birmingham Canal.

 

ANY OTHER WATERWAY IS A 'REMAINDER WATERWAY'

 

 

Fraenkel Report :

 

1.3.2

There are many examples of Remainder waterways (i.e. those not designated as Commercial or Cruising) where, in spite of a lack of any specific obligation to improve their condition, much effort has been, and continues to be, devoted to restoring them to acceptable cruising standards. This is largely due to the efforts, both physical and financial, of volunteers banded together on an ad hoc basis but in some cases assistance is given by local authorities donating funds to the Board under agreement, the Board then undertaking that the proceeds will be used entirely for the betterment of specified lengths of waterway. Where there are firm agreements of this kind, but not otherwise, we have been instructed to take account of the relevant income in assessing the economics of possible methods of treatment. 

 First, your list is out of date as the entire K&A is now a cruiseway - there may be other changes too

Second - I'd agree that remainder waterways are potentially DNR but in practice they tend to get fixed, or at least those connected to the navigable network do. 

Third, sometimes fixes are needed for other reasons -  for example there was an aqueduct on the Northern Reaches that "got fixed" recently IIRC because it was a listed structure and the alternatives to fixing it were either not in the interests of public safety or wouldn't fly with the conservation officer

ETA - does anyone want to attempt a list of waterways presently navigable and connected to the national network that are remainder? 

Edited April 21, 2021 by magpie patrick

[Richard Fairhurst]

Could be a big list if you end up including little CRT-administered stubs like the W&E/Lichfield at Huddlesford, the Fairies Hill branch, the MB&B Middlewood Locks, and so on!

 

But discounting Scotland for now, you could in theory work it out by taking the CRT-owned network (i.e. everything with a SAP functional location) and subtracting https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1968/73/schedule/12 and Schedule 2 of https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/1983/2/pdfs/ukla_19830002_en.pdf.

 

Obviously much of the BCN and the HNC have always been in there, but there are a few other curios: the Bugsworth branch, the restored top of the Ripon, the L&L from Aintree to Eldonian Basin. I guess the Rochdale, Ribble Link, Droitwich, and Liverpool Link qualify as remainder under Section 104 too ("any inland waterway for the time being comprised in the undertaking of the Board [or Canal & River Trust] which is not for the time being a commercial waterway or a cruising waterway").

 

The Mont is almost certainly remainder but the legislation looks slightly ambiguous to me: it says "The Shropshire Union Canal from its junction with the Manchester Ship Canal at Ellesmere Port to its junction with the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal at Autherley, including the branches to the River Dee at Chester, to Llantisilio [i.e. the Llangollen] and to Middlewich." But it doesn't actually say "but not including any other branches". I guess it's implied that only the named branches, in both this case and others, are cruiseways... but it doesn't explicitly state that, either in the Schedule or in Section 104.

[David Mack]

3 hours ago, Richard Fairhurst said:

including the branches to the River Dee at Chester, to Llantisilio [i.e. the Llangollen] and to Middlewich."

 

So the Middlewich Branch is a Cruiseway, as is the Trent and Mersey, but the Wardle Canal connecting them is not?

[peterboat]

Sheffield to Rotherham I think are remainder waterway but its had millions spent on it, mainly due to the damage the leaks were causing 

[Richard Fairhurst]

The Sheffield & Tinsley was upgraded to cruiseway in 1996.

[Alan de Enfield]

2 minutes ago, Richard Fairhurst said:

The Sheffield & Tinsley was upgraded to cruiseway in 1996.

 

 

Just out of interest, when a canal is upgraded to a cruiseway, is it simply C&RT saying we'll take on C&M responsibility (which could be revoked in the future) or, are canal 'legally' added to the list in the relevant Waterways Act ?

[Waterway2go]

40 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

Just out of interest, when a canal is upgraded to a cruiseway, is it simply C&RT saying we'll take on C&M responsibility (which could be revoked in the future) or, are canal 'legally' added to the list in the relevant Waterways Act ?

Any change of status of a waterways, such as from Remainder to Cruising, must be done with a Statutory Instrument like the one shown here covering the Scottish Lowland Canals which were re-opened to through navigation at the Millennium.    Although the British Waterways Board no longer operates in England, C&RT is still governed by the same set of Transport Acts so a similar procedure will apply in England.

reclassification order 2011.pdf