Moth balling the lancaster

[sunny]

Just been told that crt will be closing the ribble link and moth balling the lancaster canal in 2025 this is from someone in one of the big marinas

Edited September 23, 2021 by sunny

[frangar]

I guess it depends if they can get funding to tarmac the Douglas/Ribble/Savick Brook and turn them into cycleways with a bit of water to fish in......Nothing would surprise me about CRT's attitude to Navigation at present.

 

[beerbeerbeerbeerbeer]

If a big someone in a marina said it, it must be true. 

[Alan de Enfield]

It is the start of what has been forecast for years - they will stop maintaining the peripheral canals (that they do not have a legal obligation to maintain [list available]), they will then mothball them eventually leaving only the 'main canals ' (T&M , GU etc) saves cost and those canals closed are 'rarely used' anyway.

 

Thin end of the wedge.

[Tacet]

11 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

It is the start of what has been forecast for years - they will stop maintaining the peripheral canals (that they do not have a legal obligation to maintain [list available]), they will then mothball them eventually leaving only the 'main canals ' (T&M , GU etc) saves cost and those canals closed are 'rarely used' anyway.

 

Thin end of the wedge.

So you know it's true then?

[Chris Lowe]

2 hours ago, frangar said:

I guess it depends if they can get funding to tarmac the Douglas/Ribble/Savick Brook and turn them into cycleways with a bit of water to fish in......Nothing would surprise me about CRT's attitude to Navigation at present.

 

Highways England will then fill the road bridges with concrete due to elf and safety 

[zenataomm]

2 hours ago, Alan de Enfield said:

It is the start of what has been forecast for years - they will stop maintaining the peripheral canals (that they do not have a legal obligation to maintain [list available]), they will then mothball them eventually leaving only the 'main canals ' (T&M , GU etc) saves cost and those canals closed are 'rarely used' anyway.

 

Thin end of the wedge.

Agreed.

It would be interesting if IWA then reverted to running a National Rally to attract boat owners to cruise the outreaches to save them. 

A campaign instead of holding linear floating caravan get togethers to award prizes to the most green and red painted clone boat.

Seems the way forward to me.

[TheBiscuits]

16 minutes ago, zenataomm said:

Agreed.

It would be interesting if IWA then reverted to running a National Rally to attract boat owners to cruise the outreaches to save them. 

A campaign instead of holding linear floating caravan get togethers to award prizes to the most green and red painted clone boat.

Seems the way forward to me.

 

If they did more of that, I'd consider supporting them.  

 

A couple of years ago I was explaining to some good friends why I won't support or join the IWA, and they were horrified about my observations regarding the current organisation.  They couldn't counter any of my points though, they had to acknowledge that the Aickman wing have completely taken over from the Rolt wing.

 

As a (relatively) young person with a very deep interest in boats and boating, they insist I'm the sort of person the IWA need for the future.  My counterargument is that you'd need to get rid of most of the national and regional committee members before I'd consider joining - I'd rather be playing out on the boat than bashing my head against self important twerps who did good works in the Sixties or Seventies but now just rant about the youth of today.

 

I expect this viewpoint to be controversial on this forum!

 

 

 

To add: The friends in question have been very actively involved in the IWA for more than fifty years, which is why they were so horrified.  They just hadn't looked at it from an outsider's viewpoint before.

[ditchcrawler]

25 minutes ago, TheBiscuits said:

 

 

 

As a (relatively) young person with a very deep interest in boats and boating, they insist I'm the sort of person the IWA need for the future.  My counterargument is that you'd need to get rid of most of the national and regional committee members before I'd consider joining - I'd rather be playing out on the boat than bashing my head against self important twerps who did good works in the Sixties or Seventies but now just rant about the youth of today.

 

I expect this viewpoint to be controversial on this forum!

 

 

The only thing I can say to that is that the committees are made from people who are prepared to stand, if younger people dont stand then things dont change, If you just dump the old guard there is no one there. Our branch closed down because we were all old buggers and stood down. One good thing that appears to have happened is that when they appoint trustees they are now looking for some expertise. I was hoping things would have changed more with the latest chairman.

[frangar]

I lost faith in any meaningful campaign coming from the IWA many years ago….it does serve a purpose still….those boats that have an IWA burgee flying at least warn others that they are Incompetent With Attitude……

[ditchcrawler]

2 minutes ago, frangar said:

I lost faith in any meaningful campaign coming from the IWA many years ago….it does serve a purpose still….those boats that have an IWA burgee flying at least warn others that they are Incompetent With Attitude……

I must remember to keep well away from you.

[Machpoint005]

14 minutes ago, ditchcrawler said:

I must remember to keep well away from you.

 

That's not the only reason to do so.

 

[frangar]

1 minute ago, Machpoint005 said:

 

That's not the only reason to do so.

 

It’s a mutual feeling……

[TheBiscuits]

49 minutes ago, ditchcrawler said:

The only thing I can say to that is that the committees are made from people who are prepared to stand, if younger people dont stand then things dont change, If you just dump the old guard there is no one there. 

 

Understood, but people like myself won't even join, never mind stand, while a lot of the old guard are still there.  I have many friends who are IWA members, it just has no appeal to me in it's current form and with many of it's current members.

 

The ones who rant about CCers not moving their boats don't help, but they tend to get short shrift from me.  We've done nearly a thousand lock-miles since the Ribble Link reopened in mid April, so I'm not the best to complain to about CCers not moving ...

 

 

[frangar]

33 minutes ago, TheBiscuits said:

 

Understood, but people like myself won't even join, never mind stand, while a lot of the old guard are still there.  I have many friends who are IWA members, it just has no appeal to me in it's current form and with many of it's current members.

 

The ones who rant about CCers not moving their boats don't help, but they tend to get short shrift from me.  We've done nearly a thousand lock-miles since the Ribble Link reopened in mid April, so I'm not the best to complain to about CCers not moving ...

 

 

Agreed. They should be challenging CRT on many of its policies regarding keeping the cut functioning for navigation…instead they are the caravan club of the water. 

[Sea Dog]

Interesting to hear the views above re the IWA. We let our membership lapse a few years ago because they didn't seem be very effective any more. I was only looking recently at whether it might be time to rejoin the IWA given CRT's apparent neglect of navigational issues, but it didn't appear they were particularly active in this area. Anyone got a case to make in their support?

[Neil2]

I guess this is the final nail in the coffin for the restoration of the Northern Reaches then...

 

It may be loose talk, conjecture etc but it wouldn't surprise me at all if it's true. 

 

On a recent thread I was defending my assertion that the Lancaster is no longer a genuine "wide" canal simply because it's impossible to navigate parts of it in a deep draughted narrowboat, let alone a wide beam boat.  Most of the traffic on the Lanky shuttles between Lancaster and Brock it's full of weed at the bottom end and as shallow as a paddling pool at the Northern end.  I suppose some will say it's chicken and egg and if CRT won't maintain it properly then folk won't use it but the vast majority of "boaters" on the Lancaster are just playing at it and couldn't care less if they can't get any further North than Hest Bank.  Of course it is ironic that the few narrowboats that do cruise the full length are by definition quite intrepid, but if the numbers using the Link are decreasing (are they?) you can see why CRT might want to call it a day.  

 

 

[Cheshire cat]

If true it will place a question mark over the vast majority of restoration projects currently being undertaken. 

[Neil2]

1 hour ago, Cheshire cat said:

If true it will place a question mark over the vast majority of restoration projects currently being undertaken. 

 

It's just bizarre though isn't it.  Folk are piling onto the canals like never before, the narrowboat market is crazy, yet we are discussing canals being closed and restoration plans under threat.  

[TheBiscuits]

5 minutes ago, Neil2 said:

 

It's just bizarre though isn't it.  Folk are piling onto the canals like never before, the narrowboat market is crazy, yet we are discussing canals being closed and restoration plans under threat.  

 

No, we are discussing an anonymous rumour allegedly from someone in an unspecified marina.

 

I don't believe it for a minute.  The Ribble Link is being shut next week, but that happens every October to April.

 

 

 

 

[sunny]

Well cart should be named camt canal and mistrust time to rise up and take over while Boris the pricks trousers are round his ankles PS been on the vino tinto

[Neil2]

21 minutes ago, TheBiscuits said:

 

No, we are discussing an anonymous rumour allegedly from someone in an unspecified marina.

 

I don't believe it for a minute.  The Ribble Link is being shut next week, but that happens every October to April.

 

 

 

 

 

I agree we don't know the facts, it's just sad that it wouldn't come as a surprise if it was true.   

[dmr]

21 hours ago, TheBiscuits said:

 

If they did more of that, I'd consider supporting them.  

 

A couple of years ago I was explaining to some good friends why I won't support or join the IWA, and they were horrified about my observations regarding the current organisation.  They couldn't counter any of my points though, they had to acknowledge that the Aickman wing have completely taken over from the Rolt wing.

 

As a (relatively) young person with a very deep interest in boats and boating, they insist I'm the sort of person the IWA need for the future.  My counterargument is that you'd need to get rid of most of the national and regional committee members before I'd consider joining - I'd rather be playing out on the boat than bashing my head against self important twerps who did good works in the Sixties or Seventies but now just rant about the youth of today.

 

I expect this viewpoint to be controversial on this forum!

 

 

 

To add: The friends in question have been very actively involved in the IWA for more than fifty years, which is why they were so horrified.  They just hadn't looked at it from an outsider's viewpoint before.

 

100% agree with this.

We went to a boat show once and the IWA looked to specialise in a VIP tent for senior members in suits only.

Their dislike for scruffy continuous cruisers is another big problem for me (smartish boat? but a scruffy me 😀.)

We boaters really need a unified voice to keep CRT under control,  but sadly we are very fragmented:.....

IWA pro CRT old men in suits, and boat clubs

RBOA  a private members birthday party club?

NABO  good, but needs more members and support

ACC fell to internal politics before it even started

NBTA  Good at direct action and a lot of energy but never likely to get the support of many moderate boaters.

[rgreg]

1 hour ago, TheBiscuits said:

 

No, we are discussing an anonymous rumour allegedly from someone in an unspecified marina.

 

I don't believe it for a minute.  The Ribble Link is being shut next week, but that happens every October to April.

 

 

 

 

Precisely. Sounds utter tripe to me.

[Guest]

Why doesnt somebody just ask CRT?

 

It doesnt affect me as I'm not on the system and paying for a licence but if I was I would be asking them for sure.