Charity committed to improving London's waterways for boaters

[Ray T]

CRT PRESS RELEASE

 

31st January 2022

 

CHARITY COMMITTED TO IMPROVING LONDON’S WATERWAYS FOR BOATERS

 

The Canal & River Trust, the charity that cares for 100 miles of waterways across London, is providing an update on the progress of its London Mooring Strategy, which aims to improve the moorings and facilities available to boaters whilst fairly balancing the needs of everyone who uses the capital’s waters.

 

This year the Trust is investing around £6m in maintaining and improving the London and the South East region’s waterways for boaters to navigate and for people to enjoy from the towpath. In addition, to date, over £300k has been invested as part of the London Mooring Strategy, with significantly more spend planned over the next two years.

 

Following thorough investigation into potential sites in 2021, the Trust is creating three quarters of a mile of new towpath mooring space in central London, installing approximately 150 rings into the concrete edge on the Grand Union Canal, Regent’s Canal and Limehouse Cut. Work is due to commence in February. Vegetation will be cut back on the Limehouse Cut to make new and existing rings accessible as part of this work.

 

The Trust has also carried out a dredging survey which identified a half-mile stretch at Norwood Top Lock where dredging would significantly improve the ability to moor. This work is currently being scheduled for this spring. Additionally, early in 2022, the Trust will be spot-dredging and installing new mooring rings at Steele Road in West London so that boaters can moor up to use the waste facilities there. The Trust is investing £65k in the work to these two sites.

 

To balance out the environmental impact of the installation of new moorings and potential habitat loss due to shading from boats, the Trust will be installing marginal habitat on the Regent’s Canal below Ben Johnson's Lock. This will mature into a reed bed within five years creating habitat for juvenile fish, invertebrates, nesting birds and amphibians.

 

Investigations into the feasibility of potential new or improved customer service facilities are continuing in 2022 with the aim of installing further facilities this year and again in 2023. The Trust has run initial checks and service searches on ten potential sites and will be exploring six of these further over the coming months to see if any are viable for development (Enfield, Steele Road, Old Ford Lock, Old Oak Lane, Horse & Barge, and Eastwick). Four other sites, including Bull’s Bridge, Paddington Basin, Springwell, and Pickett’s Lock, were investigated but have proved not to be viable.

 

Alongside these key infrastructure and facilities works, the Trust has contributed funding towards a pilot scheme for composting waste, responding to the growing use of separator toilets. Start-up business Circular Revolution is operating a year-long pilot providing an ‘at your mooring’ service collecting composting toilet waste, initially covering East London and now extended to Central and West London.

 

Ros Daniels, Canal & River Trust regional director, said: “London’s waterways are some of the most exciting, interesting and vibrant in the country, and boaters are an integral part of what makes them so special. London is extremely popular with both local and visiting boats, which means the waterways face some unique challenges as the 200-year-old infrastructure struggles to keep up with this record number of boats.

 

“I’m pleased that, after a year of rigorous investigations, we are creating three quarters of a mile of mooring spaces for boaters. In a bustling city, finding sites that meet the size and access requirements for new water and waste facilities has been a struggle, but we’re now pleased to have found a number of promising spots that we’ll be exploring further in 2022. Our role is to protect and preserve the waterways and these improvements should benefit all those boaters who use London’s canals and rivers.”

 

For a full list of progress on ‘you said, we did’ changes, please see: canalrivertrust.org.uk/londonmooringstrategy

 

The Strategy, which was published in 2018 to help manage the increasing demand for boating in central London, acknowledged that if boat numbers continued to rise then additional measures would need to be investigated to ensure the waterways are managed safely and are available fairly for everyone. The Trust is now consulting on proposals; further information can be found here: canalrivertrust.org.uk/about-us/where-we-work/london-and-south-east/managing-boats-on-londons-busy-waterways.

 

Ends

 

 

Fran Read

National press officer

I work Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays

M  07796 610 427

E  fran.read@canalrivertrust.org.uk

[Alan de Enfield]

Alongside these key infrastructure and facilities works, the Trust has contributed funding towards a pilot scheme for composting waste, responding to the growing use of separator toilets. Start-up business Circular Revolution is operating a year-long pilot providing an ‘at your mooring’ service collecting composting toilet waste, initially covering East London and now extended to Central and West London.

 

Isn't this the new company that has set up with Cyclists collecting you toilet waste in plastic tubs and charging £30 a time ?

 

Yes it is ..........................

Cost is far higher and more frequesnt than having a pumpout.

 

Does the price depend on the weight?

The £30 one-off fee is for collecting a 25 liter. The subscription price is for a 18 liters caddy. We do not weigh the container so you can fill this as much, or as little as required.

 

More here :

 

CIrcular Revolution

[tree monkey]

11 hours ago, Alan de Enfield said:

Alongside these key infrastructure and facilities works, the Trust has contributed funding towards a pilot scheme for composting waste, responding to the growing use of separator toilets. Start-up business Circular Revolution is operating a year-long pilot providing an ‘at your mooring’ service collecting composting toilet waste, initially covering East London and now extended to Central and West London.

 

Isn't this the new company that has set up with Cyclists collecting you toilet waste in plastic tubs and charging £30 a time ?

 

Yes it is ..........................

Cost is far higher and more frequesnt than having a pumpout.

 

Does the price depend on the weight?

The £30 one-off fee is for collecting a 25 liter. The subscription price is for a 18 liters caddy. We do not weigh the container so you can fill this as much, or as little as required.

 

More here :

 

CIrcular Revolution

That's quite a lot of dehydrated poo, I would guess it would take a fair while to collect that much, so maybe the costs even out or become cheaper than a pump out in the long run.

[robtheplod]

54 minutes ago, tree monkey said:

That's quite a lot of dehydrated poo, I would guess it would take a fair while to collect that much, so maybe the costs even out or become cheaper than a pump out in the long run.

plus no boat movement needed so tiny saving on fuel....

[Alan de Enfield]

56 minutes ago, tree monkey said:

That's quite a lot of dehydrated poo, I would guess it would take a fair while to collect that much, so maybe the costs even out or become cheaper than a pump out in the long run.

 

 

But, but, but .......... collecting it on a fortnightly cycle is going to mean it is 'sloppy seconds' rather than garden compost.

 

Basically they will be just carrying a 'caddy' of fresh sh$t, but I guess it save you moving the boat and losing your parking space.

I guess the only way it would be composted is if the boater has already stored it for 2 or 3 years, let it break down, and then the collection company come and take away the old dry-stuff

 

We deliver a collection caddy (18l) to your boat. Every two weeks, or month, depending on your subscription choice, we collect your full collection caddy and swap it for an empty one. So simple and easy!

[Mad Harold]

16 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

 

But, but, but .......... collecting it on a fortnightly cycle is going to mean it is 'sloppy seconds' rather than garden compost.

 

Basically they will be just carrying a 'caddy' of fresh sh$t, but I guess it save you moving the boat and losing your parking space.

I guess the only way it would be composted is if the boater has already stored it for 2 or 3 years, let it break down, and then the collection company come and take away the old dry-stuff

 

We deliver a collection caddy (18l) to your boat. Every two weeks, or month, depending on your subscription choice, we collect your full collection caddy and swap it for an empty one. So simple and easy!

And profitable too for the company (Deliverpoo)

 I would buy a basic cassette toilet (£50 ish) and a little sack barrow and get some excercise walking to a disposal point.

Surely not too much to ask.

[tree monkey]

27 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

 

But, but, but .......... collecting it on a fortnightly cycle is going to mean it is 'sloppy seconds' rather than garden compost.

 

Basically they will be just carrying a 'caddy' of fresh sh$t, but I guess it save you moving the boat and losing your parking space.

I guess the only way it would be composted is if the boater has already stored it for 2 or 3 years, let it break down, and then the collection company come and take away the old dry-stuff

 

We deliver a collection caddy (18l) to your boat. Every two weeks, or month, depending on your subscription choice, we collect your full collection caddy and swap it for an empty one. So simple and easy!

Ahhh I misread it as collection as required rather than routine pick ups, yeah that does seem a bit steep

[Clodi]

There's no mention here of urine disposal. We have been composting our waste both onboard & on our smallholding for the last 30 years. It can be done properly but this recent craze, mainly in London it seems, has resulted in the disgusting bag and bin  fiasco & now this. Asking boat dwelling friends who reside in the capital it seems that most piss goes over the side. As the water authority seems to get away with it I quess it's just accepted.

[Murflynn]

16 minutes ago, Clodi said:

There's no mention here of urine disposal. We have been composting our waste both onboard & on our smallholding for the last 30 years. It can be done properly but this recent craze, mainly in London it seems, has resulted in the disgusting bag and bin  fiasco & now this. Asking boat dwelling friends who reside in the capital it seems that most piss goes over the side. As the water authority seems to get away with it I quess it's just accepted.

 

what is the downside of pissing in the cut?

[doratheexplorer]

7 minutes ago, Murflynn said:

 

what is the downside of pissing in the cut?

The cut has piss in it?

[tree monkey]

20 minutes ago, Murflynn said:

 

what is the downside of pissing in the cut?

Eutrophication 

12 minutes ago, doratheexplorer said:

The cut has piss in it?

And this

 

[Hudds Lad]

22 minutes ago, Murflynn said:

 

what is the downside of pissing in the cut?

increased nitrogen levels which in turn increases bacteria, algal blooms, pond weed etc.

 

plus the increased chance of falling in  

Edited February 1, 2022 by Hudds Lad

[DaveP]

 

I'm a customer of Circular Revolution;

 

I've been using a composting system for five years now - CRT's mixed messaging about bag/binning - first of all it's allowed and almost encouraged; then, solely in the Boaters' Update newletter, this policy is reversed with immediate effect (when I received the newsletter, I checked the other online resources regarding the policy and wrote to the author - no other authority had been changed from the previous stance, and the author never deigned to reply to my query).  CRT subsequently seem to have relaxed their stance from 'must not' to 'should not' bag/bin and extended the deadline for implementation to the start of this year.

 

I have bag/bined in the winter months, whilst I'm in London as a cc'r.  The weather's too cold to sucessfully dehydrate/compost shit on the roof and a whole year's worth of poo is too much for the vegetable patch.  So, the collection service saves me having to find a working bin store (they're getting fewer down here), or pretend I've got a large dog.  Urine - I've got enough containers for a fortnightly turnaround - but again, if an elsan's out of action, then there are precious few around, so the parks might get a nitrogenous bonus if the next elsan isn't within the rest of the day's cruise range.

 

It is more expensive than a pumpout, but there's even fewer of those down here than other facilities!  But it's more convenient - I don't have to move the boat for a day or three to get emptied, and the toilet is infinitely less complicated and thirsty for water.  Plus, I'm only using it for the four months or so that I'm moving through London, so the total cost is something like 180 quid.  I'd like to have been able to carry on using the bins, but times change and we must change with them.

 

I believe there are relatively few people composting in London - I'm of the opinion that many liveaboards use their offices/gyms/pubs etc facilities for a lot of their utput and the onboard toilets are only used when others are not to hand.  But, as with any walk of life, there are also the few who don't care and abuse what facilities are around - which gives _everyone_ a bad name, and a bad time.

[cuthound]

7 hours ago, robtheplod said:

plus no boat movement needed so tiny saving on fuel....

 

Planting reeds and discouraging boat movement will result in a reed blocked canal.

 

Even on a busy canal like the Coventry the reeds have narrowed the channel to one boat width at Whittington.