Overgrown towpaths and moorings, blind bends by overgrowth.

[Timx]

Are people complaining about the overgrowth not being cut back, its getting ridiculous in places, even designated mooring spots are overgrown.  Blind bends are a plenty just through vegetation overgrowth. Yet, money still being spent on tarmaccing  some of the walking bits. 

[MtB]

Yawn.

 

You poor flower, unable to moor where there is vegetation!  

 

Boaters are not the only canal users.

 

 

[LadyG]

7 hours ago, Timx said:

Are people complaining about the overgrowth not being cut back, its getting ridiculous in places, even designated mooring spots are overgrown.  Blind bends are a plenty just through vegetation overgrowth. Yet, money still being spent on tarmaccing  some of the walking bits. 

I believe that finance sources for towpaths are independent of towpath grass cutting.

It seems you are complaining on here about grass cutting, and there has been comment previously.

I hope that answers your query

There is a YouTube vlog where Narrowboat Journeys attempts cycling through an extreme scenario.

Edited July 15, 2022 by LadyG

[Tracy D'arth]

The faster the towpaths get overgrown the sooner we will be rid of dog walkers, fish killers and cyclists, yipee!

[MrsM]

We carry an old-fashioned hand scythe and it's the work of a moment to clear a small area where you step off the boat.

[Chris John]

I guess you didn’t do a forum search before posting. Yawn 

[LadyG]

53 minutes ago, MrsM said:

We carry an old-fashioned hand scythe and it's the work of a moment to clear a small area where you step off the boat.

No use for me, it's stepping off the boat is the problem, there are holes and uneven surface which could lead to a fall or broken ankle, boat floating off.

Leaving the edges untrimmed for one year saves ten percent on the contract, but the next year it will be left again, reducing moorings again. Then the saplings grow in to trees and overhang, they are cut back, acts like coppicing, and so on.

I have to scrabble about on hands and knees to find the Armco,  much easier if the verges are maintained, there are many areas where no one moors and birds can nest etc etc.

 

 

Edited July 15, 2022 by LadyG

[robtheplod]

not fussed about vegetation but it can be dangerous when it covers things up - have been caught out several times this week with the disappearing bank.... step over the armco to find.... its the canal again!

[john.k]

Roundup is the answer......about an eggcup full of the superstrong stuff I got last week,in 100l of water,and the grass and brush will magically disappear in four weeks ......the thicker you leave the grass the better,the dead stuff inhibits growth for a full six months........Roundup is harmless once it touches the ground ,and cannot wash into nearby waterways.

[Jerra]

1 hour ago, MrsM said:

We carry an old-fashioned hand scythe and it's the work of a moment to clear a small area where you step off the boat.

We do the same but use a Sycle.

[Puffling]

39 minutes ago, john.k said:

Roundup is the answer......about an eggcup full of the superstrong stuff I got last week,in 100l of water,and the grass and brush will magically disappear in four weeks ......the thicker you leave the grass the better,the dead stuff inhibits growth for a full six months........Roundup is harmless once it touches the ground ,and cannot wash into nearby waterways.

Please don't use, or encourage people to use, glyphosate on the waterways.

Harmless? You've not been keeping up with the current risks it poses to humans and wildlife, nor with it being implicated in crashing insect numbers.

Unless of course you choose to believe what maker Monsanto is pushing in its propaganda.

[MtB]

13 minutes ago, Puffling said:

Please don't use, or encourage people to use, glyphosate on the waterways.

Harmless? You've not been keeping up with the current risks it poses to humans and wildlife, nor with it being implicated in crashing insect numbers.

Unless of course you choose to believe what maker Monsanto is pushing in its propaganda.

 

Isn't glyphosate the stuff playing havoc with bee populations?

 

 

[Puffling]

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/jun/02/glyphosate-weedkiller-damages-wild-bumblebee-colonies

[Jerra]

1 hour ago, MtB said:

 

Isn't glyphosate the stuff playing havoc with bee populations?

 

 

It does, but I suspect you are thinking of neonicotinoids which this wonderful government keeps giving "temporary" licences to for certain uses. 

[Alan de Enfield]

16 minutes ago, Jerra said:

It does, but I suspect you are thinking of neonicotinoids which this wonderful government keeps giving "temporary" licences to for certain uses. 

 

Don't forget to mention that the EU has given 'temporary licences' to their farmers to stop the agricultural economy collapsing.

France have gone one stage further and lifted the ban completely.

 

France to lift neonics ban to save beet industry - Farmers Weekly (fwi.co.uk)

 

You may not like how the UK is run, but at least show a balanced view of what you are comenting on, and point out that in fact DEFRA have refused to issue such derogations.

 

Defra resistance

To date, the UK government has resisted calls for similar derogations on neonics use for British growers.

British Sugar has insisted that the neonics ban is not warranted for sugar beet as it is not a flowering crop and, therefore, does not attract bees, which have been linked to a decline through the use of these insecticides.

But Defra said it had no plans to change the neonics ban to help UK beet growers.

A Defra spokesperson said: “The weight of evidence shows a significant environmental risk posed by neonicotinoids –particularly to our bees and other pollinators.

“We will maintain our current restrictions unless the scientific evidence changes. We understand that this has real implications for growers and have granted emergency authorisations for alternative products to protect sugar beet crops this year.”

[IanD]

3 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

Don't forget to mention that the EU has given 'temporary licences' to their farmers to stop the agricultural economy collapsing.

France have gone one stage further and lifted the ban completely.

 

France to lift neonics ban to save beet industry - Farmers Weekly (fwi.co.uk)

 

You may not like how the UK is run, but at least show a balanced view of what you are comenting on, and point out that in fact DEFRA have refused to issue such derogations.

 

Defra resistance

To date, the UK government has resisted calls for similar derogations on neonics use for British growers.

British Sugar has insisted that the neonics ban is not warranted for sugar beet as it is not a flowering crop and, therefore, does not attract bees, which have been linked to a decline through the use of these insecticides.

But Defra said it had no plans to change the neonics ban to help UK beet growers.

A Defra spokesperson said: “The weight of evidence shows a significant environmental risk posed by neonicotinoids –particularly to our bees and other pollinators.

“We will maintain our current restrictions unless the scientific evidence changes. We understand that this has real implications for growers and have granted emergency authorisations for alternative products to protect sugar beet crops this year.”

 

Just because France has lifted the neonics ban to protect business at the possible expense of bees that are vital for crop pollination doesn't mean it's the right thing to do -- the farming lobby in France is extremely powerful and has often pushed the French government into doing stupid things which fly in the face of evidence.

 

For once we seem to have got it right in the UK, see bold statement above... 🙂

[Alan de Enfield]

8 minutes ago, IanD said:

 

Just because France has lifted the neonics ban to protect business at the possible expense of bees that are vital for crop pollination doesn't mean it's the right thing to do -- the farming lobby in France is extremely powerful and has often pushed the French government into doing stupid things which fly in the face of evidence.

 

For once we seem to have got it right in the UK, see bold statement above... 🙂

 

I do not disagree, but when incorrect, or partial, information is posted I think it should be corrected, and, pointed out that if we were still in the EU we would not have the bans we have now.

[Chris John]

3 hours ago, john.k said:

Roundup is the answer......about an eggcup full of the superstrong stuff I got last week,in 100l of water,and the grass and brush will magically disappear in four weeks ......the thicker you leave the grass the better,the dead stuff inhibits growth for a full six months........Roundup is harmless once it touches the ground ,and cannot wash into nearby waterways.

For a moment I though you were being serious, now I realise you were being cynical…….🤔

[john.k]

Keeping up with current grass overgrown in my backyard is more like it.......all nicley brown this week......glyphosate is proved harmless over a very  long period.......just because Roche  got their asses kicked  by the crooked US legal system , hokey evidence is dreamed up by lawyers and crooked experts .........someday the whole US system will collapse under the weight of fraud being supported by the insurance industry

[Jerra]

25 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

Don't forget to mention that the EU has given 'temporary licences' to their farmers to stop the agricultural economy collapsing.

France have gone one stage further and lifted the ban completely.

 

France to lift neonics ban to save beet industry - Farmers Weekly (fwi.co.uk)

 

You may not like how the UK is run, but at least show a balanced view of what you are comenting on, and point out that in fact DEFRA have refused to issue such derogations.

 

Defra resistance

To date, the UK government has resisted calls for similar derogations on neonics use for British growers.

British Sugar has insisted that the neonics ban is not warranted for sugar beet as it is not a flowering crop and, therefore, does not attract bees, which have been linked to a decline through the use of these insecticides.

But Defra said it had no plans to change the neonics ban to help UK beet growers.

A Defra spokesperson said: “The weight of evidence shows a significant environmental risk posed by neonicotinoids –particularly to our bees and other pollinators.

“We will maintain our current restrictions unless the scientific evidence changes. We understand that this has real implications for growers and have granted emergency authorisations for alternative products to protect sugar beet crops this year.”

I have no input to the EU as we have left.   I don't think just because some fools have lifted it doesn't mean I have to accept that our stupid government should.

 

I don't accept arguments about agricultural economy collapsing as the agricultural economy will more than collapse without pollinators, one third of all the food we eat relies at some point on pollinators. 

[Chris John]

2 minutes ago, john.k said:

Keeping up with current grass overgrown in my backyard is more like it.......all nicley brown this week......glyphosate is proved harmless over a very  long period.......just because Roche  got their asses kicked  by the crooked US legal system , hokey evidence is dreamed up by lawyers and crooked experts .........someday the whole US system will collapse under the weight of fraud being supported by the insurance industry

In the meantime let’s all go splashing around a cancer (proven btw) causing chemical shall we 

[Alan de Enfield]

4 minutes ago, Jerra said:

I have no input to the EU as we have left.   I don't think just because some fools have lifted it doesn't mean I have to accept that our stupid government should.

 

The point is that DEFA (as of August 2020 article) say they have not issued any derogations, but you are suggesting they have.

[john.k]

I dont go splashing around in it .....I have rubber gloves to keep the solution off my hands........anyhoo,back in the day it was made by Monsanto,some politician actually drank some solution to prove the greens were scaremongering.

[BWM]

2 minutes ago, john.k said:

I dont go splashing around in it .....I have rubber gloves to keep the solution off my hands........anyhoo,back in the day it was made by Monsanto,some politician actually drank some solution to prove the greens were scaremongering.

I'm sure your Roundup goes a long way too, with no run off on that flat earth of yours.

 A politician who was likely well 'sponsored' by Monsanto drinking an unknown substance doesn't trump decades of death and evidence to the contrary. 

[john.k]

Roundup is neutralized by contact with soil....and its approved by the Brisbane City Council for resident use on  weed and grass controll without any restictions.