Private Eye on CRT

[Orwellian]

This sounds like Allan (nb Albert) but it could be just co-incidence.

[Jim Wortelhock]

This is what happens when you put academics in charge. Ineptitude and ideology. 

If CaRT put as much effort into maintenance as they put into wellbeing and inclusion they'd be fine.

[David Mack]

43 minutes ago, Jim Wortelhock said:

This is what happens when you put academics in charge. Ineptitude and ideology. 

If CaRT put as much effort into maintenance as they put into wellbeing and inclusion they'd be fine.

Wellbeing and inclusion are cheap. Maintaining 200+ year old engineering structures is not.

[Jen-in-Wellies]

9 hours ago, David Mack said:

Wellbeing and inclusion are cheap. Maintaining 200+ year old engineering structures is not.

Easier too. For managers looking to move up, introducing a new thing always looks better on the CV than maintaining and sustaining an old thing, even though the second needs much more skill, knowledge, time and work. And things don't get much older than canal infrastructure.

[TheBiscuits]

14 minutes ago, Jen-in-Wellies said:

things don't get much older than canal infrastructure.

 

Erm ...

 

[pete.i]

If the canals are renationalised I cannot see anything being any different. If DEFRA are backtracking on any help now and the level of support for any help is dwindling then things will only get much worse if the government are in charge of things. Selling off property is a one off income thing. Once that property is gone it's gone.

[robtheplod]

Won't be long before we see adverts on all the bridges ....

 

What about sponsor a lock gate?

Edited March 2, 2023 by robtheplod

[Jen-in-Wellies]

8 minutes ago, TheBiscuits said:

 

Erm ...

 

And look how badly English Heritage are maintaining that piece of infrastructure. Stones leaning and fallen over. No attempt to fix them. 😁 The managers are all polishing their CV's with wellbeing and interpretation initiatives. Stonehenge users attempting to use the facility for one of its proper purposes, celestical calendar, virgin sacrifice, complain, but the management don't listen. Quit happy to take their money, but they are just seen as a cash source.

Edited March 2, 2023 by Jen-in-Wellies

[MtB]

18 minutes ago, TheBiscuits said:

 

Erm ...

 

 

That's NOT a good example.

 

Their idea of maintaining Stonehenge is the put a fence around it and keep the public out.

 

Hopefully CRT aren't reading this thread.

 

 

[Higgs]

 The canal system is not treated like a national heritage, but a national liability. 

 

 

[Grassman]

11 hours ago, Jim Wortelhock said:

 

If CaRT put as much effort into maintenance as they put into wellbeing and inclusion they'd be fine.

 

Unfortunately they need to do that in order to get the continued funding (or more) from the government. In other words convince the government that their canals and rivers are for the benefit of the general public and not just a group of boaters. I'd rather that than see my licence increase 5 fold to make up the shortfall.

[Jim Wortelhock]

Good point. 

[Higgs]

25 minutes ago, Grassman said:

 

Unfortunately they need to do that in order to get the continued funding (or more) from the government. In other words convince the government that their canals and rivers are for the benefit of the general public and not just a group of boaters. I'd rather that than see my licence increase 5 fold to make up the shortfall.

 

That is hypocritical, of the government, since the government are planning to withdraw public funding. 

 

 

[Hudds Lad]

1 hour ago, TheBiscuits said:

 

Erm ...

 

Ha! everyone knows thats just a concrete replica of the REAL one still in use by the Illuminati and sited on the main land mass in Hollow Earth, you’ll not fool us there  *wink, wink, funny handshake, straightens tin foil hat

[Ewan123]

13 hours ago, Jim Wortelhock said:

If CaRT put as much effort into maintenance as they put into wellbeing and inclusion they'd be fine.

That effort is just a means to try and secure government and other funding though. If they didn't do that, there's a much greater chance of funding being refused.

[Jen-in-Wellies]

1 hour ago, Hudds Lad said:

Ha! everyone knows thats just a concrete replica of the REAL one still in use by the Illuminati and sited on the main land mass in Hollow Earth, you’ll not fool us there  *wink, wink, funny handshake, straightens tin foil hat

Big mistake revealing that. I've dispatched the black helicopters to take you away.

[robtheplod]

Introduce/increase fishing licences?  (no idea if they pay currently....)  there is lots of them...... pay per mile cycle lanes!

[Jen-in-Wellies]

Just now, robtheplod said:

Introduce/increase fishing licences?  (no idea if they pay currently....)  there is lots of them...... pay per mile cycle lanes!

Boot/shoe licenses for towpath walkers. Have license tags for the current year with holes in to thread through the laces to make them easy to check. The CaRT license checker to be empowered to push the walker in to the canal, if they are not licenced, or out of date, or not displayed. Extra income for CaRT, as each walker has to pay for two licenses, unless they hop.

[robtheplod]

Adopt a bridge?   go back in time and pay per canal to cruise?   the problem is that any increase for boaters will come with an expectation of improved services.... all the taps work, elsans are unblockable and pumpout stations dont just chew your card up - maybe even dare i say but some sort of resolution of the compost toilet issue?

[Hudds Lad]

16 minutes ago, robtheplod said:

Introduce/increase fishing licences?  (no idea if they pay currently....)  there is lots of them...... pay per mile cycle lanes!

Fishing licences are from the EA, you're supposed to have a Waterways Wanderers Permit as well to fish the canals although i doubt many have (not sure if this is needed if its a stretch with rights rented out to a club).

 

Boils down to enforcement again though, of which there is little to none.

 

20 minutes ago, Jen-in-Wellies said:

Big mistake revealing that. I've dispatched the black helicopters to take you away.

They'll never find me! I've got my special hat that hides me from the Greys and other mind control techniques! All hail Discordia! wibble

[Arthur Marshall]

2 hours ago, Higgs said:

 

That is hypocritical, of the government, since the government are planning to withdraw public funding. 

 

 

Well, yes.

[Higgs]

1 minute ago, Arthur Marshall said:

Well, yes.

 

However, it is not going to be practical to install turnstiles at every access point to the towpath, and charge for that public access. With no way to replace that government funding, it's basically just another exercise to offload government responsibility with no intention to care. We're being put through some performance, designed to throw the canals to the dogs. 

 

 

[enigmatic]

1 hour ago, Ewan123 said:

That effort is just a means to try and secure government and other funding though. If they didn't do that, there's a much greater chance of funding being refused.

Yep. Same with all the stuff about people walking along towpaths to spot wildlife because life is "better by water"

 

At the end of the day, if the money doesn't come from convincing councils its great for all the people that live in their area and not just an handful of boaters, it comes from our licence fees or from shutting down canals and selling off the land for development....

[cuthound]

I seem to recall that when I started canalling in the early 70's, the government of the day had found it cheaper to retain and maintain most canals than it was to provide the alternative drainage and flood relief systems which would be necessary if it closed them..

 

Perhaps CRT should remind the current government of this. In a way they almost  did by failing to maintain Toddbrook Reservoir.

[magnetman]

Not looked into it but do the CRT ever apply for lottery funding ?

 

I know its a bent system and Eton received funding for their rowing equipment (I now own one of the original Eton rowing coaching launches which were decommissioned and replaced with lottery funding) so presumably if they are a Good Cause the CRT are in with a chance. 

 

 

 

 

Or does one need to have the right cuntacts for this perhaps.