Jump to content

Daily Mail says this is the New Age of the Canals

churchward

By churchward
in General Boating

 Share

Featured Posts

bottle Veteran II

bottle

Posted
Posted

BW must have made a press release as it was on National news (BBC) this morning.

 

From the paper article:

 

A spokesman for British Waterways said: 'Now, after decades of underfunding, half a century of campaigning and more than 150 years of decline, the waterway network is at last beginning to expand and thrive.'

 

You gotta laugh

Link to comment
Share on other sites
carlt Veteran II

carlt

Posted
Posted

The bizarre thing is that this story was true in the late 80s early 90s but, after blockades, save our waterways campaigns, boatbuilders going under at an unprecedented rate, unmaintained towpaths and BW hiking up licence and moorings taxes, the waterways are in decline, with the possible exception of the liveaboard market.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Rik Derris Gongoozler

Rik Derris

Posted
Posted
The bizarre thing is that this story was true in the late 80s early 90s but, after blockades, save our waterways campaigns, boatbuilders going under at an unprecedented rate, unmaintained towpaths and BW hiking up licence and moorings taxes, the waterways are in decline, with the possible exception of the liveaboard market.

 

And the fact that the most of the BW developments in the London area are more concerned in developing existing marina's to fancy offices or wharfs with no mooring?! And a woeful lack of facilities like working pump put & taps ... It will be interesting how many new mooring places will be available at the end of the Olympic development compared to canal side bars and flats!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Dekazer Rising Star

Dekazer

Posted
Posted

Alas I can't find an online version, but in one of the freebie London papers yesterday there was a tiny article about an incident where BW had sent operatives (hehe) to clean some graffitti off a bridge, but they had been under-resourced so had only cleaned off the worst words, leaving the rest of the graffitti in place! The local council and residents (I'm afraid I can't remember where) were none too impressed! Not all publicity's good publicity I guess :lol:

Link to comment
Share on other sites
stewey Proficient

stewey

Posted
Posted
Alas I can't find an online version, but in one of the freebie London papers yesterday there was a tiny article about an incident where BW had sent operatives (hehe) to clean some graffitti off a bridge, but they had been under-resourced so had only cleaned off the worst words, leaving the rest of the graffitti in place! The local council and residents (I'm afraid I can't remember where) were none too impressed! Not all publicity's good publicity I guess :lol:

It is also on P23 of today's Metro in London.

 

Stewey

Link to comment
Share on other sites
FadeToScarlet Veteran

FadeToScarlet

Posted
Posted
Well, the story is at least two weeks old. It was brought up by a local councillor trying to be clever and score a few points:

 

http://www.matthewellis.cc/archives/1138

 

Feel free to join in as long as you don't upset him with your language!

 

Andrew Denny reported on this two weeks ago, too. I think my reply on the thread you quoted sounds a bit too pompous, though :lol:

Link to comment
Share on other sites
alan_fincher Veteran II

alan_fincher

Posted
Posted

Only just noticed your wonderful sigmature:

 

"What do you do with a BA in History?"

 

I think the answer usually goes something like

 

"Do you want fries with that?" :lol:

 

(By the way, what do you do with a BA in history ?)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
denboy Experienced

denboy

Posted
Posted
Andrew Denny reported on this two weeks ago, too. I think my reply on the thread you quoted sounds a bit too pompous, though :lol:

do not know which one is yours but maffi got edited out bad lad :lol: :lol:

Link to comment
Share on other sites
NB Alnwick Veteran II

NB Alnwick

Posted
Posted
The bizarre thing is that this story was true in the late 80s early 90s but, after blockades, save our waterways campaigns, boatbuilders going under at an unprecedented rate, unmaintained towpaths and BW hiking up licence and moorings taxes, the waterways are in decline, with the possible exception of the liveaboard market.

 

Unusually, I am not in agreement with Carl on this one! Although there have been a few glitches in the last couple of years caused by unexpected funding cuts and a foul up over the contract for vegetation control on the G U and Oxford canals, in general terms the canals have seen a continuous improvement since the 1960s.

 

The increase in mooring and licence fees has bought protests from a few of us and may even have driven a small minority away from the waterways but, overall, the canals are more popular and better maintained than ever. Despite the increased holiday traffic, inland waterways are still a haven from the mad world that most of us know (or did know) in our working lives and if anything really has deteriorated, it must be the general quality of life away from the waterways - this merely emphasises the contrast.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Oliver1954 Contributor

Oliver1954

Posted
Posted
BW must have made a press release as it was on National news (BBC) this morning.

 

You gotta laugh

 

 

Yes, the "Press Release" was for the publication of BW's Annual Report: http://www.britishwaterways.co.uk/images/A...nts_2007-08.pdf

 

A decline in People using the Waterways? Not according to BW:

"Our ambition is that by 2012 we will have created

an expanded, vibrant, largely self-sufficient waterway

network used by twice as many people as in 2002".

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
carlt Veteran II

carlt

Posted
Posted
This letter in the Times paints a much darker picture than the goodies offered by these recent news reports

 

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/l...icle4400502.ece

Headline news! Kids and drunks cause bother in a city centre!

 

Why do people think a bit of water should render this bit of Birmingham city centre immune from the problems associated with every other area, in the centre of every other city and town.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
FadeToScarlet Veteran

FadeToScarlet

Posted
Posted
Only just noticed your wonderful sigmature:

 

"What do you do with a BA in History?"

 

I think the answer usually goes something like

 

"Do you want fries with that?" :lol:

 

(By the way, what do you do with a BA in history ?)

 

Teaching eventually, at the moment unemployed (but not claiming) because we're about to go cruising. :lol:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.