With the demise of Mr Moran will maintenance improve?

[Hawkmoth]

As the title says, will it?

Bob

[alan_fincher]

Any reason why it should and/or is likely to?

 

I'm not sure it will make much difference one way or the other.

[Hawkmoth]

Any reason why it should and/or is likely to?

 

I'm not sure it will make much difference one way or the other.

Sometimes a change of management galvanizes things. Maybe he was just old school BW with no impetus to get going, or maybe nobody can get the job done.

Bob

[KenK]

It does seem to vary a lot. We spent the last four years on the Trent & Mersey, the maintenance on there including vegetation always seemed pretty good. Minor problems seemed to be dealt with quickly.

Not every canal in the Midlands was to the same standard Stratford Canal last year was in a terrible state.

 

We moved the boat back to the K&A earlier this year, South Oxford below Lower Heyford was a delight.

K&A on the other hand has gone downhill in the four years we were away in terms of general routine maintenance, vegetation etc. but at the same time a lot of major work has been done to the locks, several had brand new bye washes installed.

 

In answer to the OP's question, I can't see a change of manager making any difference. The underspend will still be there and different waterway regions seem to have different ways of spending what money they do have.

 

Ken

[GUMPY]

I doubt it will improve, he was thte last part of management that understood canals, I might not always agreed with him but at least he knew what he was doing. On balance I would think it will get worse.

[alan_fincher]

I doubt it will improve, he was thte last part of management that understood canals, I might not always agreed with him but at least he knew what he was doing.

 

Although he seems to be well respected now, and I have met him a few of times and he is very "down to earth", I have never really forgiven his role in the "three square bollards at every narrow lock" fiasco.

 

I'm not sure to what extent he was responsible for their introduction, but he certainly became a major defender of them, apparently having failed to pick up on where BW had got it so badly wrong, or just how much money was spent that could have been better used elsewhere.

 

So I think we need to be careful in projecting the image that he got it right all the time, although perhaps he was good at learning over time.

 

Certainly better than many though!

[MtB]

His demise? Has he died then?

[churchward]

As the title says, will it?

Bob

 

 

Nope, actually I have no idea.

 

I suppose it depends on if you believe he was holding back spending his budget on maintenance or that he did not have the budget to spend. If the former then perhaps the new person will be more free with spending their budget if the latter it will make no difference unless the newbie gets more budget.

Edited September 10, 2015 by churchward

[Jerra]

His demise? Has he died then?

I agree strange way of putting it but he retires in 2016.

[haggis]

Alan, Re the square wooden bollards I think he was just towing the party line

The culprit was I am sure, Jim Stirling who was the technical director having moved south from being the director in Scotland

I tackled him about it once when he's was at a function up here

He is no longer with crt but is a director of Caledonian Macbrayne

 

Haggis

[granddad]

so moran or stirling was the donut who gave the oxford the wooden square bollards at locks and lift bridges. Thank god they have gone.

 

Can it be ensured that properly qualified people are employed in future. No qualified seafarer would countenance that foolish error.

ken

[cotswoldsman]

I doubt it will improve, he was thte last part of management that understood canals, I might not always agreed with him but at least he knew what he was doing. On balance I would think it will get worse.

Yes I agree I think.

I certainly had my ups and downs with Mr Moran but always respected him for the job he did. He was only able to operate within the budget that was left to him after most of the rest had been wasted. He understood the canals and the problems and just said it as he saw it. He will be great loss and most probably replaced by a railway person or an insurance person. I do not blame him for wanting out it must be difficult to work with the present management structure that is focused on spending money on anything other than Maintance

 

He was a good interim CEO just a shame he did not get the job full time. Someone who understands canals would have been far better than a PR Man

Edited September 10, 2015 by cotswoldsman

[Mac of Cygnet]

 

Although he seems to be well respected now, and I have met him a few of times and he is very "down to earth", I have never really forgiven his role in the "three square bollards at every narrow lock" fiasco.

 

I'm not sure to what extent he was responsible for their introduction, but he certainly became a major defender of them, apparently having failed to pick up on where BW had got it so badly wrong, or just how much money was spent that could have been better used elsewhere.

 

So I think we need to be careful in projecting the image that he got it right all the time, although perhaps he was good at learning over time.

 

Certainly better than many though!

 

Well there you are then. As a singlehander with a short boat I am very grateful for the introduction of centre bollards in narrow locks, whether they be square, round or pear-shaped. I defended them at the time, with some support from others in a similar position, despite the howls of protest here, They were and are not a 'fiasco', but very useful indeed.

[Richard Fairhurst]

 

(Sorry, couldn't resist. I interviewed Vince Moran for WW at about the time of the lock bollard controversy. He was very honest and straightforward - even if you didn't agree with the policy, I think you could respect his reasons for it. Robin Evans later said I'd stitched Vince up by printing his responses pretty much unedited, which RE felt didn't look slick or professional. Personally I thought the opposite - people would rather read someone engaged, passionate and down-to-earth than a bunch of slick, smooth PR-driven answers. Sometimes you can't win...)

[MtB]

 

Well there you are then. As a singlehander with a short boat I am very grateful for the introduction of centre bollards in narrow locks, whether they be square, round or pear-shaped. I defended them at the time, with some support from others in a similar position, despite the howls of protest here, They were and are not a 'fiasco', but very useful indeed.

 

 

How strange. I have a short boat too and never need them in narrow locks!

[Allan(nb Albert)]

 

(Sorry, couldn't resist. I interviewed Vince Moran for WW at about the time of the lock bollard controversy. He was very honest and straightforward - even if you didn't agree with the policy, I think you could respect his reasons for it. Robin Evans later said I'd stitched Vince up by printing his responses pretty much unedited, which RE felt didn't look slick or professional. Personally I thought the opposite - people would rather read someone engaged, passionate and down-to-earth than a bunch of slick, smooth PR-driven answers. Sometimes you can't win...)

 

Vince Moran in WW -

 

‘The network as a whole has been under funded for many, many years and there is significant investment required to get it to the standard that we all want'.

 

Without looking it up, I believe that, in real terms government grant is less today as when Vince Moran made that statement.

 

[cotswoldsman]

 

 

(Sorry, couldn't resist. I interviewed Vince Moran for WW at about the time of the lock bollard controversy. He was very honest and straightforward - even if you didn't agree with the policy, I think you could respect his reasons for it. Robin Evans later said I'd stitched Vince up by printing his responses pretty much unedited, which RE felt didn't look slick or professional. Personally I thought the opposite - people would rather read someone engaged, passionate and down-to-earth than a bunch of slick, smooth PR-driven answers. Sometimes you can't win...)

 

I am sure they will find a PR driven person to replace him so we have a consistent top management within CART

[MtB]

Quite so.

 

What the government wants/needs in this role a person who will keep on saying everything is fine and dandy, rather than Vince who keeps saying the budget is too low. Far cheaper and more 'cost effective'!

 

For a while...

[Allan(nb Albert)]

Quite so.

 

What the government wants/needs in this role a person who will keep on saying everything is fine and dandy, rather than Vince who keeps saying the budget is too low. Far cheaper and more 'cost effective'!

 

For a while...

I'm not sure Vince Moran kept saying 'the budget is too low' with any consistency.

 

It is more a case of not keeping to the BW/CaRT line occasionally when directly challenged on the maintenance under-spend.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Theo]

Along with others, I feel that the public vilification of named members of CRT or anyone else is much to be deprecated.

 

I am, therefore closing this topic.

 

Nick