Middle Level: consultation on possible legislative change

[Scholar Gypsy]

From the NABO website: http://nabo.org.uk/files/MiddleLCConsultationLetterFeb16.pdf

 

Intro paras follow. I suppose the current arrangements are a bit of an anachronism.

 

"As the navigation authority for the Middle Level river system, which comprises 100 miles of navigable waterways in Cambridgeshire (including Peterborough City Council) and Norfolk as shown on the attached plan, the Commissioners have for some time been concerned that the legal framework which currently governs the navigation function is considerably out of date and does not align with either modern requirements or the statutory framework available and applicable to other navigation authorities.

 

The Commissioners have previously considered seeking a revision of these provisions but, for various reasons, have been unable to date to obtain the necessary legislative change. We do, however, remain of the view that the updating of our navigation legislation is necessary and therefore have now decided to proceed to seek the necessary changes. The precise Parliamentary mechanism to be followed will depend both on the results of this consultation and on the advice received from Defra as to the most appropriate method of proceeding but we would envisage that the Commissioners would be looking either to obtain an Order under the Transport and Works Act 1992 or a Private Act of Parliament."

[Athy]

Is this bureauspeak for "We are going to introduce licences"? That's been on the back burner for about ten years. The idiosyncratic way that the network is run is part of its charm. though it does mean that quite a few boats which probably wouldn't get a BSC elsewhere are trundling about.

[john6767]

This prompted me to have a look on the MLC web site to see what the existing rules are.

 

This one caught my eye

 

No person shall navigate any boat through any sluice or lock of the commissioners between the hours of ten in the forenoon and four in the afternoon on a Sunday or Christmas Day.

is that enforced?

 

Are BSC's not required event though there is no licence?

[Martin Megson]

Sounds like a sensible idea as many of the current regulations and bylaws are archaic. Hopefully clearly written regulations will avoid the issues that abound regarding CART boaters without a home mooring.

[Phil Ambrose]

It always seemed to me that the Middle Levels only became navigations by accident, as in one day someone thought "I know, I shall float a boat on these drains" so small wonder that they are run in true Fen fashion at the moment.

Phil

[John V]

I am rather fond of anachronistic and archaic things (speaking as one myself )

[Athy]

This prompted me to have a look on the MLC web site to see what the existing rules are.

 

This one caught my eye

is that enforced?

 

Are BSC's not required event though there is no licence?

No, that rule is not enforced - though you'd be lucky to find a lock-keeper working on Christmas Day.

No, there is no requirement to have a BSC, though of course your insurance company will probably want your boat to have one before they provide cover.

 

That's right, Phil, the Middle Level Commissioners are principally a drainage authority, not a navigation one. Paradoxically, despite not being involved with navigation in theory, they recommend a through route for boats between the Nene at P'bo and the Great Ouse at Salter's Lode.

 

One stumbling block to the introduction of legislation for boaters has been that if you charge boaters for a licence, they're going to want facilities in return. At the moment, for example, there is only one public sanny station on the network, at March, and precious few public water taps (I think Upwell staithe has one nowadays).

Edited March 1, 2016 by Athy

[Scholar Gypsy]

No, that rule is not enforced - though you'd be lucky to find a lock-keeper working on Christmas Day.

No, there is no requirement to have a BSC, though of course your insurance company will probably want your boat to have one before they provide cover.

 

That's right, Phil, the Middle Level Commissioners are principally a drainage authority, not a navigation one. Paradoxically, despite not being involved with navigation in theory, they recommend a through route for boats between the Nene at P'bo and the Great Ouse at Salter's Lode.

 

One stumbling block to the introduction of legislation for boaters has been that if you charge boaters for a licence, they're going to want facilities in return. At the moment, for example, there is only one public sanny station on the network, at March, and precious few public water taps (I think Upwell staithe has one nowadays).

 

Upwell does have a tap - last time I was there you had to borrow the key from the pub (and make a donation to the Well Creek Trust if you wished).

 

I did like this bit:

 

"to temporarily close sections of those waterways to enable works to be carried out or the

holding of certain events and in certain other circumstances, including the power to close Well

Creek at appropriate period(s) between 1st December in one year and 1st March in the next

year when conditions are such that the traditional fenland pastime of ice skating could take

place there;"

[Athy]

 

Upwell does have a tap - last time I was there you had to borrow the key from the pub (and make a donation to the Well Creek Trust if you wished).

 

I did like this bit:

 

"to temporarily close sections of those waterways to enable works to be carried out or the

holding of certain events and in certain other circumstances, including the power to close Well

Creek at appropriate period(s) between 1st December in one year and 1st March in the next

year when conditions are such that the traditional fenland pastime of ice skating could take

place there;"

Hmm, I wonder how that works now: the pub has been closed for at least six months.

 

It could be argued that if the ice on Well Creek is thick enough for safe skating, navigation would be impossible anyway. When we had a severe winter about five years ago, there were people sledging, skating and building snowmen on the river.

[Alan de Enfield]

This prompted me to have a look on the MLC web site to see what the existing rules are.

 

This one caught my eye

is that enforced?

 

Are BSC's not required event though there is no licence?

 

I think that very few navigation authorities would insist on all of its boaters holding Bachelor of Science Degrees. however the BSS (Boat Safety Scheme) requirements tend to be enforced more rigidly.

[Athy]

 

I think that very few navigation authorities would insist on all of its boaters holding Bachelor of Science Degrees. however the BSS (Boat Safety Scheme) requirements tend to be enforced more rigidly.

Ho ho. If we are going to be pedantic (and perish the thought) that's a B.Sc. The certificate is a B.S.C.

 

The Five Bells pub closed some time last year, but a local man bought it and promised to renovate and reopen it. It was a leading story in the parish magazine. Since then, workmen have been spotted on the premises from time to time, but the pub (which is also a hotel) has, as yet, shown no sign of reopening.

[gazza]

No, that rule is not enforced - though you'd be lucky to find a lock-keeper working on Christmas Day.

No, there is no requirement to have a BSC, though of course your insurance company will probably want your boat to have one before they provide cover.

 

That's right, Phil, the Middle Level Commissioners are principally a drainage authority, not a navigation one. Paradoxically, despite not being involved with navigation in theory, they recommend a through route for boats between the Nene at P'bo and the Great Ouse at Salter's Lode.

 

One stumbling block to the introduction of legislation for boaters has been that if you charge boaters for a licence, they're going to want facilities in return. At the moment, for example, there is only one public sanny station on the network, at March, and precious few public water taps (I think Upwell staithe has one nowadays).

 

 

Athy, have a look here http://aina.org.uk/middle-level-commissioners.aspxand here http://www.middlelevel.gov.uk/docs/Navigation/NavNotes16-web.pdf

 

the MLC would prefer you to have a BSC

[MoominPapa]

The Middle Level marinas (at least Bill Fen, and I assume the others) insist on a BSS as a condition of mooring.

 

MP.

[Alan de Enfield]

Ho ho. If we are going to be pedantic (and perish the thought) that's a B.Sc. The certificate is a B.S.C.

 

 

 

(my understanding) The correct nomenclature is BSc, and the Boat Safety Scheme Certificate is 'BSS Certificate' (no further abbreviation) according to the BSS website.

 

You have a BSS examination

A BSS Report

A BSS Certificate

 

Existing BSS examination data is already held on a central database and authorised BSS Examiners have been inputting in to this for over two years. It holds only examination and boat data, no owner or personal information is included.

The change also means that new BSS Certificates no longer need special pre-printed coloured forms, instead they will be provided by Examiners either as electronic files or printed out by the examiner on plain paper in black ink.

After a successful boat examination, the owner will get a copy of the receipt-style certificate, also called a BSS Examination Report, to keep for their own records. The report can be either a print-out, an electronic version or both as the boat owner prefers - this preference should be made clear when arranging the examination.

Where relevant, it may include any failure notifications and advisory information, combined in one multi-page document.

Existing BSS Certificates will continue to remain valid until reaching the expiry date.

 

Mind you it is probably more apt to have 'BS' as the system is all BS anyway.

Maybe that's why they are so adamant that it is a BSS

[Athy]

 

(my understanding) The correct nomenclature is BSc,

Surprisingly, universities seem to support you - though Wikipaedia hedges its bets by allowing either BSc or B.Sc. This must be a recent style: my qualifications are certainly B.A., Cert. Ed., not BA, CertEd. As abbreviations, they should have full stops.

[pearley]

Upwell does have a tap - last time I was there you had to borrow the key from the pub (and make a donation to the Well Creek Trust if you wished).

"[/i]

 

When passed through last spring the pub was closed although there is a phone number on the box enclosing the tap. We didn't bother.

 

On our return in September the pub was still closed but on a whim I asked in the cafe next door, and she held the key. But, that was her last day of trading at that site as she was moving to a building on the other side of the Creek.

[Athy]

When passed through last spring the pub was closed although there is a phone number on the box enclosing the tap. We didn't bother.

 

On our return in September the pub was still closed but on a whim I asked in the cafe next door, and she held the key. But, that was her last day of trading at that site as she was moving to a building on the other side of the Creek.

Yes, Jo moved from her original site across the bridge to take over part of the pub premises. She has now moved back across the water to the former greengrocer's shop. Meanwhile the Post Office has moved along the road to a corner of the mini-market. There's so much going on in the Fens that it's hard to keep up with the dizzying pace of progress.

Five Bells is still closed, though.

[gazza]

It always seemed to me that the Middle Levels only became navigations by accident, as in one day someone thought "I know, I shall float a boat on these drains" so small wonder that they are run in true Fen fashion at the moment.

Phil

 

 

Whilst not what we would no as the drains today, these guys made good use of the Fenland waterways a few years back....

 

http://www.vivacity-peterborough.com/museums-and-heritage/flag-fen/discover-the-must-farm-boats/

[Cheshire cat]

When passed through last spring the pub was closed although there is a phone number on the box enclosing the tap. We didn't bother.

 

On our return in September the pub was still closed but on a whim I asked in the cafe next door, and she held the key. But, that was her last day of trading at that site as she was moving to a building on the other side of the Creek.

Didn't you have a bar of soap you could make an imprint in?

[Phil Ambrose]

 

 

Whilst not what we would no as the drains today, these guys made good use of the Fenland waterways a few years back....

 

http://www.vivacity-peterborough.com/museums-and-heritage/flag-fen/discover-the-must-farm-boats/

Thanks for that very interesting snippet.

Phil

[john6767]

 

I think that very few navigation authorities would insist on all of its boaters holding Bachelor of Science Degrees. however the BSS (Boat Safety Scheme) requirements tend to be enforced more rigidly.

I think it would be a marked improvement, you would get a better class of boater if degrees were required

[pearley]

Didn't you have a bar of soap you could make an imprint in?

 

You've been watching too many crime series set in the 60s!

 

Actually, don't know why they don't use the same key as March sanitary station.

Edited March 1, 2016 by pearley

[Athy]

You've been watching too many crime series set in the 60s!

 

Actually, don't know why they don't use the same key as March sanitary station.

Probably because, as noted above, the Middle Level Commissioners are not a navigation authority. Though I am not certain, I think the March sanny station belongs to March council (the public loos are in the back of the same building), the Upwell tap was probably installed by either the local council or the Well Creek Trust. Different owners, different keys.

[Scholar Gypsy]

You've been watching too many crime series set in the 60s!

 

Actually, don't know why they don't use the same key as March sanitary station.

 

Current approach is NFN, perhaps?

 

They've just found a wheel at Must Fen. https://twitter.com/MustFarm

[pearley]

NFN. Had to look that one up!

Edited March 1, 2016 by pearley