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Bridgewater canal charges


Barge Venus

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...But if they're able to sell (charge for) moorings there, it would make financial sense to do that, than keep it free as a (free) visitor mooring.

I think the point is that although the boats by the yha might pay there are a number of boats over in the grocers arm that possibly don't and have been there quite a while and seem to be ignored by peel......even if they do pay as mentioned Castlefield doesn't appear on a list of official moorings so somethings not quite right......and no one can seem to find out what's really going on.

 

Cheers

 

Gareth

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The moorings in Castlefield as mentioned are being sold as winter moorings.

However due to the success they are being made permanent private moorings, currently for 6 boats.

Do you know which basins the permanent moorings will be in? Some of the boats I had in mind have been there since at least 2012 if not before.......still seems a bit mad to make them permanent given the lack of safe city centre moorings.

 

Cheers

 

Gareth

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I couldn't help noticing DeanS's nearest railway station is DEANSgate! Some co-incidence?

 

THE SECRET LIFE OF THE ROCHDALE CANAL - THE SEWER OF MANCHESTER:

In this video, we may get a sore bum and feel a bit dizzy, but he does ride past Lock 92 and it does give a pretty good idea of what we're all talking about:

 

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Dean's nearest railway station is Piccadilly. Unless he's moved that is.

 

??? Deansgate station is much nearer to Lock 92 than Piccadilly. But maybe Dean's boat is parked upstream. Perhaps he should change his name to Piccadilly then? ;)

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Boats based on the Bridgewater Canal have to purchase a license to sail on CaRT waters.

Steve

Bridgewater licensed boats get 7 days on CRT waters just like CRT boats get 7 days on the Bridgewater. They also get an additional 7 days if they go to Liverpool.

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How exactly are the Rochdale Canal and Ashton Canal joined? Canal Planner suggests Ducie Street Junction. Does anyone have photos or videos showing this link? Seems to be some kind of tunnel?

There is a bridge next to Piccadilly One which is where you go from one to the other
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My opinion only but:

 

"How come the Bridgewater and the MSC didn't get nationalised with the rest of the canals in 1948 and end up as CRT waters today?"

When nationalisation too place the Manchester Ship Canal Company and the Bridgewater Canal were under the control of Manchester Council, so in effect already owned by the government so it wasn't necessary to nationalise them, subsequently Manchester Council sold them back in to private ownership.

"I also suspect Peel Holdings sees their ownership of the Bridgewater Canal as a liability rather than an asset as I can't see the license fees covering the cost of maintaining it."

With over a thousand boats registered on 40 miles of canal, with as said no locks to maintain and they all have to have a home mooring I suspect otherwise, peel Holdings is a business, nothing makes a loss.

!I will ask again, is there a right of navigation on the Bridgwater like on the river Thames or can they say, No you can't come on our waters?"

It's a privately owned piece of waterway, then they can do as they like. If I park on Aldi's car park it's 90 minutes maximum or get a fine, many supermarkets do the same, their land, their rules, it's private property follow the rules or pay up.

 

I'm not defending the BCC, as it happens it's where I've been boating for well over 40 years, I started as a sea scout at the boathouse in Worsley, but it is a privately owned piece of property and it's entirely up to them how that handle it. C&RT is a charity funded by the public and the users, if the public purse wants to subsidise my boating then the government can sent a cheque to Peel Holdings in the Trafford Centre, I'm sure they'll be more than happy.

I do think it's madness that C&RT haven't addressed the issue as it's a vital part of their network in the north west so the rules on returns should be clarified and the harassment stopped.

Last bit, someone commented on C&RT boats moored after Preston Brook being off the Bridgewater, as far as I'm aware the Bridgewater arm goes to the tunnel on the north side of the tunnel, I believe the (late and much lamented) member of this forum, Tim Leech told me that the ownership of the tunnel changed from BCC to BW after the collapse when BW did the repairs in return from the ownership.

Anyone who knows where Tim lived will see how I took this as gospel.

K

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When nationalisation too place the Manchester Ship Canal Company and the Bridgewater Canal were under the control of Manchester Council, so in effect already owned by the government so it wasn't necessary to nationalise them, subsequently Manchester Council sold them back in to private ownership.

 

With over a thousand boats registered on 40 miles of canal, with as said no locks to maintain and they all have to have a home mooring I suspect otherwise, peel Holdings is a business, nothing makes a loss.

 

 

And all this profit could have been Manchester Council's to pump into decent housing for its population, and health services, education, decent roads, etc.

Has Manchester shot itself and its citizens in the foot?

It would be nice to know about the cosy relationship that Manchester has with a company that avoids tax like the plague and yet sucks up public funding - but I suspect transparency is a dirty word.

 

- - - - - -

 

"Last bit, someone commented on C&RT boats moored after Preston Brook being off the Bridgewater, as far as I'm aware the Bridgewater arm goes to the tunnel on the north side of the tunnel, I believe the (late and much lamented) member of this forum, Tim Leech told me that the ownership of the tunnel changed from BCC to BW after the collapse when BW did the repairs in return from the ownership."

 

Canal Planner (excellent site by the way!) says: Preston Brook: Junction of Trent and Mersey Canal and Bridgewater Canal (Preston Brook Branch) - immediately north of Preston Brook Tunnel

Edited by Emerald Fox
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It's a privately owned piece of waterway, then they can do as they like... their land, their rules, it's private property follow the rules or pay up.

 

I'm not defending the BCC... but it is a privately owned piece of property and it's entirely up to them how that handle it.... if the public purse wants to subsidise my boating then the government can sent a cheque to Peel Holdings in the Trafford Centre, I'm sure they'll be more than happy.

 

This seems a bit misleading. Firstly, the Bridgewater Canal Company Limited is a statutory body with responsibility for navigation and maintenance, and not simply a private business. Secondly, the Bridgewater Canal Company Limited shares responsibility for the canal with the Bridgewater Canal Trust, which is a partnership between Peel Holdings and eight local authorities and which meets twice a year "to formulate long and short-term policies for the amenity use" of the canal. Thirdly, maintenance/improvement of the canal's infrastructure is subsidised by the public purse, both by the local authorities which are part of the Trust, and by bodies (like the Heritage Lottery Fund) that have contributed funding to particular projects (like the Bridgewater Way).

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My opinion only but:

 

With over a thousand boats registered on 40 miles of canal, with as said no locks to maintain and they all have to have a home mooring I suspect otherwise, peel Holdings is a business, nothing makes a loss.

 

Where did the figure of 1000+ boats come from?

 

I do think it's madness that C&RT haven't addressed the issue as it's a vital part of their network in the north west so the rules on returns should be clarified and the harassment stopped.

 

A Bridgewater marina employee told me CRT has previously discussed taking over the canal from Peel Holdings but wanted a guarantee regarding subsidence around Worsley, which Peel Holdings refused to give. I assume there is some credibility to this as PH have only recently installed stop gates at Worsley which suggests there is a risk of subsidence and they (PH) are attempting to confine the risk.

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Bridgewater licensed boats get 7 days on CRT waters just like CRT boats get 7 days on the Bridgewater. They also get an additional 7 days if they go to Liverpool.

I think it works a bit differently from this, unless the rules have changed. Bridgewater licence holders can cruise as far as Barbridge Junction without any time constraints. I don't know where the limits of navigation are in other directions along the Rochdale and Leeds & Liverpool; perhaps there is a time limit in those directions.

Edited by journeyperson
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Last bit, someone commented on C&RT boats moored after Preston Brook being off the Bridgewater, as far as I'm aware the Bridgewater arm goes to the tunnel on the north side of the tunnel, I believe the (late and much lamented) member of this forum, Tim Leech told me that the ownership of the tunnel changed from BCC to BW after the collapse when BW did the repairs in return from the ownership.

Anyone who knows where Tim lived will see how I took this as gospel.

K

The tunnel was built by the T&MC, and extended onto the Bridgewater when a new tunnel mouth with a tugman's house on top was built. The first T&MC milepost is on top of the tunnel on the far side of the horse road over the tunnel as seen here from the towpath. The brickwork for the house foundation is also visible.

gallery_6938_1_33168.jpg

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The Bridgewater Canal Co has had a long running problem on the Bridgewater with enforcement so they have tackled the problem of over stayers in Castlefield with offering them a mooring. This has been on a "winter moorings" (6 months) basis recently at a cost of £250 per month which includes a Bridgewater license.

 

Due to this going reasonably well they have given 6 boats in Castlefield a permanent private mooring. This is in the old coal wharf arm.

 

Bridgewater Canal Co have hinted that if this appears to be popular more moorings may be made available to the point of making the old coal wharf arm private.

 

The toilet block in Castlefield by Potato wharf was closed for a considerable amount of time last year and has now reopened with access limited to these moorers on it's own key (not a Waterways key like all the others).

 

The othet arm near the YHA is a different kettle of fish entirely. These boats were evicted from Potato Wharf when the development began years ago by Urban Splash, with Peel promising they could return once the development was completed. Because of problems with the development (credit crunch or whatever) it's still not been completed and Peel have never put anything down in writing to them regarding the future of their Potato wharf mooring or offering any other spot in the area, so because of that they've remained where they are and Bridgewater Canal Co have turned a blind eye.

 

The enforcement officer, Sonny Smith is also the manager of Preston Brook Marina, along with his wife Gill.

 

He has appeared to have quite an impact on a number of people along the canal, but having not dealt with him myself won't comment any further on it.

 

There is a constant stream of rumour and speculation up and down the canal, most of which I ignore until confirmed by a reliable source.

 

Bridgewater Canal Co are currently in discussions with CRT in changing the reciprocal agreement in that it will be 7 days free of charge as in the past, and where, in the past there has been no restrictions in the return time, it's now being put down to 28 days. This will apply to CRT on BW and BW to CRT and has the IWA's backing. This has been put forward by Bridgewater to stop people hopping up and down Dukes 92 lock constantly, dodging CRT and BW enforcement.

  • Greenie 3
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Approaching Castlefield from the south and Potato wharf is on your left immediately before the water/elsan point.

 

After that, with Dukes 92 lock ahead you have the YHA (Staffordshire) arms to your left and the old coal wharf arm to your right.

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Bridgewater Canal Co are currently in discussions with CRT in changing the reciprocal agreement in that it will be 7 days free of charge as in the past, and where, in the past there has been no restrictions in the return time, it's now being put down to 28 days. This will apply to CRT on BW and BW to CRT and has the IWA's backing. This has been put forward by Bridgewater to stop people hopping up and down Dukes 92 lock constantly, dodging CRT and BW enforcement.

If that means in effect one transit in 28 days, that would rule out anyone from the northern end of the T&M nipping up to Liverpool for a week or so :(

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