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CHARITY REPAIRS NATION’S CANALS SO THEY CAN BE ENJOYED BY MILLIONS OF PEOPLE


Ray T

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PRESS RELEASE

 

19 October 2018

 

CHARITY REPAIRS NATION’S CANALS SO THEY CAN BE ENJOYED BY MILLIONS OF PEOPLE

 

This October sees the start of a six-month-long programme of repairs to England and Wales’ waterways, as the charity, Canal & River Trust, spends millions of pounds to restore some of the nation’s best loved canals.

 

As part of this work, the Trust is organising nine free public open days across the country and will invite the communities who use them, or live and work alongside the sites, to come and learn about their heritage and the work to care for them, and how canals and rivers can make a difference to people’s lives. Research proves that being by a canal or river makes people happier and healthier, and people feel less stressed when they visit their local waterway.

 

This year the open days are taking place in busy urban areas to highlight how our canals bring much needed green and blue spaces and routes to towns and cities across the country. Providing the perfect spots for recreation, exercise or just to unwind, the waterways that weave through these communities also bring calm and serenity to areas where such spaces are rare and can make a huge difference to people’s mental and physical wellbeing.

 

Visitors coming along to one of our open days can expect to find a range of activities to try out such as fishing and canoeing. Additionally, the Trust’s team of skilled and passionate craftsman and other experts, from civil engineers to heritage advisors and environmental scientists, and our team of committed volunteers, will be on hand to explain about the varied work we do, why the preservation of this vital part of the country’s history is so important, and how the waterways are being re-purposed to yield benefits for people today. 

 

Richard Parry, chief executive of the Canal & River Trust, says: “Our waterways are an amazing historic legacy and the Trust works year-round to keep them open and safe for everyone to enjoy, which requires a huge amount of planning and investment as well as a wide range of craftsmanship and expertise.

 

“We believe that waterways can make a real difference to people’s lives and for the millions of people living alongside them, especially in our towns and cities where green space is at a premium, canals and rivers can provide a boost to health, happiness and wellbeing.  They are free to use and on people’s doorstep. By opening up our work to the public we can show the benefits they offer while explaining about the scale of the Trust’s work to care for them now.”

 

As part of its maintenance programme, the Trust will be working on more than 180 different sites between October 2018 and March 2019. The types of works this winter range from re-lining and replacing lock gates – hand-made in the Trust’s specialist workshops at Bradley in the West Midlands and Stanley Ferry in Yorkshire - to repairing canal walls and other structures, and maintenance works at iconic sites like Anderton Boat Lift.

 

To find out more about the open days happening near you visit: https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/about-us/our-campaigns/open-days

 

-ends-

 

For further media requests please contact:

Sarah Burns, campaigns manager

m 07766 504270 e sarah.burns@canalrivertrust.org.uk 

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Once again no mention of Boating!!!

 

This idiot almost goes out of his way to alienate the people who pay his wages - if we aren't important why don't we all simply stop paying our licences and exercise our rights under his "free to use" policy...…………………………...

 

Never before has a rebrand to the Cyclists and Ramblers Trust been more appropriate? 

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8 minutes ago, Halsey said:

Once again no mention of Boating!!!

 

This idiot almost goes out of his way to alienate the people who pay his wages - if we aren't important why don't we all simply stop paying our licences and exercise our rights under his "free to use" policy...…………………………...

 

Never before has a rebrand to the Cyclists and Ramblers Trust been more appropriate? 

Cyclists and Ramblers Trust..............I like that..........as said before sad but true.

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48 minutes ago, Halsey said:

Once again no mention of Boating!!!

 

This idiot almost goes out of his way to alienate the people who pay his wages - if we aren't important why don't we all simply stop paying our licences and exercise our rights under his "free to use" policy...…………………………...

 

Never before has a rebrand to the Cyclists and Ramblers Trust been more appropriate? 

Whilst I know CRT will never please everybody on this forum it slightly annoys me when the briefings I put up are met with personal insults against the writer.

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Just now, Ray T said:

Whilst I know CRT will never please everybody on this forum it slightly annoys me when the briefings I put up are met with personal insults against the writer.

I assumed "this idiot" was the writer of the press release, you didn't write it did you?

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8 minutes ago, Jerra said:

I assumed "this idiot" was the writer of the press release, you didn't write it did you?

No I didn't write it I just pass on the releases to the forum. I don't have a pseudonym of "Sarah." <_<

 

It is just a little job I was asked to do for CRT.

NB I do not work for CRT in any way shape or form, nor do I get any benefit from doing this.

 

As has been said on here in the past "Attack the argument, not the person."

Edited by Ray T
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1 minute ago, Ray T said:

No I didn't write it I just pass on the releases to the forum. 

 

It is just a little job I was asked to do for CRT.

NB I do not work for CRT in any way shape or form, nor do I get any benefit from doing this.

 

As has been said on here in the past "Attack the argument, not the person."

The point I was making, or more correctly trying to make was, that it was not a personal insult as you didn't write it.

 

I am afraid that you have to expect that unless boaters are mentioned at least twice by anything CRT puts out there will be many who get stroppy.   It doesn't seem to have sunk in yet to a lot of boaters that for the canals to survive CRT has to get lots of people who aren't boaters committed to their survival.   Boaters are already committed and so they probably feel they can put out press releases which don't mention them.   A good reason for them doing this is that if boaters take a prominent place in most releases many who aren't boaters would justifiably take the attitude "Huh those boaters are going to get the most value out of the canals let them pay for it".

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1 hour ago, Ray T said:

Whilst I know CRT will never please everybody on this forum it slightly annoys me when the briefings I put up are met with personal insults against the writer.

How you can draw that conclusion from what I wrote surprises me - obviously it wasn't aimed at you!!

 

It was aimed at CRT's esteemed CEO and master of press coverage Richard Parry

 

1 hour ago, Jerra said:

I assumed "this idiot" was the writer of the press release, you didn't write it did you?

exactly

1 hour ago, Jerra said:

The point I was making, or more correctly trying to make was, that it was not a personal insult as you didn't write it.

 

I am afraid that you have to expect that unless boaters are mentioned at least twice by anything CRT puts out there will be many who get stroppy.   It doesn't seem to have sunk in yet to a lot of boaters that for the canals to survive CRT has to get lots of people who aren't boaters committed to their survival.   Boaters are already committed and so they probably feel they can put out press releases which don't mention them.   A good reason for them doing this is that if boaters take a prominent place in most releases many who aren't boaters would justifiably take the attitude "Huh those boaters are going to get the most value out of the canals let them pay for it".

exactly my point .................we do pay - more than anyone else as our license is effectively an additional premium ........................…. and we're not looking for a "prominent" place, any place would be good

 

I would hope I am mainly talking to the converted here and have also directed my comments at CRT as I regularly do

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25 minutes ago, Halsey said:

How you can draw that conclusion from what I wrote surprises me - obviously it wasn't aimed at you!!

 

It was aimed at CRT's esteemed CEO and master of press coverage Richard Parry

 

exactly

exactly my point .................we do pay - more than anyone else as our license is effectively an additional premium ........................…. and we're not looking for a "prominent" place, any place would be good

 

I would hope I am mainly talking to the converted here and have also directed my comments at CRT as I regularly do

As I said in the post you have quoted I believe mention in many of these press releases could well be counter productive.  Counterproductive in not getting the number of "friends" the government is demanding of them and also in an attitude "it is mainly for boaters they should bear the full cost."    Do boaters want/are able to fully support the canals with little or no help from government or "friends"?

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Why don't folks on here realise that the bulk of income to run the canals comes from Government. If CaRT can make a good job of persuading Authority that the canals are for the public benefit (not just boaters) - then these extra funds will dry up??

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8 minutes ago, OldGoat said:

Why don't folks on here realise that the bulk of income to run the canals comes from Government. If CaRT can make a good job of persuading Authority that the canals are for the public benefit (not just boaters) - then these extra funds will dry up??

And we contribute our share to that income as do others through taxation...…………….then we have to pay a premium on top but we are by far the minority user compared to cyclists and pedestrians and the former do more physical damage than any of us and yet assume the greatest priority in CRT's thoughts and intrude on the "shared" space to the greatest degree with no constraint.

 

Nothing we say will make a difference so I'm off for a drink

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6 minutes ago, Halsey said:

And we contribute our share to that income as do others through taxation...…………….then we have to pay a premium on top but we are by far the minority user compared to cyclists and pedestrians and the former do more physical damage than any of us and yet assume the greatest priority in CRT's thoughts and intrude on the "shared" space to the greatest degree with no constraint.

 

Nothing we say will make a difference so I'm off for a drink

I take it from that reply you would prefer the government funds to dry up.

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22 minutes ago, OldGoat said:

Why don't folks on here realise that the bulk of income to run the canals comes from Government. If CaRT can make a good job of persuading Authority that the canals are for the public benefit (not just boaters) - then these extra funds will dry up??

Should that read :

If CaRT cannot  make a good job of persuading Authority that the canals are for the public benefit (not just boaters) - then these extra funds will dry up??

 

Or, am I misunderstanding something ?

 

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6 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

Should that read :

If CaRT cannot  make a good job of persuading Authority that the canals are for the public benefit (not just boaters) - then these extra funds will dry up??

 

Or, am I misunderstanding something ?

 

I never noticed that when I read it I read can't.   The mind putting in what it knows should be there I suppose.

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36 minutes ago, OldGoat said:

Why don't folks on here realise that the bulk of income to run the canals comes from Government. If CaRT can make a good job of persuading Authority that the canals are for the public benefit (not just boaters) - then these extra funds will dry up??

In actual fact the income from the Government (DEFRA Grant) is far from 'the bulk of income' coming in at just 24.7% of income.

The breakdown is :

 

Return on Investments = £51.1m

Defra Grant = £50m

Income from boaters =£46.6m

Income from utilities (selling water extraction / drainage rights) = £28.4m

Charity Donations = £6.1m

Third Party Income (councils etc t upgrade towpaths etc) = £21.9m

 

Boaters activities generate almost the same as the DEFRA Grant - we ARE needed to be 'onside'.

 

£10m of the Defra grant is reliant on C&RTs ever (ridiculously) increasing 'satisfaction ratings' and 'visitor numbers' and other KPI's.

Once Defra actually read the figures and realise that it is very unlikely that 7.5 billion people visit the canals every week the 'performance' part of the grant will be removed.

 

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12 hours ago, Halsey said:

And we contribute our share to that income as do others through taxation...…………….then we have to pay a premium on top but we are by far the minority user compared to cyclists and pedestrians and the former do more physical damage than any of us and yet assume the greatest priority in CRT's thoughts and intrude on the "shared" space to the greatest degree with no constraint.

 

Nothing we say will make a difference so I'm off for a drink

 

But cyclists and pedestrians don't care whether the canal needs dredging, the offside vegetation needs cutting back or the locks no longer work. This is why boaters need to contribute more to the canals than other users.

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13 hours ago, Halsey said:

And we contribute our share to that income as do others through taxation...…………….then we have to pay a premium on top but we are by far the minority user compared to cyclists and pedestrians and the former do more physical damage than any of us and yet assume the greatest priority in CRT's thoughts and intrude on the "shared" space to the greatest degree with no constraint.

 

Nothing we say will make a difference so I'm off for a drink

Your share to the government grant is approx. £1.50!

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3 hours ago, Tim Lewis said:

Your share to the government grant is approx. £1.50!

Not my point ….. we pay our share and then more - unlike cyclists etc

4 hours ago, cuthound said:

 

But cyclists and pedestrians don't care whether the canal needs dredging, the offside vegetation needs cutting back or the locks no longer work. This is why boaters need to contribute more to the canals than other users.

Again not my point - my original post simply pointed out the continuing practice of CRT not recognising/acknowledging boaters as stakeholders

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19 hours ago, Halsey said:

How you can draw that conclusion from what I wrote surprises me - obviously it wasn't aimed at you!!

 

It was aimed at CRT's esteemed CEO and master of press coverage Richard Parry

 

I agree with Ray. Attack the argument not the person.

 

Calling anyone an idiot whether they be Sarah the author, Richard Parry or whoever, undermines the argument being presented by the name-caller. 

 

 

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8 minutes ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

I agree with Ray. Attack the argument not the person.

 

Calling anyone an idiot whether they be Sarah the author, Richard Parry or whoever, undermines the argument being presented by the name-caller. 

 

 

I agree with the principle but in this instance IMHO the problem with CRT lies at the top (certainly NOT the operational staff) so RP should be named - again I wasn't aiming this at Sarah who presumably does as she is told☺️ 

 

How's the fridge??

Edited by Halsey
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