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96 PAGES
Issue 160, February 2019
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FROM THE MED TO THE CHANNEL P19 WATERSIDE WALKIES
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Caribbean cruising
MEMORIAL TO STTV FOUNDER
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BOATS BACK AT MIDDLEWICH P18
Heading for West India Dock on the St Pancras Cruising Club’s inaugural ‘Caribbean Cruise’. The brick tower on the left is a sewage outfall vent c1906 and in the distance are the modern blocks in Canary Wharf. More pictures on page 4. PHOTO: JANET RICHARDSON
Air pollution plan to impact on boaters
By Sarah Spencer
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WOOD burners and open fires face restrictions in a new clean air plan which could heavily impact on boaters. The Government has set out what it calls a ‘world leading’ plan to tackle air pollution in its Clean Air Strategy, published on January 14. It promises to reduce particulates across much of the country by 2030.
Caldon Canal projects
The Canal & River Trust has responded by reiterating its response to the draft Clean Air Strategy last year and said its position remains the same. A spokesperson for the CRT said: “The charity is supportive of the Government’s proposed measures to improve air quality and believes the waterways have a role to play in combatting pollution and providing clean air spaces, as well as helping reduce transport pollution by
THE Canal & River Trust will be carrying out £157,000 worth of vital maintenance and repair work to the Caldon Canal over the next three months. Six separate projects will see the replacement of three lock gates and essential repairs to several bridges, lock chambers and a timber walkway. Volunteers will be helping CRT staff on a special project at Waterworks Lock (Lock 5) and Lock 8 Road Lock, near Stockton Brook, to replace a worn-out gate and damaged ground paddles.
moving journeys off road. “However, in recognising that the inland waterways make a very small but sometimes locally significant contribution to air pollution – namely through boat dependence on solid fuel burning stoves and diesel engines – the trust is arguing for a coherent Governmentsupported approach, including investment in alternative technologies, to help address these issues and
Scottish canal budget
THE draft Scottish Government budget included the announcement of Scottish Canals’ Grant in Aid for 2019-20, writes Cicely Oliver. The overall canals budget has increased significantly from £11.6 to £15 million. However, this is largely capital spending (increasing from £3.5 million to £6.5 million), which cannot be spent on canal maintenance and operations, the relevant budget increasing slightly from £8.1 million to £8.6 million. The final vote to approve the budget in Scottish Parliament is likely to take place in February.
incentivise change. The trust wants to work with Government and local authorities on a sector-wide plan to develop solutions for reducing the impact from power and heating on boats while encouraging the uptake of reduced-emissions technology. “This would need to take into account the current difficulties boat owners • Continued on page 2
Unusual river finds
ARCHAEOLOGISTS carrying out research digs on land beside the River Thames close to the Thames Estuary found a leather boot, several centuries old, well-preserved by the surrounding mud, writes Elizabeth Rogers. The supposition is that it was lost by a traveller, unable to find it on a dark night – perhaps even on his return from a local ale-house. Another ‘significant artefact’ – a Roman oil lamp – was found by ‘mudlark’ Alan Suttie as he searched the river bank and is now in the Museum of London.