Anglian Cuttings No. 112

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ANGLIAN CUTTINGS “Branch of the year award” Awarded to the Ipswich branch at the A.G.M held in Daventry

Ipswich Branch Newsletter Summer/Autumn 2008 No. 112 The Inland Waterways Association is a non-profit distributing company limited by guarantee.

Registered as a charity no. 212342 Registered Office: Island House, Moor Road, Chesham, Bucks HP5 1WA Tel: 01494 783453 Web: www.waterways.org.uk

Chairman Chard Wadley chairman@ipswich-iwa.co.uk Minute Secretary Carolyn Wadley Secretary Charles Stride secretary@ipswich-iwa.co.uk Treasurer Spencer Greystrong treasurer@ipswich-iwa.co.uk Restoration Colin Turner 01473 730586 restoration@ipswich-iwa.co.uk Membership Secretary Clive Saville 01206 241623 Pickerel Project representative Brian Cornell 01449 721632 pickerel.rep@ipswich-iwa.co.uk

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Publicity Brian Holt 01502 741345 pro@ipswich-iwa.co.uk Social Secretary Diana Holt 01502 741345 events@ipswich-iwa.co.uk Fund Raising Lewis Tyler 01473 310381 gippingtrust@ipswich-iwa.co.uk Anglian Cuttings Editor Mick Carter 01245 496676 anglia.cuttings@ipswich-iwa.co.uk Planning Liaison Sue Brown planning@ipswich-iwa.co.uk

Welcome to our new members

Clive Saville

Mr J J Halford Norfolk Mr C J Hicks Suffolk Mr R & Mrs B Cruickshank Norfolk Mr D & Mrs S Sewell Norfolk Mr C & Mrs E Bovill Norfolk Mr N Ganley Norfolk Mr P Jones & Ms L Nazeri Norfolk Mr R & Mrs C Winkworth Norfolk Miss J Dalton Norfolk

3 STRATFORD LOCK RESTORATION The rain this summer was beyond belief and simply would not stop!

The men battled on in the mud to complete dredging the section of channel past the reedbed which the EA required be retained despite the difficulty it added to the task.

When the river rose in August our top dam gave way, taking 3 days to rebuild before we could get back to work and begin installing the second section of gabions along the edge of the channel towards the footbridge. In September the river level rose again, overtopping the lower end dam and pouring over the top bund and through the lock chamber to flood the works faster than our big pump could cope with, and the decision was taken to close down the site until next year.

Everyone prayed for a few days of hot sunshine so the growing heap of sloppy spoil would dry, but to no avail, and it was left on site at the end of the season, sheeted against being washed back into the channel by winter floods.

As the digger work past the reedbed had been slow it could be done with a few workers, but the volunteer numbers were low this year and more hands would have been useful, especially when the dams needed rebuilding and when we commenced the second phase of gabion placement, which is labour intensive. The Saturday work parties were particularly poorly supported, with one being worked by just two men and some cancelled. As fund raising is vital to the work of the Trust, and with our boats making a major contribution, many of the Stratford volunteers have been called on to crew the very busy boats as well as working days at the lock. A total of 26 volunteers worked on site this summer as opposed to 70 last year.

Our thanks to everyone who gave their time and energy, and to those generous people who made donations to our Sponsor a Gabion Appeal which is raising funds to enable us to continue work next year. Any donation, no matter how small, is gratefully received.

The task for 2009 is to finish the gabion wall, which will need many hands. If you can help, you will be very welcome. Details on www.riverstourtrust.org

4 CHAIRMAN’S REPORT

Chard

We are now at the start of a new year and I hope 2008 was a good year for you despite the credit crunch. The branch did well with good progress on the restoration, the hand-over to the River Gipping Trust and their successful public meeting and our enjoyable coach trip in May. We now look forward to 2009 with interest.

Our first winter meetings went well and I found the talk, back in October, on the work carried out by the Harwich Society very interesting.

Andy Rutter made a very good speaker and I found out a great deal about the history of Harwich. November was also interesting with a talk by Frank Huxley of the Longshop Museum in Leiston; I think this museum is probably worth a visit sometime soon. Our fish and chip supper in December was well attended and a very enjoyable evening, the fish and chips from Bonds, Needham Market were very good and reasonably priced. When you read this our annual dinner will be over and the next meeting will be the AGM. At the AGM there is a change of speaker as Charles Stride is away so Spencer Greystrong will give a talk and slide show on the River Gipping. We hope to book Charles for a later date.

As you are probably aware we have a new National Chairman as John Fletcher stood down in November 2008. John recently married Kate and they are due to be proud parents very soon so we wish them all the best for the future. I would like to thank John for all his support to Ipswich Branch over his period as National Chairman and friend.

From the Ipswich Branch we welcome Clive Henderson to the role of National Chairman and look forward to meeting him in 2009.

Bye for now Chard.

5 UPDATE ON THE NORTH WALSHAM AND DILHAM CANAL Last year saw major progress on the North Walsham and Dilham Canal in several directions. Perhaps the most important was in January when the North Walsham & Dilham Canal Trust was incorporated based in North Walsham and bringing in several interested groups who were not previously closely involved with the canal. The formation of the trust was a long-standing objective for the East Anglian Waterways Association, which has always realised that a locally-based body was needed to concentrate on the canal, whereas EAWA includes all of Eastern England in its watching brief.

The Trust’s first Chairman is Roger Hopkins, who has been actively involved with the canal and the IWA for very many years. The Vice Chairman is Chris Black and the Secretary is Carole Bullinger – both of whom have been extremely active in EAWA’s working parties on the canal, whilst Chris is also the Editor of the Trust’s newsletter – intriguingly called “Quagmire”.

The Trust has already been successful in attracting grant monies under The Broads and Rivers Leader+ Programme. This has enabled it to build a footbridge over a soke dyke at Honing Staithe as part of the creation of a new path, to purchase a heavy-duty mower to help keep the lock sites tidy and to produce an attractive publicity leaflet.

EAWA helped towards the matched funding requirement with a £500 donation.

There has also been significant progress on the canal itself. The short branch of the canal at Honing Staithe, which leaves the main canal just upstream of Honing Bridge and runs for 110 yards almost to Weavers Way, had disappeared and was virtually inaccessible under years of prolific tree and other growth. Work on recreating what should be a local amenity had been started towards the end of 2007 but last January a small digger arrived on the scene and started dredging out years of accumulated rubbish and silt.

Further work parties have now opened up the whole area and have included the new path that runs down the north side of the branch to the main canal which it then follows upstream for a short distance before swinging back over the new footbridge and eventually connecting up with Weavers Way. Canoes can now use the branch and when the water level at Honing Lock is eventually restored to its proper navigational depth, visiting boats will be able to moor up within a short distance of Honing village.

6 Honing was also the scene of another break through. Over the years the 450-yard stretch of canal upstream from Honing Lock to Honing (Dee) Bridge had become increasingly blocked by overhanging and fallen trees and canoes were confronted with an impenetrable jungle and were turning back defeated. In June two sessions were held and by dint of much hard work the section has been cleared of the obstructions and has been re-opened to navigation, much to be delight of the canoeists.

Elsewhere work has continued at the various lock sites – at Honing the bay below the lock has been enlarged making it easier for craft to turn round, whilst the lock sides are regularly mowed. A public footpath crosses over the head of the lock and then down the west side and this is well used. Likewise a considerable number of canoes penetrate up the canal from Wayford Bridge and occasionally larger craft visit here.

The second lock at Briggate was the scene of the EAWA’s very first working party in December 2000. Since then regular sessions have been held to keep the site tidy as a public road crosses over the tail of the lock. One of the walls at the head of the chamber is in a dangerous condition as its foundations have been undermined by the constant flow of river water through the chamber; it has had to be fenced off for safety reasons. Recently a start has been made on clearing the mill pond which lies to the west of the lock – this is partly to restore a local amenity but also to deter any attempts to take over the site for non waterway purposes. The remains of both bottom gates are still in situ at this lock – these include cast-iron balance beams, which are an important heritage feature.

The chamber of third lock at Ebridge is in fairly good condition and sessions are held here to keep the lock sides clear and to remove rubbish from the head of the lock, where the top gates, albeit much reinforced, are still in situ. They are capable of holding up a navigation level and have been used as such, but this seems to cause problems for some landowners upstream who claim there is seepage through the banks. A major task at Ebridge has been to clear the upstream weir of deposited dredgings and other rubbish so that it can perform its intended function again.

The fourth lock is at Spa Common, Bacton Wood, to the east of North Walsham.

There is a restored water mill nearby but the canal above the lock and the mill is dry, the water having been diverted many years ago. The mill owner would dearly love to restore the water to the mill so that it can operate again. To this end the plan is to rebuild the fore bay of the lock so that stop planks could be inserted.

7 To get the water back, however, will be harder as the canal has been breached upstream of the lock and the water diverted further upstream into the river that then reenters the canal below the lock.

The final two locks are at Swafield, but these are on the final 1½-mile stretch of the canal up to Antingham Ponds that was legally abandoned in 1927 by warrant from the Ministry of Transport and much of the land was subsequently sold off.

Today the canal is in four distinct sections. From its junction in the south with the Smallburgh River, some 300 yards upstream of Wayford Bridge, the first 1,350-yard section to Tonnage Bridge is generally wide and clear, albeit the depth is restricted in places. It is then a further 2,700 yards up to Honing Lock but upstream of the bridge the channel is narrower and less frequently used and lack of dredging over many years can sometimes make the passage difficult in places. This section includes the 750yard East Ruston Branch, which is shallow but navigable with care.

There is a public right of free navigation up to Honing Lock and this right is enshrined in the canal’s original Act of Parliament of 1812. Despite this, the right for powerdriven craft to use the canal, which is effectively the canalised river Ant, is disputed in some quarters and it is important that regular use continues to be made by such craft.

EAWA has organised several such trips and these are also important as they give the opportunity to clear any obstructions such as fallen trees.

Tonnage Bridge collapsed in 1980 but was rebuilt by the local landowner with the aid of a grant from the Broads Authority and reopened in 1982. To enable this to take place, the owners of the canal – the North Walsham Canal Co. Ltd – sold the landowner all this section of the canal to within 20 yards of Honing Lock. At the same time the IWA’s Norwich Branch was active in helping clear the first stretch up to the bridge, but was prevented from carrying the work on up to the lock.

The second section runs from Honing Lock up to the tail of Bacton Wood Lock (6,870 yards). The canal is in water and remains a statutory waterway but is only passable subject to the rights granted in the 1812 Act of Parliament, which include the payment of tolls.

The 1812 Act also covers the third section, from Bacton Wood Lock up to Swafield (2,370 yards), but much of this is dry or where it is still in water is densely overgrown.

And the fourth and final section (about 2,530 yards) has been abandoned.

8 Apart from East Ruston and Honing there was a third branch; it ran from roughly midway between Briggate and Ebridge Locks westwards some 440 yards to the road at Meeting Hill. It appears to have fallen out of use at a very early stage and is now mainly dry.

The canal is well worth a visit. The easiest access points are at Honing, where it is a short walk from the Triangle to reach the Honing branch and the bridge. Sadly the former towpath from Honing Bridge down to the lock has been closed, efforts by the working parties to recreate this being denied, but the lock can be accessed by using the public footpath Weavers Way which passes close by.

Briggate and Ebridge locks are easily accessed by road and at Spa Common Bridge, Bacton Wood Lock is almost in view and there are plans to improve the present footpath access from the road bridge to the lock and on up to the breach.

Work parties organised jointly the Trust and EAWA continue to be held regularly – these are usually on the last Sunday in each month and details can be obtained from David Revill on 01603 738648.

Alan Faulkner

St Mary and St Margaret Church, Antingham.

St Nicholas Church Dilham,

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Trent Bridge at Nottingham

AUGUST 28 – 31 BANK HOLIDAY

2009 National Festival & Boat Show will be held at Red Hill, near Ratcliffe on Soar, on the Soar Navigation, close to its confluence with the river Trent, and the junctions with the Erewash, and Trent & Mersey canals, just south of Nottingham.

IWA hopes to encourage boaters visiting the Festival to try the Erewash and Chesterfield canals and other lesser frequented waterways of the East Midlands. The Festival also intends to raise the profile and give support to waterway societies in the area, including the Derby, Cromford and Grantham canals all of which are currently under restoration.

Moira - 24th & 25th May, 2009 The 2009 IWA Trailboat Festival starts with a spectacular illuminated boat display on the Saturday evening, the 23rd.

Abandoned in 1944 due to mining subsidence, the Ashby Canal at Moira has been progressively restored, giving nearly 1.5 miles of new canal in the heart of the National Forest. The length incorporates a new road bridge, a swing bridge and now the only lock on the Ashby Canal.

Boaters can join the event from Friday, 22nd May, and the illuminated boat parade will be centred on the Donisthorpe length of the canal. At Moira, Sunday and Monday will feature a full programme of events and entertainment, trade and charity stalls and historic re-enactments

10 River Gipping Trust News Issue 1 October 2008 EDITORIAL Welcome to the first edition of RGT News which we trust will be published regularly but at this stage we are not sure of the frequency. The aim is to keep you in touch with our plans for the future of our exciting new project.

The River Gipping Trust got off to a flying start at the Open Meeting in Needham Market at the end of September and for those of you who were not able to be present a copy of our Press Release on the event is included in this Newsletter.

We would always welcome your views and ideas - not necessarily for publication.

LJT 'The River Gipping Trust was formed in 2007 by a small group of people from the Ipswich Branch of the Inland Waterways Association (IWA). IWA is a national organisation and the Ipswich Branch covers virtually the whole of Suffolk and Norfolk. The Branch felt that a new Trust should be formed in order to concentrate efforts on the River Gipping and allow IWA to fulfil their original role. The Trust is entirely independent of the IWA although it's main aims and objectives are very similar.'

RESTORATION PROJECT. The Inland Waterways Association (IWA) has been carrying out restoration work on the River Gipping for many years without attracting much support from the general public which is why we decided to form the trust, in the hope that we would get more support for a local trust. We had several offers of help at the end of our recent open meeting, so hopefully the policy is working.

We will need that support as the Trust is taking over the restoration work on the river as from the 1st October from the IWA. We are currently finishing the rebuild of the bank retaining wall that protects the head of Baylham Lock and the ground between the navigation channel and the mill stream.

A start is being made on the restoration of the lock chamber.

Next year we are planning an intensive programme of work in the summer involving the removal of 45Msq of ineffectual concrete in the bottom of the lock and its replacement with a correctly profiled concrete invert (lock chamber base), constructing a support base for a rebuilt eastern lock wall which will require the removal and replacement of 150Mcu of soil.

11 To assist with this ambitious project we have requested two Waterways Recovery Group (WRG) week long work camps & a London WRG weekend camp. These will need to be backed up by our own volunteers.

COLINTURNER

MONEY !! WHERE DOES IT COME FROM AND WHAT HAVE WE SPENT IT ON? I know accounting is a boring subject and you’re probably just about to skip onto a more interesting article in this newsletter but give me a few moments to tell you about our financial affairs. You never know, you might even enjoy it!

When we opened our bank account in April 2007 we had a donation of £1000 from Ipswich Branch of the Inland Waterways Association (IWA) to use as our initial deposit. Incidentally, I don’t know if any of you have tried to open a new bank account recently but it ain’t easy. We had to get a Commissioner of Oaths involved just to prove we were who we said we were!

Anyway, with our account open we could start looking for new members to bolster our funds. I reckon we’ve been quite successful in that operation as we now have 65 of whom 21 are Life members and one company (J Breheny) is a Corporate member.

Between them they have contributed £2568 to our funds. Along with their membership fees they have also made donations amounting to £1,444.

What makes those two figures all the more welcome is the fact that the majority have signed the form to say they would allow us to claim Gift Aid. That nice Mr Brown gave us another £553 simply because you ticked the box.

The other major part of our income came from the sale of scrap metal which one our members collects and delivers to our work site down at Baylham. For the sake of a few trips down to Sackers at Claydon we raised over a £1000 in less than a year.

Now, what have we spent it on? The largest item by far was our publicity budget; in total we’ve spent £3,380 on that. Now I know that sounds a huge amount but without it I doubt we would have got half the members we have and they certainly wouldn’t have contributed anywhere near as much to our income. The largest item was the cost of our Vision document at £1750 for 1000 copies. However that price included all the art work, the design and printing so I reckon we did very well. In fact we expect to receive a grant of £1000 very soon towards the cost of this booklet. We also spent another £1330 on 3000 membership leaflets but again without them we wouldn’t have got any members!

12 OPENMEETINGHELDATTHECOUNCILCHAMBERS,MID-SUFFOLKDISTRICTCOUNCILOFFICES,NEEDHAMMARKET FRIDAY 26TH.SEPTEMBER2008 Recently a new chapter was written in the history of the Ipswich & Stowmarket Navigation by the formation of a Trust whose aim is to restore the navigation on the River Gipping and to care for the flora and fauna of the Gipping Valley. Last month saw the launch of the River Gipping Trust at an Open Meeting held in the Mid Suffolk District Council Chamber at Needham Market.

Chairman County Councillor Jeremy Clover introduced fellow trustees to an audience of over eighty people with an interest in the environment of the River Gipping, which was followed by an enthusiastic talk by local Riparian owner and resident, Gordon Crosby on ‘The Rights, Responsibilities and Hopes of a Riparian Owner’ The audience then viewed a power point presentation showing not just the history of the river and the Ipswich Branch of the Inland Waterways Association’s restoration so far, but the proposals for the future. Hopefully one day the locks will be re-gated and this waterway will have the pleasure of seeing the restoration of minor traffic and use as a recreational asset to the area.

Considerable discussion followed on various topics raised by the audience which augurs well for the future of this new project.

For further information, look at our web-site www.rivergippingtrust.org.uk or contact the Secretary, Lewis J. Tyler on (01473) 310381 Now what of the future? We have taken over the Baylham Lock restoration project from IWA. Our Site Manager has put together a cost estimate of £6500 for next year and that assumes we can get a lot of the machinery we need on ‘free’ hire. If we have to pay the market rate the price goes up to £10,000. It also assumes that all the labour is free so the first figure is materials only.

As you can see we need to get involved in some major fund raising and persuade lots of people to come and help down at Baylham. Will we see you there next year?

Spencer Greystrong. Treasurer.

If you know of any local organisation who would like to hear our illustrated presentations, we now have a team of presenters who would be willing to put in an appearance, for a modest contribution to RGT funds. We have available a full description of the history of the Ipswich &Stowmarket Navigation (approx.1 hour), a brief history together with IWA achievements over recent years and hopes for the future (approx. 20 mins) as well as a 7 minute illustrated running of the recent interview with Lesley Dolphin of BBC Radio Suffolk at Baylham Lock. Charles Stride is co-ordinating dates - contact him ontrusteee001cs@rivergippingtrust.org.ukor (01728) 831061

13 IWA Press Release Issue Date: 04 December 2008 IWA WELCOMES ENVIRONMENT AGENCY U-TURN OVER SALE OF LOCK COTTAGES

The Inland Waterways Association (IWA) has welcomed the announcement by the Environment Agency that it has scrapped plans to sell or let one third of lock-keepers' cottages on the River Thames.

Earlier this year IWA protested against the plans to sell 10 river lock cottages and to let a further 12 to cut costs.

IWA lobbied MPs and alerted waterways stakeholders. This led to criticism of the EA by MPs, councillors, and other waterways user groups. An Early Day Motion was tabled in Parliament and, as a result of this pressure, the Agency suspended its proposals pending further review.

The Agency has announced that it has "listened carefully" to people's objections and that concerns about "flood risk" was key to its decision to abandon the sell off. It now has made a commitment to ensure that there are resident lock keepers at each of the 45 locks along the Thames. There are still plans to sell five relief cottages, which are not on the river, and relocate residents. However, it has guaranteed that no lock and weir staff will be made homeless or redundant. This decision has been welcomed by lock keepers and their supporters.

Speaking on behalf of IWA, Roger Squires, the chairman of Navigation Committee, said: “We are delighted that common sense has prevailed. It is important for lock cottages to remain with resident lock keepers as they play an important role in managing flood risk in the Thames valley. Without their essential supervision, along a river much frequented by the public, there is always a significant risk to public safety and to property.

I congratulate Defra Ministers on their intervention and the Environment Agency on its willingness to revisit its initial proposal and the subsequent decision not to proceed with the disposal of the lock keeper cottages along the Thames.�

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Social events 2009 13 Feb 09 Branch AGM followed by Spencer Greystong giving a talk on the River Gipping ('The following committee members retire by rotation. Charles Stride, Sue Brown, Brian Cornell. Charles Stride and Sue Brown have agreed to offer themselves for re-election.

There are up to three vacancies on the committee and nominations are required and encouraged. Please contact the Secretary Charles Stride for nomination forms.)

13 Mar 09 Lee (Wiggy) Cooke - Painted canal ware.

All social evenings are held at Needham Market community centre at 7:30 p.m. except Annual dinner

Obituary Doug Tomlinson, a loyal supporter of the Branch, died on 1 October 2008. Doug attended many branch meetings, joined us on the May coach trips and made several donations to our restoration work on the River Gipping. Many of you will remember Doug giving a talk on railways at our AGM last year, along with his friend Brian, using a model railway mounted on an ironing board. Doug gave us the history talk whilst Brian controlled the miniature railway. Doug will be sorely missed.

15 EASTERN REGION ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING Notice is hereby given that the Annual General Meeting of the Eastern Region of the Inland Waterways Association will be held on Friday 13th February 2009 at 8.00 p.m. at the Needham Market Community Centre, School Street, Needham Market.

AGENDA 1. Apologies 2. Approval of the Minutes of the AGM held on 20th March 2008 3. Matters Arising from those Minutes 4. Chairman’s Report 5. Election of Committee Members (see notes below) Notes: [following the amendment of Region Byelaws dated 12/11/07] a)

There is no longer any limit to the number of members of the committee

b) No existing members of the committee are due to retire under the 3-year rule at the date of the AGM c)

It is no longer necessary for those who wish to be elected to the committee to be nominated and seconded but all who wish to stand must agree to do so. Consents from members of the Region who wish to stand for election at the AGM 2009 must be deposited with the Region Secretary [Nigel Long 7 Georgian Court, Peterborough PE3 6AF or by email at nhlong@supanet.com] before the start of the Annual General Meeting

CONSENT FORM I agree to stand for election to the Eastern Region committee at the 2009 Annual General Meeting. I am a member of Eastern Region

(Sign) -----------------------------

Print Name ------------------------

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Working party dates Working parties are held at Baylham Lock from 0900 to 1700 every Wednesday and the first Saturday in the month unless that Saturday is in a Bank Holiday weekend, the work party will then be held on the second Saturday.

In 2009 we are hosting 2 x WRG canal camps on: July 11th to July 18th. and August 8th to August 15th.

We also are hosting a London WRG weekend on 25th & 26 July.

We plan to tackle a large job in July & August which may require extra work parties to be arranged at short notice offers of help would be appreciated.

Colin Turner

Interesting web sites Ipswich IWA web site http://www.ipswich-iwa.co.uk http://rivergippingtrust.org/default.aspx http://www.flickr.com/photos/ipswich_iwa/ . http://www.waterways.org.uk http://www.harnser.info http://www.wow4water.net/ http://www.broads-society.org.uk/index.php?page=home http://www.thegreenbook.org.uk/home/home.asp http://www.riverstourtrust.org/ http://www.goba.org.uk/ http://www.waterscape.com/ http://www.savethewaterways.org.uk/