The Chester Packet

Chester Packet

1

January 2013

January 2013

Issue No 58 THE INLAND WATERWAYS ASSOCIATION CHESTER & DISTRICT BRANCH

The Breach at Dutton on the Trent & Mersey Canal.

(Picture—Broken Cross Boat Club)

Chester Packet

2

January 2013

BILL SINCLAIR

On Friday 21 September Chester & District Branch lost one of its most long-standing and valued members—Bill Sinclair.

Bill had been a member of the committee since Chester was a section of Merseyside Branch, formed by John and Hilda Bowles in 1980. In 1986, with 3 rallies under our belt and packed monthly meetings, it was decided by Head Office that we should become a Branch. A meeting was held with Ken Goodwin, the National Chairman, after which Richard Drake became our Chairman as John and Hilda felt their work was done.

I can’t imagine meetings without Bill. He was a quiet man but when something needed saying he said it succinctly and firmly. As he and I were the last two of the original members his often-said expression was ‘Margaret, do you remember . . . .?’ He was our Branch Liaison Officer with BW, our raffle and quiz king, and always ran the rally dog show.

Bill played a vital part in every event held by the Branch.

The Branch has lost one of its most loyal and much-loved members. We will miss you Bill.

Margaret Pitney

Chester Packet

3

January 2013

BILL SINCLAIR’S LAST JOURNEY ON GLENMORE As many of you will know, Bill Sinclair (our dad), sadly and unexpectedly passed away on Friday 21st September at the Countess of Chester Hospital, Dealing with our grief and the funeral was never going to be easy, but it was surprisingly made easier by the fact that, when discussing which coffin to have, one of us commented on how miserable they looked and what a shame it was that we couldn’t paint it to look like a narrow boat. The lovely lady at Dutton and Hallmark told us that we could indeed have a narrow boat coffin and directed us to a company called ‘‘Colourful Coffins’’. We were asked to send photos of Glenmore, and looking through the very many packs of photos of mum and dad’s various trips, rallies and working parties it made us realise just how much boats, canals and most of all the friends made over the years meant to them both. This gave us all comfort and strength. Eldest daughter Gill (who luckily works in Computer Aided Design) liaised with Colourful Coffins and the result was truly amazing.

When dad ‘‘came home’’ for the last time we would normally have dreaded looking at the hearse, but, as the photo shows, there was ‘‘Glenmore’’ complete with Rocky and Jessie the dogs and herons and kingfishers. The family flowers were also a magnificent model of Glenmore, made by Donna, a very clever family friend. The journey to the crematorium was made so much more bearable with a long convoy of cars following dad and Glenmore on their final ‘‘sailing’’ . Many amazed faces were glimpsed as we passed by, one man nearly fell off his bike when he saw it!

Dad had a Humanist service which was so personal and beautiful. The family were amazed by how many mourners attended, it was a squeeze to fit everyone in; we estimated around 170 people were there representing every aspect of dad’s life. Dad’s favourite songs were played and very moving poems and tributes were read, Brian Phillips speaking for the IWA and boaters. The final song as the curtains closed was ‘‘The Carnival is Over’’ by the Seekers, which was unbearably sad, but then as we all walked out ‘‘Always Look on the Bright Side of Life’’ was played as dad wouldn’t have wanted anyone to be miserable.

We hope all boaters who knew dad will have good memories of him and will be happy to know that he had the send off he would have wanted.

Written by daughter Dawn On behalf of wife Kay, daughters Gill, Chris, Mandy and son George

Chester Packet

4

January 2013

OFFICERS AND COMMITTEE President Richard Drake, BEM North West Region Chairman

Alan Platt, 013527 2064; alan.platt@waterways.org..uk

Branch Chairman

Brian Phillips, 01244 300025. brian.phillips@waterways.org.uk

Secretary

Gillian Bolt, 0151 678 9300; gillianbolt:@waterways.org.uk

Treasurer

Ron Evans, 01928 788673; rjkingsley@tiscali.co.uk

Social Secretary

Vacant

Webmaster, Region Committee Representative

Mike Carter, 0151 641 9316; mike.c.carter@btinternet.com

Editor, Chester Packet

Margaret Pitney, 0151 608 6487; margaret.pitney@talktalk.net

Merseyside Liaison

Dave Smallshaw

SCARS Liaison

Colin Greenall

0151 924 2036; flatboat@aol.com 01744 73174; colin.greenall@btopenworld.com

BRANCH CHAIRMAN’S REPORT The end of the year again. As usual a year dominated by the weather, first not enough rain then too much and not much sunshine, although on a personal level Pat and I have made 5 cruises this year and it’s mainly been quite pleasant.

2012 can be called the Year of Cancellation, so many events, not just Waterways, were cancelled nationally even the River Pageant did not escape the deluge. Therefore the Branch was very lucky in June when the Northwich River Weaver Festival took place. The weekend was mainly dry which encouraged the visitors but the rain which had fallen on the Cheshire hills prior to the event had arrived in the river by Sunday and made the transit from the site past the River Dane and under Town Bridge rather hairy.

I am pleased to say everyone got away safely, if the event had been held later in the year it may have been another story. The Weaver Navigation, to give its correct name, is usually like a wide canal, quite placid, as the flow is controlled

Chester Packet

5

January 2013

. by weirs and any change in water level is minimal, however with the high rainfall and the lack of dredging over the years the water had nowhere to go but into Northwich.

At the same time the Trent & Mersey Canal breached at Croxton and Dutton trapping a number of boats but thankfully no loss of life.

The Canal & River Trust have responded positively to the problem, first by installing stop planks then rewatering the middle section so boats could be moved via the Anderton Lift onto the Weaver then the Manchester Ship Canal and down to Ellesmere Port to access the Shropshire Union. C&RT liaised with MSC and arranged for surveys to be completed to minimise any delays.

The repairs are completed at the Croxton breach and will reopen before Christmas. The Dutton breach will take longer but should be completed before the end of March. To review progress please look at the C&RT website feature Diary of a Breach. This is a huge departure from BW when it was not always easy to find out what was going on; C&RT is much better at communication.

.At our recent committee meeting, the Chester Branch committee discussed the Appeal towards funding for repairs to the Trent & Mersey. This is new territory for us as in the past we did not fund maintenance of the canal system when it was run by BW. However C&RT is now a charity, the same as IWA. The Trent & Mersey is in the Branch area and an important link within the canal network. We also noted that the work is funded by the contingency fund and the repair will therefore be completed. However, this could leave the contingency fund very depleted before the start of winter.

All this was considered and it was decided that the Branch will make a one-off donation of ÂŁ1000 because of the positive way C&RT has responded to this problem that has occurred so early in its tenanture of the Waterways. The committee does not see this as setting a precedent for the future but felt it should recognise the importance of the Trent & Mersey Canal to boaters, communities and traders and the difficulties faced by previous underfunding of the network.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a Happy New Year.

Brian Phillips

Chester Packet

6

January 2013

REGION CHAIRMAN’S REPORT This month, now that the Canal and River Trust is up and running, I thought it might be useful to set out the structure of the Canal & River Trust (C&RT for short please, not CART) as this is somewhat complicated. I thought it might be helpful to try to explain it and to say what powers and duties the various bodies and committees have .

Trustees As with all charities the Trustees are ultimately responsible in law for the management of the charity. The initial eleven Trustees were appointed by DEFRA, but in future they will be elected by the Council. They meet frequently and have executive powers, overseeing the management of the Company. Trustees are unpaid but may claim expenses.

Directors and Management These are responsible for the day-to-day management of the Trust, maintenance of the system, management of the property assets etc. They are largely the previous British Waterways management who have now transferred over to the new Charity. Under employment law (TUPE regulations) under a restructuring such as this all employees, including directors, transfer over with the same employment terms etc to the new employer. It has recently been announced that some senior directors’ remuneration packages are being reduced to levels that are deemed more appropriate to a charity. The C&RT is retaining the basic area structure of the old BW for the time being, but this may change, for example on the incorporation of Environment Agency navigations into the C&RT structure, which is scheduled for 2015.

Council The Council’s role is principally advisory: debating strategy, raising issues of concern, and being a ‘sounding board’. It also has limited (but important) constitutional duties in that it appoints the Trustees and acts as the guardian of the long-term values of the charity. It will meet twice a year. Some members of the Council, for example boaters and trade representatives, are elected and some are nominated by interest groups such as the Ramblers, Sustrans, the Wildlife Trusts and the Local Government Association. The Council as well as the other committees below are all voluntary but may claim expenses.

Technical Advisory Committees Initially there are six Technical Advisory Committees: Navigation, Heritage, Freight, Environment, Angling and Volunteering. These are purely advisory, and meet as required.

Area Partnerships Each C&RT Area has its own Partnership Committee under a Chairman who is also a member of the Council. There is also an All Wales Partnership and a Museums & Attractions Partnership. The Partnership Committees are advisory with no executive powers, and meet about every two months. Members are selected to give a wide range of relevant experience, not as representatives of various bodies, although they include many people who are already actively involved on canal matters.

Chester Packet

7

January 2013

User Groups The long-established User Groups in each Waterways Area will continue to meet twice a year to discuss issues of local concern.

Commercial Activities Charities by law are not allowed to indulge in commercial activities. The practice adopted by C&RT (as well as by the IWA) is to form a Commercial Trading Subsidiary to manage those aspects of the former BW’s operation, such as the marinas and the leasing of ‘non-operational’ property, and for this company to transfer its trading profits to the charity.

Waterways Infrastructure Trust The actual ownership of the waterways system is vested in a separate Trust so that, in the remote event of the C&RT becoming financially insolvent or otherwise failing, the Government may transfer the management of the waterways to another charity. (The former BW’s non-operation property has been transferred to the C&RT.) IWA Involvement Appointments to all committees are on ‘merit’ and there are no official ‘IWA representatives’. That said their IWA experience and knowledge no doubt influences the thinking of those IWA members who serve on these committees, and there are a number of IWA officers and members serving on them. Among the Trustees John Dodwell is well known within the IWA and Tony Hales the Chairman, is a member. On the National Council all four of the Boaters elected representatives are IWA members; Ann Farrell being a Chester Branch member and Clive Henderson, Ivor Caplan and Vaughan Welch are IWA Trustees. Peter Brown, a Shrewsbury Branch Committee member, is a member of the C&RT Council as nominated by the Railway & Canal Historical Society and also sits on the C&RT’s Heritage Advisory Committee.

On the North West Area Partnership committee Audrey Smith, a former National Chairman is a member and on the North Wales & Border Counties Partnership, Belinda Davenport, a Chester Branch member , is a member and I also sit on this committee.

These multiple allegiances must often seem confusing to IWA members — they are confusing enough to me. I just hope we never encounter a serious conflict of interest.

The main question is whether all this voluntary input into the structure of the C&RT makes a difference and if that difference is positive. It is early days yet but there seems to be a real effort to improve communications and consultation between the new Charity and the waterways users. However changing the way people think and their attitudes takes time and that goes for both sides of the fence. The main thing is for us all to work towards the fence being lower and free of barbed wire.

The two organisations have quite distinct purposes. The C&RT is responsible for the management of much of the waterways in England and Wales under a contract to the Government. The IWA is a totally independent membership-run organisation which is concerned with all the navigable waterways in the country, not just those controlled by the C&RT, and has strong commitment to canal restoration and development. But both want to see a thriving, well-used waterway network.

Alan Platt

Chester Packet

8

January 2013

NORTH WALES AND BORDERS WATERWAY USER FORUM THURSDAY 11 OCTOBER 2012; SOME PRESUBMITTED QUESTIONS WHICH CONCERN CHESTER & DISTRICT BRANCH Northwich marina site development, what progress has been made?

The estimated completion date for the Waitrose store is October 2013.

We have been working with Cheshire West during the last few months to finalise the details for the site which has caused a delay.

Baron’s Quay development. Will the number of visitor moorings in Northwich be significantly increased?

It has always been the intention to increase the visitor mooring facility in Northwich but there will not be the ability to increase the mooring numbers significantly as the water space has been allocated to marina moorings on a longer term. There are however plans to add additional visitor moorings alongside Baron’s Quay which once again will not be in any great number but it is our intention to ensure they are of good quality and provide easy access from the river into the middle of the town.

Any progress on work on the slipway at Calveley?

Discussions have been held with WRG to clarify funding and resource in order for work on the slipway to be carried out. WRG have confirmed that they will be able to carry out work on this scheme so we will clear the vegetation and produce a detail for repairs which will then be implemented by WRG. However there are still a number of issues which need to be considered and resolved such as access control to the slipway.

Q. A.

Clearing/control of weed and rubbish approaching boat museum?

There has been some reactive weed clearance undertaken during the past few weeks due to extensive weeds. However there is a scheduled meeting to be held with the Boat Museum and the C&RT Ecologist, SUNth Supervisor and the Works Planner to review the recent weed issues on the Shropshire Union Canal and to develop a long term strategy.

Chester Packet

9

January 2013

WATERWAY VOLUNTEERS AND A TEAM LEADER Canal & River Trust is setting up Towpath Taskforces run by Glenn Young their Volunteer Team Leader. These aim to meet once or twice a month to carry out general improvements to the waterways within North Wales and Borders such as vegetation clearance and lock gate painting.

The Branch Committee would like to see Branch members becoming involved for the following reasons:1

It is easy to sit back and criticise but your comments have additional weight if you are involved.

2

Towpath Taskforce will be branded as C&RT but will publicise involvement of other organisations such as IWA.

3

By working with C&RT, IWA can influence the type of work carried out, e.g. related to navigation.

4

If our voice is not heard then other organisations will have a greater input to the waterways within the branch area.

Ideally we would like to see a group of volunteers from the Cheshire/ Wirral area and a group from Merseyside with one person from each group becoming Team Leader. They do not have to join the committee unless they want to, but would have to report to the committee via email.

If you would like to become involved please send your details to brian.phillips@waterways.org.uk Thank you.

SATURN VISITS TO THE BRANCH AREA The first long journey for Saturn in 2013 will be to Ellesmere Port for Easter where she will be on show for the whole weekend.. This will be followed by schools visits to Middlewich remaining there for the Middlewich Folk and Boat festival 14—16 June.. A warm welcome is always extended to visitors so try to get along to see this beautifully restored Shropshire flyboat at one of her venues while she is in our area.

Chester Packet

10

January 2013

Four Countries Festivals ~ 2011 We continue with the third part of Jeanne Smith’s account of their cruise in England, Wales, Ireland and Scotland. In this, the final part, we cruise with ‘Olive’ through Scotland Scotland Thursday: - 22nd September we trailed to Glasgow and then on to Auchinstarry, arriving around 3.00 pm for an easy launch, joining two other Wilderness boats that had arrived shortly before us.

The slip way and Marina are right by the pub, so a Scottish evening meal of Haggis, Neaps & Tatties was much enjoyed by all crews.

Friday: - We were given a leaving time of 11.30 am for our cruise to Glasgow, this had to be timed to get as many boats through the lifting bridges as possible in one go so as not to disrupt the road traffic for too long. This achieved, we cruised to Spiers Wharf in Glasgow, where we found around 80 boats of all shapes and sizes assembled for the Festival. An evening meal had been arranged at the old Glue Factory, but there was such a long queue for food that by the time we reached the serving table, there was not much left, so had to content ourselves with Chilli & Rice.

Saturday: - All the boats left Spiers Wharf around 10.00 am drawing great attention as we left and attracting spectators as we cruised along the canal for our lunch stop at Kirkintilloch. It was a beautiful sunny day and with the help of Waterways Scotland we were back at Auchinstarry for 4.00 pm. A BBQ was arranged for the evening, luckily it stayed dry, although a bit chilly. We braved the cold until 9.00 pm, and then went back to the boat to put up our illuminations along with other boats. These drew quite an audience, which included Ronnie Rusack the Festival organiser.

Sunday: - Started off dry again and we left at our allotted time for the cruise to Falkirk, all locks were worked by Scottish Waterways and we were lucky to have a morning slot as those, who arrived later got caught by the mid afternoon rain. A presentation

Chester Packet

11

January 2013

meal was arranged for the evening with trophies being presented for various categories.

We were awarded one for the best illuminated boat, but all the boats received plaques and certificates for taking part in what was a most successful celebration weekend.

Monday: - We went up through the lock into Falkirk basin early, and onto the Falkirk Wheel. A double staircase was next and then we were on our own on the Union Canal, which has no further locks to navigate.

We crossed the magnificent Avon Aqueduct in glorious sunshine and cruised to Linlithgo where we decided to stay for the night. The canal clings to the hillside here and there are wonderful views across the valley. Linlithgo Palace is the birthplace of Mary Queen of Scots, and although a ruin is well worth a visit so we spent a pleasant afternoon there. It is on the shores of a large lake and has four towers which can be climbed; from the top there are spectacular views of the surrounding countryside.

Tuesday: - This was dry but sunny and we continued on the Union Canal arriving at Edinburgh late afternoon. The cruise was interesting in that it has several aqueducts and also passes through the ‘Bings’ which are prominent artificial hills, created from the spoil of Broxhams massive Victorian oil-shale works. The stark red ‘Bings’ (a contemporary term meaning heaps or piles) are gradually becoming part of the natural canal landscape. There is a lift bridge giving access to Edinburgh Quay, which is manned

by BW Scotland, and plenty of safe mooring. From there it’s only a short walk to Princes Street and the main attractions of Edinburgh including the Castle.

Wednesday: - Saw us starting to make our way back to Falkirk, stopping at Broxburn for one night so that the following day we could explore the area around the Avon aqueduct, where there is a Visitors’ Centre and good riverside walks.

We cruised a short distance late in the afternoon to find a quiet overnight mooring.

Friday morning - we locked down to the Falkirk Basin but were unable to proceed up the Forth & Clyde as we had not given the necessary 48 hours’ notice for the BW lock workers. As we needed to be home next day we decided to catch the train to Auchistarry to collect the trailer and vehicle and pull out on the slipway at Falkirk on Sat morning.

The station was only a short walk along the canal and it’s only one stop to Croy and another walk to Auchistarry Basin, so we were back at the boat by 3.00 pm. ‘Teal’ and ‘Grey Owl lll’, (both Wilderness boats), arrived at the basin later in the day and it was Bobbie’s birthday, so we celebrated with champagne and birthday cake at the picnic tables, followed by a pub meal, which was good way to end a great cruising season.

Chester Packet

12

January 2013

NEWS SNIPPETS CHESTER—TOWER WHARF TOWPATH Following the development of the Tower Wharf area, Cheshire West and Chester Council has grant funded Canal & River Trust to upgrade the final sections of unsurfaced towpath within the Basin. The towpath in this area is well used as it provides a link between the City of Chester with the local communities and University.

CHESTER FLOOD DEFENCES To address the need for additional flood defence at the entrance from the River Dee to the Shropshire Union Canal in Chester has been under discussion for a number of years. Working in partnership with the Environment Agency and Cheshire West and Chester Council funding has been secured to undertake a feasibility and investigative study. A brief has been drafted for the Trust to appoint consultants to undertake this work.

ACCESS IMPROVEMENTS FOR CANOISTS ON THE RIVER WEAVER Canoeists are said to benefit as a project to improve access to the River Weaver is now complete .

New lock landing stages have been installed alongside Dutton and Saltersford locks and at Acton Bridge and a new platform, which will act as a launch point, has been installed at Runcorn.

Gareth Field, Canoe England senior development officer, said: “We are delighted we were able to help contribute to this project and help provide access to the water for the local community.

Canoeing is a great physical activity and is suitable for the whole family and with these new access improvements I hope that many more people will be able to access the river for a paddle with friends or family.” Richard Smith from WREN added: ‘The River Weaver really is one of the nicest spots in the whole country for canoeing. Once on the water canoeists can paddle for miles whilst enjoying their surroundings and watching the wildlife ‘.

BREACH ON TRENT & MERSEY CANAL EMERGENCY APPEAL LAUNCHED Following the most intense September rain for over 30 years the Trent & Mersey Canal breached at Dutton Hollow near Preston Brook causing a 12-mile stretch of the canal to close. Initial estimates say that the repair bill will be in the region of £1.5 million.

Donations may be given on www.canalrivertrust.org.uk/breach; donations of £5 may be texted in by using the word BREACH to 70800.

Ron Evans’ picture shows the consequences of this major breach many miles down the canal.

Chester Packet

13

January 2013

THE INLAND WATERWAYS ASSOCIATION Chester and District Branch The 27th Annual General Meeting of the Chester & District Branch of the Inland Waterways Association will be held at 7.45 pm on Tuesday 12 March 2013 in the Tom Rolt Conference Centre at the Boat Museum in Ellesmere Port AG E N DA 1

Apologies for Absence.

2

Approval of the Minutes of the 26th Annual General Meeting and any matters arising from the Minutes.

3

Chairman’s Report.

4

Presentation of the Statements of Income & Expenditure & Assets, Liabilities and Commitments.

5

Notice of Committee size.

6

Election to fill any vacancies on the Committee.

Further details concerning this meeting may be obtained from the website or by contacting the Branch Secretary—details on Page 4.

Chester Packet

14

January 2013

CHESTER BRANCH WELCOMES THE FOLLOWING NEW MEMBERS:

We look forward to meeting you all at our meetings at the Boat Museum (see programme on Page 24) and on our monthly Branch walks (details on Page 19) Mr J H Gibson Miss Paula Jackson Mr John Brighouse Mr K Button & Mrs R Hale Mr B Edwards Mr C Parkins Mr A Ramsay Miss A Sullivan Mr P J Teague

Frodsham Northwich Northwich Wallasey Wallasey Warrington New Ferry Deeside Liverpool

*PLEASE NOTE FURTHER CHANGE OF VENUE*

CHESTER CANAL HERITAGE TRUST Meetings are held at the Lock Keeper pub, by Cow Lane Bridge. Free parking at Gorse Stacks and Iceland All welcome—members free, non-members £1.50 6 February

Hazel’s Rejuvenation

6 March

The History of Chester’s Leadworks

Chris Leah of the Wooden Narrowboat Society

Geoff Pickard, former Works Manager of the Leadworks

Chester Packet

15

January 2013

BOAT MUSEUM SOCIETY—Diary Dates Meetings are held in the Rolt Centre at the National Waterways Museum, Ellesmere Port at 7.30 pm 18 January

Tales from the River Lock, Chester Ray Buss and Geoff Taylor

15 February

AGM and Canal & River Trust update John Dodwell

15 March

Grain Traffic to Frodsham Nigel Bowker

29 March (Good Friday)

Not so Solid Ground Colin Edmondson

19 April

The Grand Canal of China Liam D’Arcy–Brown

17 May

The Slave Ships of Neston and Parkgate Anthony Annakin-Smith

DID YOU KNOW THAT THIS NEWSLETTER IS NOW PRINTED IN FULL ON THE IWA WEBSITE? JUST CLICK ON THE ‘REGIONS AND BRANCHES’ TAB, THEN ON ‘NORTH WEST’ AND ‘CHESTER & DISTRICT’ TO SEE THIS MAGAZINE IN FULL COLOUR

Chester Packet

16

January 2013

LIAISON OFFICER REPORT First I would like to pay tribute to Bill Sinclair, my predecessor in this post. His sheer fortitude and mix of assertiveness and fun always inspired me, he is a great loss and will be sadly missed by everyone . Many members of the C&RT staff have asked me to pass on their regards to his family.

Dee Branch This is still un-navigable beyond Williams Moorings despite the info posted on the C&RT website. C&RT have scheduled dredging in 2014. (I'm not sure if I can wait that long).

Calverley Slipway This slipway has fell into disrepair. In discussions with C&RT we have established that it’s feasible to return this to use, however a survey of the shallow water plant life in the area needs to be carried out before C&RT can progress with a budget bid and plan for refurbishment. We are suggesting this as a small project for WRG or a volunteer work party next year.

Sutton Weaver Swing Bridge Refurbishment is scheduled to start next year and will take approx 12 months. During the works the air draft will allow passage for all narrow boats, however wide beams and masted vessels will not be able to pass. (I'm following up with C&RT to determine the exact scheduled dates for this). The refurbishment will include building a new Elsan disposal site here.

Liverpool Link Restrictions on the number of boats using the Liverpool Link results in the number of pontoons at Liverpool being under used. Discussions with C&RT very positive re increasing the numbers.

T&M Breach As you know the Trent & Mersey canal between Croxton and Dutton is now isolated due to major breaches in September. Many stranded boats have now been moved back on to the main system via Anderton Lift, Ship Canal & Ellesmere Port (25 boats were escorted by myself).

The Croxton breach is scheduled to be fixed by Christmas thus allowing navigation from Middlewich to Dutton. The breach at Dutton Hollow is expected to be fixed by Easter – You can keep up to date on developments at the Chester & District Web Page > https://www.waterways.org.uk/chester/trent_mersey_canal_breach Winter Maintenance Programme Chester Northgate Staircase lock was closed until 7 Dec. I had a chat with staff at Northwich re-gating is progressing well.

Chester Canal - Dredging is progressing well between Warton Lock and Calverley. This is scheduled to complete on 7 December. The mud boats are operating through locks from Bunbury. There have been problems at

Chester Packet

17

January 2013

Tilstone and Beeston Stone locks with top gate paddles, but I'm told that these were quickly repaired thus delays to dredging avoided.

Leeds & Liverpool - Towpath improvement works West of Burcough are scheduled to complete on 26 November.

Leeds & Liverpool - Ell Meadow lock West of Wigan. This is due for re-gating, closed to 20 December.

Leeds & Liverpool - Litherland Bridge. C&RT are replacing the foot bridge with a swing bridge, dates amended to 7 January – 22 February.

Trent & Mersey – In planning breach repairs, we had a consultation on the scheduled stoppages on the T&M which led to a shorter outage at Kings Lock (this is outside our area but I have reported here for info.)

26 November- 14 December = Maintenance closure Anderton Lift (New dates ) 7 January - 1 February = Wincham Floodgate Repair (Bridge 191) I think this is just a restriction 4 February to ? = Booth Lane top lock (67) closure (I thought this was called Crows Nest lock, presume this will be a few weeks).

4 February - 25 February = Kings lock(71) re-gating (closure reduced from 5 weeks to 3 weeks) River Weaver – Locks closed from 22 to 31 December.

If members have any local information regarding Navigation or Canal & River Trust works - Please contact me at mike.c.carter@btinternet.com

Mike Carter

SLOW WORM SIGHTED Brian Pimlott, North Wales & Borders operative, has seen this slow worm on the side of Greenfield Lock in Chester which is the first one he has seen in 27 years of working on the canals and rivers.

The Great Nature Watch mobile phone app. Is now available free for iPhone and Android—just search for eNature Watch in iTunes or Google Play. Your sightings will be added to the species database, which records biodiversity on the nation’s inland waterways and is used to help protect and conserve the rich variety of wildlife.

It should be noted that the views expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the IWA. They are published as being of interest to our members and readers. The IWA is a registered charity No. 212342.

Chester Packet

18

January 2013

DANIEL ADAMSON PRESERVATION SOCIETY (DAPS)

Steam Tug Preservation Society ‘’Launch’’ Own Real Ale Volunteers working to restore a 109-year-old former Manchester Ship Canal and Mersey Steam Tug-Tender have teamed up with a Cheshire based craft brewery to produce their own Real-Ale. For many years there has been a strong affinity between all things ‘Steam’ and the surge in popularity of Real-Ale. DAPS, the owning charity of the Daniel Adamson, is proud to announce the launch of their own Real-Ale dedicated to the ship and the memory of the great engineer and businessman whose name the tug carries so proudly. The Real-Ale, simply called ‘Danny’ is being brewed by the award winning Frodsham Brewery based in Cheshire’s Weaver Valley.

Dan Cross, Chairman of DAPS said ‘This vessel is known and loved all over the waterways of the North West’.

Look out for the label

Chester Packet

19

January 2013

BRANCH WALKS JANUARY—MAY 2013 All walks take place on the 4th Thursday of the month, from October to May (excluding Christmas). Walks commence at 10.15 am and are open to IWA members and non-members alike. Each walk starts and finishes at a pub. Anyone requiring lunch at the pub at the end of the walk can book his or her meal just before we set out on the walk.

After our May walk we recess until October.

24 January - Anderton After leaving the Stanley Arms, Old Road, Anderton, Northwich CW9 6AG (about 1.25 miles north of Northwich town centre) this walk follows the Trent & Mersey Canal, heading for Witton Brook before returning via the River Weaver and the Anderton Nature Park. It is about 3.6 miles long. Map Ref. OS Explorer 267 647 753.

28 February – Churton From the White Horse, Chester Road, Churton, Chester CH3 6LA, this walk of about 4.5 miles follows a footpath down to the River Dee and then turns upstream to follow the river as far as Farndon. Passing through the village it heads north across open pastures to return to the pub. OS Landranger 117. Map Reference 416 567 28 March - Wimboldsly The Verdin Arms, Nantwich Road, Middlewich CW10 0LW is about four miles south of Middlewich on the A530. The walk from here takes in a length of the Middlewich Branch of the Shropshire Union Canal and the remote countryside to the east of it. The walk is about four miles long, mainly on the level. OS Explorer 267. Map Reference 685 622 25 April – Acton Bridge The base for this walk is the Leigh Arms, Warrington Road, Wythanee, Little Leigh, Northwich CW8 4QT on the A49 where it crosses the River Weaver 4 miles north west of Northwich. The walk is about 4.6 miles long and takes in parts of the Trent and Mersey Canal and the River Weaver. OS Explorer 647.Map Reference 602 761 23 May—West Kirby (Wirral) Starting at the Moby Dick pub, Village Rd, (off Column Rd) West Kirby,CH48 3JN, this walk skirts round the perimeter of the marine lake, along to the clifftop of Cubbins Green beside the Dee Estuary and on to the Wirral Way with panoramic views of the North Wales hills. The walk is about 3.5 miles long. OS Explorer 266. Map reference 219 863

Chester Packet

20

January 2013

NEWS FROM THE SANKEY CANAL Heritage Lottery Fund Bid; Update Halton and Warrington BC have led a bid to HLF for funding to restore the Sankey Canal between Spike Island and Fiddlers Ferry marina. To this aim two consultation meetings were held in April to seek support from stakeholders and other volunteer groups.

The feedback from these meetings was very positive with everyone promising their support. However at a meeting with HLF in May they suggested that although the plan was a good one they felt that in its present form it could not be funded completely by HLF funds and that the plan needs to be restructured to meet the new guidelines that have recently come about. This means that the whole project will need to be looked at and ways found to meet HLF’s funding criteria and other funding sources found for different areas of the plan. Once this has been achieved, then it is hoped a bid will be submitted in late 2013.

The New Mersey Gateway Crossing The latest news is that the three private sector consortiums for the contract to build and operate the bridge have now lodged their bids with Halton BC and that the council is in the process of evaluating each bid against a set of detailed criteria that focuses on both quality and value for money The three bidders are competing for a thirty year contract to design, build, finance and operate a new toll bridge over the River Mersey between Runcorn and Widnes, together with associated works in the towns ‘’Red Plaque” The Transport Trust has been in contacted with SCARS regarding the siting of one of their “Red Plaques”. A suitable location as been found and it is hoped that it can be affixed the bridge keeper’s house at Sankey Bridges, Warrington in the near future. The Red Plaque will state the significance of the Sankey Canal and its place in history as the first industrial canal in England.

Mid Mersey Sustainable Transport Bid Some good news is that St.Helens MBC have landed a £3.12 million grant for the Mid Mersey Sustainable Transport Plan which involves cross boundary paths between Halton, Warrington and St.Helens, this includes upgrades of the towpath along the Sankey Canal and other adjoining routes.

Trouble on the St.Helens Section Bank collapse between Hey Lock and Newton Brook; Some bad news now, the towpath wall as collapse in a number of places between Hey lock and Newton Brook on the Earlestown section, SCARS is working with the local authorities to try to find funding to rectify this problem.

State of New Double Lock at Pocket Nook, St.Helens It is almost twenty two years since the New Double lock was restored to full working order, but since then it has slowly been allowed to fall back into a state of dilapidation.

Chester Packet

21

January 2013

Now the lock stands almost empty of water with gates open and paddle gear removed to stop vandals flooding the area, the pound above the top lock has now become colonised by trees, shrubs and reeds. SCARS committee will be working with the local authority to try and find a solution for this state of neglect.

.

Two views of the locks taken on Sunday 28 October 2012 show the state of the pound above the lock and, looking up the staircase, locks showing the missing paddle gear.

Meetings for 2013 Jan 31st Cath Turpin; Will be telling us about “The Wolverhampton connection with the Sankey Sugar Works at Earlestown”. at the Friends Meeting House, Church Street, St.Helens WA10 1AJ Feb 28th Tom Ferguson; “The Mersey Forest and Green Infrastructure.” at St.Patrick’s Parish Centre. Marian Avenue, off Common Road, Earlestown. WA12 9JH March 28th AGM, Paul Wright; “The Lost Railway stations of the North west”. At the Friends Meeting House. Church Street, St.Helens. WA10 1AJ April 25th Peter Bolt; “How Great was Thomas Brassey,” At St. Patrick’s Parish Centre, Marian Avenue, off Common Road, Earlestown. WA12 9JH Volunteers in Action During the summer months SCARS sales stall attends various local shows and waterway festivals around the northwest. At the beginning of June we attended the Willow Park Rural Craft Display in Newton-le Willows organised by the St.Helens Ranger Service.

This is always a well attended event with lots of craftsmen doing their things such as blacksmiths, coopers, wheelwrights, walking stick makers etc. plus birds of prey, dog obedience and ferret racing displays and of course plenty of interest shown in our stall with the canal being local to the area. At the end of June we were in Northwich for the River Weaver Festival, which in spite of the weather (strong winds and rain on the Friday) proved to be an outstanding event with boats packing into the moorings and the stalls doing good business. It was an excellent advertisement for the waterways movement and all praise most go to the IWA Chester and District Branch Festival Committee for the efforts in making this such a memorable event.

Continued on Page 22

Chester Packet

22

January 2013

August bank holiday weekend and it’s the Preston Guild Waterways Festival at Haslam Park, Ashton-on-Ribble and a chance to meet up with old friends from IWA North Lancs and Cumbria Branch. We arrived on Friday afternoon to set up and the weather was dry after days of heavy rain, the ground was wet to say the least but all credit to the organisers our patch was reasonably dry. Then came Saturday with it came the rain and did it rain, resulting a poor turnout of visitors. On Sunday it was fine and dry after an early morning shower and the people of Preston came out to give their support to the event. Everything seemed to be set for a good day on Monday, but then down came the rain again and put an end to proceedings with most stalls packing up at dinner time and heading for home. This again was a credit to the volunteer efforts of the IWA North Lancs and Cumbria Branch who had been planning this event for over a year and for it to be disrupted by the weather just shows there is no justice in this world. Even so trade was good and everyone seemed to be enjoying the proceeding in spite of the weather.

On the weekend of September 29th and 30th we should have been in attendance at the Vintage Vehicle & Fairground Organ Rally at Victoria Park, Widnes. Once again the weather was against us this event being called off because of the state of the ground after a week of torrential rain.

Colin Greenall

Maureen Shaw Appeal Update Maureen of Wardle Lock has been described as an icon, a very special person, someone who was known by thousands of boaters throughout the Country. She would engage in friendly conversation, and offer advice and help to those who needed it, and some did! Maureen’s talks gave an insight into what life was like working the boats and one of her wishes was that we should, “Keep it going – keep telling the story of the working boaters”.

A number of people asked how we are going to remember Maureen, not just for this year or the next but for future generations. It is so important that this piece of waterway heritage is there for everyone to see. With this in mind it was felt that an interpretation panel be erected at Wardle Lock which would tell the story of her early years with the ‘Jinks’ learning to steer and drive the horse, the southern route journeys and the loads they carried. The days with NB “Spey”, and of course her husband “Jack” on NB “Dace”. Finally, her time helping boaters in her inimitable way in the lock cottage at Wardle lock.

An appeal was launched last June and I am pleased to report that enough donations have been made from organisations and individuals from all over the country and the appeal is now officially closed. I sincerely thank everyone who has contributed to this project, without your help it would not have happened. It will be necessary therefore for any further donations to be returned.

It is anticipated that the official unveiling of the panel will take place during the weekend of the 23rd and 24th March 2013 – exact details to be confirmed. We would like as many friends of Maureen to be there for this occasion. A further update will be made nearer the time.

Peter Bolt

Chester Packet

23

January 2013

MERSEYFLAT MATTERS Dock Landmark “at Risk” The Langton Dock pumping house has appeared as one of the most threatened Victorian or Edwardian buildings in the UK. The Grade II listed building, which employed steam power to operate the old Langton Lock system has lain derelict for many years following the lock’s rebuilding Local and national civic and heritage societies have expressed concern at the state of the structure and hope that it may somehow be preserved for future generations.

Horseboats to Liverpool Sue Day of the Horseboating Society hit the local headlines in August when she brought Bilbo Baggins, an 18-year-old cob pulling the 10ton traditional working narrow boat, Elland to the Albert Dock to become the first horseboat to cross the Liverpool Link and the first horsedrawn craft to cross the Pennines on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal for 68 years “Waterworld”

Plans unveiled.

Liverpool Echo reported in November that proposals to bring the south dock water space to life are to go before the city council shortly. These include developments at all the south-central historic docks and will include enhanced lighting, floating walkways, extended retail facilities and a floating stage for concerts and spectacular events. Sporting and recreational facilities also are in the plan and the overall aim is to weave a net of activity in that is still a largely unused water area.

Dave Smallshaw RIVER WEAVER NAVIGATION SOCIETY The Society committee continues to hold monthly meetings. Meetings have been held with Cheshire councillors regarding Baron’s Quay; they think the idea of a swinging footbridge would improve access to derelict land on Lock Street. The Floatel/marina site is now empty and development work has just started. Bob Heaton has nearly completed a new River Weaver Map which will be useful for walkers, boaters and cyclists. Andrew Needham outlined a report on flood risk to Northwich; there is at present a great deal of focus on this. Sutton Weaver swing bridge will be temporarily replaced by a bailey bridge during its refurbishment.

Chester Packet

24

January 2013

CHESTER & DISTRICT BRANCH PROGRAMME Branch meetings,are held at 7.45 pm on the second Tuesday of the month in the Tom Rolt Conference Centre at the Ellesmere Port Boat Museum 8 January

‘The Rewards and Pitfalls of restoring Spey, an Historic Narrowboat’ Tom Kitching tells us of his experiences.

12 February

‘How to keep Water in a Canal’ - restoring the difficult bits of the Montgomery Canal.

Alan Jervis of Waterways Recovery Group and MWRT.

12 March

Branch AGM followed by ‘Ship Wrangling in the South Atlantic’.

Jim Forrester, Executive Director, Manchester International Festival, formerly Director, Imperial War Museum North, and a boatbuilder

9 April

‘How the West (to East) was won’ - how 3 friends started the £45 million project to restore the Huddersfield Narrow Canal.

Bob Dewey tells us how.

14 May

‘The Sankey Canal Story - the Past, Present and Future’ Colin Greenall and Dave Smallshaw of IWA Merseyside Branch

A Branch walk is held on the 4th Thursday of the month (except December) from October to May. Details of these can be obtained by ringing Ron Evans on 01928 788673 and will be published in the September Branch Flyer. All are welcome.

More details on Page 19.