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7th April 2006 -
New
Monmouthshire & Brecon Canal leaflet to attract visitors
All
the information you need for a pleasurable day out along the Monmouthshire &
Brecon Canal can be found in a new leaflet, which has just been launched by British
Waterways, in readiness for the tourism season.
Aimed at both local
people and visitors to the area, the bilingual, full-colour leaflet encourages
visitors to move along the canal on foot or on a boat, and there are even stretches
where cycling is encouraged.
The leaflet describes five linear routes
(ranging from 5½ to 8 miles / 9 to 13 km) along the canal between Cwmbran
and Brecon, and provides interesting snippets of information about what can be
seen en route, from the wealth of wildlife to the fascinating historic sites.
It includes a neat foldout map, which is easy to use when walking along the
towpath or in the confines of a boat, together with information on where to eat,
how to hire a boat or a bike, and what other activities you can do in the vicinity
of the canal.
Pam Griffiths, British Waterways’ Project Officer,
explained that the new format is the result of ideas from the team of staff on
the Mon & Brec, and volunteers from the Monmouthshire, Brecon and Abergavenny
Canals Trust.
“They had endless quirky bits of information about
the canal which we’ve incorporated into the text, to enrich visitors’
experiences and give them a true sense of place,” she explained.
The leaflet is available from Abergavenny Tourist Information Centre (01873 857588),
Brecon Tourist Information Centre (01874 622485) and Goytre Wharf Visitor Centre
(01873 881069), near Abergavenny.
Information
provided by British Waterways
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- 9th
March 2006 -
BW
announces inland marina investment oppurtunity
British
Waterways has published a guide outlining the attractive inland marina investment
and development opportunity which exists on the UK’s canal and river network.
Over 11,000 new marina berths are needed over the next decade to meet an acute
shortage of waterways moorings. The Guide is aimed at leisure companies,
developers, investors and canal side landowners, and British Waterways estimates
an opportunity for between £100 million to £150 million of investment
over the next ten years.
Leisure boating on British Waterways’
canals and rivers has never been more popular. There are currently 25,000
licensed leisure craft on its waterways and for the first time British Waterways
is actively seeking private investment to increase the number of independently
owned marina sites on the network.
James Froomberg, British Waterways
Commercial Director, said: “Boat ownership is increasing by 2.4 per cent
year on year and there is a critical shortfall in the number of inland marina
berths. In the Guide we set out the facts behind the rise in boating as
a leisure pursuit as well as the attractive investment returns available to developers,
investors and operators from meeting this demand for new inland marinas.
Inland marinas offer a unique leisure development opportunity which up until now
has been under resourced. We hope that developers of all sizes see the potential
that exists and that the guide helps them put schemes in place."
“We
are investing hundreds of millions of pounds in improving and restoring the canal
network, together with associated waterside urban and rural regeneration projects.
We hope the Inland Marina Investment Guide will encourage further investment and
provide boaters with the quality facilities and services they are looking for.
All developments will be subject to planning approvals but there is an opportunity
for mixed use, regeneration, leisure and residential schemes.”
If you would like more information about the initiative, or to download
a copy of the guide, go to: www.britishwaterways.co.uk/marinadevelopment,
or call the New Marina Unit on 0113 281 6800.
Information
provided by British Waterways
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-
24th Feb 2006 -
Towpath
Tidy 2006
Towpath
Tidy is the week-long clean-up campaign organised by BW where its office and bank
staff join forces with volunteers and the local community to ‘tidy’
the waterways. This year the event will take place the week before Easter
and BW is inviting waterway users to take part in a range of light tasks and activities
to ‘give’ something back to their local canal or river.
The
UK-wide events will start on Monday 3 April and run for seven days for both individuals
and other volunteers from waterway’s groups to sign up to. BW has
written to national user groupsBRITISH WATERWAYS ANNOUNCES INLAND MARINA INVESTMENT
OPPORTUNITY inviting them to take part.
Both
fun and safe, the Towpath Tidy is open to anyone who wants to spare a few hours
to help look after their local waterway.
In
2005, Towpath Tidy events held across the country helped to give a real boost
to the nation’s 200 year old waterways network. The events also benefited
waterways wildlife with an amazing 121 tonnes of rubbish removed in just a single
week.
This
year BW will also record the number of shopping trolleys pulled from the water
during Towpath Tidy. This will support BW’s efforts for retailers
to take responsibility for their trolleys that are dumped into BW’s waterways.
Eugene
Baston, external relations manager, comments: “The waterways are a valuable
community resource which are enjoyed and visited over 300 million times each year.
British Waterways already spend over £100 million per year looking after
the waterways for the benefit of the wildlife and visitors, but there is plenty
more to do.
“We
want to encourage as many people who use the waterways and want to ‘give’
something back to volunteer to take part in this year’s Towpath Tidy.
It doesn’t matter if can spare a couple of hours or a whole day or if you
are aged eight to eighty. Everyone is welcome.”
To
participate or to find out about local events, volunteers must register in advance
by telephoning one of the local contacts below by no later than 29 March 2006:
Central
Shires – Joan Jones (01827 252069)
Yorkshire
– Louise Bone (01977 554351)
West
Midlands – Clare Bampton (0121 200 7412)
South
West – Terry Kemp (01452 318027)
South
East – Chris Stanley (01908 302552)
London
– Paul Lincoln (020 7985 7200)
North
West – Stephanie Swarbrick (01925 847706)
East
Midlands – Richard Bennett (01636 675745)
Wales
and Border Counties - Michelle Kozomara (01606 723854)
Scotland
– Pam Swanson (0141 354 7542)
Information
provided by British Waterways
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-
14th Feb 2006 -
Boaters
save drowning Fawn in Lock
esterday
while Paul Clevett and his crew were coming up to Iron Bridge Lock No 78 on the
Grand Union - he told us "a guy was shouting from the bridge, as we approached
he told my crew that a fawn (baby deer) had fallen into the lock and he though
we should call the fire brigade.
When
I got there the lock was half empty because the gates were leaking at the front,
the fawn was pannicking and trying to climb out with no success. We manage to
encourage the fawn away from the front gates to the rear and filled the lock,
meanwhile I got a rope and a hook, managed to rope the fawn and take it out. The
fawn ran off without even looking back!
The
bystanders came up and said they were glad someone knew what they were doing,
funnily enough, I told them, the number of times I've been in, I should be good
at getting myself and other things out by now."
A
story with a happy ending!
Information
provided by JustCanals sources
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-
22nd January 2006 -
HLF
grant for Montgomery Canal restoration
The
restoration of the Montgomery Canal is another step closer thanks to a Heritage
Lottery Fund grant, it was announced today.
The grant of £547,500
to British Waterways will enable the restoration of a further length of the canal
in Shropshire and include the creation of a new nature reserve. There will
also be some footpath and interpretation improvements on the dry section of the
canal, to help link the restored canal with Llanymynech Heritage Area, also recently
awarded an HLF grant.
Works are expected
to start in June, and will take the restoration as far as Redwith Bridge, close
to Llynclys. The overall cost of the works is £1.1 million, and other
funding will come from a European Interreg grant, British Waterways, Shropshire
Union Canal Society and the Inland Waterways Association.
British
Waterways Wales and Border Counties General Manager, Julie Sharman, welcomed the
news, saying:
“This grant
is a tribute to the recent hard work of everyone on the Montgomery Canal Partnership.
The restoration is intended as a flagship scheme of sustainable development, which
we are all confident will be good for wildlife, the local community and a boost
to the local economy. We are grateful for the active support of a wide range
of community groups, who have also made this grant possible”.
Explaining the importance
of the project, HLF’s regional manager Anne Jenkins said,
“We’re
extremely proud of the investment we have been able to make to bring our canal
system back to life and enable people to celebrate our industrial heritage.
These projects provide so many benefits above and beyond the pure restoration,
from offering healthy outdoor activities for families to protecting the unique
habitats and wildlife that thrive along the canal banks. The work will ensure
that our children and our children’s children can learn about the importance
of the industrial revolution to our heritage.”
Information
provided by British Waterways
|
 -
9th January 2006 -
Canal
lock drained for essential enginerring works
New
lock gates weighing one ton each are being installed at Widewater Lock on the
Grand Union Canal in Buckinghamshire as part of an essential winter engineering
project by British Waterways.
The
Widewater Lock repair project will cost £55,000 and is part of a wider £1¼
million winter maintenance programme across London to maintain vital canal structures
such as bridges, locks and aqueducts.
Essential
works, carried out through the winter to minimise disruption, will ensure that
London's 200-year old network of waterways continue to attract 16 million annual
visits by people enjoying boating, walking, angling and cycling.
Graham
Smith, British Waterways’ waterway supervisor for West London’s canals,
explains: “A 200-year old canal requires constant maintenance and we employ
specialist staff and contractors to carry out the repairs to our historic structures.
The gates we’re removing at Widewater Lock are 20 years old and are being
replaced with new British built oak gates and steel balance beams weighing one
ton each.
Throughout
the works we give special consideration to the canal’s unique environment
and wildlife. It is important to ensure that rare and protected species that live
in or besides the waterways remain undisturbed or, if necessary, they are removed
safely to temporary homes. And, of course, while there are many visitors to the
waterways all year round, we’re able to minimise disruption to our visitors
by carrying out our works at this time of year.”
Nationally,
British Waterways spends more than £23 million on essential maintenance
works to its 2000-mile network of canals and rivers across the UK during the winter
‘stoppage’ programme. The Grand Union Canal at Widewater Lock will
be closed to navigation from 09/01/06 until 20/01/06. The towpath will remain
open.
Information
provided by British Waterways
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-
1st January 2006 -
JustCanals
gets 'Designer award'
Today JustCanals received the Miller Communications Designer Award.
Ted
Miller from the Miller Communications Group said
"You
pride yourself on your professionalism. You have shown this in your site layout,
concept and information. By providing a compelling, crisp and clean site, you
are succeeding at getting your message across. We also applaud your high level
of integrity and respect for the web designer's code of ethics. For these reasons,
we are pleased to give you our Designer Award and wish you well in all your future
endeavours."
Information
provided by JustCanals
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-
December 2005 -
IWA
Announce a £4,000 Grant to The Wey and Arun Canal Completion Strategy Steering
Group.
The Inland Waterways Association (IWA) have awarded a £4,000 grant to The
Wey and Arun Canal Completion Strategy Steering Group (CCSSG) towards the cost
of producing a Completion Strategy for the Wey and Arun Canal.
The
Completion Strategy will look at the practical problems and issues surrounding
CCSSG's overall aim of restoring the Wey and Arun Canal. This restoration could
enable a waterway connection between the River Wey at Shalford and the River Arun
at Pallingham to be re-established.
The
Completion Strategy will independently assess issues such as water supply, the
environmental impact of any restoration and also how much the restoration would
eventually cost.
Tony Pratt, Secretary of the Canal Completion Strategy Steering Group (CCSSG),
said, "We are delighted that IWA has agreed to support this Completion Strategy.
We believe that the Strategy will establish a common understanding between the
partners involved in the restoration and ensure that the restoration project progresses
effectively. This is a critical stage in the creation of an exciting new water
based leisure asset for the communities in our region".
Vaughan
Welch, Chairman of IWA's Restoration Committee said, "IWA has long been a supporter
of the campaign to fully restore the Wey and Arun and we believe that this is
a vital step towards it. The Completion Strategy will not only look at the practicalities
of the restoration but also identify additional sources of funding, seek ways
of bringing to bring more partners onboard and generate greater overall support
for the project". The Strategy will be carried out by independent consultants
WS Atkins plc of Epsom and is expected to take 6 months to complete.
Information
provided by The Inland Waterways Association
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