Victor: Season of silly notices

Published: Sunday, 17 December 2017

REGULAR readers will no doubt be well aware of the ever increasing silly stoppage notices from Cart that we need to correct, and here's a couple more.

The notice last week told us that from Monday 5th of January during during times of high water on the Upper Trent, Sawley flood lock will need to be operated by customers.

This obviously means that before the 5th of January Sawley Flood Lock must have been operated by other than 'customers'.  Who? I have to ask.

Moored a couple of hundred yards away from this lock we have been through it countless times in over 20 years, often when closed due to high water, yet we have always had to operate it ourselves—there has never been a lock keeper there, so what is the notice all about?

I'll tell you my friends, it's about those at Cart not having a clue.

And here's another misleading one

The stoppage notice concerning the failed Tringford pumps told that water is so low that boats are being restricted to certain hours, yet 'Our Man at the Summit' taking his walk around there yesterday, reports that there are now two empty short pounds with a Cart bod running water from the summit to Marsworth. (To keep the Marsworth boats afloat?)

Tringford outfallAll pounds are low or empty, with the pumps not working, but lights are on so presumably someone is in there beavering away with the three miles long summit pound about 18 inches down.  So no way can boats get through—restricted times or not.

But things are looking better as 'Our Man' discovered the feeder stream at New Mill was running to capacity bringing water from Tring Park.

So that's some good news, with the level of Tringford Reservoir rising and water flowing into the canal as seen on his photograph.

There will be more of them

Though many find a narrowboat too restricted for permanent residential use, broad beams with their increased space however are another matter altogether, hence their increasing popularity, with quite a few having appeared at our marina it having official residential use.

And of course more are appearing bank-side, and as readers will have gleaned, even on narrow canals—simply being 'dropped' in. And there's the rub. For narrow canals were obviously not built for such width boats and so they cause restrictions, especially as some are not prepared to 'stay put' but cruise, perhaps for water or pump-outs, invariably causing problems.  

Being unable to cruise very far they are obviously 'continuous moorers'. but will anything be done about them?

Two SawleyNothing will be done

Nothing will be done if those two that spent most of the year moored on the 48hr mooring at Sawley Cut are anything to go by.

They were eventually shifted after many months, but have simply moved to the bottom of the Erewash, where again they are 'permanently' moored on a continuous cruiser' licence.

Just what has happened to Enforcement Officer Paul Griffin and his very many band of enforcers?

Flogging canoes

It is easy to see why Cart is flogging the canals for canoes as it all helps in it showing that the canals are for everybody, but when £80,000 is spent to give them moorings, where narrowboats are not allowed but giving just one restricted space for a narrowboat—where canoes can also moor—it is going too far.

How long before other such moorings sap Cart's funds, and how long before it's 'canoes only'...

Uncaring

I certainly would not like to be in the managers' shoes at Cart these days, with 50 to be chopped and having to reapply for positions that will most likely be changed. And being told just before Christmas shows the uncaring face of its directors.

It would seem that they have gone over the top with its managerial appointments, many having little to do with its core responsibility—always considering the directors are aware of what its core responsibility is—so there has to be a trimming.

But I wonder if those managers that are actually responsible for the waterways will be the winners in this 'lottery' or the silly ones that are now so favoured?

Victor Swift