Victor reckons there's little money coming
SO THE trust's boss man is piling on the pressure to get more cash from the government.
He telling the waterways are 'facing a perfect storm, with costs rising and support from government reducing', adding:
”We’re bracing ourselves for more costly damage from extreme weather but also working to make these aged former transport routes, and the wildlife they support, as resilient as possible."
With the Inland Waterways Association backing this and warning Britain’s waterways are 'in very real danger of disappearing' without proper investment by the government'.
I reckon they may have had a chance with the last lot in government, but as to Labour now in power, and remembering that boaters are very much white middle class, I believe its chances of getting more cash is now not looking too good.
Perhaps it's the time to get back to the old British Waterways system and scrapping all that non-waterway expenditure that has so diminished its funds, and now sticking to just keeping the canals in operation. It will need to cut back on the so many extra staff brought in that have nothing to do with the actual waterways, but there has to be pain. And I never understood the need for three lawyers—or was it four?
Contractors
We all aware of the cost of contractors and the way they repair a job only to come back around a month later to have another go.
Perhaps when Canal & River Trust took over from British Waterways contractors were part of the deal.
As all the trust's equipment and tools went on sale. But surely it has good reason to revert back to its former method of repair, using people who knew what they were doing, as I am told some are still employed, and it has good reason to show the government that repair by contractors is not only not working but is costing—too much.
Swing bridges
And so to more concerning contractors and particularly swing bridges.
Two such swing bridges on the Leeds & Liverpool Canal that were broke have been repaired.
Followed quickly by the information today, Friday, that another one is bust, as Keith Gudgin reported.
But surely a bit of prior maintenance on these bridges in the first place instead of constant repairs would certainly have saved cash—and a great deal of it.
Most of the boaters who cruise the waterways—us included—who have been held up time and time again by the antics of contractors dragging out repairs from Monday to Friday, it starting of course with finding the 'method of repair' then all too often coming back as the bridge had failed again, surely would have been prevented by keeping them maintained in the first place.
This time it is the Crabtree Swing Bridge 32 (pictured above) that has broken, leaving the navigation closed near Rufford Junction.
The last two bridges to be repaired then broken again are the New Lane Swing Bridge (pictured) that broke on the 29th of November, was repaired, but broke again on the 21st December. Then there was the Warehouse Swing Bridge that broke on the 13th November, was repaired but broke again on the 9th December.
Loco Lift Bridge
Oh, of course, then there is the Loco Lift Bridge on the Huddersfield Broad Canal. with reason after reason given for its failure—I've now forgotten how many—and it still is not repaired by those contractors, notwithstanding how many 'methods of repair' have been tried and failed.
To me—it stinks!
Victor Swift—telling tales for 24 years