Merry Christmas to all and a better New Year for all boaters, mostly those who have been unable to depart the Cam since May 2024 until this weekend, writes Kelvin Alexander Duggan.
And to professional complainers who like to be offended on other peoples behalf about my use of Christmas. You know where you can file it.
With a wet start to the year, we finish with wet and damp weather again. With very little chance of snow on the big day.
On the the whole, the waterways in the East of England have had a good year other than the financial basket case that is the Conservators of the River Cam, more of which later. Both the Nene and the Great Ouse have few problems with lack of water depth other than at the top end of both rivers where there have been shallows in places; similar shallows were found on some of the minor rivers connected to the Great Ouse.
Middle Levels
On the Middle Levels there have been no problems with water depth (One of the advantages in being the sump of the system) other than at Ramsey Lode where a lack of flow of water out of the tunnel under the town had resulted in some boats grounding on the town's new moorings as the levels dropped at the height of the hot summer.
The waterways in the East of England have been cut off for much of the year from the rest of the network with the shutting of the Northampton Flight (pictured) leaving only the sea dash from Sutton Bridge to Boston as the only way out or in, other than by lorry and crane (An option not available to those boaters stuck on the Cam above Bates Bites Lock due to lack of a suitable crane location). Local Hire boat companies both weekly and day boats have reported a good season with very few cancellations.
There is one concern with the Northampton flight being left to dry out, that is the cracks appearing in the canal bed lining and being left. The same applies to any pound on the network left to dry out. The time honoured method of repair by the lengthsman of old was to push together the crack and press down to seal with their boots. The concern now is that these new cracks have been left unrepaired and the pounds left not refilled, leaving more leaks.
Financial basket case that is the Conservators of the River Cam and what next?
In late Spring of 2024 it came to light just how bad was the financial position that the Conservators of the River Cam now find themselves in. They are the statutory navigation authority for the river between Bottisham Lock, Waterbeach, and the Mill Pond in Cambridge. The Conservators of the River Cam were created by an act of Parliament in 1709. They are required under the Act to maintain this section of the river to make sure it is 'in a good navigable condition'. Which has not been the case for some time according to local boaters. This navigation is the most costly per mile for a licence in the UK.
There had been some concern about the state of both Jesus Green and Bates Bites Locks (pictured) for some time. In 2024 survey reports on both Bates Bites and Jesus Lock Islands were commissioned and the conclusion drawn by the surveying engineer was that the structures be closed as they required urgent temporary work (£3.2 million) in the first instance to stabilise to prevent collapse of both the lock Islands which would leave the (EA owned) weir unsupported at one end. A full structural rebuild would be required costing around £15 million per lock to complete. It took the navigation authority nearly a year to find enough funding (£1.6 million) by selling the 'family silver', including some cottages and the former conservator’s house, to do temporary repairs to Bates Bites lock (This sticking plaster has a expected life of five years). They have yet to find funding for temporary repairs to Jesus Lock Island.
If either lock Island and weir collapses, the resulting flood wave of water rushing downstream would cause a great deal of damage to boats moored on the river, sinking some of them. It is very unlikely that any insurance will pay out for any boat moored on this section of the Cam. Anyone with a boat moored on the riverside in this location should check their insurance ASAP. And in view of the financial position of the navigation authority of borderline insolvency it may well be a waste of time suing for damages. Above Jesus Green Lock, an island and weir collapse and the resulting water loss would leave the backs through the colleges a smelly muddy trickle that definitely won't support the punts and cause a loss of jobs for students who punt the boats in the punting season. With a risk of damage to the foundations of college walls alongside the backs. I would also have to keep my office window shut to keep out the pong.
Limited source of funding
Funding is constrained by parliamentary legislation, with the main income deriving from navigation licences ranging from £315 yearly for paddle-boards to £3,000 for 21 metre vessels. The annual income from that is around £700,000. The financial position is not helped with over 70 boat owners refusing to pay their navigation licence this year in protest at the delays in carrying out repairs to the locks. Getting full insurance has been a problem for some boat owners upstream of Bates Bites due to the risk. Boat sales have falling through and people have not been able to relocate when planned or even get booked slipway work done.
The future for this section of the Cam
With its very limited source of funding, it is clear that the Cam Conservancy is not in a position to fund any full structural rebuild of either lock without facing the risk of insolvency, or any other major repairs. For example the Navigation Officer patrol boat requires repairs (£15,000) that cost more than the boat is worth.
There are a number of options to go forward
The Conservancy to be incorporated into the Environment Agency as part of the Eastern Rivers Network
Modify the parliamentary legislation for the Conservancy funding through a New Bill to gather contributions from local residents, businesses and the University.
Councillor Elliot Tong (Green Party) Cambridge City Council stated that responsibility for overseeing the river should be transferred to any future unitary authority including Cambridge following local government reorganisation. (Councils have such a good track record for running waterways, but not from what I have seen).
Leave things as it is and close the river.
The houseboat moored near the Cambridge Lido (pictured).
This houseboat was left on the moorings near the Lido after the death of the owner. The hole in the side was cut by the Fire service with their chainsaw to allow access for EMT's to remove the body after death. I have seen this done to steel boats when a large hole is cut to allow access to the back cabin to remove a person. It was expect that a person known to the deceased would seal the hole. No one has since come forward. The only contact details that council (who own the moorings) were for the deceased owner as was the case with the Cam Conservancy.
As the time limit has passed what value left in his estate will go to Rachel from Accounts after costs. The only reason that the houseboat had not been removed was due to Bates Bites lock being closed, as there is a lack of suitable cranage locations above the lock. It was not the reason for the lock remaining closed as reported by Janet Friend.
The problem here was no contact details in case of death or injury. The navigation authorities can help with this by adding a extra field to the boat record file to include an emergency contact details in the event of death or injury. The same applies to the owners of moorings. It is also up to boat owners to keep these details and your will up to date. So to ensure that your estate goes to who you wish and not to Rachel from Accounts. For when you take that last cruise across the River Styx with Charon the Ferryman to the Elysium Fields.