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104 PAGES
Issue 112, February 2015
Holiday cruisers in pride of place at London Boat Show
WHO’S HELPING TO KEEP THE HOME FIRES BURNING? P2 WARNING TO BOATERS AFTER CANAL ARSON P3
FIRST STEPS TOWARDS A NEW WIGAN PIER
If you wanted to see narrowboats at this year’s London Boat Show you had to go outside ExCel and walk along to the far end of the Royal Victoria Dock. St Pancras Cruising Club members again made their traditional cruise to the show; the five boats locking out into the Thames Tideway through City Mill and Three Mills locks from about 1pm on Thursday, January 8, and travelling via the mouth of Bow Creek and down to the Thames Barrier. They were due to make the return trip to the club on Monday, January 12.
P4
PHOTO:WATERWAY IMAGES By Harry Arnold
THOSE looking for narrowboats inside the CWM FX London International Boat Show at the ExCeL exhibition centre would have been disappointed but the
PRESERVING THE TRADITIONS OF CANAL ARTS AND CRAFTS P14
New customer services chief
IAN Rogers has been appointed as the Canal & River Trust’s first permanent head of customer services and he takes up his new role on February 2. Ian comes from Aon, the large insurance broker, where he has been managing director of the Aon Affinity division working with SME (small and medium-sized enterprises) customers. Before that, he worked in senior customer service roles at Dataforce, Thomas Cook and Eurostar. His priority will be to lead the trust’s programme of customer service improvements and will assume direct responsibility for leisure boating, licensing and enforcement.
411 BOATS FOR SALE
Starts on
inland waterways situation was somewhat redeemed this year. There were more Broads companies both exhibiting wide beam cruisers for sale and hire and generally promoting holidays on the East Anglian network.
P15
Solar park plans rejected
COUNCILLORS have refused plans for a 56-acre solar park beside the Llangollen Canal in rural Cheshire, writes Geoff Wood. Cheshire East’s strategic planning board ruled that the scheme between Marbury and Wrenbury would have a “significant impact on the landscape characteristics of the site”. The developer had argued that the solar panels would provide a “significant contribution towards renewable energy targets”. But campaigners who collected a petition against the scheme of 190 signatures called for the plans to be blocked. Campaign spokesman Graham Walsh said: “Solar energy has a role. But this development is just in the wrong place.”
More locations, more choice Stourport Marina Tel 01299 827 082
Racecourse Marina, Windsor
Stourport on Severn
Tel 01753 851 717
River Thames, Windsor
Thames & Kennet Marina
Walton Marina
Tel 01932 221 689
Boat sales at seven Marinas with over 150 boats for sale
Visit:
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Upton Marina
Tel 01684 593 111 Upton upon Severn
Walton on Thames
Brundall Bay Marina
Tel 01189 477 770
River Thames, Caversham
Tel 01603 717 804
Pyrford Marina
Tel 01932 343 275 River Wey, Surrey
Norfolk Broads
Richardson’s Boating Holidays, the largest Broads operator with more than 300 boats, had two of its largest luxury hire craft on show. Funnell Boats – probably better known as Ferry Marina and Waveney River Centre – was
marketing as private craft its Funn 27AC, aft cockpit and 27SC forward cockpit but both are also in its hire fleet. Norfolk Broads Direct, with its Faircraft Loynes hire fleet, was showing Fair Chancellor. • Continued on page 2
Grant boost for Staveley lock
A PROJECT to install new lock gates on the Chesterfield Canal in Staveley can go ahead thanks to a funding boost from The Veolia Environmental Trust. It has awarded Derbyshire County Council £37,500 towards the manufacture and installation of the new gates. The work will be third phase of a project to construct Staveley Town Lock in Staveley Town Basin. The lock itself is being built by volunteers from the Chesterfield Canal Trust which will be working with the county council throughout 2015 in a bid to achieve completion of the remainder of the engineering works.