Leicestershire

From Ian McDonald

I started to write this in glorious sun and just a couple of days ago travelled on a car ferry on flat calm sun-baked Adriatic waters, I’m in Croatia! We met up here with a couple from Market Harborough, late of Mountsorrel, who are keen motor-homers. After we told them we used to live aboard they asked if we knew of the IWA! They happened upon the Pelsall rally in 2016, loved it, went to Ilkeston last year and are booked for St Ives. They just love the relaxed way the sites and whole event is organised. I will talk to them later for their report on St Ives so I can give an outsider’s review of the event!

In Aegre last time I was talking about water, and generally water resources since then have been OK, though the line through our patch has not been without stoppages. Very recently of course there has been the CRT staffing reshuffle. I for one am delighted that Sean McGinley has managed to achieve promotion to be in charge of Yorkshire and North East. My impressions of Sean have always been very high, appreciating the way that even as a busy man he would always find time for a word or two, whilst also usually managing to control his waters!

I mentioned last time we were to have the CRT Hydrologist, Adrian Comerford, to talk to us at our March meeting. Since our branch in Leicestershire opened in 1995 I have missed very few of our meetings, and though we have had many high-powered and excellent waterway speakers on a vast range of topics, not one of them bettered Adrian’s talk. It was factual with useful images and delivered in a highly user-friendly way so that all could follow what could have been a difficult topic. I was not alone in my opinion and everyone that commented on his talk was fulsome in their praise. The thing is that he is very good in the technicalities of his trade in making limited water resources stretch a long way, whilst also being able to talk clearly in a readily understandable way to non-technical users. We were very lucky to get him along.

The new moorings at Friars Mill were completed a couple of years ago, providing much needed water points in the city. We had thought the

showers alongside the moorings were for the use of boaters but it now seems certain that boaters will not be able to use them, as they are part of Friars Mill, not part of CRT’s assets. At least there are good moorings and water. I have been in contact with Sean about the lack of power at the power points. It seems when built CRT included the same type of payment system as at their online moorings and frankly nobody knows how to use them. Sean advises me that his successor managing these moorings and Simon Hughes are to work with Simon Papprill, whom we have met at our branch meetings, about resolving this power issue. We will chase them.

The latest on the sanitary point is reasonable news. CRT have cleared up the old moorings at Memory Lane and have installed some new moorings, so I guess people could moor there now. They now are seeking a meeting with us about service connections for this to be completed shortly. Until we have the meeting we can’t be sure there will be an Elsan point, but as this has been what we have been shouting about for over 20 years it certainly is to be hoped there is! (Two pictures are provided by Simon Papprill from CRT.)

Memory Lane before and after

He tells us CRT will also shortly be installing some mooring rings the branch requested above Belgrave Lock as part of the towpath improvements there. When installed, boaters will have somewhere to tie up to visit the Space Centre and the Golden Mile. Currently there are no fixed moorings from Friars Mill to Birstall. The unfortunate news about these is that Debbie and Andrew paid a visit the other day to refresh their minds about the site above Belgrave Lock. They were horrified to see how close to the waterway the new buildings are.

I too was horrified the other week when I searched to see what had happened with the application for student accommodation in a planned development alongside Friars Mill. You may recall that about a year ago we wrote to the Council objecting to how the application they were considering drove a “Coach & Horses” through the Council’s planned building scheme for the area. This scheme was for buildings rising mostly to 3 floors with the odd ones to 6. The new application was for 12, 14 and 16 floors. I had spent a long time carefully drafting our response and knew that when I had made objections previously, I was notified of progress on the application. I heard nothing about this until Herbert flagged something up he had seen via either The Mercury or the Civic Society, and where the development was apparently under way. I had heard nothing from the Planners after my objection. I contacted the Planners after Herbert’s note but have had no satisfactory response and in mid- April when I went alongside the site there were hoardings around it with warnings about Deep Excavations, which are precursors to foundations for tall buildings!

Local Councils are a funny lot, though. They normally moan about having no money yet CRT’s Simon Pappril (see earlier) contacted me to say that my old employers, Blaby District Council, had been in touch about possible contributions to additional moorings in their patch. I was amazed that they thought they might have a bit of money to spare! The problem was that I was already away from home and could only scratch my memory as to just where the boundaries between Blaby & Wigston and Blaby & Leicester run exactly. I’m fairly sure I know and frankly I doubt there is anywhere that could be used. Obviously there is the “basin” near County Arms but the last time I looked closely at that the mud was almost on the surface, so someone will need to do a lot of dredging. The other possible place is around Gees and Blue Bank locks, but neither is going to get boaters to moor up & swell the coffers of Blaby District retailers I fear. I will resolve possible locations on my return; we must always try to assist in improving facilities.

Sad news the other day reached me courtesy of Beryl & Mary. Freda Hales died the other week following a fall in the nursing home where she lived. She, with her late husband Les, were early movers in the waterways revival in Leicestershire. I first knew them when we moored at the boatyard in Thurmaston in the 1990’s; they owned the house alongside and for years their old boat was parked on chocks in the garden. For many years they would attend rallies and Festivals by road dressed in traditional boatmans’ clothing, Freda would undertake traditional hand crafts at these events. They were a lovely couple and were always pleased to talk about their early days of boating.

Richard Thorpe reported that he and Margaret were at the 21st Leicester Riverside Festival and that they displayed the new IWA banner on the side of their boat. (See page 4) A number of people took leaflets from the collection they displayed on the roof. Richard was helping to run the everpopular trip boats from Sileby Mill, and said that boat numbers were down slightly on previous years and there were no old working boats there. He surmised that the Golden Jubilee Erewash Canal Festival at Langley Mill the previous weekend could well have reduced boat numbers. The Festival seemed to have been a success with a large crowd, with many taking a trip on the water. CRT had two displays and he thought the new corporate image looked good on banners!

This is most likely to be my final piece for Aegre as Leicestershire Branch Chairman. Carol and I have accepted an offer on our home and have agreed to purchase a new flat at Selsey near Chichester and expect we will move in August. Whilst I will remain as an IWA member and will affiliate to Leicestershire, I really will not be able to fulfil my duties as Chairman, or as a useful committee member. I have been on the committee since it started in 1995 and have enjoyed being involved in the running of the Branch, meeting our members, writing loads of stuff for Winding Ways and Aegre. I have enjoyed being thoroughly involved in two Harborough Festivals as well as several in Leicester and Loughborough as well as flying the flag at a branch stand at Foxton and at the National in Worcester in 1999, getting people to come to Harborough in 2000.

I am delighted to say that Andrew Shepherd has offered to take over the reins as Chairman until the AGM next February. I sincerely hope one or more of you will get in touch with us about supporting and also joining in with running Leicestershire Branch. I can honestly say that I have always found that the pleasure gained far outweighs any effort involved. Please give it a try.