Freight returns to the north east waterways See page 21
June 2016 West Riding Branch
Contents Chairman’s Thoughts Last chance to decide Mileposts in the last century From news letter autumn 1993 Leeds and Liverpool Canal Mileposts - from 2009 Details of the CRT milepost project List of Leeds & Liverpool Bicentenary events Recreation of the 1816 inaugural passage Leeds and Liverpool Lock 38 A new river navigation Locks at Bingley Skipton Water Festival Inland Waterways of Great Britain Directory Freight returns to the north east waterways Minutes of the 2016 AGM Why we moved our AGM! Branch Secretary’s Report 4 May 2016 Afloat Without Buying A Cruising Licence News on the works after the flood - from CRT That Will Be A Long Day A New Mooring Sign for Cavalcade Traversing Tidal Waters Meeting dates
Please make sure we have your correct contact details
If you don't get an email notification of the meetings, we haven’t got your details. Please give Tracy at Island House the correct details. Tracy.Higgin@waterways.org.uk
Front Cover —
‘Exol Pride’ Jon Hudson 2
3 4 6 7 10 12 13 14 15 16 18 20 21 21 22 25 26 27 28 30 33 34 36
Chairman’s Thoughts Hello All
First let me thank the South Yorkshire Boat Club for their warm welcome at short notice to host our AGM. Many thanks to those who attended the AGM and to those who sent their apologies; the total was more than last year which is great. The minutes are to be found on page 22. The evening started with Mike Marshall and Tom Wright giving us an update on what happened during the floods, and the works that are continuing to get the navigations working again. A more recent summary is on page 28 After the break the AGM continued on its usual course with no real surprises. I made an impassioned plea for more volunteers from the members, which was a bit wasted on those attending as they are the activists who do help. Rather than repeat it all here (see many past Mileposts with requests for assistance) I will just thank all those who do contribute, and point out that Peter and I are only on the committee until next March unless circumstances change. There were no new committee members. On a more cheerful note this issue has a lot on Leeds and Liverpool Bicentenary. This Branch is particularly interested in the restoration of the mileposts. As Ian Moore reminds us on page ~,6we were involved in this work in the early 1990s, and have continued in various ways since then. As part of the bicentenary project the IWA is sponsoring four posts along the canal, one for each branch along the length. We hope to sponsor the mile post nearest to Leeds. Although the post is in place it only has one plate which is on the wrong side. We hope to sponsor the repositioning of the exisiting plate and the new plate (Leeds 1/4). And another bit of good news, we now have freight back on the north east waterways (front cover and page 21). Congratulations to David Lowe and Jon Horsfall and all who have worked hard to achieve this. Elaine Scott, Branch Chairman
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Last Chance To Decide Hands up those who contributed to the 2015 National AGM. Those who can’t remember could consult the website: https://www.waterways.org.uk/pdf/minutes/agm/agm_15_09_26 which says “Minutes of the 56th Annual General Meeting ... held at 11.30am on Saturday 26th September 2015 at Salwarpe Village Hall, .... Present: Approximately 70 members...” which is just less than a half of one percent of the members. Or to put it another way, those without their hands up represent ninety-nine and a half percent of our members. We the trustees are grateful for all the support from our members, and those who pay their membership fees make a valuable contribution to our campaigns for our waterways. To employ our people at Island House we need the commitment of our members to pay their salaries. Thank you all for that commitment. The Charities Commission expects our trustees to take full responsibility for running IWA as a charity, including analysing all the risks we face. That might include a char-a-banc arriving at the AGM full of members with common intent to change our direction or express ‘no confidence’ in us by rejecting the Annual Report. That’s what can happen in a democratic organisation. But it has to be said, it would be better if the normal attendance of members needed a whole fleet of char-a-bancs to outvote them. The trustees are proposing at the 2016 AGM that significant changes are made to our governing rules (our “Articles of Association” to use the technical term). If agreed, under the current rules needing a 75% majority, then (for example) all subsequent members’ AGM resolutions would be advisory (not mandatory) on the trustees. Currently each (of the eight) region’s members directly elect their Region Chairman, who automatically becomes a trustee; and nationally all the members together elect nine more National Trustees. From these seventeen, the Trustees themselves appoint our National Chairman. Under the proposed new rules, the trustee board may decide how and by whom Region Chairmen are appointed, and then whether or not any or all of them should become trustees. Trustees may also (or instead) appoint National-Committee Chairmen to be trustees. There is still a maximum number of seventeen trustees and a minimum of five. Any National Trustees still required will be elected under rules that the Trustees may set (without reference to the AGM). The twelve-year limit to trustees’ service remains, and all trustees will need to be re-elected or re-appointed after serving a maximum of three-and-a-half years. The annual subscriptions will follow these new rules. Currently any increase 4
needs that 75% majority at the national AGM, and under the proposed new rules the trustees will decide subscription rates. There’s a consultation with members ending on 31 May 2016, and with any amendments that the Trustees agree, it’s then up to our members to decide to grant or not to grant the Trustees these new rules. It would be brilliant if we could have lots of members at the AGM at 2pm on Saturday 24 September 2016 at the South Wolverhampton and Bilston Academy, Prosser Street Bilston, Wolverhampton WV14 0LN. Even if you are not able to attend, it’s possible to record your vote by submitting a proxy form. The details will be in the August issue of Waterways. For comparison I think Canal and River Trust have become a successful organisation: they (now) encourage and support volunteers, and they have a growing group of ‘Friends’ who contribute money to the charity while having no role, no voice, no formal vote in how CRT is run. IWA continues to be a campaigning organisation made up of volunteers working collectively for the waterways. As above, it’s hard to persuade our members to contribute more than their subscriptions, and to help us (the trustees) to run the organisation, if only by contributing their views to our Annual Meeting. This 2016 AGM will make a significant step to move IWA towards CRT’s model of governance, and having done that, it would be hard to unravel. It is a Last Chance To Decide. Peter Scott
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Leeds and Liverpool Mileposts and the West Riding Branch
Mileposts in the Last Century
The West Riding Branch became involved with Leeds and Liverpool Canal mileposts in the early 1990’s, some years before the Leeds and Liverpool Canal Society was founded in 1997. We initially organised a survey of surviving posts on the Yorkshire side of the canal. This was compiled by the then branch newsletter editor Ian Clark, from information supplied by branch members. The branch was then involved in cleaning and painting the posts and this involvement inspired the name of the branch newsletter, which was established at the same time. In 1995, the branch was able to expand this work when as members of EYE on the Aire, an umbrella body for voluntary organisations concerned with the River Aire in the Leeds area, the opportunity arose to bid for some funding for waterside projects and one of our members, the late Douglas Barlow, suggested to EYE that replacing missing mileposts would be a good scheme. The project covered the replacement of missing posts and distance plates from Leeds to Apperley Bridge, within the Leeds City Council boundaries. Funding comprised a grant of £2400 from the Allied Domecq Groundwork Challenge Fund with match funding of £1500 from Joshua Tetley & Son and work in kind from British Waterways, who installed the posts and plates. David Blackburn, the then BW Waterway Manager, was very supportive of the project, which was managed by Groundwork Leeds. Joshua Tetley & Son were affiliated to EYE on the Aire and were owned by Allied Domecq. Patterns were created for the new posts and plates, which were cast in a foundry at Bingley. They were cast in Spheroidal Graphite (SG) Iron rather than the original cast iron as SG Iron is less brittle and so a bit more resistant to damage. In 1997 there was an unveiling ceremony of a plaque to mark the Milepost restoration work. The plaque is mounted on the wall over the easternmost milepost close to Office Lock in Leeds. And was unveiled by one of the Tetley’s dray horses, which at the time were stabled in Leeds. Ian Moore
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From newsletter Autumn 1993 Mileposts on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal
These should occur every 1/4 mile. They are of cast iron construction and triangular in cross section. The mile posts have cast iron distance plates attached and have a pointed tap. The 1/4mile posts are the same shape but smaller in overall size. The 1/2mile posts are slightly larger than the 1/4 mile posts, have a sloping flat top into which is cast the figure 1/2. They should be painted white with black lettering. The sketch was very kindly sent in by a reader of the last newsletter. Thank you very much Sally. Each side of the post is about 8" wide and usually stand about 15" - 20" high though some are only just above ground level. . The branch did a survey of the posts a year or two back and is steadily cleaning them up and painting them. Below is the second part of a list showing the exact position of all those known to still exist. Below is the list of mile posts from the survey. The full list including all quarter and half posts is available or from myself. The list covers the length of the canal covered by the West Rding Branch and the last bit up to Foulridge Tunnel. Ian Clarke asked to be told of any posts that "disappeared" or found so that the list could be “continually updated” with a view to having “the missing posts replaced, and missing of damaged distance plates reinstated.”
127* 100 yds Liverpool side of Monk Bridge 126* 100 yds Liverpool-side of Spring Garden lock 6 125* 25 yds Liverpool-side of westerly entrance to power station arm 124* NOT FOUND 123* NOT FOUND 122* NOT FOUND 121* Directly opposite the Rodley “Barge” against wall Rodley 120 100 yards Liverpool-side of Calverley Lodge bridge 215 Against wall, adjacent to corner of field
119 Halfway between the pylon and the gate into the field from the towpath 118* NOT FOUND should be amongst rubbish in BW yard 7
Apperley Bridge 117 ? yds Liverpool side of Stangford BridgeB, 100 yds Leedsside of pipe bridge Both plates intact.
116* 45 yds Liverpool-side of Buck Hill swing bridge 211 115* 15 yds Liverpool -side of railway bridge (Ilkley branch) Has 2 plates, 1 cracked
Shipley 114* 3 ft out from railings opposite end of corrugated shed on off side NO
PLATES 113* NOT FOUND should be near ivy covered ash on towpath side opposite large oak on off side 112* NOT FOUND should he about 20 yds Leeds -side of pipebridge between bridges 203 & 204
Bingley 111* Level with 2nd Chamber BINGLEY 5 rise, on path edge 110* 5 yds Leeds -side of Morton swing bridge 198A 109* Level with Liverpool -side end of cemetery, below towpath 108* 50 yds Liverpool -side of last brick house on towpath side 107 NOT FOUND 106* By elder bush & small rowan 375 yds Leeds -side of Holden swing bridge 193 NO PLATES
105 NOT FOUND should be level with electricity distribution post on offside near gasholder.
Silsden 104* 45 yds Liverpool -side of Cowling swing bridge 191 103 NOT FOUND 102* Liverpool -side of Milking Hill swing bridge 184 opposite concrete bank capping (20yds) on offside
101* 90 yds Liverpool-side of Hamblethorpe bridge 183. Against remains of wall. Opposite wooden powerline post in road. Only top 8 inches showing.
100* 140 yds Leeds-side of Snaygill Boats sign opposite nearside street lamp NO PLATES
99* 40 yds Liverpool-side of Horse close bridge l80 next to main road Both plates intact
98* On Ellerbeck aquaduct. Leeds-side of Brewery swing bridge 177 in SKIPTON No Plates
97* 100 yds Liverpool-side of Skipton western bypass Leeds plate intact, Liverpool missing
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96* 400 yds Liverpool-side of road bridge, on bend near rail bridge over river
NO PLATES
95* 150 yds Liverpool-side of point where road leaves canal Both plates intact
94* 150 yds Leeds-side of Holme bridge 172A NO PLATES 93* 50 yds Liverpool-side of Higherland Lock 32 Both plates intact Gargrave 92* Between BWB moorings & Priestholme changeline bridge 168 against wall Both plates intact
91* 50 yds Liverpool-side of Newton bridge 164 90* Just below radio mast NO PLATES 89* Next to steps up to road at Double arched bridge 161 at East Marton Both
plates intact 88* On bend opposite field with sheep fence, against stone wall NO PLATES 87* 75 yds Liverpool-side of winding hole One full plate, one broken plate 86* 150 yds Liverpool-side of sharp bend in canal at Greenberfield One full plate, one broken plate
Barnoldswick 85* Opposite end of Silent Night factory, against stone wall Both plates intact
84* About 50 yds Liverpool-side of Salterford bridge 151 Both plates intact
83* Against Liverpool-side abutment wall on Mill Hill bridge 149 Both plates intact
Ian Clarke 1993
During the years since this article was written the West Riding Branch has spent may happy hours painting the Mileposts , Here are Liz Pinder and Jennifer and Elliott Mosley on one such occasion.
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Leeds and Liverpool Canal Mileposts - from 2009 Over the years the mileposts which indicate the distance along the canal from Leeds or Liverpool have fallen into disrepair and in many instances have disappeared all together. In addition to the mileposts themselves there were also ½ and Ÿ milepost markers but you needed to remember the last milepost you have seen to know the exact distance from either end point of the canal. While not installed when the canals were first built they were added to help with the collection of tolls and were more recently used to identify locations where maintenance work was required. They are part of the heritage of the canal and for some time voluntary bodies involved with the Leeds Liverpool canal have been trying to restore the mile posts in the Yorkshire region. A project was carried out on the Apperley Bridge section a few years ago. The latest project was initiated earlier this year when representatives met from British Waterways, Leeds-Liverpool Canal Society, the Bradford Motor Education Project (BMEP), and IWA West Riding Branch. It was agreed we would try and replace the Mileposts between Shipley and Bingley 5 Rise, some 5 miles involving 6 posts. BMEP works with young people who are having difficulty within main stream education. It has a canal based activity operating under the name of Dreamweaver. This group has now received the necessary training and authority from British Waterways to carry out minor projects on the canal system. They carry out such activity as clearing rubbish and vegetations and also recently repainted the Micklethwaite swing bridge. This milepost project offered some additional opportunities for the young people and the Dreamweaver involvement was a practical way of taking this project forward. The project was co-ordinated by Howard Tomlinson with trainees Tom, Josh and Kieran. Initially the young people surveyed the canal to establish what posts and plaques with mileage information would be required. Fortunately it was possible to source, from a BW store in Lancashire, a number of the basic posts which had been cast on an earlier project but no plaques or the patterns to make them could be found. To make the new patterns we The patterns. were able to call on the expertise of Kevin Ratcliff and his team at CarnaudMetalbox, which is located by the canal in 10
Shipley. The young people spent a week working with the CarnaudMetalbox staff in the pattern shop to produce the 8 new patterns. Patterns had to be made for the two different forms of plaque. One with the Leeds mileage and the second with Liverpool. Also, as each plaque requires a different mileage, each pattern had to be made such that the numbers could be easily changed at the casting stage. The patterns when completed were transferred to Leach & Thompson, a foundry in Keighley, where, using the patterns, 12 different plaques were cast with the different required mileages. The Dreamweaver team have then fixed the plaques to the posts and are in the process of installing the posts. The first post was installed and unveiled on Dockfield Road, close to the railway bridge 209A on the 23rd October. Over 20 people, representing the parties involved and the local council, enjoyed a journey along the canal from the Dreamweaver base at Shipley Wharf to the installation site.(unveiling of the first reinstated post was carried out by Mike Clarke of the Leeds Liverpool Canal Society. Cash funding for the project was required to cover the cost of the new plaques and the expenses of the Dreamweaver team. IWA were able to provide the funds from donations made to it for use in improving the canal. Without this funding this project would not have happened but the enthusiasm of the Dreamweaver team and the support from local companies was also key to seeing the reintroduction of these mileposts.
William Jowitt
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And then more recently in 2013 we painted the first mile of posts from the Leeds end.
The quartermilepost before and after 2013
And to come up-to-date, details of the CRT heritage lottery backed project to restore every milepost along the canal. With thanks to the Canal & River Trust Length Inspectors and some additional surveying we have completed the mapping process and concluded that we are missing 30 mile markers and 109 mile distance plates. After the process of tendering for the fabrication of the mileposts we have commissioned Merseyside Castings in Kirkby to produce the mile markers and distance plates for the project. The majority of the posts have now been fabricated and we will be filming the casting of the final posts on Thursday 19 May, to be part of the Bicentenary film. We have discovered one of the original posts under some debris at our operations base in Rufford so once some refurbishment has taken place post 3 will be reinstated by the Strand Bridge in Bootle.
Initial work removing damaged distance plates has been planned and the operations teams will be assisting with this preparatory work. Orders for essential equipment has been placed so that once the mileposts have been fabricated installation work can begin. Donations – These are progressing well but we welcome further support to ensure this ambitious and important heritage project is successfully completed. Sarah Knight Development & Engagement Manager Canal & River Trust (North West Waterways) 12
List of Leeds & Liverpool Bicentenary events 11-12 June 18 -19 June 24-26 June 4 July
Eldonian Basin, Liverpool IWA Boating Festival Kennet Burscough Wharf Burscough Heritage Weekend Kennet Leeds Waterfront Festival Addingham Talk on the L&L Canal and Kennet to the Addingham Active Retired Group 16 July Wheelton Open Day Kennet 23-24 July Blackburn Canal Festival Kennet 27-28 August Burnley Canal Festival Kennet 4 September Bradley Show Kennet 17 September Bingley 5 Rise CafÊ "Talk by Mike Clarke 18 September Bingley Community / CRT Open Day Kennet 25 September Bradford World Rivers Day Friends of Bradford Becks 29 September Idle, Friends of Buck Wood Talk by Mike Clarke 2 October Apperley Bridge CRT Open Day Kennet 13 October Burnley Historical Society Talk by Mike Clarke 8-23 October 200 Miles Walk - Coast to Coast via the waterways Hull to Liverpool A Trustee of the Society is walking 200 mile with the Leeds to Liverpool section co-insiding with Kennet at key places. 14 October Leeds Talk by Mike Clarke 15-23 October Kennet recreates inaugural voyage along the full length of the canal Leeds to Liverpool Communities and organisations being asked to create the atmosphere of the 1816 Inaugural passage 21 October Wigan Museum Midday Talk by Mike Clarke Mike Clarke’s talk is called "200 years of the Leeds & Liverpool Canal" Kennet will be there and open to the public
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Plaques available from CRT or Elaine for ÂŁ7
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Leeds and Liverpool Lock 38 Mike Clarke, renowned canal historian, founder and president of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal Society, was honoured during the canal’s bicentenary year with a lock being named after him near Gargrave in North Yorkshire. In 1997 Mike became the driving force behind the founding of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal Society, with the aim of encouraging better public knowledge and understanding of our waterway heritage. He now serves as its president, having seen the society grow into a flourishing group with more than 170 members. Bank Newton Lock no 38 was renamed the Mike Clarke Lock in tribute to his tremendous contribution to the Mike Clarke with members the Leeds and Leeds and Liverpool Canal – a close association which spans nearly five Liverpool Canal Society at the lock re-naming decades. CRT decided the canal’s 200th anniversary year would be a fitting moment to create a lasting tribute to his achievements by re-naming a lock in his honour. When invited to choose a lock, Mike decided on Bank Newton overlooking the Yorkshire Dales National Park because of its beautiful countryside. At the event, Mike, 67, launched a new enlarged edition of his popular book ‘The Leeds & Liverpool Canal, a history’. The book can be purchased directly from him for £28 icl. p&p, (details are on his website www.mikeclarke.myzen.co.uk, or for £40 through bookshops, ISBN 0-9519236-8-4. As part of the bi-centenary celebrations Mike is giving a talk entitled "200 years of the Leeds & Liverpool Canal" at various places along the canal. His talk in Leeds is to be held on Friday 14 October at a boaters reception to mark the start of Kennet’s re-enacting the maiden voyage of the completed Leeds-Liverpool on the 15th of October 1815. We are combining this with the West Riding Branch October meeting where Mike should have some books to sell 15
A New River Navigation The Canal and River Trust Partnership occasionally views our local waterways from t'middle of t'cut, and for our May 2016 meeting we were aboard CanalConnection's training boat MichaelHayes for a visit to our new river navigation just outside Leeds. Our boat trip emphasised how much work remains to return the river to its pre-flood condition. A volunteer day is planned, before this newsletter is delivered, to remove the 'rags' still attached to towpath bushes trees: indeed all the plants rooted in the washwalls would be best removed. There are the remains of the Fearns Wharf pontoon still on the bank. This stretch of river will be familiar only to those who have navigated this year: it's not a new river; the River Aire above Knostrop lock has always been there, but hidden from the cut by the towingpath that has separated canal from river since its original construction was completed in 1779.
This has now been removed as part of the Leeds Flood Alleviation Scheme. When the works are finished and the buoys removed, it will be a wide stretch of river, attractively rural in character and very close to the centre of Leeds. Without a towingpath, it will be more remote than before, even with a new pathway for the Trans Pennine Trail on the northern (river) side planned to open in December 2016; for the moment it is accessible only from a boat. It is the waterway-approach to Leeds from the East, and a chance to have our best green credentials on view to our visitors. The bridges and navigation at Knostrop Flood Lock will be completely different, with a new pedestrian crossing at ground level across the lock, to replace the current long walk up the slopes. Boats will no longer pass through the old flood lock, which will of course no longer function as a lock, and it is planned to remove the gates. Instead the navigation will take the course of the river, outside of the remains of the flood lock, and under the pedestrian river bridge, once that is replaced.
Before towingpath removed
Further downriver is the continuing works to replace Knostrop Weir with a new mechanical version which can be 16
lowered to the river bed in times of flood. Works also continue to convert Crown Point Weir, also to one which can be lowered to the river bed. A large crane moved on to Fearns Island by filling in the canal to create a road to drive it across: the navigation is now open again, and when the crane retraces its steps, we will need a deep boat to check that all the temporary ballast has also been removed. Completion of this part of the works is planned for April 2017. Christmas 2015 provided an unwelcome reminder of why Leeds needs more protection from extremely wet weather. The overall plan is to increase the capacity of the river to store flood water, by lowering the weirs and allowing a controlled and greater flow of water downriver, instead of allowing it to back-up into the streets of Leeds. The quoted "one-in-many-years-event" suggested to me that the 2015 flood would have overwhelmed the design capacity of the new works, and the politicians would, as in Penrith, have needed the explanation that "but for the recent works, it would have been even worse". We shall see. The new weirs are a first for the UK, and "we shall see" has to await the vast amount of debris that accompanies water rushing downstream in the next severe flood: the lowering of the weirs may work brilliantly, and remembering the problems of York's River Foss barrier, we will only then find out how good they are at reverting to their navigation purpose of holding back a navigable depth of water. They are intended to be lowered only when the navigation is already closed for safety; their effectiveness relies on a preemptive decision to make the extra holding capacity available early, and the weathermen will be predicting a deluge before it actually starts. At which time navigation is secondary to flood defence, and safety-first might generate more river closures that we have had before. You read it here first. Peter Scott 17
Locks at Bingley Bingley 3 Rise Locks Visitor Weekend. During February and early March as part of the winter maintenance programme CRT have been replacing one of the intermediate sets of gate on the 3 Rise Locks at Bingley. On the weekend 5/6 March an open weekend was held for the general public to see the locks when empty of water so they can appreciate a little more of how the locks work and see what is normally hidden below the water. There were several CRT staff on hand who explained in detail to the visitors how the lock operated and the work that had been carried out. Also represented were the IWA and the Leeds and Liverpool Canal Society to explain the role of these groups. CRT volunteers also provided an educational activity for the younger visitors on how some structures are constructed on the canal. One of the main points of interest apart from the locks themselves was the spider crane, see picture, used to lift the gates which was a first in this area. The unit had been brought on a barge which avoided the need to gain access via the towpath for a land based crane. There were some 200 visitors each day, not big numbers but all seemed to appreciate the opportunity to see the work in progress. The West Riding Branch had our small stand alone stand there where our members talked to the public and handed out our canal maps. Thanks to William, Mike and Ian for their work.
Photos Neil Bland.
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Bingley 5 Rise Locks William Jowitt attended this meeting for us The Canal and River Trust have commissioned Leisure Consulting, a Manchester based company, to prepare a Destination Management Plan for Bingley 5 Rise locks, one of several plans that are being developed around the canal network. As part of the process a stakeholders meeting was held at the Bingley 5 Rise Locks Café on 9 February. Some 30 people attended the meeting representing CRT, IWA and people from local businesses, councillors, residents, boat owners and clubs.
We were split into three groups and discussed 5 topics; Visitor Welcome/Signage/Marketing/Identity Access, Car & Coach Parking & Linkages Natural Environment & Offer Canal Based Activity Visitor Facilities - Education/Hospitality/Other Over the 5 subject areas covered there were 70 observation/comment/ suggestions generated, some of the key points raised were;
Bingley 5 Rise and the adjoining 3 Rise Locks have greater potential than is being realised at present. Better information is required to attract visitors. Better local information is required i.e signage. Long term better access/parking is required. Extend the offer, ie visitor centre, boat trips Leisure Consulting now have to take the outcomes from this meeting plus other information they have gathered to develop a Destination Plan in the coming months. We will report on the outcome later in the year.
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Skipton Water Feastival At Skipton Water Festival, 1-2 May 2016 we were again in the big marquee, which made life much easier. We set up the stand and used the new Leeds and Liverpool bi-centenary display. This was much appreciated by the visitors. On Sunday morning Ian Moore showed me athe pieces of one of the plates of a Leeds and Liverpool milepost found some time ago that he had been keeping safe. These were later passed to CRT. We had great fun talking to the visitors - the marquee was busy, especially on Sunday morning when there was a downpour. While some of us talk to the public, others indulged (again) in ice shavings in lurid colours.
To be fair , he did also take some pictures of the landslip currently closing the Springs Branch. It does look like much until you realise how little is left holding up the Castle! (se North West Local Gateway Forum report page 26)
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Inland Waterways Directory
of
Great
Britain
John Pomfret has compilled a directory of the condition of Britain’s 6,500 miles of inland waterways The Waterways Directory includes information on all navigable and formerly navigable canals and all rivers that were made navigable or used for inland navigation in their natural state, from the derelict Dingwall Canal in the north east of Scotland to the navigable Truro River in Cornwall. Waterways are listed alphabetically and data can be filtered by different subjects. The information given for each waterway includes length (in miles and kilometres), how much is currently open to navigation, details of the navigation or harbour authority or other responsible body, whether a right of navigation exists and any Maritime and Coastguard Agency classification for the waterway. Details of the content of the directory and the rationale for inclusion of waterways are provided in a comprehensive set of accompanying explanatory notes. To obtain the directory you can request a copy via the IWA website https://www.waterways.org.uk/waterways/iwa_inland_waterways_directory. However if you would like a hard copy it is available printed on the reverse of the latest copy of Imrays Inland Waterways Map of Great Britten, branded with the IWA logo and available from the IWA Shop.
Freight returns to the north east waterways Barge deliveries to Exol oil terminal at Rotherham restarted on Wednesday 27 April as the boat “Exol Pride” took 450 tonnes of base oil from Hull docks to Rotherham. The photo on the front cover shows her passing through Goole docks at 11 am in the morning.
David Lowe
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IWA West Riding Branch Minutes of the 2016 AGM held at 8.15pm on Friday 11 March 2016 South Yorkshire Boat Club, Great Heck. Present 17 members.
at
1. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE: Ann Watkins, Ann Sadler, Paul Jowitt, Stephen Scholes, Anne Esslemont, Ann Watkins, Jerry Mabbott, Chris Davey, Helen Davey, Anne Martin, Tony Martin, Mike Silk, Sue Silk, Peggy Furniss, Shirley Ward, Don Ward, Ian Grey, Karen Grey, Lynn Harrison, David Ramsden, Paul Spray, Michael Silverwood, Mary Silverwood, Lorna Pope, Liz Pinder, Chris Pinder, Keith Noble, Trisha Laing 2. MINUTES OF THE 2015 AGM held on Friday 10th April 2015 at South Pennine Boat Club, s published in June 2015 MilePost were accepted as a true and correct record of the meeting. (Proposed by Peter Scott) 3. MATTERS ARISING: None 4. BRANCH CHAIRMAN’S REPORT Elaine Scott mentioned a selection of Branch activities for the year: these included representing the Branch at meetings of Canal and River Trust User Groups and at the Annual Public Meetings of their North East and North West Partnerships; also at Leeds Voice Environment Forum; Leeds Waterfront festival; Destination Management Plan for Bingley 5 Rise; preparation for the Leeds and Liverpool Canal’s Bicentenary and the launch of the Leeds and Liverpool Milepost restoration. The Branch organised two Open Meetings during the year. The Branch stand and displays have been taken to the Skipton Water Festival, the Leeds Waterfront Festival at Thwaite Mills and the Bingley three-rise lock open days. The newsletter, MilePost, which Elaine has been editing had its usual three issues. The last date for new items for the next issue is 15 May 2016. As mentioned by Mike Marshall (CRT) in his presentation immediately prior to the AGM, the Branch contribution to the volunteer response to the Christmas 2015 floods included planning with Calder Navigation Society and then a survey from Sowerby Bridge to the collapsed bridge at Elland, using a by boat supplied by Shire Cruisers. It is planned to take the stand to Skipton on Saturday 30 April, Sunday 1 May and Monday 2 May. This needs volunteers to engage with visitors, and this year the stand will be inside the main marquee. Also needed are volunteers for Thwaite Mills on Saturday 25 June and Sunday 26 June, as part of the Leeds Waterfront 22
Festival. This would include putting up gazebos on Saturday and clearing up on Sunday evening. Elaine showed the programme of events for the Leeds and Liverpool bicentenary. There will be opportunities for more meetings and events, and this will require more helpers. Elaine thanked the four other members of the committee; helpers at all events and members who come to meetings, reply to emails and give their support in other ways; the South Pennine Boat Club for their hospitality and the South Yorkshire Boat Club for hosting this meeting. 5. TREASURER’S REPORT William Jowitt noted that accounts are kept by IWA Head Office, and the meeting does not need a resolution to accept the accounts. West Riding’s balance at 31 December 2015 was £1966. Income during the year was £864 and expenditure was £1256, including Donations of £580 (£300 to Skipton Waterway Festival, £250 to the Waterways Recovery Group van appeal and £30 to the Leeds and Liverpool Canal Society 6. ELECTION OF COMMITTEE The Committee 2015-16 was: Elaine Scott (Chairman), Ian Moore (Secretary), William Jowitt (Treasurer), Peter Scott (Minutes), Mike Tucknott, assisted by David Mack (Web Master), Liz Pinder and Chris Pinder (on the branch stand. Of these, Elaine Scott, and Peter Scott end their terms of office this year and are willing to be re-elected for one further year. There were no further volunteers for election. It was agreed that Elaine Scott and Peter Scott be appointed to the Branch Committee until the 2017 AGM Elaine said that volunteers were still needed as Speaker Finder, Meeting Reporter, Speaker Finder (for Jan 2017 etc. meetings), Event Compiler, Navigation Officer, Planning Officer, User Groups Representatives, Leeds Waterfront Festival Liaison, a Telephone Contact, and anything else members might offer to do. 7. REGION CHAIRMAN’S REPORT
Peter Scott reported on the trustees’ national priorities, including progress on the transfer of Environment Agency navigations to the Canal and River Trust. Relating to Branch structure, the trustees had agreed that ailing branches may agree to be wound up without necessarily transferring their responsibilities to other branches. 8. MEETING CLOSURE Elaine closed the meeting at 9.45pm
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Income and Expenditure Account 2015
2014
Income
Expenditure
Capitation
547.63
0.00
563.29
0.00
Donations Social meetings & working parties Events and fund-raising activities
142.00
580.00
175.00
1,190.00
0.00
30.00
0.00
80.00
0.00
104.00
0.00
321.04
0.00
541.16
0.00
572.99
91.00
0.00
897.10
460.01
56.00
0.00
210.00
0.00
27.14
0.00
33.85
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
863.77
1,256.14
20.00 1,899.2 4
Magazine Trading Lotteries & raffles Bank interest & charges Officers' expenses Other TOTAL Surplus/ (deficit) for the year
Balance at 31st December
Income
Expenditure
2,624.04
-392.37
-724.8
£1,965.64
£2,358.01
Notes Capitation – the monies we receive from IWA to fund the magazine. Donations Skipton Waterway Festival £300 WRG donation to new vans £250 Lower level of activity at Skipton and Thwaite reducing income. Purchased new Gazebo following damage to old one. William Jowitt Treasurer
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Why we moved our AGM!
The flood level above the South Pennine Boat Club rose over 5M. At this level the upstream wastewater treatment works is flooded and contaminates the river and canal. The insures condemned the floor which needed relaying. This was not finished until after the meeting date. The work has been completed and we hope to be there again for our November meeting.
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Secretary’s Report 4 May 2016 This is an extract from Ian Moore’s report to the Branch committee with details of the meetings he has attended on our behalf. North West Local Waterway Forum 16 March 2016 at Wigan Investment Centre. CRT North West has moved office at short notice due to their landlord deciding not to sign the recently renegotiated lease for Waterside House. However the new office in Trencherfield Mill is a lot cheaper. There seems to have been some issues with the towpath works at Skipton. But the subcontractor will be expected to address any outstanding issues before the works are signed off. The Springs Branch was closed by a rockfall and there were discussions with Skipton Castle about the cost of stabilising the rockface, removing the debris and future liability. It was pointed out that Pennine Cruisers tripboats carried around 20,000 people each year on trips up the Springs Branch. North East Local Waterway Forum Thursday 14 April 2016 at Altofts. There was an update on the ongoing repairs following the Boxing Day floods. The Calder and Hebble Navigation had been reopened from Wakefield to Brighouse. Currently late June was the reopening date for Elland and Crowther Bridges. HLF bids are being looked at on the back of repair works. There was also a Big Lottery bid based on extending the community engagement work that had been taking place in Dewsbury to Mirfield. There were 17 responses to the Ramsden Swing Bridge consultation and the preference was for a foot swing bridge. CRT are looking at the possibility of introducing via licence terms and conditions, compulsory marine band radio on the tidal Ouse. This is because there have been a lot of incidents where the lack of a radio has been a contributory factor. And CRT are also coming under pressure from ABP over boats coming onto their waters, which are not following their bylaws. Whilst this is not in our branch area, the consultation should be national, as it may have a greater effect on non-local boaters. (see article page 30) Manchester & Pennine North Local Waterway Forum Wednesday 27 April 2016 at Manchester Golf Club, near Middleton. There was an update on the ongoing repairs following the Boxing Day floods. It will be June before some parts of the Rochdale Canal are reopened. Whilst August is the current date for completing the repair on the breach between Locks 16 and 17. And there is currently no date for clearing the landslip between Locks 15 and 16 due to ongoing negotiations with the landowner’s insurance company. The destination management plan for Standedge Visitor Centre has been completed. 26
City Connect Off Highway Workshop 15 April 2016 in Leeds. There are a number of towing path schemes in Phase 2 of City Connect. There was a good presentation on Design Guidance and Best Practice from a Canals perspective by Rachel Ingham, Urban Designer, Canal & River Trust, followed by Design Guidance and Best Practice by Will Haynes, Head of Built Environment, Sustrans. There was some acknowledgement of the tension between different users’ requirements and the problems of “designing to the bad apples”.
Restoration Saturday 23 April, Austin Court, Birmingham. IWA/CRT Annual Waterway Restoration Workshop. No one from the Barnsley, Dearne and Dove Canals Trust was able to attend. The Trust had provided the required information to Geraint Coles for his State of the Nation restoration survey. And the canals were now on Paul Balmer’s Waterways Routes website as a free downloadable map.
Afloat Without Buying A Cruising Licence Closer to home in this series of being afloat on interesting boats on interesting waters, but without having a tiller or wheel in hand, here is the Leeds Water Taxi It is run with two boats Twee and Drie, and FREE to the traveller running every 20 minutes. From Granary Wharf (just by the new South entrance of Leeds train station, and below River Lock) and Leeds Dock (Clarence Dock) and has taken twenty thousand passengers in its first full year. http://www.leedsdock.com/the-voice/leeds-dock-water-taxi/
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News on the works after the flood - from CRT More than four months after the floods, work is continuing on dredging affected waterways, rebuilding canal walls, reinstating washed out towpath, and making progress on major engineering projects.
Major Projects Rochdale Canal Breach (Embankment 19)
Works to start as due to finish in August Includes rebuilding 250m of wash wall and repairs to Woodhouse Weir Rochdale Canal Landslip (Cutting 17) Landslip into part of the canal. blocking the navigation with earth. trees and debris and damaging the canal Ground investigations started this month after liaison with the adjacent landowner The investigations will acccess any further movement in the land and help draw up a plan for reopening the canal as quickly as possible.
Elland Bridge The flood waters washed out the bridge foundations, undermining the road above
Work, to dismantle the Grade II listed bridge started in April The canal is due to reopen by the end of June while construction takes place The road should reopen by the end of the year Crowther Bridge Considerable damage. especially around the arch barrel over the Canal towpath
Floodwaters washed out the bridge foundations, undermining the road and The Trust does not own the structure. however the local authority has funded us to dismantle and rebuild the bridge The canalis due to reopen by the end of June while construction takes place The road will reopen by the end of the year
Dredging Many sections or the Rochdale Canal and Calder and Hebble Navigation have been dredged after silt was dumped by the floodwaters 28
The majority of this has been completed on the Calder & Hebble up to where the navigation Is closed at Crowther Bridge. Once the navigation is cleared more dredging will be completed around Elland Bridge
5m of the Rochdale Canal has been dredged with further spot dredging planned Works recently completed around Leeds Lock and the entrance to Clarence Dock
Other Works Kirklees Low Lock: severe scouring – up to 2m deep in places – along the Wash wall – along a 45m stretch of towpath, as well as damage to the wash wall and collapse of a section of boundary wall. Repairs are due to take place over the summer Severe damage to the towpath between locks II and 12 on the Rochdale Canal left the canal close to breaching. Water leeks were held low and works have been taking place to remove debris, rebuild the canal and river walls and Floods in figures: resurface the towpath 13 miles of towpath have been Serious scour damage to the access reopened thanks largely ramp and towpath by look 13 has to volunteers been repaired with new reinforced matting Installed to reduce potential 5 Miles of waterway dredged for future damage 300 tonnes of silt and debris removed Flooding around our office at Leeds from Callis Lock, meant navigation Into Clarence Dock Rochdale Canal was severely restricted. Works were recently completed around Leeds 11 Culerts cleaned and repaired costIng up to £100,000 Lock and the entrance to Clarence each Dock to clear the channel 3,550 hours - still counting – given by There are many smaller projects volunteers aged 8 to 80 where floodwaters caused damage. Including at Elland Lock lobby, the river weir booms along the Calder and Hebble, around embankment 4 on the Calder and Hebble, Fishponds Weir and Park Nook Lock
It has certainly been challenging but it's great to see that staff and volunteers have helped to make a big impact. People may not realise the full scale of the damage - some areas looked devastated and its taken a lot of hard work to get them cleaned up and repaired. One of the real challenges has been the extent of the damage, suddenly we were faced with around a dozen major projects some of which are extremely complicated - as well as the many smaller clean up jobs and repairs. Even now there's still a lot hard work ahead but we're making good progress. Richard Spasm. Senior project manager 29
That Will Be A Long Day … we said to a two-handed hireboat heading the wrong way from Great Haywood Junction and needing to reach Stoke Prior by the morning-after-next. It’s about 54 miles and 71 locks and at least 26 hours travelling, Their planning hadn’t taken account of the locks, and they had no realistic chance of returning their boat in time, even if they had turned the correct way at the junction. Had they looked at the IWA website, https://www.waterways.org.uk/boating/route_planning/ introduction_to_route_planning they might have read: Calculating Lock-Miles: A useful way to calculate a waterway journey time is to use lock-miles. To do this, count each lock as one mile and add the distance in actual miles to make lock miles. Divide this by 3 (mph) to give the total time in hours to cover the required distance including locks. That calculation would have given our lost boaters a trip of 125 of these lock-miles and almost 42 hours on the move, which would have been an even longer day. Ian, an experienced boater from the Midlands writes that “Forty years ago, a boatyard owner explained “Lock-miles”. He said to work on 3mph as a reasonable speed and that provided that there is no undue hold up you can get through a lock in about 10 mins. Therefore, halve the number of locks then add the number of miles to give 'lockmiles’ then divide by three (for a 3mph speed): give or take another bit, that gives the time for your journey in hours. Having used this 'metric' for planning, actual log data confirms its relative accuracy. In our first18 years on our first boat we had an average speed of 3.2 LM/hr and the next 19 years on our current boat has an average of 2.9 LM/hr, so we must be slowing down in old-age.” Ian’s lock-miles would be 89, and just under 30 hours. That’s close to my timings (27 hours) from Canalplan, the excellent online resource http://canalplan.eu/ which allows users to specify their own estimated times for narrow and wide canals, bridges, different types of 30
locks, as well as working out the best route from anywhere on the inland waterways. Canalplan is brilliant at planning journeys, provided you tell it the speeds. For Copperkins on canals 19 or 18 mins/ mile is fine, while Fulbourne had been taking us 22 to 24 mins even on the Grand Union. Oxford summit would be even slower. Copperkins' locks average “short pounds at Tardebigge” 6mins/lock with an extra 4mins for the first in a flight: Fulbourne has been taking us an extra 4mins above that, again on GU wide locks. Then add an amount for oncoming boats / lockqueues, depending on the time of year. Another brilliant planner is Chris Clegg’s 2-hour map: the main map marks, from boating experience, locations that are two hours’ cruising apart On the back are smaller maps with places 6, 8, 10 hours apart for a quick estimate of how many days a journey will take.
Buy one from the IWA website! It has an inevitable qualification on accuracy: “if there are abnormal conditions such as low pounds, ice, strong flows on rivers, excessive weed growth, or water shortage restrictions requiring waiting at locks” Just to remind us why we go boating. Chris assumes locks are set when the boat arrives, probably needing a steererand at least two crew. The map recommends our errant boaters allow just over 26 hours to Stoke Prior. There’s a particular timing issue on this route: Tardebigge lock flight of 30 locks, which runs immediately into the Stoke Prior flight of another six locks; of these there are 34 locks over two miles with intervening pounds too short to moor overnight. Adding to give lock-miles would have us believe this section to takes twelve hours, and there would be many winter days that have insufficient daylight to complete the flight. In practice, three people (sometimes even with just two) can do a lock-cycle in four minutes: that's from passing the top gates on one lock to passing the top gates on the next, including the time to pass through the short pound between them. Without queues, that's 34 locks in under three hours compared with the twelve hours in the 20-minute formula. All these calculations rely on a clear canal. We need to tell our friends to come oopNorth to be sure of finding one. Harder-to-plan extra-time can be used in lock queues or waiting for other boats to clear locks. Here's a challenge: look at the wristwatch as the gates are open and time; how long t'other boat takes to clear the lock with sufficient space for an oncoming boat to enter; how 31
long said waiting-boat uses to occupy the space created and then how long to close the gates and get the paddles up. I often time locks with my watch-secondhand (and click my camera at every milepost). I know that's a sad thing to do. It does help to understand where the time goes, and a particularly slow process is the leaving boat having to pass the three boat-lengths between lock and tied-upwaiting-boat before the waiting boat unties and heads for the lock.
It’s a relaxing business, this canalling lark. While that's the whole point of the exercise, recall that if navigation authorities close the locks for half a day every day (eg early evening to 'save water'), we feel deprived: when the users reduce the lock-passing-capacity to 50% by diddling-about, we think that's-how-it-is. Peter Scott
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A New Mooring Sign for Cavalcade There is a whole new set of signs around Little Venice, all put up just in time for IWA's annual Cavalcade at the May Bank Holiday. The moorings close to Brownings Pool continue to be limited to seven days and those further away will now allow boats to be moored all year. With the pressure on housing in London, it looks likely to be crowded facility!
Answering my wonderings on how it this came about: the CRT Boater Liaison Manager London said "... Unfortunately, our specification was misinterpreted and the designers had to use standard icons from the signage strategy toolbox. The signs were signed off as part of a big batch of new signs for Cavalcade, [and] the effectiveness of the message wasn't scrutinised as it should have been due to the tight timescale. [We] have asked the designers to amend it, and create new icons: 'Applies all year' [without] the mooring symbol." 33
Traversing Tidal Waters It's a year since I wrote about a trip on the tidal Ouse from York to Selby which ended with a boat aground at Goole. It might be possible to amend / clarify CRT byelaws or the licence conditions so that on these and similar tidal waterways: every boat should have at least two crew and a marine-band radio with one of the crew authorised to use it, and the boat should have an anchor of some sort. The master of the vessel continues to be responsible for ensuring boat and crew are safe, and doesn't cause problems for other vessels (or the rescue services).
Ebb tide at Selby
Lockkeepers wouldn't be doing inspections or physically preventing boats going through the tidal locks, and they would continue to offer their valuable local knowledge to those who speak with them. Maybe we should be asking them to add any comments they have about the boats that pass their locks to their record of the licence numbers. That would allow follow-up enquiries to the licence-holder if there are unresolved problems with the tidal passage. I think we would be better with national standards, and not just "something-special -for-the-Ouse". There are locks where CRT are responsible for both the waters above and the tidal waters below (Selby, Cromwell, Torksey, Gloucester, Tewkesbury) and others where another authority makes the regulations (Associated British Ports, Port of London, Peel etc.)
Cawood Railway Bridge where the river reached track level during December 2015 floods
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Any adjustment of the rules will take time to bring about, and it would be useful to have members' observations from experience of our local tidal waterways or those elsewhere in the country. If there is enough interest, we will arrange a meeting to explore the options more fully. Peter Scott
People who help run the Branch 2015/ 2016 Chairman *
Secretary *
Treasurer *
Elaine Scott 3 Moorbank Drive Sheffield S10 5TH 0114 230 1870 07980 953880 elaine.scott@ waterways.org.uk
Ian Moore 2 Eric Street, Bramley Leeds LS13 1ET 07989 112581 westriding@ waterways.org.uk
William Jowitt 35, Lowfield Crescent Silsden BD20 0QE 01535 657256
Committee Member*
NE&Yorks Region *
Minutes Secretary*
Mike Tucknott 4 Royds Avenue Birkenshaw Bradford BD11 2LD 07885 951099
Peter Scott 3 Moorbank Drive Sheffield S10 5TH 0114 230 1870 peter.scott@ waterways.org.uk
Peter Scott (temporarily)
Membership Secretary * Committee Member* Telephone Contact Volunteer needed
Volunteer needed
Volunteer needed
Speaker Finder
Badges, Stamps & Raffle
Website
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Ellen & Ailsa Sayles
David MackDavid.Mack@sdgworld.net
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Branch boundaries on the waterways
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Open Meetings Friday 14 October 6.30pm till 9.30pm We will be joining Launch of the Kennet: ‘Boaters Reception’ celebration: DOCK 29 • THE BOULEVARD • LEEDS DOCK , Leeds, LS10 1PZ To celebrate the Kennet re-enacting the maiden voyage of the completed LeedsLiverpool on the 15th of October 1815, the Canal and River Trust will be hosting this launch event from Leeds Dock on the evening of the 14th of October. There will be a talk by Mike Clarke as well as other key figures. Friday 11 November South Pennine Boat Club 8 pm to 10 pm Speaker to be confirmed Light refreshments from 7.30
All the meetings organised by the West Riding Branch are Open and everyone is invited. We are delighted to welcome any member of the general public and members are encouraged to bring their friends. To find out more about the waterways or the IWA come and join us at one of our meetings or visit the website http://www.waterways.org.uk Closing date for contributions for the next issue 15 September 2016 Contributions can be hand written, typed or in electronic format. Pictures can be prints or digital.
The views expressed in this publication are published as being of interest to our members and readers and are not necessarily those of The Inland Waterways Association or of its West Riding Branch. The Inland Waterways Association Registered in England no 612245 Registered as a Charity No 212342 Registered Office: Island House, Moor Road, Chesham, HP5 1WA Tel: 01494 783453
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