IWA Chelmsford Branch Newsletter Spring 2017

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Grand Union Lock Repairs at Stoke Bruerne Northamptonshire

Disclaimer: The IWA may not agree with opinions expressed in this Newsletter but encourages publication as a matter of interest. Nothing printed herein may be construed as policy or official announcement unless stated otherwise. The IWA accepts no liability for any matter in the Newsletter The Inland Waterways Association is a non-profit distributing company limited by guarantee.
 Registered in England no. 612245. Registered as a charity no. 212342
 Registered Office: Island House, Moor Road, Chesham HP5 1WA

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Content From the Editor From the Chairman From the Regional Chairman High River 2016 WRG Working Party Mid Week Parties Essex and Suffolk Water Essex Waterways Update Branch Annual General Meeting

Page 2 Page 2 Page 3 Page 6 Page 6 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page11

Heybridge in the Summer Sun Branch Social Report Half Penny Pier Bags of Help Photos Along the Navigation Titanic Exhibition Social Information Just for Fun Branch Committee

Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 16 Page 16 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 20

From The Editor As I sit in my summer house at the bottom of the garden editing this edition of the Newsletter it is good look out of the door to see the spring bulbs announcing their presence back in to the world. Although there is still a chill in the air it is good to get out and walk along the tow path and see the wilder versions of the spring plants saying hello. I hope that you are taking advantage of getting out on the Navigation to see this cycle of life starting to explode back into our local environment.

We would still like to increase our contributors to this Newsletter. Please make time to look out your photos, articles and ideas and send them in for our next Newsletter: Last inputs for Spring Newsletter 210/6/2017. Tell us about your own waterway experiences, your holiday or send in Readers Photos.

For those on e-mail please send your input to chelmsford.news@waterways.org.uk Those without just give me a call to arrange for collection. 07837 576464.

From The Chairman Having just got the Branch AGM out of the way, I was very glad not have lost any members of the committee and to have gained Dennis Padfield, who had been co-opted as our new Press & Publicity Officer and has started work with gusto. At the subsequent committee meeting, all officers were happy to keep their existing jobs, although I am still hoping for a potential Chairman to surface.

Looking back through old Branch newsletters it is interesting to see how the committee has evolved over the years; five of us have been active since at least 1988 (the date of the earliest of my saved journals): John Gale, Roy and Chris, Paul and myself. At the same time there has been quite a turnover, with the lowest number in 2011, John Carlaw, at the time the newly appointed Editor, being the only other member of a committee of six.

Fortunately, the number has now crept up to ten and I have to say how delighted I am that the current committee is so sound and hard-working. On behalf of us all, I thank every one of them.

Twenty-five years ago, its three separate local authorities declared the whole length of the Navigation to be a conservation area , "Susan" was acquired by the Chelmsford Museum Service and was reported as having cruised up to Sandford Mill with a cargo of V.I.P.s. and the Branch was calling for volunteers for the first phase of the Springfield restoration, clearing the undergrowth, concrete debris and various gasworks structures, so that the National Rivers Authority could get its plant in to dredge. Only eighteen months later, the restoration complete, we were able to celebrate with a boat festival and a grand opening by the Lord Lieutenant. At the same time, I reported attendance at Branch social meetings as "seldom fewer than sixty people present".

Exciting times indeed!

Our new venue can take far more than the fifty or so who came to this year's March meeting and it is tempting to hope that numbers will continue to rise. Rebecca has put together a very good, mixed programme of speakers so, if you have not yet been, do come to Galleywood for future meetings and bring a friend or two.

Molly Beard

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From The Regional Chairman With spring coming, it is time to start planning the waterway events you wish to attend. In London, most branches are involved in at least one waterway event. Please keep an eye on this magazine for details of your local event and come along and support it. I’m certain you will have a great day out and it is a chance to get involved with supporting the waterways.

This year is going to a busy one for IWA and we are launching several new initiatives and will continue our existing lobbying of parliament and navigation authorities.

Firstly, can I thank all of you who sent me their ideas on how CRT could re-structure boat licencing from April 2018. I passed all these on to our Navigation Committee and they were taken into account in forming our national position. This is being sent to CRT and should be available on the website by the time you read this. We will be continuing to work with CRT to develop a fairer fee charging system for all boat owners. Whichever option is chosen as a result of CRT’s review, existing boat owners may find themselves facing large increases in licence fees. We will be pushing CRT to minimise the impact, on individuals, of any significant changes. Phasing in of higher charges could be one way of achieving this.

We see this review as a way for CRT to balance the use of the system without constraining access by all. It could further differentiate licence cost of smaller craft from bigger craft and could (over time) increase CRT income if customer demand is there.

The first of our new initiatives is the “Love Your Waterways” campaign, which will be formally launched in a few weeks. Its aim is to encourage local communities to appreciate their local waterways, particularly where there are high levels of vandalism/dumping and litter. To achieve this, we need to get communities to recognise the importance of waterways for boosting health, well-being, leisure activities, and the local economy. The campaign will allow us to celebrate a lot of the activities that already take place and unite them under a simple campaign message and build on the great work that your local branch already does to look after their waterways.

Another initiative that is likely to be launching later this year, is a re-branding of IWA. We have two problems with our existing image which trustees believe needs addressing. Our corporate colour, blue, is also used by CRT. It is difficult for members of the public to distinguish our volunteers when they are working on CRT waterways. The second problem is that people have difficulty in identifying the association from the logo, you have to know that the letters I W and A means “The Inland Waterways Association”. The International Water Association also have a similar logo. At the time of writing this letter Trustees are still considering our options and how best to make the changes.

If you would like to know more about national campaigns, or think you would like to get more involved please get in touch with your chairman or with me.

This is the year when you have a chance to elect a new Region Chairperson. Look out for the announcements in the next few weeks if you would like to replace me. We also have vacancies on the Regional Committee. We meet 5 or 6 times a year in the Canal Museum near Kings Cross. If you would like to be involved in the work we do for the canals in London, why not drop me a line and I can give you some more information Paul Strudwick

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High River 2016 Our mooring in Pyrford Marina, Woking, Surrey means cruising can be unpredictable at times. The boats are safe in the marina as levels do not change much in the marina itself, but areas of the River Wey are prone to flooding and the flood locks are closed, other locks are padlocked, and the weirs are operated to control the water levels. We have heard from other boaters and folk on the navigation that this has become more of a problem with recent developments along the navigation, however we do seem to experience more extreme weather these days.

At Easter (2016) we planned a long weekend (Thursday to Tuesday) to cruise to Godalming, leisurely as we had extra days to enjoy the route. The forecast for the weekend was not too bad when we checked on the Thursday before leaving.

We had a couple of lovely days cruising up the river, making it to Godalming on a sunny day with just an odd light shower. On Easter Sunday we started back for Guildford with a change in the weather it being cold and drizzling during the morning, arriving at Guildford to moor on the Wey South Path side along side the meadows, and with the sun now shining we had fun (no not fun!) mooring as the wind had picked up and with Bueno Vita being a lightweight Sea Otter made it more tricky to moor when the wind was blowing against us!! Soon after another boat moored in front of us, a steel narrowboat, longer than our 30ft, who had an even harder job to moor due to wind. Across the river from us and moored next to the weir gates was a new GRP cruiser with an impressive amount of fenders around it.

During the afternoon we had a brief hail shower then sun again. It was still very windy when we went for a quick meal at the nearby Weyside Inn, during the evening the wind picked up more and the rain started, battering at the mooring side of the boat as it came across the open meadows with no shelter.

Laying in bed sleep was impossible due to the noise of the wind and rain, at about 2 am I saw a flashing light so looked out through the window to see our neighbour out with a torch reinforcing his mooring by tying two extra ropes to some trees, and throwing his anchor down the slope into the meadows. I was concerned about our mooring so John donned his waterproofs and went out to further secure our boat ropes by lengthening them to give a bit more stretch due to the gusting wind. Our neighbouring boat and ourselves were worried that if our boats came loose they wound be blown across the river into the GRP cruiser. John came in soaked to the skin and had to strip off in the wet room!! Finally about 5 am we fell asleep with exhaustion, and waking a few hours later to a bright sunny day but still a bit windy, with the boats floating a bit higher than they had been as the river had risen to within a few inches of the top of the river bank.

When our neighbour appeared he had internet access and showed us the news reports of 'Storm Katie' with winds up to 100 mph. The navigation was closed with locks chained and padlocked, and in Millmead Lock (just along from us) a hire-boat had been moored in the lock and abandoned by its hirers, probably the safest place to leave the boat, it certainly couldn't go anywhere!

We had walked into town on a sunny bank holiday Monday as we knew we would not be cruising anywhere soon. On our return to the boat all emergency services were at the river part below the weir at the fork where the lock meets the weir water looking for a missing kayaker who had been teaching his son kayaking in the water below the weir.

Tuesday with the navigation still closed, and the divers still looking for the missing kayaker, we went into town so I could catch a train back to West Byfleet, then walk back to the marina, I then had to climb the fence into the marina as it is closed on Tuesdays and the gate key fob was in the car in the marina, also knowing I would be on CCTV!! I then drove back to Guildford and parked near the boat to load up my stuff and the dogs for our return home, leaving John on the boat to await the opening of the navigation.

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High River 2016 (cont) It was late Thursday morning before John was able to move the boat, having restocked in Guildford, and stopping at Dapdune Wharf for water/facilities, he was then held up briefly at Bowers Lock while workmen cleared a tree, while waiting he saw a Daubentons Bat! Once underway again and being a short, shallow drafted boat he was able to squeeze passed a fallen tree at Send which partly blocked the river, and surprised workmen at Triggs Lock who knew there was a tree down!

Mill at Guildford

Weir and Flood Lock Worsfold

On Friday John made it back to the marina where he had time to wash the boat, and await my arrival on Friday evening with the dogs. We spent the weekend in the marina John polishing the boat and I did some spring cleaning. A very different weekend to the scary one the weekend before. Sadly the kayaker was found over a week later some distance down the river.

Having spent the majority of our narrow-boating on inland canals of England, Scotland and Wales we have come to appreciate the extra care and thought of 'river' cruising , we have life jackets and the dogs have buoyancy aids, and of course the mandatory anchor and floatation devices for river cruising.

Over the two seasons cruising on the River Wey we have become very fond of this Navigation whatever the weather, and it's convenient location for Thames cruising therefore leading to new destinations.

We won't forget storm Katie though!!

Stephanie Mason & John Grieve

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WRG Working Party Our job in March was to repair some eroded sections of towpath. We all met up at Heybridge Basin and started loading the “Buddy”. The first items to go on were the planks salvaged from the Hoe Mill lock gates, followed by some posts to hold the planks in place, a pile of empty sand bags, a large quantity of ‘type one’ hard core, two wheelbarrows and, of course, all the necessary tools.

The team this month consisted of the two Bobs, Steve, Wendy, new recruit Alan, and me. So, with Bob C at the helm we set off up the navigation looking for the worst places. The problem was that where the reeds had been cleared, probably for fishing, wash from passing boats had then eroded the bank.

Having settled on a suitable spot, work could begin. One team cut the posts to length and sharpened one end, so that they were easier to drive in, while others were filling the sand bags with earth. The plank was put in; held on one side by the posts and on the other by the sand bags two or even three deep and well rammed in, topped by a layer of ‘type one’. A very time consuming job, but having finished one hole, it was on to the next. By the end of the day three of the very worst were filled.

Unfortunately the Sunday was very wet and we were unable to work that day, so there are plenty still to do.

John Gale

Mid Week Working Parties Another busy year has started! In January we continued with the job of removing dead willows and replacing them with fresh ones in the stretch between Barnes Lock and Cuton Lock. And after a particularly windy few days we returned to heel them in again as the wind had loosened some of them in their holes.

We spent quite a few days at Hoe Mill. First of all a day in the bottom of the lock shovelling mud into buckets which were then hauled up and emptied into a wheelbarrow which, in turn, was emptied into the bushes. Once the contractors had removed the old lock gates and installed the new ones, we had the job of starting to dismantle the old ones. Undoing the nuts on dozens of bolts was surprisingly easy, considering that they had been under water for twenty or thirty years. Driving the bolts out was a little more difficult. As the gates had been laid one on top of the other, we had to jack the top one up and put in blocks to give room for the bolts (about thirteen and a half inches long) to come out, then using a narrower bolt we had to hammer them out. We then had to lever off the planks, put them to one side, then drill out the dowels holding the various beams together and then we could separate them. After that we started on the second gate. Subsequently we moved the planks to Heybridge to be used to help repair banks that had been eroded.

We spent a couple of days at Heybridge helping Michael fell some trees that had become dangerous, using the Tirfor winch to prevent any parts falling on moored boats, and burning the branches on bonfires. Then (just to make a change)? We helped him fell a pair of trees down nearer the lock. This time instead of bonfires we used the chipper.

Still at Heybridge, once the Contractors had replaced the top gates, we started dismantling the old ones.

At the time of writing we have only just started this.

Also during the period we have made three journeys each with a full trailer load of metal for recycling, which earned Essex Waterways Ltd a few extra pounds of income.

John Gale

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Essex & Suffolk Water Thank you very much for your patience especially during the installation of the new timber mitre gates. The works attracted quite a crowd at one point!

It was a pleasure to witness firsthand the craftsmanship and skill that has gone into manufacturing and installing the new gates. There's still a bit of work to be done to complete the site installation but thank you to Nigel Lord and his team of Hargreaves Lock Gates for their efforts on site.

We are still on programme to re-open the lock for the 31st March 17 but due to significant delays caused by the unexpected conditions, the new steel sea gate will now not be installed until the winter of 2017, with a closure required starting from 2nd Oct 2017 and anticipated completion of mid December 2017.

The majority of works on either side of the lock are complete, and we will complete a full reinstatement of our working area. Our return visit will cause some disruption but we will of course try our very best to minimise this. To help reduce the impact of our work we plan to lift the new sea gate in by sea via a barge, rather than using a land-side crane, which was required for the timber gates.

We plan to provide further information of this construction phase of the project and the future plans in an open evening at Heybridge, date and venue to be confirmed but we are aiming for a date at the end of April 2017.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the residents and visitors of Heybridge for your patience and understanding of our works. We are fully committed to complete the project, improving the area and the facility of the Heybridge Lock.

New fabricated sea gate elements stored nearby to Heybridge

Extracted from Project Activity Essex & Suffolk Water Web Site Author Ryan Lloyd

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Essex Waterways Update Following my last update the busy period of winter maintenance has continued and this has been helped by reasonably kind weather.

The next project after the refurbishment of the gates at Sandford Lock and a short period of willow planting was the installation of new bottom gates and refurbishment of the top gates at Hoe Mill Lock.

This work was well overdue having previously being postponed to accommodate the replacement of urgently needed gates at Ricketts Lock and Paper Mill Lock. We were of course monitoring the condition of the Hoe Mill gates to ensure that they would survive until replacement.

The EWL team and plant moved down to Hoe Mill where the dams were installed using the crane on DREDGER, an operation made more interesting because the lower dam has to be installed with the crane operation restricted by the adjoining road bridge. This work was also carried out while the Navigation here was frozen and surface ice was around 50mm thick.

A dry(ish) lock chamber was quickly achieved and staff assisted by some of our hardy volunteers were soon shovelling silt from the lock floor into buckets which were hoisted out by the winch on the Avant. I have said that the weather has been reasonably kind, but a spell of heavy rain did cause the river levels to rise, overtop the lower dam and also break the seal on this. The dam was reset as soon as levels allowed ready for the new gate arrival with the installation team from Hargreaves Lock Gates.

The gates were lifted by the delivery lorry mounted hi-ab directly into position, cills and jambs adjusted and the paddle gear and ironwork re-fitted, overall a very efficient operation. Meanwhile the top gates were cleaned down, overhauled and re-painted.

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Essex Waterways Update (cont) Chelmsford Branch IWA was involved with a complete refurbishment of this lock just prior to the Navigation Company going into Administration. IWA raised the funds and supervised the work which included major re-building of the lock walls and new top gates. The condition of the chamber was therefore very good requiring very little attention.

Prior to starting the next project at Little Baddow Lock, there were several fallen trees to remove as a result of storm Doris.

The work at Little Baddow Lock was to re-pile the lower landing stage banks and this was to be a first for the EWL team. The recent fitting of an hi-ab to DREDGER now means that this type of piling work can be undertaken from the water, much simplifying work which otherwise can have complicated plant access arrangements. A piling hammer would be required and a suitable one was located and hired from the Avon Navigation Trust.

Timber would also be required for the capping rails and Navigation Manager David Smart was able to work with his former employer, Essex Wildlife Trust, to use oak trees being removed with their woodland management and put these to good use as planks and posts.

Chelmsford Branch IWA carried out a similar exercise in 1992 when we felled oak trees in Gernon Bushes Nature Reserve for use in the restoration of Springfield Lock. The same mobile sawmill and operator was used to mill the trees and we may be looking for volunteers to undertake some woodland management for EWT in a similar manner to the 1992 exercise!

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Essex Waterways Update (cont) With the island piling complete the tow path bank was commenced. Piling here was however obstructed by old eroded timber piles in the bottom of the Navigation and a powerful land based excavator was required to remove these. We are extremely grateful to our experienced volunteers who have assisted with this project and we are very pleased with the results of this first attempt at in-house piling.

The next project is replacement of the lower gates at Barnes Mill Lock before Easter!

It was probably three years ago that EWL purchased an Avant 635 multi-purpose loader with bank cutting, excavating, stump-grinding, loading, towing and winching capabilities. This has proven extremely useful with our maintenance work, but it has been decided that a more powerful machine is required. EWL has therefore upgraded to a new Avant 760i which has now been delivered and I understand that our staff are keen to put this into operation.

Early February saw our first Waterway Recovery Group Canal Camp for 2017. Once again accommodation was provided at the Haybay at Heybridge Basin. Tow path management work was undertaken either side of Paper Mill Lock and also near Tesco in Heybridge. A breakaway group of more experienced volunteers undertook brickwork repairs to the lower wing walls at Paper Mill Lock, work which complements the recently installed lock footbridge. Our next Canal Camp will be at the end of July.

Work by Essex & Suffolk Water to replace the gates at Heybridge Sea Lock has continued and a separate report covers this.

Roy Chandler

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Branch Annual General Meeting

IWA CHELMSFORD BRANCH ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 8.00pm 9th March 2017 at The Galleywood Heritage Centre, The Common, Galleywood, Chelmsford CM2 8TRBranch Annual General Meeting

1. Apologies: None.

2. Approval of the minutes: Approved.

3. Matters arising from the minutes: None.

4. Report from the Chairman: Molly Beard reported that there had been four committee meetings since the last Annual General Meeting.

The committee had decided to move the socials to the Galleywood Heritage Centre as there was wheel chair access and plenty of parking. The hire of the hall was more expensive but it was agreed to continue using this venue for the time being. The committee was hopeful that more members would attend the socials.

Molly praised the work being done by Essex Waterways Ltd. and that more plant had been purchased.

She added that Roy Chandler was continuing to monitor and report on planning applications.

Molly explained the ‘Bags of Help’ initiative by Tesco and asked everyone to help by collecting the tokens when they shop and add them to the ‘Chelmer and Blackwater Tow Path’ voting section.

Molly reported that the Chelmsford River Festival last summer was disappointing as very few shoppers stopped to visit the stands. She was hopeful that next time IWA would have some fresh, new displays to attract people.

Molly was pleased to welcome Dennis Padfield on to the committee as Press and Publicity Officer.

The Triathlon last summer was well attended but only just broke even.

Molly agreed with the committee that the Newsletter was a good read and the format was improving and added that more contributions from members were needed.

Molly concluded by thanking the committee for their contributions to the Branch and repeated that there was still a place for a new Chairman!

5. Report from London Region Chairman. Paul Strudwick reported that it was time to elect a new Region Chairperson and to look out for the announcements in the next few months. There were also vacancies on the Regional Committee. If anyone was interested in taking up any of the posts he invited people to contact him. He explained that most of his work involved the London Region and the committee met at the Canal Museum five or six times a year.

Paul said he was certain the Chelmsford Branch would continue its support for Essex Waterways Ltd and the good work they do on the Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation. To help with this work the London Region are to donate £1,000 towards an outboard motor.

Paul continued to explain that CRT was consulting widely to review the structure of boat licensing. IWA have a number of radical ideas that are being suggested to CRT.

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Branch Annual General Meeting (cont) The London Canal Cavalcade in Paddington Basin will be on the weekend of 28th April – 1st May and Paul said the theme this year would be ‘Waterways Tales’.

Paul finished his report by saying that about 30,000 people visited the event last year and it made about £8,000 profit. He invited people to contact him if they fancied volunteering to help at the event.

6. Presentation of accounts. John Gale presented his Financial Statements for the year that ended 31 December 2016.

He explained that money from the recycling of tin foil was down as the member who used to collect no longer attended the socials.

John said the past problem with Barclays Bank had been resolved and they had given £25 compensation.

Expenses included the hire of the hall, the hire of The Essex Record Office on 11th February 2016 and display tables for the Chelmsford River Festival. £25 expenses were paid to Roy Sutton, the IWA’s consultant engineer, for his report connected with the Chelmsford River Link (New Cut).

There were no questions.

7. Election of committee members. Molly said there could be twelve committee members. John Gale was due to be re-elected and Dennis Padfield was prepared to be a committee member. There were no other proposals, so both will continue on the committee.

8. Bye Law 1.3. There was no business proposed.

9. Questions from the floor. Roger Brown, an IWA member from The River Stort Trust, asked Paul Strudwick if IWA had a legal adviser. Paul suggested he contacted Head Office.

Heybridge in the Summer 2016 Sunshine

Rebecca Loader

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Branch Social Report The year so far The Expansion of Abberton Reservoir In February 2017 Jim Jenkins came to talk to us about the expansion of Abberton Reservoir. More capacity is needed as new houses come on stream and the water companies have an obligation to supply them. We are also one of the driest regions in the country so we have to ‘import’ water from other areas. Jim explained how the Ely Ouse Transfer system works where Essex benefits from water transferred from Norfolk and Suffolk.

Jim produced some excellent photographs and took us in a chronological sequence through the project so we were able to fully appreciate the enormity of the challenge and the technical skill needed to complete this work. Jim is a Director of Essex Waterways and was recommended by Roy Chandler. Jim declined to take any sort of fee and asked that this is donated to Essex Waterways. Thank you Jim for a very interesting evening.

150 years of the South Eastern Railway In March Adrian Wright came to talk to us about 150 years of the South Eastern Railway. Adrian gives a number of talks and this was one chosen by our members from his list. Adrian took us from the beginning of the three railway companies that operated in this region from 1862 when they started with a nonstandard gauge track right through the Victorian era up to the present day. Adrian had many excellent photographs of railways stations all over the region. Many like Ipswich and Bury St Edmunds continue today sometimes with extensions but some are sadly closed following ‘the Beeching Cuts’ or for other commercials reasons. Many of these stations have wonderful architecture and are Grade 1 listed even if they are empty and sitting in the middle of an industrial estate. Adrian also showed us interesting bridges and hotels all built by the railways. The Harwich Steamer services were started by the railways and Parkeston Quay was named after a Director of the Railway Company. It was an excellent talk with lots of information and photographs.

Future Social Programme I am currently working on next year’s programme which is almost complete. I am always looking for new ideas to make the social evenings as interesting and varied as possible. If you know of a speaker with an interesting topic they might like to share with other members or visitors please pass their details to me. rebecca.loader@waterways.org.uk Coming soon next year ………… The work of the River Waveney Trust, The History of Navigation, The Wherry Maud restoration and lots more. Please come and join us at The Galleywood Heritage Centre and support your committee.

Rebecca Loader

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Halfpenny Pier

In August 2015 we spent a few hours at Half Penny Pier in Harwich as we were camping nearby. It is a popular area with tourists and locals, and the cafe is a very popular place to get refreshments while you watch the activities around the pier and harbour.

The Harbour Patrol Boat actually went out and recovered a broken down fishing boat. The foot ferry was very busy between it's designated landing stages along the estuary. We watched a fishing boat cruise along side the massive Stena Line making the fishing boat look so tiny. There was an assortment of sailing boats and even a Thames Barge passing by so gracefully.

The Lifeboats and the Lightship remained quiet in their berths along side the pier.

We even saw a seal in the harbour along side the pier, but it proved difficult to photograph, must have been camera shy!

It is a lovely place to sit and relax and watch the world go by, at the right time of year (September ish) the Paddle Steamer Waverley visits Harwich on its trip around our coastline, a trip we have done in the past and well worth it, a stunning boat, so well maintained and runs on charitable donations and the cruises it does throughout the year.

So if you are passing Harwich stop and have a wander along the pier.

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Halfpenny Pier (cont)

Day Out Under Sail

On Standby

The Race is On

Stephanie Mason

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Bags of Help Tesco are offering us Bags of Help – So we need yours!

IWA Chelmsford Branch, in partnership with Essex Waterways Ltd, have been successful in their application to Tesco’s ‘Bags of Help’ scheme, for money towards vital towpath improvement work along the Navigation, between Chapman’s bridge and Tesco, Fullbridge. The grant scheme is funded through the new 5p bag charge, with all money going to local community projects.

Our project, entitled ‘Transform Chelmer and Blackwater Towpath; is through to the in-store vote and depending on the number of nominations, we will qualify for either £1,000, £2,000 or £5,000, this is where you come in. By making a purchase of any value in a qualifying Tesco store, you will be given a token with which to cast your vote and help us get a step closer to the top donation. So, we need you to shop in store and then spread the word, every vote counts!

Voting is open from 1st March – 29th April, you can find out more about the project and which stores you will be able to vote in here: www.waterways.org.uk/towpathupgrade We encourage you to forward this email to friends and family in the area and look out on the Essex Waterways Facebook page for updates, don’t forget to Like & Share.

With your help we can start to improve towpath access for all and give you a fantastic local walk, with clean boots at the end of it!

Many Thanks, Sarah Frayne Fundraising Officer The Inland Waterways Association Non-profit Distributing Company Limited by Guarantee No 612245 Registered Charity No 212342

Photos Along the Navigation

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Photos Along the Navigation (cont)

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COMING SOON

TITANIC Exhibition Bond St. Chelmsford CM1 1GD

Raising Funds for the INDUSTRIAL HERITAGE

in our City

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Social Meetings Thursday 13th April 2017 7.45 for 8.00pmGalleywood Heritage Centre Richard Thomas – Gunpowder on the Lea This is a tour of the former Royal Gunpowder Factory at Waltham Abbey. We examine both the history of the site and the development of gunpowder and chemical explosives including nitroglycerine, guncotton and cordite. We look at the canals and boats that formed the backbone of the transport system within the site.

Thursday 11th May 2017 Boat Trip from Ware Quay depart 7pm return 9pm A few places remain for this boat trip. Tickets are £25 each to include a meal (beef or vegetable lasagne and salad); drinks can be purchased on the boat.

Please contact rebecca.loader@waterways.org.uk as soon as possible.

Parking Burgage Lane Car Park beside Ware Quay known as the Library Car Park. SG12 9XD. Entrance to car park is between the library and The Brewery Tap Pub. Parking costs £2.70 for up to 5 hours. Disabled parking is free.

Disabled Access Disabled facilities on the boat including a toilet are good.

At the Quay there are 2 lots of 3 steps which are not difficult however I will have a portable wheelchair with me so if you feel unable to do the steps the crew will physically lift you in the chair over the steps to the flat platform. They do this all the time with wheelchairs. Alternatively they will move the boat to the other side of the river and then access is via the footbridge. Again they are happy to push chairs over the bridge to help people. So please don't feel embarrassed if you would like to come just ask for help and in a few minutes we will have you or your family member or friend on board to enjoy the trip.

Timing The boat will leave promptly at 7pm from Ware Quay and return at 9pm so it would be advisable given the proximity of the M25 to arrive early. The Brewery Tap Pub should be open and Ware is a nice little town so you could always have a stroll around or sit on a bench by the River.

Payment Must be made in advance. Refunds for non-attendance are not guaranteed but we will try to resell your place. Obviously you would be welcome to pass your place to a friend or family member.

Please note that the boat trip replaces the normal social meeting at Galleywood Heritage Centre.

There is no social meeting at the hall in May 2017.

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Just For Fun SUDOKU Fill in the grid so that each row, column and 3 x 3 block contains the numbers one to nine (1 - 9) 2

3 5

4

1

7

3

2 1

6 4 8

8

1

2

5

9

6 9 3

1 7

3 4

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Branch Committee If you have any topics or subject that you wish to bring to the committees attention please use the contact details below Molly Beard:

Chairman

molly.beard@waterways.org.uk

John Gale:

Vice Chairman & Treasurer.

24 Longleaf Drive, Braintree CM7 1XS

Paul Strudwick:

London Region Chairman.

Paul.strudwick@waterways.org.uk

Chris Chandler:

Secretary.

Chris.chandler@waterways.org.uk

Roy Chandler:

Planning and Conservation.

Roy.chandler@waterways.org.uk

John Carlaw:

Newsletter and Membership.

Chelmsford.news@waterways.org.uk John.carlaw@waterways.org.uk

Dennis Padfield:

Publicity.

dennis.padfield@waterways.org.uk

Stephanie Mason:

Refreshments.

None

Kirsten Smith:

Youth.

None

Rebecca Loader

Social Secretary

rebecca.loader@waterways.org.uk

Adam Wyllie:

Branch Web Editor.

Adam.wyllie@waterways.org.uk

IWA Chelmsford Web Address

http://www.waterways.org.uk/chelmsford

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