Ouse News, Spring 2015

The Inland Waterways Association

Ouse News - Spring 2015 The Great Ouse Branch Newsletter covering the Great Ouse and tributaries

Contents: Branch Committee

p3

Chairman’s Corner

p4

Friends of River Nene p5 Letters to Editor

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River Cam News

p7

River History

p11

RNLI

p12

Book Review

p13

Branch News

p15

Why not come along to our February meeting? River News from EA p16 An illustrated talk by Welney Wetland Centre AGM Appendices p25 Photo: David Featherbe

Campaigning for the conservation, use, maintenance, restoration and development of the Inland Waterways.

The views expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the Inland Waterways Association or of the Great Ouse Branch. They are, however, published as being of interest to our members and readers.

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Branch Committee Chairman: Keith Alderton Holly Cottage, 57 Globe Street Methwold Thetford, IP26 4PQ Tel 01366 727236 keith.alderton@waterways.org.uk Secretary: John Hodgson 9 Beaufort Way, Brickhill Bedford, MK41 7XQ Tel 01234 344884 john.hodgson@waterways.org.uk Treasurer: Enid Hodgson 9 Beaufort Way, Brickhill Bedford, MK41 7XQ Tel 01234 344884 enid.hodgson@waterways.org.uk Ouse News Editor: Carole Alderton Holly Cottage, 57 Globe Street Methwold Thetford, IP26 4PQ Tel 01366 727236 carole.alderton@waterways.org.uk Sales Officer: David Anderson 21 Cambridge Street St Neots, PE19 1JL Tel 01480 477227 david.anderson@waterways.org.uk Membership Officer: Peter Webb 35 Norfolk Road Ely, CB6 3EJ Tel 01353 658581 peter.webb@waterways.org.uk

Members: Stephen Foote 14 High Street, Chrishall Royston, SG8 8RP Tel 01763 838936 stephen.foote@waterways.org.uk Derek Bradley 24 Witchford Road Ely, CB6 3DP Tel 01353 661601 derek.bradley@waterways.org.uk Gail Mead 12 Coltsfoot Close Ixworth, IP31 2NJ Tel 01359 232603 gail.mead@waterways.org.uk

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Chairman’s Corner The winter weather is now hopefully behind us and we can begin to prepare for a busy cruising season in the coming months. Our rivers have not fared too badly throughout the past winter, with no major problems apart from the customary imposition and subsequent withdrawal of Strong Stream Advice Notices every few weeks. Luckily, most of the problems have been caused by heavy rain in the upper reaches rather than on the navigable sections.

The discussions regarding overnight moorings at Ely rumble on and on, with all 48-hour restrictions having to be withdrawn in October due to a successful legal challenge. It is, therefore, now a free-for-all on Ely waterfront, with absolutely no time restraints whatsoever! The East Cambridgeshire District Council is, therefore, now consulting stakeholders such as ourselves in order to determine what form any new restrictions should take. As the District Council is prohibited from enacting a relevant byelaw, they are exploring a potential alternative solution based on contract law, which would allow the length of stay to be enforced by issuing a ‘mooring charge notice’ to boaters who breach any condition (such as overstaying a specified period of visitor mooring). Following the consultation exercise, the Commercial Services Committee of the District Council will meet on the 3rd March 2015 to make a decision. It is hoped that the preferred option will be implemented by the summer of 2015. The District Council does not intend to make a profit from mooring fees, but intends to cover the cost of enforcement by charging boaters for either the whole of their stay, or for overstaying a specific period (to be decided by the consultation process). You can be assured that your committee will be making its views known to the District Council and will be promoting the interests of the genuine boater.

Ouse News Page 5 You will find enclosed/attached the usual advance copies of the agenda and reports for the branch AGM to be held on Thursday 26th March. The AGM will be followed by an illustrated talk by the managers from the Environment Agency, outlining work carried out over the past year and detailing plans for the future. Please do try and attend.

You will note the absence of the usual paperwork for the Eastern Region AGM. This is due to the fact that as there is no Regional Chairman, the regional committee has not met during the past year. Anybody who feels the calling please step forward!

Keith Alderton Friends of the River Nene The River Nene is a lovely river, but desperately needs new moorings and better facilities. In September 2014 a new group was formed with the aim of improving the facilities along the river. They’ve begun by securing access to, and clearing three moorings so far at Islip, Ditchford, and Woodford with several more in the pipeline.

In the middle of November 2014 I went to help as they cleared the bank at Woodford. It had been raining hard the day before so was very wet and the river was 12" above its normal level.

About 24 people of all ages were there and within a few hours it was transformed into lovely looking moorings. We have always wanted to moor at Woodford; this mooring is a short stroll to the village which has a real ale pub, PO/shop and a chip shop.

Membership costs £10 per boat and a form is available from their website http://www.friendsoftherivernene.co.uk/ or on their Facebook page “Friends Peter Webb of the River Nene”.

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L etters

to the

E ditor

What is happening to the Ely Riverside? As I walk from the A142 road bridge to Lavender Green all I see is moored boats. Many of them are moored for long periods of time without moving, despite the fact that signs are up restricting mooring to 48 hours. A few years ago the banks would be deserted in the winter and even midweek in summer there would hardly be a boat. What makes it worse is the fact that some boats are now having shanty huts growing up beside them making the banks look terrible. The smoke from the engines and noise of generators must be upsetting for the local house owners.

How do visiting boats who need to moor for supplies and visiting our wonderful city cope? The tourist attractions and local shops must be losing a great deal of trade due to long-term moorers taking up valuable mooring space.

It is not helped by having the far bank now disfigured by a hideous tarpaulin covered craft and lots of building machinery; it used to be very attractive when it was Ely Marina. Hopefully by next summer steps will have been taken to restore the riverside back to its previous beauty. Ely Resident I was interested to learn about the updating scheme along our riverside, of which I am all in favour.We have a lovely riverside front and it’s also wonderful to see the life that has been brought to it by the new cocktail bar at the Maltings. Such a shame though that a monstrous ‘dry dock’ has been moored right opposite. Surely the Council are not going to allow this to stay!!

Also the eyesore at the end of Lavender Green is unbelievable. Moored boats just camped out and looking for all the world like a dumping ground.

Can’t anything be done about this?? Should you be fortunate enough to have the time to sit for a while on one of the benches on Lavender Green I don’t think you’d stay long, because of the noise of a generator just across the river that seems to run tirelessly for most of the day!!

Rick Avern

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R iver C am N ews It has been a busy few months on the River Cam. We’ve had a lot of work on the ground, the rowing season in full swing and our usual mix of the unexpected. Here’s a few things of interest: River Crew - You are probably aware that we are unique as a navigation authority by being entirely self-funded – we receive no grants from government and rely solely on our income from registration and our property.

The primary use of this income is to employ the crew that work to keep the river navigable. Over the past few months the team has completed a wide range of bank repairs, spot dredging, treeworks and obstruction clearance.

We’ve been paying particular attention to trees along the Cam and believe we’ve made significant improvement here. If you do come across any trees or other obstructions in the Cam, please report them to us so we can address them.

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Making the most of our property - The income from our property is an important factor in our ability to work on the river. We own 3 fields, 6 properties and long stretches of river bank. We’ve been working on plans to increase the income from our property. For example Baits Bite lock office will soon be rented out to new tenants and we are reviewing proposals to convert Jesus Lock house into a restaurant. We’re also investigating whether we can increase mooring capacity by making use of our fields as there is huge demand for managed moorings in Cambridge with a waiting list of over 220 people.

Incidents - What keeps this job interesting is that you never know what will happen next! To give you a flavour; we’ve had reports of unlicensed animal traps, media requests about our court cases (our latest was in the high court), videos of dangerous boating to investigate, the installation of oxygen sensors and the first motorized trips up the Backs. This last item I would recommend to any boater to try and do at some point – even if just for the look of surprise on the face of punters! We’ve got a guide on navigating the Backs on our website.

It is possible between 1st October – 31st March.

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A home for ‘Jester’ - A small piece of good news – we finally found a home for Jester. Jester was abandoned by its former owner in 2009 and recovered by us in September that year. Over the next few years we tried to find a new home for the boat and also discovered some of its history. It was originally built in 1923 for the East Anglian Cold Storage Company as an ice wherry and is on the Lloyds Ship Register. An ice wherry was a sailing vessel that was used to transport ice for commercial sale. Jester is believed to be the last surviving wherry built for this purpose and is listed on the Historic Ships Register.

Jester leaving Clayhithe

When I took over as River Manager in May, I made a new effort to find a home for Jester - although at that stage she was close to being derelict. I advertised online everywhere I could think, got it in boat magazines and even had a specialist from the Dutch Barge Association take a look. Even trying Freecycle only managed to find people willing to take a few bits and pieces off it. I was just at the point of giving up and asking my team to get out the chainsaws when a new interested owner came to light through a contact and is actually close by at Upware Marina. So a happy end in what we hope is a new beginning for the old ice wherry.

Jed Ramsay

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October Meeting - River History At our October meeting we were once again treated to another dose of local history by Cambridge Researcher Mike Petty. Mike’s talk on this occasion related to the history of the rivers Cam and Great Ouse between Cambridge and Ely. It was sad to note that the proposed link between the Cam at Cambridge and the River Stort at Bishops Stortford never came to fruition. Such a link avoiding the east coast tidal journey between King’s Lynn and London would have been invaluable both then and now.

Mike outlined the importance of river traffic as the prime means of moving goods to and from Cambridge and the major port of King’s Lynn. The volume of goods transported via the main rivers, tributaries and lodes was quite remarkable. I was particularly impressed by the thought that there were sufficient quantities of the fertiliser coprolite (fossilised dinosaur dung) being transported from the Bottisham area to warrant the development of Bottisham Lode for navigation. Coal was hauled by horse-drawn lighters and, latterly, by steam tugs from the docks to feed factories and pumping engines throughout the Fens and also to Cambridge gasworks.

Initially there were very few bridges, forcing the local inhabitants to make large detours or use the many dangerous chain ferries that provided the only access across the often flooded rivers. Many of these ferry points were served by an inn. As Chesterton expanded it was proposed that the village combined with Cambridge and a new road bridge was proposed avoiding the long trudge to Magdalene Bridge. Victoria Bridge as it came to be known was completed in 1890. However, Chesterton and Cambridge did not become united until 1912. Likewise, another toll bridge was built at Clayhithe in 1875 and subsequently rebuilt in 1938 when it was taken over by the Council.

Throughout the evening Mike regaled us with many historical anecdotes and tales about events on the rivers and the colourful characters involved.

As usual, Mike provided a most entertaining and informative evening that was enjoyed by all.

Keith Alderton

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N ovember M eeting - Royal National Lifeboat Institution On the 27th November 2014 the branch meeting was “royally” entertained with an illustrated talk by Geoff Heathcock on the history and work of the RNLI. He had some fascinating pictures of early boats and equipment which to our eyes would appear incredible that any rescue would be possible! In those days there were no engines, the crews being reliant on oars! As a seafaring nation, the UK has always had the spectre of shipwreck not far away from activities on the waves. The first boats specifically designed to save life at sea were launched in the late 18th century and in 1824 Sir William Hillary founded the first organisation to manage the boats and crews. At that time it was known as the “National Institution for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck.” Not a particularly snappy name and it was in 1860 that the Institution gained the royal patronage of Queen Victoria and became the Royal National Lifeboat Institution that we know today. Many people will have heard of the iconic Grace Darling and her heroic feat of bravery to save the crew of the stricken “Forfarshire” in 1838 which remains as a beacon in the annals of RNLI history.

Contrary to some opinion, activities are not now restricted to rescues at sea.

In fact the busiest station is “Tower” on the River Thames at London. This, in addition to providing beach lifeguards (where local authorities no longer fulfil that function) as well as inland duties when flooding occurs.

The Institution is funded entirely by voluntary contributions and receives no UK Government help at all. Most of that comes from legacies, with further funds being raised from contributions and merchandising. For a short period in the early 20th century (about 5 years) the UK Government did provide a large proportion of the funding but placed so many restrictions that it was almost impossible to run the organisation! As a result the decision was taken to become fully independent from the UK Government and has (understandably) worked successfully ever since. So much for Government “help!”

The RNLI operates around all the coast of the UK and Ireland, the Isle of Man and Channel Islands, with no charge to those rescued.

John Hodgson

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Book Review

by Stephen Foote

It must be something to do with the Northamptonshire air. In the last edition of ‘Ouse News’ we reviewed a novel by Geoffrey Lewis, a Northamptonbased narrowboat owner. This time we take a look at a novel by another Northampton-based narrowboat owner, Leo McNeir.

This gentle and engaging mystery story has a vaguely familiar theme. The heroine is an interior designer who is inveigled into looking after her sister’s London-based narrowboat Sally Ann for a few months while said sister is abroad on business. The idea of actually using the boat for a long summer cruise takes hold and the story describes her travels and adventures and all manner of skullduggery both en route and back at Sally Ann’s home mooring in Little Venice.

Ouse News Page 14 The plot is ingenious, with many an unexpected twist and turn. Readers who have navigated the London – Braunston – Oxford – London ring will recognise Sally Ann’s journey. The author is clearly well versed in boating and the trials and tribulations of long-distance cruising; this gives the novel an added aura of believability.

One or two aspects may, however, make readers familiar with the journey raise an occasional eyebrow. There always seems to be a mooring space for ‘Sally Ann’ outside every pub on the journey - which on the southern GU in high summer is at best highly unlikely (like there is always a parking space for Inspector Morse’s car anywhere in Oxford at rush hour). During a stay in Braunston, ‘Sally Ann’ is moved from her mooring outside the marina to the water point for a re-fill – and then moved back to her original mooring space which no-one has nicked in the meantime………..

But such things do not detract from a novel which, I must say, I thoroughly enjoyed. The author describes himself as a linguist and lexicographer (yes, I had to look it up as well – it means ‘one who devises lexicons or dictionaries’). He has published numerous crime and mystery novels – including a sequel to ‘Sally Ann’s Summer’ – which hopefully we will get an opportunity to review in a future ‘Ouse News’.

Sally Ann’s Summer by Leo McNeir Published by Enigma Publishing, Milton Keynes at £7.99 ISBN 978-0-9531742-5-6 www.leomcneir.com Next time, we will move much closer to home with a review of a real-life chronicle of living aboard on the fenland waterways.

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Branch News Winter Meetings

are at 8 pm on Thursday evenings at the Cole’s Road Community Centre, Milton (North Cambridge) CB24 6BL.

Members & Visitors welcome.

T HURSDAY 26 TH F EBRUARY

2015

Our February meeting will be an illustrated talk by WWT (Welney Wet l a n d Ce n t r e ) on ‘ We l n e y Through the Seasons’.

T HURSDAY 26 TH M ARCH

2015

Gathering of boats at Reach, followed by an evening meal at the Dykes End. (Book your place with Stephen Foote).

S UNDAY 3 RD M AY

2015

Barbecue & quiz if sufficient support..

M ONDAY 4 TH M AY

Jonathan & Elizabeth Wainwright, Trumpington, Cambridge

2015

Our March meeting will be our AGM and update from the river managers of the Environment Agency.

S ATURDAY 2 ND M AY

We welcome the following new members to the branch. We hope you will introduce yourselves to us when coming to an event or meeting: Andrew & Margaret Nicol, Holywell, St Ives

2015

IWA stand at Reach Fair.

Philip Hammond, Santon Downham, Brandon Nicolas and L Gawthrop, Great Wilbraham Dean & Margaret Shanks, Balsham Michael Waggett, Cambridge Ben Wright, Cambridge Members who have moved to the branch: Mr P Crouch, Haverhill David Walton, North Elmham, Norfolk

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R iver N ews from the E nvironment A gency Following feedback from river users, on 29th October 2014 we launched a new amber ‘caution’ phase in our existing system. This will let people know when river levels and flows are above normal on the River Great Ouse.

New signs have been installed at our lock sites between Bedford and Earith that will display either green, amber or red boards informing customers of river conditions.

We are also introducing an amber flag to our existing system.

As part of the improvements we are changing the way we downgrade our messages. When levels and flows are falling, a two-phased system has been introduced to let people know the river condition has been downgraded from ‘strong stream’ to ‘caution’. We have updated our phone messages, texts and email systems to reflect the new phases.

We are planning to introduce similar improvements to the River Nene system in the near future.

Ouse News Page 17 The photograph shows how a lock may be used to discharge flood water on the River Great Ouse when Strong Stream Advice has been issued.

We encourage all river users to sign up to receive our free ‘River Advice for Boaters’ messaging service for the River Great Ouse. We will call your mobile phone and/or your landline via an automated service that can send messages out at any time of day. We can also issue text messages and emails. If you would like to sign up to receive this free service for the River Great Ouse please email waterwaysssaanglian@environmentagency.gov.uk You can also call us on 01522 785943 or you can write to us at Waterways Department, Environment Agency, Waterside House, Waterside North, Lincoln, LN2 5HA. (You do not need to do anything if you are already registered to receive our strong stream advice information for the River Great Ouse. You will automatically be upgraded to our improved system.)

You can call our Floodline Information Service at any time for information on river conditions for boaters on the River Great Ouse.

To do this, follow these simple steps: 1.

Call Floodline, on 0345 988 1188 – You will be welcomed to Floodline and offered different touch-tone options.

2.

Choose option ‘1’ to ‘listen to pre-recorded information for flood warnings currently in force’.

3.

Then simply enter the following quick dial number: 033211 River Great Ouse

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Winter Works Update and Programme Works already completed this winter season include the River Wissey Cutoff Diversion Sluice. Isleham lock on the River Lark has also re-opened after the gate chains were replaced following a lengthy closure of the lock whilst new chains were being manufactured. Work at Upware lock to replace the upstream landing stage has been completed, lifting the navigation restriction that was in place. We co-ordinated and completed the replacement of trod wheels at Hemingford and Houghton locks so that they were both closed at the same time to keep disruption to navigation minimised as far as possible.

Upware Piling

Upware Site Works

Hermitage Lock has been closed from the 12th November on weekdays to allow for the replacement of the lower landing stage. This work has taken a little longer than planned due to adverse weather and Strong Stream conditions, although the lock is open as normal from 09:00 – 16:00 at the weekends. As work allows we may also be able to allow others through the lock during certain windows during weekdays. So, if you need to make passage please contact the lock to let them know (tel: 01487 841 548) and they will advise if and when you can be accommodated. The expected weekday reopening is anticipated from 23rd January, although a restriction will remain in place until the 30th January to allow contractors to clear the site.

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Ouse News Page 20 We are looking to drain St Ives lock this winter period. It is expected to take place between 9th February and 1st March to carry out investigative works to identify issues with the mitre ‘v’ gates amongst other checks. We will also take the opportunity whilst on site to make some alterations to the downstream landing stage floats. We have staggered this work with the Hermitage lock closure so that river users who are located between these locks are still able to use a good proportion of the river system rather than co-inciding the works to take place at the same time at these locations.

At Denver we will be replacing some bearing piles on a number of our rented mooring platforms on the east bank over the winter period; however this will not impact upon navigation. We are taking the opportunity to replace rubber gate seals at Denver lock whilst Salters Lode lock is closed for works. This will involve closing Denver lock for a five day period which we anticipate will be from February 9th.

We are looking to complete high level access improvements at various locations this winter including; St Ives, St Neots, Godmanchester, Houghton, Hemingford, Brownshill, Isleham, Brandon and Bottisham.

Design for these works is still being completed and, depending on what is required, will determine if any navigation restrictions or closures are required.

As soon as it is possible we will issue any necessary notices, but please be assured that the works will be carried out in a way which reduces the impact on navigation as far as is possible. Works to the guillotine gates at St Ives and St Neots as a part of these improvements won’t affect navigation. Finally hydraulic ram replacements are due at Bottisham Lock which will involve a 3 day closure from February 23rd. All of these essential maintenance works and improvements will have been made in preparation for the next boating season getting underway at Easter in early April this year. You can view the latest river closures, restrictions, advice notices and events on our web site at: https://www.gov.uk/anglian-waterways-river-conditions-closuresand-restrictions or you can call us on 03708 506 506 to get the most up to date information.

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Enforcement – a very busy year so far Since April 2014 a total of 425 enforcement tickets have been processed; the most tickets we have ever issued. Of the tickets we have issued, 60% have now registered. This equals £110,000 of income that we would not have received if we had not carried out enforcement.

So far this year we have issued two formal cautions and had one successful prosecution. At the moment we have a further 20 cases that are progressing to court and several more that are waiting to be processed. To date 38 warning letters have also been issued.

Cases are heard in local magistrates courts and, if found guilty, boaters face a fine of up to £1000, a criminal record and picking up the court costs. We will also take proceedings to recover the outstanding registration charge.

If you see any vessel that you believe to be unregistered let us know. We will not be able to discuss any individual vessels with you but will inform our River Inspectors so that they can check that the vessels are registered.

We would also like to give a huge thank you to the vast majority of boaters who register promptly, as soon as they receive their reminder in February/ March. Please remember to always display your registration discs clearly.

Your vessel number needs to be displayed on both sides of your vessel.

This saves River Inspectors’ time checking that you are properly registered freeing it up to concentrate on those who are not.

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Non-native and Invasive Species Spotlight on the Great Ouse We have had confirmation of another non-native species confirmed on the River Great Ouse. On this occasion it is ‘Dikerogammarus haemobaphes’ a invasive shrimp and related to ‘D. Villosus’ or ‘Killer Shrimp’. It has been found in several locations on the river and is becoming quite established. This non-native invasive species was first discovered in the UK in 2012 on the River Severn and populations have since been discovered on the River Great Ouse within the last couple of months.

Around the same time, with the assistance of our River Inspectors, whilst aboard our patrol vessels we have assisted colleagues in surveys of the River Cam and Ely Ouse for Floating Pennywort which has been particularly evident this year on the Great Ouse System. The purpose of the survey was to gather evidence to use for a funding bid that would allow for a programme of Floating Pennywort Control for the River Great Ouse over a number of years, to allow a longer term plan of action to be created instead of relying on available funding on a year to year basis.

For Floating Pennywort control, a combination of measures is most effective depending on the amount of growth and location. Each location should be individually assessed for the most practical solution(s) and environmental constraints. Internally we use three control measures either alone or in combination with each other – mechanical, hand and herbicide (permission is required from the Environment Agency for herbicide use in or near water). When using mechanical or hand control it is very important that no small fragments are released into the water as these will re-establish further downstream.

Ouse News Page 24 Also hitting the headlines at present, although not evident yet on the River Great Ouse, is the presence of the first UK siting of the Quagga Mussel which Environment Agency ecologists have found in the Thames catchment at Hythe End near Staines.

The Quagga Mussel (Dreissena rostriformis bugensis) is a highly invasive non-native species whose arrival in the UK has been expected for a number of years.

Like the now widespread Zebra Mussel (left) this species comes from the PontoCaspian region in south-east Europe. Due to its filtering capacity and ability to produce dense populations, it can significantly reduce native biodiversity, and alter whole freshwater ecosystems. It feeds on the varieties of algae that compete with blue-green algae, often resulting in toxic algal blooms. It is also a nuisance and economic problem when growing in pipes of water treatment plants or commercial ships. It is similar to the Zebra Mussel, but possibly even more invasive. It can survive in some places that the Zebra Mussel can’t and can even displace them.

Those species mentioned above are just a few of an abundant array of nonnative and invasive varieties that are now present on our doorsteps and in our backyards. As such we all have a role to play in identifying, reporting and helping to stop the spread of these troublesome species. Sightings of non-native and invasive species should be reported to: alertnonnative@ceh.ac.uk . Good biosecurity is essential to help slow the spread of these species. You can learn more about what to do to improve your own boat biosecurity here:http://www.nonnativespecies.org// checkcleandry/index.cfm? The GB Non-Native Species Secretariat (http:/ /www.nonnativespecies.org) provides information on non-native species in the UK and useful advice on prevention measures you can take to slow and prevent the spread of those species. This is covered by the Check, Clean, Paul Separovic Dry campaign.

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 Rd, Chesham, HP5 1WA. Phone No 01494 783453.