Issue 24
The newsletter of South and North & East London Branches
Summer 2020
Regular readers will know that I do not usually go in for editorials. However these are not usual times. Firstly I feel some comment is needed about the late production of this magazine. I normally aim to publish a few weeks after Cavalcade to allow inclusion of reports and pictures from that event. A deadline had been set and some articles prepared but then, as we had been anticipating, Cavalcade was cancelled and, along with everything else, our canals were locked down. I just did not have enough content to justify an edition of Meridian. I have used the cover picture to hopefully illustrate that there is light at the end of the tunnel as our canals gradually come to life again. The A photo from last years Cavalcade branches have decided now it’s to remind what we missed time to try to put together some news for you. North London chairman, Tim Lewis, has spent part of his lockdown time scanning in previous iterations of this magazine. I reproduce opposite the first page of the first issue in 1988 of the London Branch magazine, then called Excalibur. I plan to include snippets from the magazine in future editions of Meridian. In this edition we have all our normal contributors. I have also asked Rod Gray, who does sterling work scrutinising planning applications on behalf of the North & East London branch, to contribute a piece. I hope this will become a regular feature. The Covid crisis also forced the abandonment of all of this year’s planned canal camps. Thousands of hours of volunteer labour, bringing canals back to life, lost. Particularly galling for me as, unlike the rest of you, I am not getting any younger and each year think maybe I’ll hang up my boots. In lieu of recent work to show I have put a small montage on the back cover showing one result of our efforts. Finally we are still hoping to encourage some new blood to join our committee at N & E London. We are a small group but, I feel, punch above our weight. If you are passionate about our London Canals and would like to help, please give us a call. Chris Bushill 2
It is with the greatest of sadness I write to let you all know that Alex has died. As many of you know, he has been battling with health problems for many years. His devoted wife, Jenny, has cared for him through all the ups and downs whilst dealing with health problems of her own. Alex and Jenny have for many years welcomed me as part of their family, including spending many Christmases with them. This has therefore been a huge personal loss to me as well. For those who didn’t know Alex or didn’t know him well you have missed out! He was a boater; their boat Helix is at St Pancras Cruising Club. He and Jenny ran London Canal Cruises taking a small group of people at a time for a day trip, usually for a special occasion – I know at least 13 couples got engaged on these trips! Jenny, as a Cordon Bleu cook did them proud and Alex steered the boat and, later, when he could no longer do that, entertained the guests. They also did some television work from the boat. At the Angel Canal Festival they had bands on board plus an ‘Angel’ on the roof of the boat for a couple of years. For many years we made over 100 rounds of sandwiches together on Helix for the volunteers at the Festival. Alex and Jenny provided the refreshments at the London region socials for many years when we were based at the Pirate Castle. We even had a pancake party one year. At Cavalcade Alex and Jenny were very much in the lead at the famous boaters’ barbecues, organised by St Pancras Cruising Club. We had this in the earlier years for all boaters on the stone wharf/grass site. They also did the catering for our Reception for many years. Nobody has ever been able to match them in this for quality and value! They were regularly at the Three Mills Rally and recently we were chuckling about the year it poured with rain on Midsummer Day and St Pancras still held the barbecue under the railway bridge, setting off fire alarms on the train line! Alex was on North and East London committee for several years and often hosted the meetings at their house in Barnet. Alex was also chairman of the Canal Museum for many years and helped the museum greatly through some difficult times. He wrote many quizzes and in recent years, more housebound, prepared the quiz for the Christmas social, which many found very difficult! Alex had a great sense of humour which I am glad to say he never lost. The past 3 months have been very difficult for them both with shielding. The days were so much more difficult without the stimulation of outside company and Jenny longed for the restrictions to be lifted. The usual constant stream of visitors was indicative of how much Alex was loved. It was good he and Jenny were able to join in the weekly St Pancras Cruising Club evenings by zoom in the past few weeks. There is so much more that could be said but I just leave you with one thought. Alex was son of a Jewish Rabbi but had no religious beliefs himself - I have often said he was the most Christian non-Christian I have ever met. We once joked that the reason he was hanging on to life was – ‘who would want to leave such a wonderful person as Jenny to go into the unknown?’ For those of you, like me, who believe there is more after this life I am sure you would share my hope that he has now had a lovely surprise. 4
Lucien, Jenny and Alex Nunes, June 2020’
Some photos of Alex over the years including a very recent one provided by Lucien. Jenny and Lucien would like to say thank you to everyone who contacted them for their kind words of condolence. They say, ‘We hope to remain involved in the local waterways scene and possibly meet you somewhere along the cut.’ 5
In the early years of the IWA campaigning to save the canal system from dereliction and closure was its major focus. As the age of mass motor car ownership developed and canal transport was increasingly superseded by lorries, canals were obstacles to be bulldozed out of the way in favour of new roads and car parks. Of course, now we can look back on those years as a major success for the IWA. Boating as a leisure activity grew from nothing. The environmental and heritage benefits of the canals came to be recognised and protected by planning documents, from the London Mayor’s Plan, the Blue Ribbon Network, to detailed restrictions and requirements in Borough policies. Now developers see that apartments will sell for more when they can be described as “waterside residences”. But the need to keep an active watch over development remains. The NE London branch area contains many major sites that have been earmarked to meet the Mayor’s targets for housing development, and inner London is generally the focus for massive renewal, regeneration, growth and reinvention. Thus, we see the skyline shooting upwards at Paddington Basin, Camden Lock, Kings Cross, City Road Basin, Tottenham Hale, Meridian Water, Hackney Fish Island, across the Olympic Park and along Bow Creek. And further towers rise to fill the remaining spaces at Offices at Paddington Basin Canary Wharf. We don’t seek to prevent redevelopment as such, but to ensure that the changes don’t damage navigability and, hopefully, enhance the amenity value of the waterway for boaters and also the for walkers and visitors who, in fact, comprise the great majority of users of the canal. Planning Authorities notify CRT of all Applications for planning permission on sites adjacent to canals. CRT publishes a weekly list of these, and we use this to monitor all those in our area, which stretches from Little Venice and Paddington Basin, along the Regents Canal to Limehouse Basin, the Hertford Union, the Lee Navigation and the Olympic Park waterways, Limehouse Cut and Bow Creek, and also the Canary Wharf area.
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The Applications coming forward vary between massive schemes running to hundreds of pages, down to minor alterations to individual properties or mooring sites. Many applications are to finalise matters of detail within major schemes authorised some years ago, or to develop further plots within existing areas which have permission in principle. Recent examples where we have commented include: Millwall Inner Dock. We have objected to a proposal for a sizeable pontoon wrapping around an existing floating structure, which reduces the open water space without providing any evident amenity value. Little Venice. We objected to the use of an existing narrowboat as a floating office, as it seems a poor use of a mooring in such an iconic canal location. North Dock. We supported the mooring of a converted lightship of 1839 providing residential visitor accommodation, on the grounds of the historic interest of the vessel. Opposite Kingsland Basin. We objected to a proposal for a permanent mooring for a widebeam, or widebeam plus narrowbeam on the grounds that it would create a hazard for boats turning to leave or enter Kingsland Basin. Bethnal Green Gas Holder Station. We have supported a major development scheme for the site, which retains the frames of two of the derelict gas holders adjacent to the canal whilst building flats inside them, in the same way as at Kings Cross.
Kings Cross Gasholder Development seen from the Canal Photo: Tim Lewis
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Tideway Tunnel News
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IWA TOWPATH WALKS SOCIETY, London Programme of Towpath Walks up to November 2020 Start time for all Walks is 2.30 p.m except for 17th Oct: 10.45 a.m. Date
Route
Start (Tube Stn.)
20 Sep Sunday Limehouse – Thames – Docklands 4 Oct Sunday
Grand Surrey Canal, Royal Navy Victualling Yard, Greenland Dock 17 Oct Saturday Regent’s Canal: King’s Cross - Granary Square – St. Pancras 1 Nov Sunday Regent’s Canal: R.Tyburn – Little Venice
Normal charge: £12 Concessionary and Student rate:
Westferry DLR (by Cycle Hire Point) Surrey Quays King’s Cross (meet by taxi queue) Baker St (Baker St North/Lords exit)
£15
We regret that in these times all these walks will have to be booked in advance, by ringing London Walks at: 020 7624 3978 Roger Wilkinson writes: As we are all aware, the Coronavirus Pandemic has obliged the Government to pursue a nationwide Lockdown strategy. In line with this, we had to cancel our Towpath Walks. If, by any chance, a further extension to the Lockdown were to occur, it might become unavoidably necessary to immediately make further cancellations in our programme. Nevertheless - Here's hoping we'll be walking the towpath again before long! At all times, the up-to-date state of the Towpath Walks programme can be seen by looking on the IWA website, in the Events / Calendar section.
The views expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of The Inland Waterways Association or of the London Region or its branches. They are, however, published as being of interest to our members and readers. The IWA accepts no liability for any matter within this publication. Editor: Chris Bushill, 52, Brycedale Crescent, Southgate, London, N14 7EU. E-mail chris.bushill@waterways.org.uk 9
We hoped to bring you news in this edition of a host of events, pageants, plays and much more, to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Regent’s Canal. The canal was constructed after architect and town planner, John Nash, produced a masterplan to redevelop a large area of London for the Prince Regent in 1811. Nash was also a director of the canal company. Work to construct the Regent's Canal began shortly after in 1812. The canal cost £772,000 to construct, twice the amount originally estimated. The final section of canal between Camden and Limehouse, which includes the 886 metre Islington Tunnel, opened on 1st August 1820 to great fanfare and celebration in London. In these unprecedented times all the events we planned to tell you about to celebrate the anniversary are either cancelled or suspended. We hope you'll join in celebrations when these can be organised, in the meantime please check in on the IWA website. https://www.waterways.org.uk/ Information can also be found on the Friends of the Regent’s Canal website: www.friendsofregentscanal.org
Regent's Canal Limehouse 1823. From a painting in the Museum of London. 10
Since the last edition of ‘Meridian Cuttings’ we have only had one meeting at Paddington. This was a talk in February, ‘The Regent’s Canal at 200’ by Lester Hillman. It was to have started a whole range of activities during the year to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the completion of the Regent’s Canal in 1820. Sadly, due to Covid-19, most of these have had to be cancelled. Our March meeting was due to be a talk by Derek Humphries, our London Region Heritage officer: `Exploring our Waterways Heritage in London Region’. Although we were not able to hold that ‘live’ we were able to have the talk as a webinar on 27th April. If you missed this and would like to see it please follow the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfPR80qOgao On 22nd June we had another webinar – ‘A Journey up the Chelmer and Blackwater showing historic and current views’. This was presented by Roy Chandler, Chairman of Essex Waterways. The IWA took over the management of this navigation in 2005 when it was under threat of closure. Roy also gave a talk on Tuesday 9th June on the history of the navigation and how IWA became involved. The two talks complement each other. The links to these two talks are: June 9th https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFyUlIfgToY&t=100s June 22nd not yet published. see following link for access to all recorded webinars: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_ROBJ6rpm_41BSmu-Glf2QFuture Meetings:
Monday 27th July – Canal Planning and Conservation in West London Ray Gill, planning officer, Roger Still, Chairman, West London Branch. Although this is based in West London, it is designed to encourage us all to get involved in planning and conservation matters within our own areas to ensure we protect our waterways heritage and rights of navigation. Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_AOKogUPYQmi-KQNt5eKmEg We will not hold a London region webinar in August but will return in September, either by webinar or back at Paddington depending on the social distancing rules by then. Details of each talk will be sent out in advance by email and also can be found following the link: https://www.waterways.org.uk/branches_regions/london/london_region Further details from Libby Bradshaw libby.bradshaw@ursa.me.uk 07956 655037
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If somebody had told me in January that my next boating would be in June I would have thought that they were mad, however the Covid 19 pandemic has disrupted waterways activities to a degree never seen in my lifetime. The recent news that non-liveaboards can stay on their boats/cruise from 4th July has come as a great relief. The effective closure of the canals and rivers to navigation has prevented boat owners and hirers from going boating with the knock on effect on businesses that rely on their trade. This last point has been a major recent campaigning area which has included an online meeting of the All Party Parliamentary Group for the Waterways. In conjunction with the the Broads Authority, British Marine, and the Canal & River Trust, a letter was sent to the Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs asking for urgent support for waterway businesses. This is very important if we wish to see these businesses still in existence after we are allowed back out to enjoy our waterways. Details of the campaign are detailed on the Craig Williams MP (right) secured a debate in parliament IWA web site. With people originally only allowed out locally and some major parks shut, the pressure on the towpaths in the branch area has been considerable especially with the number of boats moored up on the towpath and not being allowed to be moved. Another major effect of the pandemic was the cancellation of Canalway Cavalcade and the Rickmansworth Festival which for many of our members are the starting point for their years cruising. The Regents 200th Anniversary Event at Mile End in August is unlikely to go ahead. We have yet to hear if the Angel Canal Festival will be taking place but it is unlikely. The London Branch of the Waterway Recovery Group has had to cancel all its digs since March with no sign of weekend digs recommencing but they are now planning one day digs to local canal restoration society sites. The London Canal Museum is currently closed but with the news that museums will be allowed to reopen the museum is planning to reopen on 17th July but only on Fridays and Saturdays. Please check before making a visit. Preparations for a major new exhibition for the Regents Canal 200th anniversary are in hand. Physical branch socials have also had to be cancelled. I hope, however, that people have been availing themselves of the many webinars being presented by IWA branches, the London Canal Museum and IWA Head Office. These have/will cover a range of interesting subjects. For those who have not been able to see any of these they are generally recorded and they are available to view on the IWA Youtube channel. One of particular local interest is one on the listed waterside buildings in the London Area. 12
Many organisations have been holding ‘zoom’ meetings in place of physical socials and committee meetings which are a very good way of communicating with members. We had to cancel our AGM in March and, although we have been advised by head office that the requirement for branches to hold an AGM has been waived, we may organize this virtually. With the popularity of this type of meeting I can see an element of communicating with members continuing with this method once we get back to normal. The committee is staying on. Liz Rayner, our membership officer was due to retire due to moving away from the branch but her move has been delayed due to the pandemic and is staying on for the time being. We are however looking for a new Branch Secretary as Roger Squires has retired from this position We continue to monitor Planning Applications, good news in this area is that the Planning Inspectorate has dismissed the appeal by BWML against the refusal to install additional pontoons in Limehouse Basin which all the boating organisations objected to due to the loss of moorings to visiting craft. One interesting application is for the conversion of the Snowden Aviary in London Zoo adjacent to the Regents Canal into a monkey enclosure! We also note that the High Court has declared the award of planning permission for the redevelopment of the Holborn Studios site in Hackney to be unlawful. We note that the High Voltage Cables under the Regents Canal towpath are to be decommissioned/removed and intend to liaise with CRT as to how these works will affect navigation and access to the towpaths. We note that there is already a long term towpath stoppage planned in West London to facilitate these works. We note that the developer of the buildings on City Road Basin has installed a canal lock statue on City Road which IWA Member Fran Burrell passing the Snowdon Aviary Photo Tim Lewis is well worth looking out. The London Waterbus is due to recommence scheduled trips on 4th July. Camden Market and the Zoo have both reopened. The Paddington Basin Go Boats are already operating. There was some confusion as to whether Limehouse Lock was open but it is now noted that it can be booked for use during ‘office’ hours. We note, that after so many years of pressure from your local branch, the Waterworks River towpath closure has been removed. Looking at the draft CRT winter stoppages list there appears to be very little happening in the Branch area except for a 10 week closure of the Hertford Union Canal for wall inspection and repairs. To further improve communications with members the revamped IWA website is due to be launched towards the end of July which should make it easier for you to find out what is happening in the Branch area.
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This is my opportunity to review what we have been doing as a branch during the year and to thank all those who make it happen. After the business meeting I will be sharing some of the exploits of Panacea and her travels to the Wash as one of 11 boats from St Pancras Cruising Club. We were nicknamed the 'Fenland Frolickers'! I mentioned last year our branch area covers a large area South of the River Thames but also has members from all over the country and overseas. Whilst our main waterway is the Tidal River Thames and the various rivers which flow into it, we also have some disused waterways such as the Grand Surrey Canal and the Croydon canal. In October some branch members went to the 'Secret Rivers' exhibition at the Museum of Docklands. It was an excellent exhibition and we hope to explore more about the routes of the rivers in our area that we don't currently follow. Our next month's social in April is entitled ‘Hidden Rivers of London & links to Canals' by the author, Tom Bolton Shea Richardson has organised the programme of social meetings and I am sure you would like to join me in thanking her for this. We hope you enjoy the programme, please let her know of any topics that would interest you - and any contacts you have for good talks. In house speakers always welcome. Talks since the last AGM before the summer break were from Lester Hillman with the interesting title 'Canals are from Mars' and Kirk Martin about a Narrow Boat Trust coal boat. Social meetings started again in September with an evening entitled "How well do you know our Waterways?" where we explored the Waterways of South London branch in a quiz type format. including the Tidal River Thames, some creeks and disused canals. In October Roger Squires gave a talk on the Suez Canal which was, sadly, very poorly attended. As a result of this we decided to canvas branch members about future meetings and Derek has been working on a survey to that end, for which much thanks. This will be coming out once the new IWA website is up and running.
Fenland Frolickers waiting on the sand in the Wash for the tide to turn. photo Simon Judge
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As many of you will know Derek has taken up the new role of IWA London Region Heritage officer. His talk in November, 'Exploring our Waterways heritage in London Region', showed all the listed buildings and structures branch by branch within the region. He will be repeating this talk at next week's Region Social on March 17th, after the North & East London AGM. Come along if you missed it in November. The region has recently set up an IWA Region Planning and Conservation group. Some of you may recall the Planning and Navigation sub-committee we used to have in the Region. This new group will have an emphasis on Heritage and Conservation and has had two meetings so far which Derek and I have attended. The IWA put on two volunteer days in October covering topics such as IWA's 'big picture' objectives, the new website, how to generate publicity for your branch and building relationships with your local media. We also discussed Campaigning and building relationships with local MP's and authorities, supporting volunteers and some of the differences between IWA and C&RT. 3 of the branch committee attended on 19th October, Lesley Pryde-Coales, Derek Humphries and me. It was a useful day and copies of the presentations have been circulated by head office. We finished the year with our December meeting which was the usual round-up of members boating exploits with mulled punch and mince pies. In January we had a talk 'Stand up in the Canal' by Lester Hillman and in February "On the Waterfront: Lambeth's changing riverside' by Alan Piper Our annual branch dinner was on Friday 31st January at the Caprini restaurant, Waterloo Road, ably organised by Judith Hunter for which much thanks. We were pleased to welcome several people from other branches to this and a good evening was had by all, also raising money through the raffle. On the fundraising side, we took the branch stand to various events during last year including IWA Canalway Cavalcade in May, the IWA Festival of Water over the August bank holiday weekend at Waltham Abbey. Angel Canal Festival and Slough Canal festival, both in September. Panacea was at all of these except Slough. Following the Festival of Water Panacea was one of six St Pancras boats leading a 'dispersal cruise' on the tidal Thames. 6 locks full left Limehouse in the very early hours of Friday 30th August making up a convoy of 21 boats who had been to the festival, many of which had not been on tidal waters before. After a downstream trip through the Thames flood barrier and dodging the new Woolwich ferries we returned upstream, most boats coming in at Brentford with some continuing to Teddington Derek Humphries came on Panacea on the dispersal cruise and captured views of the London Riverscape as it is today. Many of you saw those at the December social. He is keen to capture photographs of all structures and landmarks in our Region and as one of the 'Fenland frolickers' photographed all the lock cottages down the Grand Union from Milton Keynes to London. At Slough we had a double presence of South London and Middlesex Branch marquees and a space in between creating a prominent IWA presence. We were booked into Hayes festival, which unfortunately had to be abandoned due to a fatality in the canal that morning. 15
Part of Libby’s report here, detailing planned events, has been omitted as, regretably, all these had to be cancelled. We have recently donated £500 to the Birtley Bridge appeal on the Wey and Arun and we are planning to have a branch boat trip on the canal later in the year. Throughout the year we have continued to sell Waterway books that have been donated to the branch both at events and branch meetings. We recently decided not to bring these to our meetings any longer but will be updating the list of what is available with prices to bring to future meetings. In the autumn we again ordered Christmas cards and calendars for people which made some additional money for the branch. Other activities include work on the Thames last April where some members joined Thames 21 for a clean-up of the River Thames at Battersea, by the slipway in Battersea Church Road. This is to become a regular event in that area, and we are hoping to work more closely with their organisation combatting amongst other things the plastic pollution on the Thames. A further clean-up and survey will take place at Battersea on Sunday 26th April this year. Members of the Thames21 River Watch team will be speaking at our May meeting: 'Cherishing the tidal Thames: Building capacity in local communities to protect the River' There continue to be monthly clean-ups on the River Wandie, organised by the Wandie Trust, and Shea Richardson continues to liaise with the Wandle Valley Forum. So, a busy year and, finally, my thanks to all of you who are here and all who help support the work of the branch: our Committee Secretary, Allan Scott, Treasurer, Dorothy Robbie, Publicity Officer, Lesley Pryde-Coales, planning officer, Simon Dyer along with Derek Humphries as Region Heritage officer and our Social Secretary, Shea Richardson. Thanks to George and Sandy who kindly store the branch stand and its kit, to Gerard and Eric who are key to ensuring the branch stand is manned at events. Chris Bushill from North and East London branch who edits our joint newsletter, Meridian Cuttings and once again to Judith for organising our annual dinner. Libby Bradshaw, Branch Chairman. libby.bradshaw@ursa.me.uk 07956 655037
Welcome to members who have joined us recently. GDPR now stops us from naming you individually. However we would like to extend you a warm welcome to the branches and their activities. We hope to see you at some of our social meetings and to meet you at IWA events later in the year, where new volunteers are also always welcome. Whatever your interest in the waterways we hope that you will find something here for you and new friends to meet. If we, or any of the branch officers, can assist with any questions you may have please do not fail to get in contact with us. Our details can be found at the back of this newsletter. Liz Rayner Dorothy Robbie
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Little did we know when we were all making plans for this year that so many of them would not come to fruition! I hope the lockdown is proving manageable for you and that you are all managing to avoid this terrible virus. With the membership numbers we have I fear some of you will have lost people you love and my sincere condolences to you all. Many have been juggling working from home with home schooling of their children and many have been bored and lonely. I hope the easing of the lockdown will make things better for all of us and that everyone remains safe. There is little to report on activities within the branch. Our social meetings at East Croydon had to be stopped and at present we have no news about when these may be allowed to start again. The last one we held was our AGM on March 11th and my report to that meeting is printed earlier. After the business meeting I gave a talk: ‘St Pancras to Waltham Abbey by Narrowboat via the Wash’. We were due to have Tom Bolton, author of the two volumes ‘London’s Lost Rivers, a walkers guide’, at our April meeting and Thames21 river watch team at our May meeting but both of these will now be in next year’s programme. The IWA is putting on weekly webinars you can book into and these can be found through the following link: https://www.waterways.org.uk/events_festivals/online_talks. There are also some other talks that branches are putting online and you can find these through the same link at the bottom of the page where it says ‘Check the IWA calendar for details’. London Region Socials are online – see page 11 for details. The branch sales stand and the Waterways Game have been lying dormant due to the events that have been cancelled. Although there are events due to take place in September it is hard to imagine at this stage how these will go ahead. The Thames21 clean-up and survey, due to take place in late April, had to be cancelled as have all their activities. However, I am pleased to report they have received Heritage Lottery funding and a grant from the Garfield Weston foundation to enable them to carry on with their activities during and after lockdown. A link to their lockdown resources may be of interest: https://www.thames21.org.uk/2020/06/lockdown-river-resources/ So what can we do at the moment? Your branch committee has managed to have zoom committee meetings and we are working on updating display panels to take to events. These will include the Thames, River Wandle and other rivers and creeks, branch events including socials, outings, conferences and visits, the Croydon and the Grand Surrey canals together with other lost waterways in our branch area. Following our donation to the Birtley Bridge appeal on the Wey and Arun we have been offered a branch boat trip later in the year. The boat will apparently take 50 people so once we are out of lockdown we have decided we will have this as a celebratory cruise. We hope many of you will come to join in. An email will go out to all South London members but if you are not on email please let me have your phone number or postal address if you would like to hear details of this trip. I look forward to seeing you at some of these activities and meetings and thank you all for your support. 17 Libby
IWA is changing! At the time of writing we are just be seeing the start of the waterways returning to some semblance of normality. CRT’s navigations re-opened in full, and we are able to undertake journeys along the waterways. During the Lockdown IWA has carried out surveys of waterway businesses which showed the devastating impact the Covid-19 is likely to have on the waterway scene. We have been lobbying government for special assistance because by the nature of waterway businesses many are not protected by any of the government schemes. Please see our Bulletin or our website to keep abreast of how you can help in our campaigning. During the Covid-19 Lockdown your trustees have continued working on how we can improve the way IWA. works. Perversely the situation has helped us in doing this as it has forced us to hold meetings on line eliminating hours of traveling and the need to find suitable venues. I thought you might find it interesting, if I gave you my own perspective as to what is going on and why we need to change the way the association works. Charities exist to fulfil their charitable purposes; whether it is the Canal & River Trust or, say, the River Roding Trust. The people responsible to guide the charity are trustees and they have two parallel roles; to govern the charity in accordance with current legislation and to ensure management of the charity delivers its charitable objectives effectively. In very large charities, Canal and River Trust, OXFAM etc., there is a clear separation of Governance (Trustees) and Delivery (Management); trustees are unpaid volunteers, whereas management will normally be via professional and salaried staff; final deliver may be via volunteers and or paid staff. In many small charities Governance and Management are delivered by the same people. IWA is a medium size charity, the Trustee Board has been operating like a small charity but with “advisory committees” and paid staff stuck on the side. You may say, this model has been successful for many years; so why change now? The simple answer is that the world is changing even before the Covid-19 pandemic. After several high visibility failures, like that of The Kids Club Network and the scandal surrounding Oxfam’s operations in Haiti, government is taking much more interest in the way charities operate. Last year the Charities Commission carried out over 35 in-depth investigations into the running of various charities. Then the nature of volunteering is changing too, so whilst for some it still the chance to give something back to the community, for others it is seen as a way of providing an opportunity to develop new skills or build on existing experience and knowledge. If we are to continue to attract people to help us campaign for the Inland Waterways we need to change how we support and develop our volunteers. Cont. Next page
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The retirement of Neil our Chief Executive Officer has given us the opportunity to look again at the relationship between Trustees, paid staff, active members of the Association and other volunteers. I have argued, for some time, that Trustees need to focus on providing good governance and must create a management structure (Delivery Teams) fit for our time and to delegate the necessary powers to enable the structure to function efficiently. Trustees must also put in place reporting processes to provide feedback on progress, such that they can ensure good governance. It is important to understand that good governance makes certain the charitable objectives of the association are being met. So what do I think will happen? I expect our new CEO will have a much higher profile in promoting the Association. I expect that we will see changes to the roles of the advisory committees. They will be given more delegated powers to get things done; similar to how WRG operates now. Trustees will be less involved in the day to day running of the association but, hopefully, more aware of where we are heading! What does this all mean to the regions and branches? At a branch level the changes will be subtle but hopefully you will notice an improvement in communication and support. I expect the Region Committee and the Region Chairman will be spending more time assisting branches to interpret and work towards our common goals; they will be the conduit to ensure there is effective communication between the branches and support groups. For your branch the biggest challenges will be caused by Covid-19. How will you run work parties and still maintain social distancing? Some branches and London Region have been experimenting with Webinars and virtual meetings to replace committee and social meetings. These have attracted many times the participants we would normally expect. These will be part of the mix in the way we engage with our members in the future, but how do we manage them so we don’t exclude those who are not happy with using the internet? Which brings me neatly to my last plea;
IWA is a VOLUNTEER DEPENDANT CHARITY!
IWA and YOUR REGION NEEDS YOU.
The London Region Committee has been changing the way we work, last year, we set up a Region Planning & Conservation Group consisting of branch planning officers and our Region Heritage Officer, to try and strengthen our response to the threats to the waterways environment in London. But the Region Committee desperately needs a volunteering co-ordinator and people to advise it on things like, Press and Publicity, Fund Raising and Youth Engagement. Don’t be put off because you are not an expert, this could be your opportunity to develop new skills or build on your existing experience and knowledge. Interested Please give me a call. Paul Strudwick London Region Chair Person 19
The IWA have launched the first part of a two-part report which aims to highlight the significance of waterways heritage across the UK. The report is part of an ongoing campaign to protect waterways heritage, the need for which was uncovered as part of the Value of Inland Waterways report authored by Nicki Schiessel Harvey, which launched last year. IWA have joined forces with the Historic Narrow Boat Club, National Historic Ships UK and the Railway & Canal Historical Society, who have endorsed the report, and with Historic England who has provided support and research evidence. The report is focusing on the need for better protection of waterways heritage assets but is also calling on navigation authorities, councils, planning authorities, developers and builders to consider waterways heritage in any future development plans for local waterways and adjoining land. Britain’s waterways form a vast, open-air network of working canals and rivers, connecting city and countryside, alive with boats and enjoyed by millions. As a heritage asset it is unsurpassed in scale and accessibility, telling the story of Britain’s industrial past as well as being important to its future, in terms of tourism, physical & mental health and our national sense of identity. Many of the unique and diverse heritage features that make the waterways so special are not protected. Vast numbers have already disappeared and those that remain are at great risk of being lost. IWA are calling for a greater level of protection for waterways heritage features, over and above the 2,800 larger structures that are already listed through the Historic England register. These include 70 scheduled ancient monuments and five UNESCO world heritage sites. When viewed in isolation, the removal of a strapping post here or a starting pin there doesn’t seem like a big deal, but when each of these is added up, it has a detrimental impact on the heritage of our entire inland waterways network. Insensitive development is changing the face of our waterways. Having said all that, we are certainly not asking for the waterways to become a museum. In fact, we want the very opposite. The waterways network needs to continue to be a usable and valuable asset now and into the future. All we are asking is that its history is protected and included in development plans rather than being overlooked or removed. Another concern that the report uncovered was the dramatic loss of traditional skills. IWA is working with National Historic Ships UK to develop training courses for anyone who is interested in learning waterways skills so that these can continue into the future. More information about these courses will be announced once available. Part two of this report will be released in the summer and will go into more detail about the value of waterways heritage using a series of in-depth case studies alongside other resources for use by our Branch Heritage Officers. 20
Some Local Heritage Structures
Roving Bridge Brentford
Former Boatmen’s Tea Room Hanwell Top Lock
Three Bridges Southall
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Role Chairman
Secretary
North & East London Tim Lewis Tel: 02085300425 / 07802518094 tim.lewis@waterways.org.uk Roger Squires Tel: 02072320987 roger.squires@waterways.org.uk
Minutes Secretary Treasurer
Vacancy
Membership Secretary
AllanScott Tel: 02086428104 / 07985728844 allan.scott@waterways.org.uk Allan Scott Dorothy Robbie Tel: 02088576367 dorothy.robbie@waterways.org.uk
Vacancy
Shea Richardson, Tel: 02086770196 / 07803904803 shea.richardson@homecall.co.uk
Chris Bushill Tel: 02082457063: chris.bushill@hotmail.com Liz Rayner liz.rayner@waterways.org.uk
London Region Heritage Officer
Dorothy Robbie Tel: 02088576367 dorothy.robbie@waterways.org.uk Lesley Pryde-Coales Tel: 07787 372408 lesley.pryde@waterways.org.uk
Vacancy
Publicity Officer
Planning Officer
Libby Bradshaw Tel: 07956 655037 libby.bradshaw@waterways.org.uk
Ian Israel Tel: 020 84461823 ian.israel@waterways.org.uk
Social Secretary
Newsletter Editor
South London
Derek Humphries derek.humphries@waterways.org.uk Rod Gray rodgray125@aol.com
Simon Dyer Tel: 07857 978111 simondyer@outlook.com
London Walks Representative
Roger Wilkinson –Tel: 02036129624 roger.wilkinson@waterways.org.uk
Ex-Officio as Region Chairman
Paul Strudwick Tel: 01245358342 / 07885240291 paul.strudwick@waterways.org.uk
South London Representatives Planning & Conservation Committee: Wandle Valley developments
Eric Garland, Simon Dyer, Derek Humphries Shea Richardson
If you feel you could help with any of the vacancies or would be interested in joining us as an ordinary member we would love to hear from you 22
IWA South London Branch, United Reformed Church, Croydon
IWA Meet Here
IWA Former Venue
Paddington Hammersmith & City Line exit
IWA Region and North & East London Branch, 2 Kingdom St, Paddington 23
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 Tel: 01494 783 453 Web: www.waterways.org.uk The Inland Waterways Association is a membership charity that works to protect and restore the country' s 6,500 miles of canals and rivers.