Meridian Cuttings - Summer 2021

Issue 26

The newsletter of South and North & East London Branches

Summer 2021

Cover and these pages, some photos taken by Tim Lewis when the Hertford Union Canal was drained last winter. Tim reported his surprise at how little debris seemed to have been recovered from the canal. ‘Not a patch on what WRG get out of the Birmingham canals’ he reported. See back cover.

2

Victoria Park and Gunmakers Lane Bridge

3

Graffiti on our Waterway Bridges in the London Region You may detest it, accept it, or maybe approve of it, but whatever your views on the matter graffiti is widespread and appears to be more prevalent in urban or industrial areas.

Whilst returning from a trip across the Wash and the Fenland waterways, a member of the St Pancras Cruising Club took a series of photographs of canal cottages along the Grand Union Canal. This was in response to my interest of the current condition of these individual properties. Amongst the collection of pictures, there was a photo of a roving-bridge in the Apsley area which was covered in such a multitude of graffiti logos as to imply it was the activity of many graffiti practitioners. The bridge at Apsley is in a local area comprising of many industrial units on both banks of the canal. The sight of the bridge at Apsley inspired me to instigate an “arm-chair project” to access the extent of Graffiti of our waterway bridges throughout the London Region. This I completed during the early months of this year’s lockdown.

The area selected for the survey were four Branches that form part of the IWA’s London Region, namely Chiltern, West London, North & East London and Lee & Stort. The website CanalPlanAC was utilised to identify the names of around 400 bridges within the survey-area. CanalPlanAC’s export facility enabled the extraction of useful data such as geographical co-ordinates, waterway mileage, OS grid-reference and nearest post-code.

The ten waterways included within the survey area comprised: �� Aylesbury Arm �� Grand Union �� Hertford Union �� Limehouse Cut �� Paddington Arm �� Regent’s Canal �� River Lee Commercial Section �� River Lee �� River Stort �� Slough Arm The extracted geographical co-ordinates were used to locate each bridge on GoogleMaps and Google’s StreetView was utilised to capture the imagery for each location.

In most cases, the navigability of StreetView along each respective towpath enabled image capture of bridge side elevations, the underside and, occasionally, the topside.

Each image was saved to an individual file, suitably named for later identification and data-processing.

Following the initial data-extraction and image-capture, the individual graffiti imagery was visually assessed and grouped into three broad categories:

4

Grouping the myriad of imagery into these three categories is naturally a subjective decision process which requires further explanation: Isolated Category: Are an individual “design” of any size, often monochrome and the work of an individual graffiti-practitioner.

Patchy Category: Are multiple “designs”, mostly monochrome, which individually cover an area of less than a half square metre and mostly the work of several graffiti-practitioners. In many cases the multiplicity of designs can extend over a wide area.

Extensive Category: Are single or multiple “designs”, often in multi-colour, which individually cover an area that exceeds one square metre.

Amongst the collected imagery, thirteen bridges are listed on Historic England’s database as Grade 2, two bridges are listed as Grade 2* and one bridge is listed as a Scheduled Monument.

Mapping the Data Having gathered CanalPlanAc data, StreetView imagery and image categories, it has been possible to display all the assembled information into map-form. ZeeMaps is an online mapping application, which is essentially a graphic database capable of displaying point-data on Google Maps. Each mapped bridge has a colour-code for the Isolated / Patchy / Extensive categories; i.e. the “traffic-light” colours of green / yellow / red respectively. The gathered data and original captured imagery can be displayed by clicking on an individual bridge.

The “data-fields” contained within every bridge dialogue-box is as follows: �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� ��

Name: Description of bridge Latitude & Longitude: Geographical co-ordinates used to plot map data Colour: Traffic-light colours green / yellow / red Imagery: Date of StreetView image-capture in MMM-YY format, e.g. Sep-18 Extent: Categories Isolated / Patchy / Extensive Branch: IWA Branch Waterway: One of the ten waterways covering the survey-area Miles: The mileage of a bridge from a junction or Regional boundary DecLatLong: Geographical co-ordinates in decimal-format, accurate to one metre GridRef: Six-figure Ordnance Survey grid-reference accurate to 100 metres Nearest PostCode: The nearest Post Code to the plotted feature Photo URL: Location of graffiti-imagery stored externally online

Retrospective to this project, I have compiled the data / information into a slide-show and have presented it to an audience at the South London Branch AGM, the London Region Planning & Conservation Group and during an IWA / Canal & River Trust London & South East Liaison Meeting.

Derek Humphries, London Region Heritage Officer 5

The ‘catalyst’ for the ‘Graffiti Project’ - Grand Union Canal: Apsley Top Lock

The IWA Branches and Waterways of the Graffiti Project Survey Area

6

ZeeMaps depiction of Graffiti data within the Survey Area

Sample of ZeeMaps data content when clicking on a selected bridge

7

I write as restrictions from the Covid lockdown are being lifted and the waterways are getting back to some kind of normality. Not that the waterways in the branch area have been quiet, the towpaths have been a very popular exercise area and boats are on the move.

Personally my boating has been on friends’ boats on their first post lockdown cruises, a particular delight was being able to cruise on the River Wey and the Basingstoke canal which are well worth visiting.

Your branch committee has continued to be busy responding to planning applications and other matters affecting the Branch waterways. The number of planning applications reviewed is still low compared with pre pandemic times. Of particular interest to us are a proposed 23 storey block on the Travis Perkins site at Little Venice and the redevelopment of the site to the South of Sturt’s Lock on the Regents Canal. Other proposals vary from everything from 60 storey tower block in Docklands to small timber houses squeezed in by City Mill River.

Other local campaigns include the opening up of the remaining accesses to the Olympic Park waterways.

We continue to liaise with the Canal And River Trust over the situation on lack of moorings and facilities on our waterways and are pressing them on the implementation of the London Waterways Strategy, we have a webinar planned with Matthew Symonds, National Boating Manager on ‘ Managing Boats on London’s Busy Waterways’. We are also involved in the concerns raised over the proposed CRT Water Safety Zones proposals which attempts to resolve conflict between the number of moored boats and rowers on the River Lee. The new footbridge at St Pancras was lifted in on 15th May, we await an opening date.

The Branch AGM was held in late March and the existing committee continues to work on behalf of our members however we would appreciate additional assistance, we are a very friendly bunch!

The London Walks team have carried out their first walk of the year, albeit for a private client. Donations from London Walks have enabled us to make a £1,000 donation to the Pirate Castle as part of their appeal to keep running, further donations can be made at https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/save-the-pirate-castle The long stoppage on the Hertford Union Canal to inspect and repair the towpath walls overran but the canal has now reopened. I must admit I was pleasantly surprised at the lack of rubbish visible when the canal was drained!

Virtual socials via ‘Zoom ‘ continue to be popular plus we had a virtual Canalway Cavalcade just to remind us what we are missing! Future webinars and links to recordings of those already presented are on the IWA web site.

8

The London Canal Museum reopened on 21st May but for the foreseeable future will only open on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.

The London Branch of the Waterway Recovery Group are hoping to get out digging again in the near future.

It was sad to see that the last Central London Chandlery, Arthur Beales, has closed, I suppose a victim of the pandemic and on-line shopping. They will still have an on-line presence.

1st July 2021 Illustrated talk: Saving the Stratford Canal by Dr. Roger Squires. One of the early IWA campaigns was to get the northern Stratford Canal reopened. Tom Rolt led the charge. A second was to get the southern Stratford Canal restored. David Hutchins was the leading light, with Robert Aickman providing the political contacts and smoothing the way. This talk details both restoration campaigns.

5th August 2021 Guided walk subject to confirmation, from the museum to Camden Town. Departs at 1830.

2nd September 2021 Illustrated talk: Exploring Thames Creeks by Simon Judge. An opportunity to see some of the features of the navigable Thames creeks.

Simon gives us a guided boat trip in pictures around them.

7th October 2021 Illustrated talk: Braunston - Canal Age Transport Hub by John Pomfret. The canals crossroad which provided a hub for the network. Braunston was the home of many canal people.

4th November 2021 Illustrated talk: Foodie on French Canals Di now spends most of the year on French canals. She and her partner travel along French waterways using their boat as the base to provide tuition about enjoying French cuisine. She will tell us about this lifestyle.

2nd December 2021 Illustrated talk: South of the River, London's Cradle of Power by Jeremy Batch. The world's most powerful warship, a high voltage power station, the largest palace in Europe, an observatory, Naval college, London's first steam railway, and London's own nuclear reactor have all - at one time or another been found along the south bank of the Thames in Greenwich, Woolwich and Deptford.

Jeremy will tell us about these and many other 'firsts'.

6th January 2022 Illustrated talk: Port of London Authority, Freight Update by James Trimmer. James is responsible at the Port of London Authority for the development of freight on the River Thames. Over recent years new port developments have provided the opportunity to increase traffic on London's waterways.

James updates us on progress.

See Website for Zoom Links https://www.canalmuseum.org.uk/whatson/index.html 9

Hopefully, soon after you receive this we will in the ‘new normal’ whatever that turns out to be! As we have been in lockdown throughout the time between the last edition of Meridian Cuttings and now there has been no opportunity to restart social meetings or any other in-person activities. Normally we would have been at Canalway Cavalcade at the beginning of May with the branch stand but that festival had to be cancelled and we had a ‘virtual’ festival instead.

The link to this is https://waterways.org.uk/support/ways-to-get-involved/events/iwacanalway-cavalcade-2021 We held our Branch AGM by zoom on the evening of Wednesday 10th March when we gave a report on the year, updated members on what we had been able to do during the year and all the current committee members were re-elected. After the business meeting, Simon Dyer, our planning and conservation officer, gave a talk about his work which included finding out about conservation areas within our branch area. This was followed by a talk by Derek Humphries, our heritage officer, on his graffiti project – see his article on page 4.

South London Branch’s main waterway is the Tidal River Thames together with rivers flowing into it whether navigable or not. I attend a number of meetings and liaise with various groups on the river as detailed below. We also have a number of disused and filled in waterways in our branch including the Croydon Canal which was featured in the last edition of Meridian Cuttings. ‘The Grand Surrey Canal, Royal Navy Victualling Yard, Greenland Dock’ are the subject of one of the walks led by IWA members in partnership with London Walks.

The link to Sunday 1st August is: https://waterways.org.uk/support/ways-toget-involved/events/grand-surrey-canal-royal-navy-victualling-yardgreenland-dock-2 The same walk takes place on Sunday 3rd October.

We continue to monitor progress regarding navigation and the Hammersmith Bridge closure. At the task force meeting on June 3rd it was reported that as a result of the announcement of the TfL funding deal on Tuesday 1 June 2021, the Department for Transport, TfL and LBHF will develop a memorandum of understanding in relation to funding the project. A decision from LBHF on its preferred engineering solution for stabilisation, what this will cost and how LBHF’s contribution will be funded is awaited. The group also discussed the potential protocols which will be implemented if the Case for Continued Safe Operation Board agrees to a limited and controlled reopening of the bridge to pedestrians, cyclists and expanded river transits in July. Progress on the ferry service was also discussed.

10

London and Thames Water Safety Forum is a multi-agency forum identifying safety matters on London’s waterways. Meetings have been continuing by zoom and collaborative work continues on, for example, drowning prevention, houseboat safety, educating riverside businesses on safety, including the correct use of throw lines. The Lifeboat service has continued to be very busy over the past few months including dealing with some bizarre ‘craft’ on the river and, of course, the whale! Maintenance of lifejackets has come up again as a problem – including boaters who do not realise these have to be checked! RNLI has brought out a video on lifejacket maintenance which can be found on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kEf5cOe5Zg PLA - NEW CONSULTATION / ENGAGEMENT on Future of the tidal Thames: On Tuesday 1st June a new engagement was launched ‘targeting a zero-emissions port and river in a vibrant Net Zero economy’. The Port of London Authority (PLA) is inviting anyone with an interest in the tidal Thames to get involved and help shape Thames Vision 2050, an updated framework for development of the 95 miles of river from Teddington Lock to the North Sea. The Thames is home to the UK’s biggest port, busiest inland waterway and a blue/green corridor through the heart of London for wildlife, sport, recreation and culture. The original Thames Vision was developed by the PLA and stakeholders through 2015 covering 20 years out to 2035. Now, with the economic, environmental and social landscape transforming, the Vision is having its first update with a drive towards a vibrant Net Zero economy.

PLA chief executive, Robin Mortimer says: “Thames Vision 2035 was published in summer 2016. Since then we have seen great progress in many areas of river use. The last five years have also been a time of transformation with greater urgency in our response to climate change, Brexit resetting the UK’s trading relationship with the rest of the world and the COVID-19 pandemic causing an unprecedented social and economic shock, potentially accelerating change across our cities and the way we live our lives.

11

“With a ‘new normal’ now hopefully in sight, the time is right to review progress and look again to ensure the Thames is ready to play a full role in the recovery and transition towards a Net Zero economy. The original Vision was the first strategy for the tidal Thames, developed with stakeholders and taking the broadest view of the river across trade, travel, sport, environment and culture. Now we are asking people to work with us again to shape a new Vision out to 2050.”

“The Thames is the reason why London was established where it is and every generation rethinks the use of this shared space connecting our capital to the rest of the world,” concluded Robin Mortimer. “Because of that, partnership working is key to making things happen and making best use of the river in the decades ahead.”

The initial six-week engagement on Thames Vision 2050 launched on Tuesday 1st June and will close at midday on Wednesday, 14 July 2021. If any of you would like to send me your thoughts on this for the branch committee to prepare a response please do so by Saturday 10th July. I will be attending engagement events on 22nd June and 29th June.

For further details see: https://www.pla.co.uk/About-Us/The-ThamesVision/Thames-Vision-2050-Stakeholder-Engagement For details on the ‘Thames Vision Progress Review 2016-2020’ please use the following link: https://www.pla.co.uk/About-Us/The-Thames-Vision/Thames-VisionProgress-Review-2016-2020 I look forward to hearing from you and hope you are all managing to get out, enjoy the good weather and more time on the Waterways.

Have a happy summer!

Libby Bradshaw, Branch Chairman

A warm welcome to new members to our branches who have joined since the last Meridian. We hope you will feel able to join us at our meetings either on-line or, hopefully soon, in person. We would especially welcome members new or old to try out a committee meeting. Are there waterways issues which you would like to see action taken on? We are very keen for new blood but would understand if you came and found it wasn’t for you. Give it a go you might find it fun and, perhaps, we could do with stirring up a bit.

Contact any committee members on Page 23 who will be delighted to hear from you.

12

Since the last edition of Meridian Cuttings our Webinars have been: Monday February 22nd – Trade under Sail, the Past and the Future – Brian Corbett. This talk included the history of Thames Sailing Barges, new build sailing ships and finally Youth Training on Thames Sailing Barges.

Monday March 22nd – The Royal Gunpowder Mills – Richard Thomas. The former Royal Gunpowder Mills site at Waltham Abbey is rich in history, designated a Scheduled Monument, the highest protection that can be given to a historic site.

Richard’s talk attracted over 300 attendees.

Fundraising Appeal for Royal Gunpowder Mills I mentioned at Richard’s talk we had launched a fundraising appeal for the Royal Gunpowder Mills which we hope will help them through this difficult time. The lack of income during the pandemic has affected so many historic sites and it would be a tragedy if the future of these Mills was at risk. We hope you will donate to this appeal.

The link is: https://www.royalgunpowdermills.com/. When donating, you will see after the comments box there is a section headed ‘About you’. The first question is ‘Why are you donating?’ which has a drop down list of options. The third of these says ‘IWA Appeal from Richard Thomas talk March 2021’. Please select that option when making your donation. Thank you.

A Powder Boat on the Canals of the Royal Gunpowder Mills

The talk planned for Tuesday 27th April on the History of Canalway Cavalcade had to be postponed due to ill-health. The planned new date will appear on the IWA website in due course.

Monday May 24th ‘The Changing Landscape of Canals in London’- Tim Lewis. Tim took us on a tour of London’s waterways especially along the Paddington Arm of the GU, the Regent’s canal and East London Waterways drawing from historical photographs and his own collection from the 70’s until the present day.

Details of all forthcoming IWA webinars and recordings of previous ones may be found using the following link: www.waterways.org.uk/tv

13

Future Webinars: We will restart webinars in September, details of which will appear on the website and be e-mailed out. We will include the talk we should have had in June which had to be postponed as C&RT had had to delay putting together the relevant consultation document. Details of that talk are below: Date to be advised: New 2021 Proposals for ‘Managing Boats on London’s Busy Waterways’ – Matthew Symonds, National Boating Manager (Leisure Boating), Canal & River Trust (C&RT) In December 2020 we had a webinar presented by Matthew during the initial engagement period on this subject.

This may be viewed at https://youtu.be/qb0yqAk-JTI. Results of the engagement exercise have been put together and we will hear what proposals the Trust has come up with. There will be an opportunity to ask questions and give comments (in addition to the formal consultation exercise that will take place in the autumn) and Matthew will be outlining the main points for discussion. Once again we hope a wide range of people will join in this evening to contribute views on this important subject, all of which will be passed on to C&RT. Details of each talk will be sent out in advance by email to all region members. If head office does not have an email address for you and you would like to be kept informed of these talks please let me have your contact details.

Libby Bradshaw libby.bradshaw@ursa.me.uk 07956 655037

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

14

.

The Friends of GUC are primarily a Facebook group, approaching 4000 members.

Launched in August 2020 in the midst of endless lock downs, they were still able to run small cleanups along the canal. The plan was to have local people look after the part of the canal closest to them, and it worked! They now regularly clean the canal within the London Boroughs of Brent, Ealing and Hillingdon. They say, ‘Whilst there are still a few litter hot spots, it's been very encouraging to see casual littering reduce significantly.’

BELOW ARE SOME EXTRACTS FROM THEIR WEBSITE TO PUBLICISE THE JULY EVENT What is It? The Paddington Arm of the Grand Union Canal opened on 10th July 1801 and to mark the 220th anniversary of this, we are going to clear litter and rubbish from over 12 miles along the whole arm. ** Update May 2021 ** Thanks to many volunteers, a lot of the arm is relatively litter free but we are still running the event. It might be that you simply walk and enjoy whichever part you've signed up to. Of course, this might change, but whatever happens, it will be a great day.

The Sharks Canoe Club The Sharks have kindly offered us support for our event and they will be bringing two open canoes to help collect litter from the canal.

How Can You Help?

We need volunteers to litter pick, to help with large items found, to help load the boats, to encourage us! We also need volunteers with kayaks/canoes to help get litter from the water.

To show your interest, please complete a short registration form. Don't worry, you're not signing your life away, we just need some details so we can keep you up to date with our plans. https://www.friendsofgrandunioncanal.co.uk/paddington-arm-clean If you need to ask questions, please contact us by email at info@friendsofgrandunioncanal.co.uk

15

‘Please stop the spread of harmful waterway plants and animals’ , pleads the Canal & River Trust.

Non-native plants and animals can cause serious damage. They out-compete native wildlife, damage eco-systems and spread disease. They can also block waterways, forming a thick green carpet which restricts navigation, clogs up propellers and damages boats.

The Trust spends hundreds of thousands of pounds every year clearing away unwanted vegetation. To stop the spread, everyone who uses the waterways, either for work or leisure, is asked to follow DEFRA guidelines to ‘check, clean and dry’ all their equipment and personal clothing every time they move between different stretches of a canal, river or lake.

To help explain this important message, the Trust has produced three videos aimed at giving detailed tips to waterway workers, boatyards and marinas, as well as leisure users, such as boaters, rowers, paddle boarders, canoeists, anglers and walkers. Canal & River Trust ecologist Tom King said: “The covid lockdown has resulted in many people discovering the delights of our waterways. However, with this use comes the extra challenge of making sure the problem of invasive species doesn’t become an even bigger problem.

“Plants like floating pennywort or curly waterweed grow so quickly and thickly – up to 20cm a day – they block the water. This makes it hard for powered boats, sailing boats and even paddle sports to move. Himalayan balsam, Japanese knotweed and giant hogweed can take over riverbanks in the summer and crowd out other plants, often dying back in the autumn, leaving riverbanks bare and exposed to erosion and flooding.

Weed clearing on the Lee Navigation. Photo Tim Lewis

16

“Underwater, North American signal crayfish, zander, sterlets, wels catfish and small invertebrates, like freshwater shrimp, zebra mussels and quagga mussels, can cause enormous damage to local biodiversity. The mussels grow inside pipes and water-cooled engines, which then results in big costs and inconvenience to clear them out.

“Quagga mussels have even been found in an isolated Anglian Water reservoir in Lincolnshire. The nearest other known Signal Crayfish place with quagga mussels is London over 140 miles away. They must have hitch-hiked on a person, their equipment, tools or machinery. Some species can survive for up to a week in damp equipment.

“Please come and enjoy our wonderful blue spaces, but do your bit to stop the spread of non-native plants and animals. Whether you’re a boater, angler, canoeist, paddle boarder or walker, please follow the three simple steps of ‘check, clean, dry’ every time you move between waterways.”

Find out more on the Canal & River Trust website about how you can stop the spread of invasive species: https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/enjoy-the-waterways/canal-andriver-wildlife/wildlife-blogs-and-features/tackling-invasive-species.

There is also more information on the GB Non-Native Species Secretariat website, supported by DEFRA. http://www.nonnativespecies.org.

Paddle Boarders fighting the weed at Little Venice Photo C&RT

17

One of the lesser known activities of the London Region is IWA’s Towpath Walks Society. The society, in partnership with London Walks, carries out a regular series of guided walks along London’s canals. The walks last just over two hours and take place on two Sunday afternoons each month starting at a tube or DLR station. They’re a great way to introduce people to the waterways, and to raise money for IWA. It may seem a strange time to be asking, when the walks are only just restarting having been suspended during lockdown, but more guides will be needed when, hopefully, the walks fully restart and it can take a couple of months before they can get feet in boots and ready to start to learn the routes.

All that is needed is an interest in waterways, an enjoyment of sharing your knowledge with others and a love of walking. A full briefing will be provided for the series and each individual walk. You will be part of a team so you can do as many or as few walks as you like.

If you feel this is for you and would like to help, please contact londonwalks@waterways.org.uk.

Towpath Walks’ Charlie Forman with rapt audience by the Lee Navigation 18

Date

Route

Start (Tube Stn.)

16 May Sunday

Limehouse – Thames – Docklands

Westferry (DLR)(by Cycle Hire Point)

30 May Sunday

Regent’s Canal: King’s Cross - Granary Square – St Pancras

King’s Cross (meet by taxi queue)

20 June Sunday

Limehouse – Thames – Docklands

Westferry (DLR)(by Cycle Hire Point)

4 July Sunday

Regent’s Canal: King’s Cross - Granary Square – St Pancras

King’s Cross (meet by taxi queue)

25 July Sunday

Regent’s Canal: River Tyburn – Little Venice

Baker St (Baker St north/Lords exit)

1 August Sunday

Grand Surrey Canal, Royal Navy Victualling Yard, Greenland Dock

Surrey Quays

15 August Sunday

Limehouse – Thames – Docklands

Westferry (DLR)(by Cycle Hire Point)

12 Sept Sunday

Regent’s Canal: River Tyburn – Little Venice

Baker St (Baker St north/Lords exit)

19 Sept Sunday

Regent’s Canal: King’s Cross - Granary Square – St Pancras

King’s Cross (meet by taxi queue)

3 Oct Sunday

Grand Surrey Canal, Royal Navy Victualling Yard, Surrey Quays Greenland Dock

17 Oct Sunday

Regent’s C: King’s Cross - Granary Square – St Pancras

King’s Cross (meet by taxi queue)

Start time for all Walks is 2.30 p.m.

Normal charge: £15 Concessionary and Student rate: £10 Children aged 16 and over, accompanied by parents: £10 Children aged 8 – 15, accompanied by parents: £5 Prior booking is mandatory: Please contact London Walks: 020 7624 3978

19

It is once again time for me to put pen to paper and write a piece for your magazine.

One of the problems I have is that as I write this it will be a month or so before you see it, so I have to get my crystal ball out to try and make my ramblings topical, without knowing what the burning issues will be when you come to read them!

The long days of winter are over and with the easing of restrictions and a road map out of the Covid 19 lockdown, we can start thinking about being able to enjoy the Inland Waterways again. Unfortunately, the lockdown meant we were unable to celebrate properly the 75th anniversary of the meeting, on 15th February 1946 at 11 Gower Street, London, and the formation of the Inland Waterways Association. If you are ever passing Gower Street, have a look at number 11, there is a Blue Plaque on the wall commemorating the event.

Hopefully you have had an opportunity to look at our new website https://www.waterways.org.uk. The old site was no longer able to meet our needs and our partners, who supplied the site, had said they were not prepared to develop it further. The new site has been designed to be exciting and attractive to nonmembers as well as our members, and to be future proofed, using the latest design techniques. By the time you read this, hopefully, the next phase, the Volunteer Hub, will have come on line. This will allow you, amongst other things, to manage the way you participate in the association’s activities and restore some of the information lost when the old site closed. Have a look, and if you have any ideas on how the site could be improved please let me, or one of the team at Chesham, know. Like all good websites, it is still a "Work in Process" and will continue to be as we tweak it to meet the needs of a changing world.

Whilst on the subject of the new website have you found IWA TV yet? During the lockdown some branches and regions, including your region, have arranged for speakers to give talks on all sorts of subjects about the waterways using webinars (an online talk and slideshow). These are available, for you to watch, on YouTube and have all been collected together on the website. They cover a range of subjects from restoration and heritage to how to take photos of the canals.

You will probably have heard by now that we have a new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Phil Hornsey. Before joining us, he has held senior positions in British Rowing, O2, EE and Betfair. We will all need to support him as he leads the association into the next 75 years. I’m certain that those far-sighted people who met at Gower Street all those years ago would be astonished at what we have achieved!

Let’s work together to do the same in the next 75 years.

Paul Strudwick

London Region Chair 20

The Canal and River Trust (C&RT) have become increasingly concerned at the conflicting uses of the Lee Navigation. Rowing clubs and other vulnerable users have been affected in recent years by the surge in popularity of private boat owners many of whom live on board. As the waterway has become busier, this has put increasing demands on this finite space leading the C&RT in 2018 to propose to create Water Safety Zones as part of the London Mooring Strategy. The proposals were designed to balance the needs of all those who use the Lee Navigation, with a focus on safety, particularly for those craft that are more vulnerable on the water.

Since then, a proposed 12-month trial has been put on hold and the trust issued an announcement.

Update on stakeholder engagement - Thursday 3 June 2021 Last month, before proceeding further with any trial, we committed to arrange for an independent facilitator to engage with different users of the waterway in an open and constructive discussion of their views and concerns about the Water Safety Zones. This was done with the aim of seeking common ground and solutions, to help the waterway be a safer place for all. We are pleased to say that independent facilitators, Hopkins Van Mil, have now spoken to representatives from key stakeholder groups …

C&RT are now inviting wider groups or individuals, to share their views with the independent facilitators, via an online form which can be found at: https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/about-us/where-we-work/london-and-south-east/water-safety-zones-along-leenavigation?fbclid=IwAR3mn3yK6HxVW9EBYhExrhGGt4oguDvePPUlWdF0h2rlhqH4PrP2doGv-5s

This form will be live until Monday 21st June 2021.

We encourage all who use the Lee Navigation to respond.

The next stage of engagement following this will be that the independent facilitators will meet with representatives from the different stakeholders during the beginning of July to discuss how the issues raised can be addressed.

Some private boats photographed on the Lee by the editor

21

Photos by Christine Smith

It is with great sadness I write to let you all know Graham Nunn died of cancer on Sunday 6th June after only being diagnosed in April. He was only 65 and just coming up to retirement Graham was well-known at IWA Canalway Cavalcade for over 30 years. A Church Army captain and children’s missioner, he brought a great deal of fun into his activities with children throughout the weekend, notably at the famous Teddy Bears’ Picnic on the Sunday afternoon. The boat he and his team had at the event was always open for anyone who needed a chat or some space away from all the activity.

Countless people of all ages have benefited from conversations they have had with Graham and his team.

On Sunday morning he led the multi-denominational service for the festival, a time for reflection which was much valued by all who attended. His magic tricks might creep into his talks to illustrate a point and bring some laughter but at the heart of everything he did was his deep faith.

May he now be free of pain and at peace.

Libby Bradshaw 22

Role Chairman

North & East London Tim Lewis Tel: 02085300425 / 07802518094 tim.lewis@waterways.org.uk Tim Lewis

Secretary Minutes Secretary Treasurer

Vacancy

Libby Bradshaw Tel: 07956 655037 libby.bradshaw@waterways.org.uk AllanScott Tel: 02086428104 / 07985728844 allan.scott@waterways.org.uk Allan Scott

Ian Israel Tel: 020 84461823 ian.israel@waterways.org.uk

Dorothy Robbie Tel: 02088576367 dorothy.robbie@waterways.org.uk

Vacancy

Shea Richardson, Tel: 02086770196 / 07803904803 shea.richardson@homecall.co.uk

Social Secretary

Newsletter Editor

Chris Bushill Tel: 02082457063 chris.bushill@hotmail.com

Membership Secretary

Liz Rayner liz.rayner@waterways.org.uk Vacancy

Publicity Officer London Region Heritage Officer Planning Officer

South London

Dorothy Robbie Tel: 02088576367 dorothy.robbie@waterways.org.uk Lesley Pryde-Coales Tel: 07787 372408 lesley.pryde@waterways.org.uk 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 Member

Eric Garland, Simon Dyer, Derek Humphries Shea Richardson

Roger Squires Tel: 02072320987 roger.squires@waterways.org.uk

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

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.