IWA Peterborough Branch
www.iwapeterborough.org.uk

Easter 2007 Campaign Cruise

THE CONTRAST OF CARE AND NEGLECT IN MIDDLE LEVEL NAVIGATIONS

Left: Boats at Ramsey Hollow Bridge on the Forty Foot River 8th April 2007.
A campaign cruise organized by the Peterborough Branch of the Inland Waterways Association has revealed the stark contrast in the standards of maintenance of these fenland waterways between those under the care of the Middle Level Commissioners and those that are the responsibility of the Environment Agency (EA).

The first two days of this year’s Easter cruise took a convoy of boats from Ramsey to Holme in the south-western end of the Middle Level Navigations. On Sunday the 8th April the convoy started from Ramsey Forty Foot to cruise as far as possible to the south-eastern corner of the system.

Left: IWA Peterborough Branch Chairman, Alastair Chambers, “christening” Ramsey Hollow Bridge.
On the way the boats stopped at Ramsey Hollow Bridge to mark its recently improved headroom, achieved by the efforts of the IWA Peterborough Branch and the Royal Engineers. Boats filled the river in front of the bridge while Branch Chairman, Alastair Chambers, “christened” the bridge, which was raised in December 2006. Fifteen boats passed under the bridge that had been a barrier to most of them until now.

The cruise continued on to Horseway Lock which marks the end of the waterways under the control of the Middle Level Commissioners. The approach to the lock showed signs of recent dredging and new fishing platforms had been installed. Beyond the lock the waterway is under the control of the Environment Agency and presented a very different picture.

Left; A canoe was the only craft that could manage to get through Horseway Lock and onto the EA waters.
The channel between Horseway Lock and Welches Dam Lock has been leaking for years so the water level was low and the channel so filled with reeds that even a canoe had difficulties in navigating this stretch. Even if it had been possible to reach Welches Dam the lock there has been out of commission for about a year and the Environment Agency still has no clear plan to reopen it even though it has a statutory obligation to do so.

Left; The channel between Horseway and Welches Dam locks is not easy going even for a canoe.
The route from Horseway Lock to the tidal doors at Salter’s Lode was once the only route through the Middle Level to the Great Ouse yet it is currently impossible for boats to enter the route from either end. The problems with siltation in the Tidal Ouse [another EA waterway] have made it impossible to form a level with the water in the Old Bedford so that for the past year or so no craft over 19ft 6in in length have been unable to enter the Old Bedford through the Old Bedford Sluice.
It is ironic that the Middle Level Commissioners, who at present charge no fees to boaters, are able to maintain navigation while the EA, which is in the process of raising registration fees on its navigations by 12% a year for three consecutive years, is unable or unwilling even to carry out the minimum level of maintenance that the law requires.

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	Left: Boats at Ramsey Hollow Bridge on the Forty Foot River 8th April 2007. A campaign cruise organized by the Peterborough Branch of the Inland Waterways Association has revealed the stark contrast in the standards of maintenance of these fenland waterways between those under the care of the Middle Level Commissioners and those that are the responsibility of the Environment Agency (EA).
	The first two days of this year’s Easter cruise took a convoy of boats from Ramsey to Holme in the south-western end of the Middle Level Navigations. On Sunday the 8th April the convoy started from Ramsey Forty Foot to cruise as far as possible to the south-eastern corner of the system.
	Left: IWA Peterborough Branch Chairman, Alastair Chambers, “christening” Ramsey Hollow Bridge. On the way the boats stopped at Ramsey Hollow Bridge to mark its recently improved headroom, achieved by the efforts of the IWA Peterborough Branch and the Royal Engineers. Boats filled the river in front of the bridge while Branch Chairman, Alastair Chambers, “christened” the bridge, which was raised in December 2006. Fifteen boats passed under the bridge that had been a barrier to most of them until now.
	The cruise continued on to Horseway Lock which marks the end of the waterways under the control of the Middle Level Commissioners. The approach to the lock showed signs of recent dredging and new fishing platforms had been installed. Beyond the lock the waterway is under the control of the Environment Agency and presented a very different picture.
	Left; A canoe was the only craft that could manage to get through Horseway Lock and onto the EA waters. The channel between Horseway Lock and Welches Dam Lock has been leaking for years so the water level was low and the channel so filled with reeds that even a canoe had difficulties in navigating this stretch. Even if it had been possible to reach Welches Dam the lock there has been out of commission for about a year and the Environment Agency still has no clear plan to reopen it even though it has a statutory obligation to do so.
	Left; The channel between Horseway and Welches Dam locks is not easy going even for a canoe. The route from Horseway Lock to the tidal doors at Salter’s Lode was once the only route through the Middle Level to the Great Ouse yet it is currently impossible for boats to enter the route from either end. The problems with siltation in the Tidal Ouse [another EA waterway] have made it impossible to form a level with the water in the Old Bedford so that for the past year or so no craft over 19ft 6in in length have been unable to enter the Old Bedford through the Old Bedford Sluice. It is ironic that the Middle Level Commissioners, who at present charge no fees to boaters, are able to maintain navigation while the EA, which is in the process of raising registration fees on its navigations by 12% a year for three consecutive years, is unable or unwilling even to carry out the minimum level of maintenance that the law requires.