We are pleased to share for our customers the Navigation Spring 2022 newsletter reproduced here with permission of Middle Level Commissioners.

It is now 18 months since the Middle Level Commissioners (MLC) introduced licencing for pleasure craft for the first time in its history. There were many questions over what this would mean for users of the system and it is fair to say the change was unsurprisingly not universally supported. However, the introduction of licencing has allowed many positive things to happen and has changed the focus on our waterways from one where navigation was seen as a drain of resources to one where opportunities for enhancement and encouragement of waterway use is now in our targets. So below is a summary of some of the things that have happened in the last eighteen months and some of our aspirations for the future.

It is now 18 months since the Middle Level Commissioners (MLC) introduced licencing for pleasure craft for the first time in its history. There were many questions over what this would mean for users of the system and it is fair to say the change was unsurprisingly not universally supported. However, the introduction of licencing has allowed many positive things to happen and has changed the focus on our waterways from one where navigation was seen as a drain of resources to one where opportunities for enhancement and encouragement of waterway use is now in our targets. So below is a summary of some of the things that have happened in the last eighteen months and some of our aspirations for the future.

In the last 18 months we have

Taken over derelict moorings and renewed and improved them at Salters Lode Lock. These moorings have been reconstructed using navigation finances with a minority contribution from the Well Creek Trust. Going forward these mooring are now owned and maintained by the MLC.

The Salters Lode guillotine gate has been serviced and all gate seals replaced. This was an expensive exercise. To replace the seals required a team of professional divers working over a period of 4 days.

Four rural moorings have been installed.

We have appointed a full-time navigation officer to liaise with users of the system and Kev will now be well known now to many of you.

Contact number 07725 134170.

Marmont Priory Lock has been dewatered and remedials have been undertaken.  Marmont Priory upstream moorings have been fully refurbished.

We have removed a number of sunken or abandoned boats from the system.

We have worked with the Environment Agency and Conservators of the River Cam to agree the Anglian Pass bolt on which allows vessel owners the option (for a modest sum) to annually cruise the whole of the watercourse system covered by the 3 authorities.

We have also set money aside for future facility provision on the link route.

What planned for this spring (2022)?

Work will commence on installing 120m of piled moorings on High Lode near the Town of Ramsey. These new moorings will be owned and maintained by the MLC. Ramsey Town Council will supply fresh water and rubbish disposal facilities for visiting boats.

Four further sets of rural moorings will be installed.

Another phase of dredging for navigation will commence on the Well Creek stretching from the Aqueduct to Newton’s Bridge

We will be levelling the area of land outside the George public house on the Forty Foot (near Ramsey) to create an area where people can sit and enjoy the local water environment.

Marmont Priory Downstream moorings are to be refurbished.

And for the future

We are in discussions with Fenland District Council on possible improvements which can be implemented through the March Town river corridor.

We have had early discussions with Chatteris Town Council and possible future moorings at Carters Bridge.

We have been investigating co-funding moorings outside the George public house near Ramsey on the Forty Foot Drain.

We will be developing plans for new facilities on the link route and elsewhere.

Look to develop a scheme to dredge through March Town centre.

Seek to develop new and strengthen existing links with user group bodies who share our vision of an improved system benefiting all users.

So, in summary we believe that much has happened in the last eighteen months and it is our hope with your help we can maintain this rate of change.

The post Middle Level Navigation Spring Newsletter 2022 appeared first on Fox Narrowboats.

Middle Level Commissioners

Middle Level Commissioners Chief Executive Officer David Thomas shares his response to the Cambridgeshire Times newspaper with us following enquiries by local MP Stephen Barclay.

“I was aware that there are a number of boaters who are not happy with the level of charges and I can appreciate if you were getting something for free, introduction of fees is not necessarily going to be welcomed with opened arms. However the position is that for decades the cost of running the navigation has been borne by home owning and agricultural ratepayers. The charges that have now been set are considered fair and match with those of the Environment Agency Anglian Waterways, which have three to four times the density of boats per mile of waterway, hence have a significantly higher potential for income. For this reason it will remain the position that unless boat numbers within the Middle Level increase many fold the best we can hope for is to is reduce the subsidising required for navigation. On this point though it is clear, that with the introduction of charging, the Middle Level Commissioners do for the first time in recent history have a reason to invest in the watercourses to attract and retain users.

In the knowledge that we were planning for the introduction of charging by pursing a new Act through parliament we started an annual cycle of dredging of the perched waterway forming the Well Creek. Spending on this has cost several hundred thousand. This year we are looking to; spend fifteen thousand on replacement moorings at Salters Lode, will be carrying out minor refurbishments at Marmont Priory Lock, will be servicing the guillotine flood gate on Salters Lode Lock and will be introducing rural mooring spots in remote areas in response to requests from boaters. We are also working closely with Fenland District Council on proposals for improvements through March Town and in Ramsey. Plus are starting work on developing a residential mooring strategy, which will be produced through close liaison with Fenland District Council who are in the process of reviewing their Local Plan so this work is well timed.

I attach a link on licencing which is located on our website which might help. I would also draw your attention to the fact that contrary to the suggestion that the Commissioners currently provide nothing for boaters we are building upon our current position of employing two lock keepers, cut weed and dredge for navigation and have been closely managing water levels for navigation, within a tight range which would not be the case if we were using the system simply for water resource management and flood risk management. We are now building on this through the employment of a dedicated Navigation Officer implementing the works mentioned above and are setting aside 25% of the income from licencing for implementing improvements on the River Nene to Great Ouse link route which will meet the minimum standards recommended by the Inland Waterways Association.

https://middlelevel.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Licence-Fee-Questions.pdf”

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Update on navigation licencing for Middle Level Waters

Important Notice.

The Navigation Advisory Committee have reviewed the position in relation to introduction of licences for Middle Level Waters which was due to take effect from 1st April this year. The committee agree that in light of the COVID-19 situation and reflecting on the impact this will have on the boating community, the date when boats will need to be licenced has been set back to 1st September 2020. The licence fee will now also be further discounted so that it will be equivalent to 50% of the Environment Agency (EA) Anglian Waters charges. One other change is that the Middle Level will not be issuing EA visitor licences as agents for the EA this year and hence there will no longer be a 25% cap in place for this.
Recognising that some applicants may find themselves in a financial hardship situation then it will be possible for such a vessel owner to request that arrangements be made to spread the cost of the licence over a four-month period, by making arrangements for direct debit payments as an example.
Applications for licencing for vessels (for the period 1st September 2020 until 31st March 2021) can be made anytime between now and the end of October. Due to current government advice on social contact the application forms are only available via the navigation page of our website www.middlelevel.gov.uk (for powered vessels the application form is already available and for unpowered vessels this will be added shortly). Applications can only be accepted by post or email until further notice, with payments being made by: enclosing a cheque, by card over the phone by arrangement, or by filling in the card payment section of the application form.

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Middle Level Act 2018 and Navigation Byelaws 2019

The Middle Level Commissioners are the navigation authority for the Middle Level river system which comprises approximately 100 miles of navigable waterways in Cambridgeshire and Norfolk.

The legal framework which governs the Commissioners’ navigation function were made up of a number of 18th and 19th century Acts which are now considerably out of date and do not align with either the modern requirements or the statutory framework applicable to other navigation authorities such as the Canals and River Trust and the Environment Agency.  The previous legislation which governed the Commissioners did not include adequate provision for the registration of vessels using the waterways or the levelling of charges for the use of waterways and associated facilities by recreational boats.

The Commissioners had been working hard since 2016 promoting a Private Bill through the House of Commons and the House of Lords and were

March on the Middle Level Navigation

extremely pleased in November 2018 when the new Bill received Royal Assent.  The new Act contains important provisions on charging allowing us to properly regulate navigation on the waterways and a system of registration for vessels using the waterways. These powers are akin to those used by the Canals and River Trust, the Environment Agency and the Broads Authority and other large inland navigation authorities.  Section 11 of the Act gives the Commissioners the important power to make Byelaws in relation to the waterways and their banks facilitating the maintenance and improvement of the waterways for the purpose of recreation and leisure pursuits, for controlling the navigation of the waterways and to regulate the conduct and activities of persons using the waterways.

With regard to these Byelaws, the Commissioners have now produced a final set which are currently being advertised. Following advertisement and consideration of any representations made during the advertising period, the Byelaws will then be submitted to Defra for confirmation and then published on their website.

The Commissioners are pleased to be in constructive discussions with the Environment Agency on the introduction of the registration system, with a view to aligning the registration process as closely as possible with them to facilitate smooth passage between waterways.  Once the arrangements for the Registration Scheme have been finalised, the Commissioners will be in a position to publish and advertise a list of registration fees for boats.  Further information will be available on the Navigation Section of the Commissioners’ website www.middlelevel.gov.uk

Well Creek on the Middle Level Navigation

The post The latest update on the new Middle Level Act 2018 and Navigation Bylaws 2019 appeared first on Fox Narrowboats.

When Charlie and Pat Fox set up business in West End March in the 1960’s navigation on the Middle Level was very different from today. Stanground Lock was only 49′ long and Briggate bend at Whittlesey was so sharp that even boats shorter than 49′ struggled to get round. Well Creek through Upwell and Outwell was derelict and unnavigable.

In the mid 1970’s the Well Creek Trust were still restoring Well Creek . There were only two ways to take a boat from the Nene to the Ouse or vice versa, across the Wash from Sutton Bridge to Kings Lynn or take the route created by the Dutchman Cornelius Vermuyden in 1637 along the Old Bedford River.

Guest Log book from Three Tuns Welney showing Fox Narrowboats boat March Rambler using the Old Bedford River 1976

It is now possible for full length narrowboats to use the Nene to Ouse Link route. Well Creek was restored to navigation by an amazing band of volunteers, local contractors and the Middle Level Commissioners but sadly part of Vermuyden’s ancient route is now unnavigable. The entrance to Welches Dam lock was piled by the Environment Agency in 2006 and remains unusable a staggering 12 years later. The two mile stretch of Horseway Channel between Welches Dam lock and Horseway lock is also unnavigable, neglected and clogged up.

Modernising and lengthening a single lock and restoring a short stretch of river to full navigation is not rocket science. If, for example,  we have been able to re-open two derelict canals that cross the Pennines (the Rochdale and the Huddersfield Narrow canal) we must surely be able to re-open this route.

This old photo taken by Alan Faulkner in 1973 shows 16 boats waiting to lock out of the Old Bedford river and Pat Fox recalls over 40 boats using that same route that same year.

Old Bedford Sluice 27 July 1973

Are you interested in joining the campaign cruise?

The mouth of Old Bedford River July 2008

Between 19th & 22nd August 2018 Peterborough Branch  will be undertaking a campaign cruise from the tidal Ouse, along the Old Bedford River, to Welches Dam Lock, ahead of the IWA’s Festival of Water in St Neots, over the August bank holiday weekend. Full details can be found at  IWA Campaign Cruise.

Along with John Revell IWA Eastern Region Chair Chris Howes will be taking part with his 45 foot narrow boat. They are not only looking for other powered boats to join them – narrowboats and cruisers – but also small (self propelled) boats such as canoes, as well as walkers. It may prove difficult to get boats over 50 foot onto the (OBR) Old Bedford River, and larger boats are being encouraged to meet the flotilla at Horseway Lock, which is at the other end of the ‘blockage’.

Chris says “I was fortunate to make passage (along with two other boats) along the OBR in April 2017. Back in the mid 17th Century digging the OBR was the first stage of Cornelius Vermuden’s Herculean task of draining the Fens. Unlike other navigable Fenland drains, the OBR is not bordered on its west side by a high bank and the views across the Fen are truly rewarding. (Sunsets are particularly magnificent.)

During our 2017 trip I particularly remember the look of curiosity on the faces of a flock of black faced sheep, who had clearly never seen a boat before, and the wit of a couple of teenagers in Welney who observed “You wait all your life to see a barge, and then three come along at once!”

The neighbouring Ouse Washes are a nature reserve and a Site of Special Scientific Interest. We will be passing Welney Wildlife and Wetlands Centre. Twitchers don’t forget to bring your binoculars !

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