London gets moorings & bins, Manchester get paint

CRT have been busy in London and in Manchester over the last year, but while one city gets more moorings, taps and bins the other gets lock gates and ‘a lick of paint’!

In London criticism that facilities for the record numbers of people living on the Capital’s waterways are hopelessly inadequate to meet the spiralling demand have forced the Canal and River Trust to carry out improvements including providing new mooring rings and facilities, dredging, additional rubbish bins and collection, and the creation of new long-term moorings.

Mooring improvements for liveaboards include 125 new mooring rings providing over 700m of new or improved moorings and dredging 2,250m of canal so boats can moor next to the bank more easily. 14 new long-term moorings, including three residential, have been created in previously un-moorable spots. Visiting boaters are offered a new 7-day visitor mooring at King’s Cross and two pre-bookable moorings at Rembrandt Gardens which charge a small fee for boaters who want to guarantee a spot in central London.

Services have been improved by installing new taps, a new Elsan and pump out and new bins and rubbish facilities and providing logistical support for ‘Bins by Boat’, a pilot social enterprise project which offers boaters a floating refuse collection service. CRT has also been working with the London Borough of Islington to secure Defra funding for public electricity charging points on the Regent’s Canal.

The Trust is developing a London Mooring Strategy to address the unique challenges and opportunities of boating in the Capital, see the CRT website.

Meanwhile in Manchester the CRT objectives have been different. A key section of the city centre Rochdale Canal known as the Piccadilly Undercroft, which flows underneath the main A6 Piccadilly road (below), has been improved for both pedestrians and boaters with the installation of new and refurbished lock gates and a large scale waterway clean up. Volunteers have given the whole area a lick of paint and staff have removed over 40 tonnes of rubbish from the canal bed.

Local Canal & River Trust manager David Baldacchino said:

“These improvements to the Rochdale Canal mean it is a much nicer place to boat and walk through. It’s a peaceful, traffic-free route through the busy city centre which can be used freely by everyone. The water quality is now so good that fish like perch and pike are thriving in the canal. The floating garden that we have put in is great, and more and more local people are getting involved in joining us to look after the canal. It’s a great shame that some people still use it as a rubbish dump. During the recent work our staff removed fencing panels, traffic cones, concrete posts, car bumpers, road signs and hundreds of glasses and bottles. It costs us thousands and stops us doing more for the canal in the area. Keeping the beautiful waterway pristine is always going to be a struggle in a city centre location next to pubs and bars. It’s a challenge we’re up for though and appeal to everyone to take care of the canal – think twice about how you get rid of your rubbish and use the proper ways – don’t just tip it in the water. The more people who walk, jog, cycle and boat along the canal, the less opportunity there will be for anti-social activity.”

Source: CRT News releases 31st March and 7th April. Manchester image CRT.