 I was off work for the first week of February… now this may seem a strange way to begin my monthly diary of the work I’ve been doing, but it does give me a good opportunity to explain what happens when I require time off from my 24/7 role. I don’t work standard office hours but work on a rota system to provide round the clock cover for weir operations and incidents such as fallen trees or stuck boats. This means that for me to book time off I need to do so well in advance so that the weirs are not left unattended and that there are still enough members of staff on duty to attend any emergencies. Typically whilst I was off we experienced heavy rain making river levels unstable and weir operations difficult, so thank you to everyone involved in covering me. Even my volunteers went above and beyond the call of duty, working away without me they gap-planted a hedge and continued my routine litter picks. So again a big thank you and well done.
By the time I got back to work the river conditions had settled down so I was able to finish the last of the winter work programme. This included removing some low hanging branches from the river and raking up the last of the leaves from Bowers lockside. We also finished back-filling the bank repairs that we started last month to re-instate some eroded parts of towpath. Those of you who regularly walk the towpath may have noticed that a few of the signs have gone missing along the Stoke Length. Don’t worry, they haven’t been stolen it’s just that I’ve taken them in for a repaint before the summer boating season. Just when my thoughts had started to turn to spring, light evenings, and warmer weather, Doris came knocking! Of course I mean Storm Doris, which although wasn’t very wet was very windy. Although we carry out regular surveys of all the trees on our land, identify any potential problems and deal with them proactively, we can’t guarantee that strong winds won’t damage them and so we did still have a few to clear including over the weekend. I suppose that just goes to show the importance of the Lengthsmans call out rota. Richard Stoke Lengthsman 07786 703 832 richard.cant@nationaltrust.org.uk www.facebook.com/RiverWey
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In my last news bulletin I was talking about how stable the river had been due to low rainfall and how productive I had been because of it. This dry and settled weather continued in to January, but it did bring with it some sub-zero temperatures. This of course caused problems, such as Stoke canal freezing over from the lock upstream as far as Woking Road. This meant that to all intents and purposes my work punt was trapped for much of January, so any work had to be carried out from the towpath. My volunteers did however persevere and break through the 2” thick ice around the lock itself so that we could at least boat downstream as far as Bowers. Typically the rain decided to start at the same time as the maintenance team began work on replacing the lock gates at Bowers. This not only meant for unpleasant working conditions for them, but the volatile river levels also meant sleepless nights for me. Accurate water level control during lock repairs such as at Bowers are especially important as water can very easily overtop the stop planks and bring work to a standstill. That’s why I have to check the water levels throughout the day and night, and on one memorable night/morning in January I carried out weir movements at 00:15, 00:35, 03:00, 06:15 and 06:30. Forgive me if I looked a little tired on that day!
As you can see, weir control is a 24hr 365 day a year responsibility, so to get some sort of break, I have a Relief Weir Keeper who looks after things on my days off. This month I have a new RWK Nick Georges, as in early January my previous relief Stuart moved into a house (which better suited their growing family). Nick has now moved his boat Rosie on to the mooring and is settling in nicely, so if you do see him give him a warm welcome. At least this month has given him plenty of chance to see how the weirs work and get a sense of what’s involved. Other jobs this month have involved coppicing Hazel sticks from by the A25 bridge, which we then used to carry out some bank repairs on Stoke canal cut. Another task was removing low hanging branches so that they don’t interfere with boat traffic next summer We also carried out a very in depth litter pick from Stoke Lock to Dapdune Wharf. This was both from the water and the towpath and created 12 black sacks of rubbish which Guildford Borough Council very kindly collected. All in all the Stoke length is looking very tidy, now all we need is Spring to arrive with some sunny weather so that we can really enjoy the river once again. Stoke Lengthsman 07786 703 832 richard.cant@nationaltrust.org.uk www.facebook.com/RiverWey Dear BCA Member
The results of Aldi's appeal against certain conditions imposed by GBC have been published today. All appeals have been allowed by the Planning Inspectorate. This means that
You can download the report here. We had intended that our November meeting would take the form of a Councillors' Forum, giving our ward and county councillors an opportunity to tell us about the work they have undertaken on Burpham's behalf over the past year. They were also going to give their views on issues likely to have an impact on the ward in the immediate future.
However, in the light of recent local developments, and the continuing post Brexit debate, we have decided to postpone this as we felt that there might be a danger of local affairs being swamped by national political debate - as an apolitical organisation we cannot become involved in such a contentious issue. The Councillors' Forum will now take place on 20th March, 2017. The November meeting will go ahead and we are delighted to announce that the speaker will be Claire Nodder from the National Trust. She was House Manager at Clandon House when it was devastated by last year's fire and will be talking about the fire, the immediate aftermath and plans for the future. You can download the flyer here. We hope you will be able to join us for what promises to be a most interesting and informative presentation and will stay after to enjoy some seasonable drinks and nibbles. Other news we will also cover includes:
 What a glorious time for seeing the autumn colours. The relatively mild temperatures, sunny days and lack of wind have created ideal conditions to see nature’s spectacle of golden brown, yellow and red leaves. I think that this has been the most picturesque autumn since I have worked on the Wey Navigations and also the most prolonged so I do hope that you all get to come out and see it before the trees lose their leaves to the cold of winter. I always think of this burst of colour as a fond farewell before winter kicks in, but don’t worry as the river can be just as beautiful on a frosty winter’s morning.
With autumn definitely here the vegetation growth has finally slowed down, meaning that the locksides have only needed one mow this month, but unless we get a real cold snap I’m sure I’ll still be mowing into November. Out on the towpath however the vegetation is already dying back so you may have noticed that I have done an extra wide cut with the ride on mower. This is in preparation for my annual winter cutback of all the bankside vegetation to prevent the build-up of dense vegetation and allow us to inspect the banks. As with most of the jobs on the Navigation I am limited with vehicle access which means I can’t use large machinery and have to rely on long days with the strimmer. One of my major tasks in past weeks has been to remove some of the low branches that were beginning to obstruct the towpath between the A320 and the A25. As this section has been closed for most of the summer I haven’t been able to carry out my “little and often” approach, meaning that I am now removing slightly larger branches than normal to make sure the towpath is clear and open to all users. Thanks must go to my regular volunteers for their help with this as it has taken a lot of their time and effort, and hopefully you’ll agree it’s been well worth it. Other tasks this month have involved updating records, ordering machinery spares for the annual tool servicing and a major tidy up of my workshop. These are all jobs that I have been unable to achieve over the hectic summer months so it’s been great to have a little more time to prepare for the busy winter work programme of maintenance, cutting back vegetation and of course the 24hr responsibility of water level control. Richard Stoke Lengthsman 07786 703 832 richard.cant@nationaltrust.org.uk www.facebook.com/RiverWey  It’s finally starting to feel like the vegetation growth is slowing down, a sure fire sign that autumn is coming. This has meant that I have had a chance to finally get on top of my workload after a very hectic summer. I have now finished hedge trimming the back of the towpath along my length and once again strimmed the towpath at 45 o to keep the path clear as the vegetation dies back.
I’ve also been along and strimmed out the fishing swims and visitor moorings for boats, which should be the last time it needs doing now before I start the heavy task of clearing all the river banks for the winter cutback in November. It’s been very fortunate that the towpath vegetation has slowed down, as I’ve needed the extra time to get everywhere ready for the River Festival at Dapdune Wharf which happened at the end of September. This meant completely clearing the river banks opposite the Wharf in Guildford for the 30 boats attending to moor up. I also needed to do some last minute tree work at Dapdune Wharf, carry out an extra litter pick to make sure everywhere was spotless and help put up signs to guide people at the event. It was well worth it in the end though as we had over 1000 visitors, who all really enjoyed themselves, helped partly by the perfect weather conditions. My role on the day was to help with the car parking along with other staff and volunteers, so well done to everyone involved as it was a great success but a very long day. Another thing you may have noticed that happened in September was the re-opening of the towpath between the A320 Woking road and A25 Ladymead, after extensive repair works. The worked involved the installation of wooden posts and boards along with stone cages (known as Gabions) to help protect the bank from erosion, whilst allowing plant life to flourish. As part of the works the towpath was re-surfaced and the sheet piling and wooden bollards replaced at the visitor moorings next to B&Q. For those of you who have not yet seen the works do go for a walk down by the river, the engineering work is impressive but rest-assured by next summer you will barely notice it as the vegetation once again takes hold, just as intended. Richard 07786 703 832 richard.cant@nationaltrust.org.uk At the recent BCA Public Meeting, the community voted to help support the Save Newlands Corner campaign.
For more information on how you can register your thoughts, here's some key information:
August has felt like another hectic but productive month. With the grass finally slowing down after some prolonged dry weather I’ve had some time to get on with tasks other than mowing. One of these jobs was a day spent removing low branches from the towpath between Stoke Lock and Bowers Lock. Luckily I had some help from my regular volunteers, along with the assistance of one of my volunteer’s teenage grand children who happened to be over on holiday from France. The fact that both of them are over 6ft tall made the job of reaching high branches even easier, so thank you very much for giving up your holiday time to come out and help, I do hope you enjoyed yourselves.
Another task for this month was painting the Stoke punt, a 5m workboat which is my essential mode of transport for travelling my length and providing a stable work platform. Back in the spring this boat had sprung a leak so we had to pull it out of the water on a trailer, and since then I have been using a smaller punt that I borrowed from the maintenance team. After having my punt repaired by a mobile welder it seemed only right that it got a new paint job before going back in the water. So once again thank you to my volunteers for helping me with the mucky job of scraping and painting a metal work boat; she now looks a lot smarter and ready for action. Speaking of action, August seems to have come with more than its fair share of call outs both on the Stoke length and the rest of the navigation. Firstly I’ve had two fallen trees to clear up in a hurry, one blocking the towpath at Byfleet and one completely blocking the navigation downstream of Stoke Lock. As well as this I have had to deal with two lifted lock gates, one at New Haw Lock and one at Unstead Lock. This happens when a boat going up through the lock gets stuck underneath the top gates, which then means the buoyancy of the boat lifts the gate out of its socket. This makes the lock inoperable so it is important that we reset the gates quickly so that boat traffic can continue, and in both of these cases we had them jacked back into position within 1hr of them being reported. Other jobs this month have included hedge trimming on the towpath, clearing the river banks of vegetation in Guildford ready for mooring at the Wey River Festival on 24 September and re-surfacing the access track to Stoke Lock. This doesn’t include the time spent doing paperwork, fixing tools, meeting with contractors, oiling weirs, and assessing volunteer competencies on the use of boats. All in all a very busy month! Stoke Lengthsman 07786 703 832 richard.cant@nationaltrust.org.uk www.facebook.com/RiverWey  After having a week away with the family at the beginning of July, the rest of the month was always going to be a game of playing catch up as the vegetation has been growing at full speed. Thankfully when I’m on leave our Mobile River Warden not only covers our 24hr weir responsibilities, but also steps into my work programme, meaning that my lock sides were nice and neat on my return which really took the pressure off.
As well as being on leave I’ve also had my First Aid refresher course and attended two half day plant identification courses to help brush up my skills. All of which involves me spending time away from my length, so this month I have really relied on the help of my volunteers to help me with mowing lock sides, strimming fishing swims and visitor moorings for boats, and carrying on with the hedge trimming of encroaching growth. Fingers crossed that with plenty of preparation work back in June and my volunteers hard work this month you’ll agree the Stoke Length is still a fantastic place for a walk, especially on these long summer evenings. To top it all off we had my biggest event of the year in July, Puffing-A- Wey. This event saw 18 steam boats of all shapes and sizes spending the day either moored up at Dapdune Wharf or steaming past to Guildford town centre, all in a bid to create a fantastic atmosphere of coal smoke, steam and polished brass. It was a fantastic day for both visitors and steam boaters, so a big thank you to all the members of the Steam Boat Association of Great Britain, Astolat model railway and Guildford Model Engineering Society for making it such a great event. Next year we hope it will be even bigger and better! One of the other jobs for me this month has been to carry out the Japanese Knotweed control programme along the whole Navigation from Godalming to Weybridge. To control this non-native invasive plant species we have to use small amounts of chemical herbicides to try and stop it spreading and posing a bigger problem. Thankfully this is working and we are gradually winning the fight, with some sites now clear for a number of years and others greatly reduced. Of course not every job I do is as easy to plan for, which was highlighted when a large Alder tree suddenly fell across the Navigation at Walsham and completely stopped boat traffic. Thankfully we managed to make it passable very quickly, but as with all these trees when they’re in the water they are bigger than they first look! So thank you to those volunteers who stayed late and helped us winch it from the river, it was hard work but very satisfying. Richard Cant 07786 703 832 richard.cant@nationaltrust.org.uk www.facebook.com/RiverWey The BCA held a Public Meeting on Monday 11th July, and it was great to see a huge turnout from the community - indeed it was standing room only! The meeting was to discuss the Local Plan proposed by Guildford Borough Council, and everyone heard about the many aspects of the plan that could hugely detrimentally impact the traffic and congestion in Burpham, the quality of life, infrastructure in Guildford and the ability for the council to plan long term developments (such as the proposed A3 tunnel). Various speakers provided their expertise, and there was certainly a general feeling of concern over the local plan, and the lack of long term planning and strategic thinking allied to flawed analysis and forecasting of housing numbers.   The evening also heard from a representative of the Save Newlands Corner campaign, you can read more about them at https://savenewlandscorner.com.
 May is always a busy month, as not only is the grass and other vegetation growing at its quickest but there are also two bank holidays to get ready for. The increased boat traffic of the long weekends means that it is particularly important to have the locksides neatly mown and the visitor moorings strimmed. This is a great chance for me to really take pride in my length and show it off to the best of my ability, the increased visitor numbers also make the hard work really feel worthwhile.
As I previously mentioned it’s not just the grass that’s growing quickly at the moment - the bankside vegetation is also shooting up. Mowing the towpath with the ride-on mower just isn’t enough to keep the path feeling pleasant and open, whilst maintaining the views of the river. This is why I have been out strimming a 45 o angle on the vegetation to stop it falling into the path and blocking access. We call this our summer cutback which will need doing every 4 weeks throughout the summer months until we clear the banks completely for the winter. As well as the heavy mowing and strimming this month, I’ve also had chance to get on with a few of the smaller jobs. These have included cleaning vegetation from lock gates, sweeping steps and edging the grass around the locksides. It is these detail jobs that really make the difference to keeping the waterway looking its best. Some jobs such as cleaning the lock gates are also essential maintenance, as roots from plants growing between the planks can cause a lot of damage over time. Finally, you may have noticed by now that the section of towpath between Ladymead and the Woking Road has been fenced off and closed. This is so that essential maintenance and re-surfacing work can be carried out safely, and eventually will provide a natural but user friendly section of towpath for everyone to use. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause, but please do observe the warning signs and follow the diversion routes so that everyone stays safe. Richard Stoke Lengthsman At a meeting with Surrey County Council (SCC) on 19 April 2016, the Save Newlands Corner Campaign Group (SaveNC) agreed to put forward alternative arrangements for the management of Newlands Corner. SaveNC believes that the site could be managed on the basis of a ‘Friends of Newlands Corner’ model in a much more cost-effective way than is currently the case. The ‘Friends’ concept would also retain the wild and open nature of the site and avoid the commercial proposals put forward by SCC.
SCC said ‘we remain open to discuss any thoughts or proposals you may have’. SaveNC welcome this opportunity to submit our outline ideas for an alternative way forward and the reasoning behind them. At the time of the meeting, critical information about vehicle figures and maintenance costs was still awaited. Much of that has information has recently been provided, but further clarification is being sought. This report is, therefore, correct to the best of our knowledge. It was completed in a short time frame and we acknowledge that much more work needs to be done to firm up on the proposals. You can read the full report here.  April began in the same way that March ended - clearing up after Storm Katie, whose
appearance put a very wet and windy dampener on Easter Monday. As you can imagine clearing trees from a river navigation is much trickier than at other National Trust properties,as I can’t just drive up to them and log them up. Firstly I have to wait for the flow rates to decrease enough so that I can safely use a boat, and then slowly cut the trees up into bite size pieces before using a hand winch to ease them out of the river inch by inch. Fortunately for me I had some mechanical assistance in the form of the floating excavator, or to be more accurate two floating excavators! This was because both the National Trust and EA dredgers happened to be passing through my length on the way to other jobs. This meant that a day with each machine and my length was clear of fallen trees, saving me a lot of time and energy so thank you to everyone who helped. With the weather improving all the time I am now well in to my Spring/Summer work programme, which seems to currently involve spending a lot of hours walking behind a mower. However I can’t complain as I do get plenty of help from my volunteers, and the positive comments I get from boaters and other river users makes it all worthwhile. We even managed to get Stoke Lock painted in between the unseasonal snow showers!!! Of course, as a Lengthsman, I have to keep my knowledge up to date and skills honed. So this month I have been on the 3-yearly chainsaw operation refresher course with some of my colleagues from the maintenance team. It was a very practical and informative course which helps to pick us up on the bad habits that we may have developed. I have also been on the first of a series of half day wildflower identification course with Surrey Wildlife Trust, again this helps to keep my plant skills up to date and valid. April finished with the first of my events for this year, Spring Has Sprung. This was a spring themed event at our visitor centre Dapdune Wharf, with seed planting, scarecrow making and pond dipping. Unfortunately despite the name of the event the temperatures were definitely more suited to winter than spring, so we didn’t have as many visitors as we would have liked. I’d still like to say thank you to all the staff and volunteers who put so much effort into this event and I know those visitors who did come along really enjoyed all the activities. Richard Stoke Lengthsman 07786 703 832 richard.cant@nationaltrust.org.uk www.facebook.com/RiverWey Guildford Borough Council claim buoyant local economy in jeopardy without delivery of the Local Plan5/5/2016 Guildford Borough Council and Surrey County Council are reviewing the on-street parking situation in various locations throughout the borough.
Because of concerns raised, they have looked at various parking issues. The feedback has been discussed by officers, together with borough councillors, county councillors, the Police and parish councils, where applicable. They reported the draft proposals they made to the 8 December meeting of Surrey County Council's Guildford Local Committee The Local Committee agreed to formally advertise the proposals developed. They are keen to hear whether you support the proposals, oppose them, or believe that they could improve them by making changes. How to give your viewsAny representations, either objecting to, or in support of the proposals, together with the grounds on which they are made, must be sent in writing by letter to: Kevin McKee (Parking Services Manager) Guildford Borough Council Parking Office Laundry Road Guildford GU1 4PX or by email to: parkingrepresentation@guildford.gov.uk You can find out more at http://www.guildford.gov.uk/parkingformaladvertisement _  I was lucky enough to be off work enjoying my new born daughter for the first half of February, and it was great to be able to support my wife and help look after our very active toddler as well as the new arrival. However the role of a Lengthsman isn’t just 9-5, meaning that when I am not at work somebody has to be on duty 24hrs a day to operate my weirs and respond to any incidents. Typically water levels were very unstable whilst I was off making covering my section very hard work, so thank you to everyone who helped out and gave me the opportunity to enjoy the experience.
Of course having had three weeks off work meant that when I started back there was plenty to be getting on with, including having to go out and operate the weirs at 5am on my first full day back! One of the first tasks was to clear the debris bought down by the high flow rates on the river, so with the help of my volunteers we had a day clearing logs and branches from my weirs. This can be a surprisingly difficult and time consuming task as access is limited so attaching ropes and winches to each branch involves what can only be compared to lassoing. Thankfully my volunteers “cowboy” skills seemed to be on form that day and we managed to get the debris clear without too much trouble. With spring just round the corner the rest of the month was spent continuing the winter work programme, mainly cutting back overhanging branches from the non-towpath side of the river. This was a particularly important task to get finished as it needs to be completed before the bird nesting season, so that we can try to minimise disturbance. I’ve also been carrying out the annual servicing of the Lengthsman teams machinery, such as mowers, strimmers and hedge trimmers. This should mean that they are all ready to go in time for managing the flourish of vegetation this spring, and should be able to work as hard as the Lengthsman throughout the busy summer months. The longer evenings and slightly warmer temperatures do seem to be having a positive impact on the amount of people out enjoying the towpath and river. This isn’t surprising as there are lots of fantastic signs of spring to look out for, such as the blossom of the Blackthorn bushes and the bursting green buds of the Hazel. So do come out and enjoy this fantastic time of year, it’s a great way to cheer yourself up after the winter slumber. Richard 07786 703 832 richard.cant@nationaltrust.org.uk www.facebook.com/RiverWey in case you are not aware the result of the referendum held on Thursday 18th February concerning Burpham’s Neighbourhood Plan was as follows:
Yes: 860 No: 67 Faulty: 6 The total vote was 933, this represents a 21.51% turnout. Now the plan has to pass the Main Council Meeting on the 4 April. Jim Allen and his team are to be congratulated on their hard work and perseverance in achieving this historic result. Mr Andrew Harkin
Guildford Borough Council Millmead House Millmead Guildford Surrey GU2 4BB Dear Mr Harkin, BCA Response to the Parking Review Consultation I write on behalf of the Burpham Community Association. A good deal of thought has gone into the proposals for parking in Burpham and we appreciate the efforts made to provide residents with safe parking options. However, it is not easy to please everyone and some concerns have been raised that we would like to submit. Burpham Lane This is probably the most contentious area. There are four interconnected problems – parking, volume of traffic, vehicle speed and the narrowness of the road. The parking restrictions near Aldi are essential, highlighted by the chaos on the day the store opened, as are measures to reduce the likelihood of accidents caused by parking too close to the sharp bend, but some of the proposed initiatives may have unforeseen outcomes.
A great deal of concern has been expressed about the possibility that the double yellow lines along the greater part of Burpham Lane , although essential to prevent careless or dangerous parking, may have the unfortunate effect of encouraging drivers to speed. Despite the 30mph restriction, which perhaps should be reduced to 20mph, many drivers regularly exceed that and seem to consider it a matter of pride to get through the existing pinch points before any oncoming vehicle. We feel strongly that the issue of parking in Burpham Lane cannot be considered in isolation – traffic numbers and speed, as well as the nature of the road itself must be taken into consideration. The HGV limit also needs adjusting to prevent HGVs travelling the length of the road, not just accessing Aldi. Marlyns Drive The proposal to put double yellow lines at the junction with Burpham Lane is welcome but there are concerns that they do not go far enough. It has to be remembered that Marlyns Drive and Doverfield Road are part of the much used rat run linking the A3100 London Road and Clay Lane and this, combined with parked cars, makes life very difficult for residents. Kingpost Parade The proposal to restrict waiting times is welcome and long overdue. We understand that discussions are taking place between GBC and the owner of the private car park on the northern side of the Parade and we hope that the whole area will be included. The following issues are of concern:
New Inn Lane and Burnet Avenue We note the proposal to put double yellow lines down part of New Inn Lane and at the junction of Burnet Avenue. There is a footpath from the pedestrian crossing in New Inn Lane that cuts across the grass to Burnet Avenue, then continues on the other side to the Church of the Holy Spirit. This is much used by children, their parents and the elderly and crossing the road between parked cars is very dangerous. We would ask that consideration be given to extending the double yellow lines to the line of the first houses in Burnet Avenue. These areas in Burpham did not come under the remit of the Parking Survey but we do have issues we would like to raise. London Road It carries all the traffic from the A3 slip as well as local traffic and is regularly congested at peak times, occasionally gridlocked. Any vehicle parked along the road would only add to the chaos. There are housing developments under construction between Winterhill Way and the garage with access roads onto London Road. Parking space is limited and it is possible there may be an overspill onto the main road. We would ask that double yellow lines be considered on both sides of the London Road. Woodruff Avenue, Coltsfoot Drive, Charlock Way There is a longstanding problem associated with George Abbot School, not just at the beginning and end of the school day but daytime parking along both sides of Woodruff Avenue and along at least part of the other two roads. Many of these cars belong to older pupils. The onus is on the school to provide additional parking space within its boundaries but we ask that consideration be given to banning parking during school hours along one side of Woodruff Avenue. There is one other issue that needs to be dealt with – Aldi. Their store opened on the 5th November and the resultant chaos was reported in the press. We have anecdotal evidence of existing parking regulations being ignored, such as parking on the double yellow lines near the store. We would ask that enforcement be considered a priority, and further, that a review is carried out in six months time to assess the impact that Aldi has had on local parking. This report has been compiled from residents’ comments made in response to a letter from the BCA requesting their views. Yours sincerely Liz Critchfield Secretary, Burpham Community Association. |
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