Date and Time: |
Wednesday 1st November 2023, 6:30pm to 8pm |
Location: |
Holborn Studios, 49/50 Eagle Wharf Road, London N1 7ED |
Chair: |
Ian Shacklock |
Beverley Dean | Angel Association |
Kevin Dean | Angel Association |
Paul Ballard | Canal supporter |
Sasha Keir | Vice-president, SPCC. Angel Canal Festival |
Steve Ballard | Boat owner |
David Fathers | Author/illustrator |
Dohne Arnold | Angel Association |
Bob Philpotts | Resident of Bow |
Bob Welfare | Volunteer lock keeper (CRT) |
Eric Sorensen | Islington Boat Club, Angel Association |
Dave Bedford | Lower Regents Coalition |
Ian Shacklock | Friends of Regent's Canal |
Charles Collett | IWA member |
Carolyn Clark | Regent's Canal Heritage |
Sorwar Ahmed |
|
Alice Williams | Local resident |
Richard Garner | Walker |
Ian Hugo | Canal and River Trust (CRT) |
Gareth Roberts | Canal and River Trust (CRT) |
Donna O'Sullivan | Local resident |
Marcus Ellenby | Boat skipper, Tarporley |
Marnie Collins
Emma Smith
Charles Manson
Tony Price
Marisha Ray
Jenifer Chan
Sarah-Jane Elvin
Sally Hone
Dominic Courtauld
Malcolm Tucker
Kal Webb
Hazel Saunders
Zannthie Bennett
The meeting was structured around a slide show, which is available via this link:
friendsofregentscanal.org/events/2023/2023-11-01/slideshow/slideshow-2023-11-01.html
At the start of the meeting, all the attendees introduced themselves.
Gordon Meen, a well known CRT volunteer and one of most regular attendees at our meetings, has passed away in the last two years.
Jonathan Privett, the founder of the Bookbarge (Word on the Water) passed away in September 2023.
This topic was covered later in the meeting.
This topic was covered later in the meeting.
Last November we received advice that the CRT was proposing to sell off a strip of land adjoining the lock above Limehouse Basin. We liaised with other groups and raised objections on the grounds that this could interfere with any future revival of the second chamber of the lock. The CRT reacted swiftly by deciding to rent out the land rather than let go of it completely.
For further information see our website
.It has been widely reported that the Canal and River Trust is facing a funding crisis in the near future, which could result in the closure of certain waterways. The Inland Waterways Association (IWA) is spearheading a national campaign to address this.
The towpath bridge across the entrance of Dead Dog Basin has undergone major repairs and repainting. See the following links for further information:-
CNJ (Oct 2022)
CRT News (Jan 2023)
CRT News (May 2023)
The towpath cafe below Johnson's Lock has been reopened and its new opening hours are 9:30am to 5pm Wednesday to Sunday. The museum has recently undergone major refurbishment with help from the National Lottery Heritage Fund. This is a convenient meeting place for canal users in the Mile End area. See their website
We have received complaints that litter bins have been removed from the towpath. It was unclear whether this was a result of funding cuts or whether it was merely a new approach to handling litter problems.
The illustrated book by David Fathers was first published in 2012. The second edition was published in 2018 and it has just been reprinted by Bloomsbury/Conway
A list of canal-related books is available on the Information page of our website
This topic was covered later in the meeting.
For the past eleven years we have worked with Holborn studios to thwart a series of hostile planning applications by their landlords' who want to demolish the buildings. (See the meeting slides for a timeline).
A Planning Inquiry began in January 2023 but it was postponed at the last minute after the planning inspector suffered an injury. The Inquiry resumed in September but it was adjourned after the council's representative suffered an injury. A third attempt is scheduled for December 2023.
See the meeting slides for illustrations of these proposals.
7.1 In March 2023 Queen Mary University gained approval from the councillors to demolish its halls of residence at Mile End Lock and to replace them with a bulky building towering over the lock. A listed building has been saved but its appearance will be ruined by an extra storey on its roof.
7.2 In April 2023 the Islington councillors approved plans for the Barnsbury Estate regeneration. This was good news for the tenants living in unsuitable accommodation but bad news for the canal because three unsuitable tower blocks will dominate the west portal of the Islington Tunnel. This plan has been put on hold due to new building regulations affecting staircases.
7.3 In June 2023 the owners of Camden Lock Market gained approval to build a "temporary" Ferris wheel alongside the Interchange Warehouse. The two local councillors objected strongly to this proposal but it received the green light from the planning committee. This will result in loss of waterspace and the Waterbuses will be displaced into Dead Dog Basin.
7.4 In July 2023 Black Sheep Coffee gained permission to refurbish the Lock Keeper's Cottage in Camden Town. The Friends of Regent's Canal have worked closely with the CRT to influence the content of these plans, which relate to the canal information centre.
7.5 There have been no signs of any construction works at the Access Storage facility at Sturt's Lock.
7.6 The developers at Regent's Wharf have been submitting hostile planning applications to allow them to circumvent light pollution rules. (Note: this was not discussed at the meeting, but details are available on request)
7.7 Construction is underway at the Ted Baker site in Camden. The 'Ugly Brown Building' has been demolished to make way for a set of tall, bulky buildings that will turn this stretch of the canal into a canyon.
7.8 Construction is underway at the Bethnal Green gasholder site.
7.9 There have been no signs of any construction works at Canalside Studios opposite Kingsland Basin
7.10 The hostile planning application to destroy Belmont Wharf's community garden and community centre has disappeared from the Tower Hamlets website. However, it appears that the new council is as determined as the previous administration to rob the community of these assets.
Sasha Keir provided an update on the way that the canal festival was saved this year. In March 2023 the event had been cancelled by the CRT, but within a matter of weeks Sasha and others managed to attract sufficient support from officials, financial backers and volunteers to make the event viable again.
The event was a great success and Sasha is looking into ways of administering and sustaining it in future years.
The Regent's Canal Information Centre has been closed for over a year following the departure of Starbucks. In November 2022 we were approached by a planning consultant representing Black Sheep Coffee Ltd, seeking our views on their refurbishment plans. It was made very clear that we would be involved in contributing to the wall displays and in any sign-offs. This resulted in a planning condition that no works could commence until the canal information displays had been signed off by interested parties.
See the meeting slides for illustrations of the wall spaces we were claiming (shown in yellow) and for some examples of the way our full-size map has evolved.
We provided a map with a bright white background, the canal shown in blue and the roads in a faint yellow. However, the designers were instructed to turn all the backgrounds into their corporate grey colour and the canal became buried beneath the road network.
We then experimented with different colour schemes until the canal became prominent again. But when the final drawings were submitted to the council the map had become obscured behind a bookcase and a row of self-service screens.
The council officer suggested an alternative location for our map and the plans were agreed by us in June. Refurbishment is expected to start next week.
Several people volunteered to help with the designs but it was impossible to coordinate this because the coffee company wanted to employ its own designers and there was never a project plan. Ian Hugo (CRT) told the meeting that this project proved to be much more difficult than Black Sheep had ever envisaged.
The chair provided a summary of our activities to put to rest any rumours that the Friends of Regent's Canal had lost momentum in recent years.
10.1 Public meetings
Our meetings are less frequent than in previous years but they still attract good attendance.
10.2 Coordinating with other groups
Throughout the year we liaise with other groups whenever the need arises. For example, the boat clubs, Regent's Canal Heritage, the IWA.
10.3 Canal festivals
We have assisted with the promotion and running of festivals and often we have our own stall at the festivals. (For example, Angel Canal Festival, East End Canal Festival)
10.4 Information sharing
We often share information with campaigners, researchers and the press. Typically this just involves pointing them to areas of our website.
10.5 Reviewing planning applications
Whenever we receive an alert we download planning documents from council websites and create our own web pages with illustrations and guidance notes to assist fellow objectors and supporters.
10.6 Social media : Facebook and Twitter
Our Facebook group is a convenient means of two-way communication; unlike our website, which provides information but does not accept comments or contributions from others.
10.7 Bulletins
We circulate bulletins to all our subscribers whenever the need arises. This is done on an ad-hoc basis, typically one or two a month.
10.8 Incoming e-mail enquiries
We receive a diverse range of requests and enquiries via e-mail. For example, from prospective volunteers, students, property developers.
10.9 Maintenance of mailing list
There are currently around 600 subscribers. Meeting attendees are added automatically, while others write in asking to be added. Councillors are added or removed after each local election.
10.10 Website development and maintenance
Our website has evolved over a 13-year period, reacting to suggestions from users, changes in technology and the need to support smartphones as well as desktops.
See the meeting slides for examples of our main menus, our photo galleries, a political map (with councillor details for each ward), a waterways map (for educational purposes), links to news articles, planning application details and our archive page (with links to all known events).
The chair provided a summary of ongoing projects that occur behind the scenes.
11.1 Canal information centre
We are awaiting further announcements about the refurbishment of the Lock Keeper's Cottage in Camden Town. We are expecting to participate in final tweaks when the wall displays are installed and we will be involved in any opening ceremonies and in promoting it to canal users and tourists.
11.2 Interactive waterway maps
As a spin-off from the canal information centre project, we have developed a suite of interactive maps covering London and the rest of the UK. This work will continue in 2024
11.3 Canal news archive
Our website includes over 300 news articles accumulated over a 13 year period. However, over half of these links are now broken due to website failures and clean-ups. Evidently the internet is not a reliable source of historic information, so we will be scanning old paper versions of newspaper articles to replace the missing ones.
11.4 Del Brenner archive
Following the death of Del Brenner in 2021 we have inherited his huge collection of waterway campaigning material. The intention is to hand this over to a museum or archive organisation, but first we must catalogue and review it. This is a slow and ongoing process.
11.5 Catalogue of planning applications
In January 2023 we assembled a comprehensive catalogue of all the planning applications along the canal based on all available indexes on the websites for the five councils. This project was put on hold when the canal information centre project took priority.
See the meeting slides, which illustrate dangerous practices in 2013, 2022 and 2023.
During the summer months, some of our locks are abused by visitors who climb over them and use them for sunbathing, picnics and even BBQs. They are putting their own lives at risk as well as the lives of boat skippers and their passengers. Also, certain cyclists have been blocking the lock ladders by locking their bikes to them.
Ian Hugo stated that the CRT has limited powers for controlling antisocial behaviour like this and that the police and the local council are in a stronger position to take action.
In the meantime, it is important that we raise public awareness that the locks are hazardous places that they are off limits to anyone other than trained canal users.
Eric Sorensen provided an update on the recovery of the Islington Boat Club.
The boat club was closed abruptly in May 2022 after the club premises were deemed unsafe. Since then, Eric and other experienced stakeholders have worked with the council to explore ways of raising money and safety standards. They managed to recruit enough new trustees to persuade the council that they had the necessary skills and governance experience to run the building safely again; and then S106 monies were released in order to make the necessary repairs.
The club is now open again, but activities will remain quiet until the summer months. Eric has offered to provide tours of the new premises to anyone who is interested.
A nearby resident (in Islington) complained that noise levels had increased since the pandemic and this was attributed to the additional seating on the pontoons outside Holborn Studios. The Hackney councillors appear to be uninterested because although the source of the noise appears to be in Hackney, the impact is felt only by residents on the Islington side of the canal.