2. Apologies
Roger Squires
Beverley Dean
Cllr Alice Perry
Rebecca Aspin
Ian Heptonstall
Jenni Chan
Bhupesh Thapa
Greg Foxsmith
Cllr Philip Glanville
Jamie Wildman
Christine Kemp
Suzanne Fogg
Lee Wilshere
Cllr Carole Williams
Cllr Richard Cotton
Gemma Colgan
Veronica
Pauline Lord
Bob Philpotts
Charlie Kiss
Russel Hayden
Zimba Moore
3. Introductions
3.1 At the start of the meeting, all the attendees introduced themselves.
4. Announcements
4.1 Holborn Studios news (local listing)
Hackney Council has added the Holborn Studios buildings to its local heritage list. Further details are available on our
website and in the
Hackney Gazette.
4.2 Bow Wharf.
No news about the
Bow Wharf planning application, which had been refused by Tower Hamlets Council and then referred to the Planning Inspectorate.
4.3 Vincent Terrace closure.
A popular beauty spot has been closed to the public while the CRT and Islington Council negotiate terms of the lease at
Vincent Terrace. Councillor Martin Klute stated that this should be resolved by the end of the summer.
4.4 Facebook group
We have created a Facebook group that will allow canal supporters to communicate freely with each other.
(See
https://www.facebook.com/groups/friendsofregentscanal)
4.5 Snakes in the canal
The Regent's Canal attracted local and national press attention following a disclosure that snakes had been found along its banks. For example, the
Camden New Journal and the
Hackney Gazette.
4.6 Utilisation of Regent's Canal Information Centre
The chair was concerned that very few people were making use of the canal community table in the
Lock Keeper's Cottage.
4.7 Objectives of the Friends of Regent's Canal
Some provisional objectives were printed on the reverse of the agenda that was distributed at the start of the meeting. These were not discussed at the meeting but attendees were invited to study and comment on them afterwards. A copy is available on our
website.
5. Volunteering Opportunities
5.1 Friends event - graffiti removal at City Road Basin (7th June).
The Friends had been invited to organise a
graffiti clean-up session below Hanover School, near City Road Lock. This was to be the first volunteering event run in our name.
5.2 Creating and manning our stall at the Angel Canal Festival
For the fourth year running we will have a stall at the
festival (on 7th September).
5.3 General volunteering at Angel Canal Festival
Anybody wishing to help with the running of the
festival (7th September) should contact Beryl Windsor (
beryl@angelcanalfestival.org).
5.4 Lower Regent's Coalition
Volunteers are invited to participate in litter clearance events that use canoes. These are based at Limehouse and details can be found on the Facebook page
https://www.facebook.com/lowerregentscoalition
5.5 Administration and reviewing of our activities
There is an ongoing need for help in running our group and communicating with interested parties.
Examples can be found on our
website.
6. Clean Air at Regent's Canal - Talk by Sukky Choongh-Campbell (Islington Council)
Sukky explained the council's policies and powers for handling complaints about noise and pollution attributed to canal boats. The number of complaints had dropped considerably since the introduction of a caretaker warden at Noel Road but there were still regular complaints from residents in the Caledonian ward near Kings Cross.
A copy of her notes is available on our
website.
Post-meeting note: On 12th June Sukky circulated a draft document named the
Best Practice Guide.
7. Effects of wood smoke - Talk by Dr Gary Fuller (King's College, London)
Dr Gary Fuller gave a presentation that revealed the effects of wood smoke and he explained that wood smoke is not currently perceived as a major problem in the UK because it accounts for only a small percentage of emissions nationwide. However, its effect can vary considerably depending on the state of the wood (e.g any coating on it) and it can be more harmful than diesel if the wrong materials are used. Gary's comments were not targeted at boaters because wood smoke from houses is no less harmful than wood smoke from boats.
A number of boaters noted afterwards that these issues are no longer relevant to them in Islington, since there is a ban on burning wood (apart from kindling) but they found the talk very informative.
There was a very brief discussion on diesel emissions. Sukky Choongh-Campbell stated that the council wanted to drastically reduce diesel emissions through the provision of electricity points. She recognised that diesel was still required for the propulsion of boats for the foreseeable future so the focus was on moored boats that used engines for generating domestic power.
A copy of Gary's presentation slides are available on our
website.
8. Other discussions
The following items appeared on the printed agenda but there was insufficient time to discuss them at the meeting.
8.1 CRT proposals for visitor moorings in London
8.2 Canalival 2014 (what would it take to make this type of event acceptable?)
8.3 Friends social events (preferred times and venues; discussion themes)
8.4 Signage for pedestrians crossing Maida Hill tunnel.