Do we need to bring back the NRA

[Exfarmer]

Today for a change, I thought I would try out my canoe in the river at the bottom of my garden. Setting off upstream I hoped to get to Pakenham Watermill a good mile away. After the first bend there was a large tree across the river but I could just squeeze past but 50 yards on was a far larger tree spanning the entire waterway entirely blocking flow and passage. So I turned round and headed North 200 yards past my dock the situation was far worse 5 or 6 trees were laying across the waterway.
This river was navigable to the Romans and the village was an important port until the last century!

 

[Gill Horse]

Its

Today for a change, I thought I would try out my canoe in the river at the bottom of my garden. Setting off upstream I hoped to get to Pakenham Watermill a good mile away. After the first bend there was a large tree across the river but I could just squeeze past but 50 yards on was a far larger tree spanning the entire waterway entirely blocking flow and passage. So I turned round and headed North 200 yards past my dock the situation was far worse 5 or 6 trees were laying across the waterway.
This river was navigable to the Romans and the village was an important port until the last century!

It's simply ridiculous. Waterways need maintaining for the good of everyone.
If left unchecked they eventually block up!
Regular maintenance won't stop every incidence of flooding but it sure as hell will help. Our area is pumped but the waterways are so badly silted up that the water can't get to them. It's madness. The local farmers have offered to dredge the main waterways but the EA have refused to let them. Worse they have threatened them with fines if they disturb the waterway environment! Ffs This needs sorting and soon.

 

[glasshouse]

Its

It's simply ridiculous. Waterways need maintaining for the good of everyone.
If left unchecked they eventually block up!
Regular maintenance won't stop every incidence of flooding but it sure as hell will help. Our area is pumped but the waterways are so badly silted up that the water can't get to them. It's madness. The local farmers have offered to dredge the main waterways but the EA have refused to let them. Worse they have threatened them with fines if they disturb the waterway environment! Ffs This needs sorting and soon.

Just do it at night

 

[Gill Horse]

Just do it at night

That is done where practical, but some of these waterways are over 40ft wide and need specialist long reach machines. Not really possible to use in the dark.
The EA sold their dragline years ago so they can't do the job anymore!

 

[beardface]

I recon it would cost at least 50 million to put the waterways right again.

 

[76masseyman]

I recon it would cost at least 50 million to put the waterways right again.

Cheaper than HS2.

Our local shop keeper was moaning about all the water, and how it was about time these bloody farmers cleaned the dykes out.
Sadly, he got a short, sharp lesson about the EA.

 

[Exfarmer]

I recon it would cost at least 50 million to put the waterways right again.

I suispect that would not cover the cost of the Newt, water vole, Bat, Beaver , you name it surveys, yet alone buy a dragline!

 

[quattro]

I suispect that would not cover the cost of the Newt, water vole, Bat, Beaver , you name it surveys, yet alone buy a dragline!

There doing surveys now to do with new power lines/ substations and wind farms badgers/bats/beavers and many other creatures including birds effing seagulls
crazy thing seems to be 2 different company’s may use the same company for survey they already had done but they still do another survey
there actually feeding badgers to see if they go mix with other badgers for future re homing

 

[Steevo]

Its

It's simply ridiculous. Waterways need maintaining for the good of everyone.
If left unchecked they eventually block up!
Regular maintenance won't stop every incidence of flooding but it sure as hell will help. Our area is pumped but the waterways are so badly silted up that the water can't get to them. It's madness. The local farmers have offered to dredge the main waterways but the EA have refused to let them. Worse they have threatened them with fines if they disturb the waterway environment! Ffs This needs sorting and soon.

In theory the insurance companies would have a reason to club together and campaign for this.

Several well known insurance companies paid out more in claims last year than they collected in premiums....so even increasing the premiums doesn't protect them from the effects of it.

 

[Old apprentice]

It is so disappointing to see where these things are going. A good few years ago they cleaned our small neck out and the lads coping it said this will be the last time it is done. Unfortunately I did not realise that the woke had taken over. So stupid in many ways.

 

[thesilentone]

We are struggling to accept change.

Areas that never flooded do now, in many areas the infrastructure is hundreds of years old, when regular flooding was not a problem.

Anything 'water' seems to have lacked proper planning and investment for decades, we can't even maintain the old existing drainage infrastructure for goodness sake.

Drain/gutters/ditches/culverts controlled the water table, how many are blocked in your area, and who is responsible ?

 

[onthehoof]

A lot of the problems started with the coming of the EA and them giving themselves ‘permissive powers’ which basically means even if they are responsible for a watercourse they don’t have to do anything.

 

[Billboy1]

They could pay farmers so much meter for clearing ditches rivers under sfi bit like the hedge thing that would be nice !

 

[thesilentone]

They could pay farmers so much meter for clearing ditches rivers under sfi bit like the hedge thing that would be nice !

Very nice, as it is, generally speaking the farmers own the ditches, and should clear them anyway. But, the Councils also use them, historically they cleared road run-offs and roadside drains that drained into the farmers ditch, which we can only assume is why the Councils no longer carry out this work for fear of any liabilities.

 

[bluebell]

Bring back the NRA? Please bring back the 1960s 1970s 1980s all i can see, and i talk from experience from my patch down here in south essex, of everything getting worse? Traffic, its doubled through our village in the last ten years alone? Pot holes getting worse round here and the winter will make them worse, rubbish everywhere? drainage, gully pots, ditches where do you start? The local/council/national mindset has got to change in my opinion? Instead of all the time everyone on the TV etc "moaning "about lack of "funding" wanting more "funding" then some "spokesman/woman" from Govt" promising more MONEY? What even more govt debt, to pay more interest on, with, they have got to get people to do, help themselves for "free", do it for your community or country?

 

[thesilentone]

There is no doubt there needs to be a coming together between Councils and landowners if the existing infrastructure is to be remobilised.