River Lugg, Herefordshire

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The big mystery around this whole situation is:- Considering that the area doesn't have a history of bad flooding and the EA, Parish Council and Mr. Price were all in agreement that it was only the bridge arch that needed unblocking... WHY did he carry out works on 1.5km of river that weren't needed???
Mr. Prices claims that it was for flood prevention are rubbish as there wasn't really any flooding to prevent.
One can only assume that:-
  1. He simply didn't like the river as it was or...
  2. He had an axe to grind with NE and/or the EA or...
  3. He had a sudden rush of blood to the head or...
  4. He had something else to gain from straightening and widening a length of perfectly happy river (planning application anyone?)
I'm sure some apologist will be along to say 'He knew best what to do with the river' (because farmers ALWAYS know best and other farmers will argue black is white to back them).
But there is no logical reason why anyone would do what Mr. Price has done, risking his finances and liberty in the process, without a logical reason. Flood prevention is not a logical reason!
 

lloyd

Member
Location
Herefordshire
The big mystery around this whole situation is:- Considering that the area doesn't have a history of bad flooding and the EA, Parish Council and Mr. Price were all in agreement that it was only the bridge arch that needed unblocking... WHY did he carry out works on 1.5km of river that weren't needed???
Mr. Prices claims that it was for flood prevention are rubbish as there wasn't really any flooding to prevent.
One can only assume that:-
  1. He simply didn't like the river as it was or...
  2. He had an axe to grind with NE and/or the EA or...
  3. He had a sudden rush of blood to the head or...
  4. He had something else to gain from straightening and widening a length of perfectly happy river (planning application anyone?)
I'm sure some apologist will be along to say 'He knew best what to do with the river' (because farmers ALWAYS know best and other farmers will argue black is white to back them).
But there is no logical reason why anyone would do what Mr. Price has done, risking his finances and liberty in the process, without a logical reason. Flood prevention is not a logical reason!
Have you seen the video on 'kingsland life' dated 16th Feb 2020?
I would say that looks pretty wet to me. :ROFLMAO:
You're obviously not local due to your geographical assumptions or personal dislikes which are not
backed up by facts.
 
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Radio

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Radnorshire
There is a really good book written by a chap called Alan Bloom (yes he founded Blooms Nurseries and Bressingham Gardens). The book is called “The Farm in the Fen” and was published in 1944.
He took over Priory Farm, Burwell just before the war and The WARAG wanted him to reclaim the farm and part of Wicken Fen to produce vital food for the war.
It is a fascinating book and he certainly learned a lot about drainage and what obstructs it.
Well worth a read if you can get hold of it. The last chapter is as true today as it was then.

So impressed by what he had achieved, the WARAG invited King George and Queen Elizabeth to visit the farm to see what had been achieved. They came to it by a barge.

If there is one phrase from the book that the EA needs to learn, it is that “You cannot push water up hill”!
If you try to do so, it will build up behind a blockage flooding everywhere until it can get over and above that blockage.
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Looks like a fascinating book. Obviously he would be locked up today for such a crime as producing food off the land. Probably in a few years time , with food shortages would be a hero again.
 

robs1

Member
The big mystery around this whole situation is:- Considering that the area doesn't have a history of bad flooding and the EA, Parish Council and Mr. Price were all in agreement that it was only the bridge arch that needed unblocking... WHY did he carry out works on 1.5km of river that weren't needed???
Mr. Prices claims that it was for flood prevention are rubbish as there wasn't really any flooding to prevent.
One can only assume that:-
  1. He simply didn't like the river as it was or...
  2. He had an axe to grind with NE and/or the EA or...
  3. He had a sudden rush of blood to the head or...
  4. He had something else to gain from straightening and widening a length of perfectly happy river (planning application anyone?)
I'm sure some apologist will be along to say 'He knew best what to do with the river' (because farmers ALWAYS know best and other farmers will argue black is white to back them).
But there is no logical reason why anyone would do what Mr. Price has done, risking his finances and liberty in the process, without a logical reason. Flood prevention is not a logical reason!
If you have lived on a farm all your life then yes you do know it better than anyone.
Personal experience here was new road being built and they dug a pond to supply clay for the embankment over the river, they put a pipe in the river to supply the pond despite me telling them it would flood the old road( their own levels marked on the plans showed this to be true) I said the little stream/ ditch would supply enough, they also said the river over topped its banks and that was what caused previous flooding, I told them never in mybthen 45 years had the river flooded but the stream was the cause, they laughed at me, before the road was even finished we had some very heavy rain, the old road and village were flooded to a depth never recorded before, the water from the stream and the pipe in the pond filled the fields to a depth of nine feet, the river which is higher than the fields on one side was still a foot below the bank, I went to see the engineer on site but he had gone home, the road builders foreman said that he left early to quote his words " I'm off before that bloody farmer comes down to say he was right' which of course I was
Those with experience know best but the clever bods are too up their own arses to listen, just as it was proved on the somerset levels
 

Pilatus

Member
Location
cotswolds
Neither...
In that case you must be an idealist.
Also I can never understand why some members and that includes you ,that join this forum are not man enough to say which county they are from( even if a lie)and hide their profile , for goodness sake what are you trying to hide or nervous of.
At least Mr Price has showed he is a strong character, a trait which is sadly becoming lacking in our society, which is becoming so politically correct, self righteous and woke I dread to think how youngsters will become characters in their own right, in this modern day society where we are all meant to be nice. :banghead:
I make no apologies for going off topic.
 
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The big mystery around this whole situation is:- Considering that the area doesn't have a history of bad flooding and the EA, Parish Council and Mr. Price were all in agreement that it was only the bridge arch that needed unblocking... WHY did he carry out works on 1.5km of river that weren't needed???
Mr. Prices claims that it was for flood prevention are rubbish as there wasn't really any flooding to prevent.
One can only assume that:-
  1. He simply didn't like the river as it was or...
  2. He had an axe to grind with NE and/or the EA or...
  3. He had a sudden rush of blood to the head or...
  4. He had something else to gain from straightening and widening a length of perfectly happy river (planning application anyone?)
I'm sure some apologist will be along to say 'He knew best what to do with the river' (because farmers ALWAYS know best and other farmers will argue black is white to back them).
But there is no logical reason why anyone would do what Mr. Price has done, risking his finances and liberty in the process, without a logical reason. Flood prevention is not a logical reason!
You seem to have a lot of knowledge of what was said and done before Mr. Price started his work, were you there?
 

Henarar

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Somerset
The big mystery around this whole situation is:- Considering that the area doesn't have a history of bad flooding and the EA, Parish Council and Mr. Price were all in agreement that it was only the bridge arch that needed unblocking... WHY did he carry out works on 1.5km of river that weren't needed???
Mr. Prices claims that it was for flood prevention are rubbish as there wasn't really any flooding to prevent.
One can only assume that:-
  1. He simply didn't like the river as it was or...
  2. He had an axe to grind with NE and/or the EA or...
  3. He had a sudden rush of blood to the head or...
  4. He had something else to gain from straightening and widening a length of perfectly happy river (planning application anyone?)
I'm sure some apologist will be along to say 'He knew best what to do with the river' (because farmers ALWAYS know best and other farmers will argue black is white to back them).
But there is no logical reason why anyone would do what Mr. Price has done, risking his finances and liberty in the process, without a logical reason. Flood prevention is not a logical reason!
Because 1.5 km is immediately upstream
 
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Exfarmer

Member
Location
Bury St Edmunds
Farmers and landowners are not the only ones affected but private individuals who do not pay water rates. A drain which flows under my land but does not gather water from my plot, drains a large corner of the village. the drain then runs about 150 yards under another field and then out into the river. For much of winter 20/21 the top of the drain outfall was up to two feet under water and five meters downstream was a fallen tree. That tree is still present and so is the silt build up. Years ago when the river received annual light maintenance the winter rain flushed away any minor obstructions but now it is a job for a sizeable machine employed at great expense and, in the short term at least, highly destructive.
Our drainage board hides behind the fact that the greens don`t like dredging but the reality is that they won`t spend money and their employees don`t do physical work.. In the past our local small river was maintained by two men making an annual pass with muck rakes and forks. They could cover anything up to two miles in a day. There were no 360 diggers and I never saw a dragline working there.
All ratepayers pay drainage charges in the precept , they are collected by the council and passed on.
 

bluebell

Member
we have a piece of the river crouch border some of our fields, down here in essex, ive known this river, used to fish, play in the river from a young child some 50 odd years ago? i can say that this river and the part that runs on my fields boundaries, has deteriorated over those many years in both maintence and water quality? on water quality i notice the NRA or some other Govt body? dip the water at the small bridge to check on water quality? just have a smell close to the edge of my field to smell it ? a sewage overflow is on the other bank? Up to the 1970s, barges from germany, holland etc could come up this river to load unload at battlesbridge, their was a mill there then? since then the whole river has become silted, chocked up with rubbish?
 

quattro

Member
Location
scotland
Is it because the ea are jealous of mr price how he can do what he did with very little staff and machinery and months of surveys
if he’d gone in there and chucked everything onto the banks you could understand the complaints and going to court
however it was tidy when finished and grown back now, I wonder if anyone has done a count of wildlife
I remember barges and coasters going up the river Ouse to selby they used to regular dredge and drags Harrow type things on the bottom of the river when the tide was going out
when low tide now you can visually see mud flats nearly right across the river at places
 

arcobob

Member
Location
Norfolk
we have a piece of the river crouch border some of our fields, down here in essex, ive known this river, used to fish, play in the river from a young child some 50 odd years ago? i can say that this river and the part that runs on my fields boundaries, has deteriorated over those many years in both maintence and water quality? on water quality i notice the NRA or some other Govt body? dip the water at the small bridge to check on water quality? just have a smell close to the edge of my field to smell it ? a sewage overflow is on the other bank? Up to the 1970s, barges from germany, holland etc could come up this river to load unload at battlesbridge, their was a mill there then? since then the whole river has become silted, chocked up with rubbish?
Our local chalk stream was a spawning ground for trout and dace, Prior to 1953 floods it was also used by sea trout but after the floods an automatic barrier closed the outfall at every tide even though the tidal rise was only apparent over less than a mile with normal tides. The river had abundant eels and stickle back, water voles and kingfishers. Now there is nothing. Water extraction has reduced the midsummer flow to a trickle and the rubbish deposited has rendered the winter flow to a series of tree strewn dams. The water extraction is not really caused by farmers but by very deep bores, even below the aquifers, where water quality is exeptionally good and low in nitrates. This water is piped to Essex to dilute the nitrares in their water. It is well known to be one of Anglian Water`s most valuable assets.
This is another quick fix solution to years of under investment in water storage and conservation. It could be argued that modern farming methods have not helped but there is a world food shortage whose tentacles are growing rapidly. It all boils down to too many people with too many expectations and demands . Future famines are not just for Africa.
 

renewablejohn

Member
Location
lancs
The big mystery around this whole situation is:- Considering that the area doesn't have a history of bad flooding and the EA, Parish Council and Mr. Price were all in agreement that it was only the bridge arch that needed unblocking... WHY did he carry out works on 1.5km of river that weren't needed???
Mr. Prices claims that it was for flood prevention are rubbish as there wasn't really any flooding to prevent.
One can only assume that:-
  1. He simply didn't like the river as it was or...
  2. He had an axe to grind with NE and/or the EA or...
  3. He had a sudden rush of blood to the head or...
  4. He had something else to gain from straightening and widening a length of perfectly happy river (planning application anyone?)
I'm sure some apologist will be along to say 'He knew best what to do with the river' (because farmers ALWAYS know best and other farmers will argue black is white to back them).
But there is no logical reason why anyone would do what Mr. Price has done, risking his finances and liberty in the process, without a logical reason. Flood prevention is not a logical reason!
Where do you get this myth of no history of bad flooding. Just shows how clueless you really are.Its not as though its not well documented.


This is an old flood risk assessment report going back to 2009 were the issues of flooding are all clearly identified and more importantly the EA are identified as being completely hopeles to act in relation to flooding and an admission that if anything is going to reduce the flooding it will be down to the local authority to instigate as the EA are so useless.
With such a damming report it just shows what hypocrits the EA really are.
There is also a newer report for 2019 but I wanted to show that even back in 2009 it was realised the EA were useless and the arch of the bridge was probably blocked at that time certainly by looking at the size of the trees growing on the silt it certainly was not a recent blockage.
Coming from a family who lost there home in the east coast floods of 1953 were my mother pushed 3 small kids in a pram waist deep in water. To say flood prevention is not a logical reason your not in the real world.
 

Chris123

Member
Location
Shropshire
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