Canalising the Severn

[Ken L]

I picked up up a canal boating magazine as I walked through the library the other day. It caught my eye because the cover proclaimed that it contained an article about installing weirs on the severn with a view to making it navagable as far upstreem as Shrewsbury. Shure enough, there was the article which was suggesting that enviromental impact studies has been done that said that weirs could be installed with no negative and many possitive environental impacts and that the river would subsequently be better for everyone including angers.

 

MY ARSE !

 

THERE ARN'T MANY THINGS THAT I'D HAPPILY DO TIME FOR BUT BLOWING UP EVERY JCB INVOLVED IN A PROJECT LIKE THIS IS ONE OF THEM.....

[Peter Waller]

But you can fish canals all the year round!!

[Nugg]

Don't know much about developments on that score.

What I do know is that the Salwarpe at Claines [if you know it]is most certainly going that way when the open up the ring connection to the Worcester/Birmingham canal at Hanbury via the Droitwich canal.

Shame, a very nice stretch of water will be spoiled by narrow boats that seem to be everywhere these days.

[Bruno Broughton]

I shouldn't be surprised that this one is still doing the rounds.

 

The idea of 'opening up' the Severn to boating is not new, and a vigourous campaign by anglers and other environmentalists - in which PAC stalwart John Tate played a leading role - saw off a similar scheme back in the 1980s.

 

Such a scheme now would cause a furore and would - ultimately - lead to a Public Inquiry, of that I have no doubt. I cannot think of ANY angling or conservation/wildlife organisation that would be anything other than in outright opposition.

 

Ken - save your dynamite for now; this boating scheme will sink from its inherent flaws, notwithstanding the legal process.

[Peter Waller]

There is now far more money in the boating fraternity than there was back in the '80's Bruno. There are, as you know, schemes to open up more rivers to canoes. Boats won't be far behind them! If there ever was a navigation to Shrewsbury in years gone by, even though it is long defunct, then I would be concerned.

 

[ 12. June 2004, 12:05 AM: Message edited by: Peter Waller ]

[Ken L]

Mention was made in the article (it was a library rather than WH Smiths so I sat down and read most of it) of the pelting with eggs and other nasties that took place when the boaters had their "Bewdley or bust" run up the river in the eighties, but the author genuinly seemed to think that all of this opposition would be overcome by the additional local trade resulting from a few boats.

More worryingly, he was talking about some of the old industrial canals that have recently been re-opened in the upper Severn area and the possibility of linking these up with the main Midlands canal network using the Severn as an artery.

 

If this act of vandalism ever gets the go-ahead, it'll be an environental disaster !

Not least for the poor scorched trees that have JCB's parked under them.

[davidP]

I remember this from the first time round and I always believed it would come back - that's what happens when people are passionate about things. I can't see how it would work on the current Severn however. In the intervening years the flooding appears to have got worse (due to faster rain run-off IMHO), and I can't see how installing a bunch of weirs would do anything more than potentially make it worse. If local councils and residents see any possibility of more flooding it will be more than enough to stop any plans dead in their tracks.

[Chesh]

in reply to Nugg !! matey the salwarp at Claines is an awesome stretch, back in my junior days we had a junior match on there 45lb of chub i had on the pole excellent !

 

BTW with already one or two locks in place on the severn, adding more would be sheer ludicrous, the land it would ruin to make this possible would be shocking wildlife habitats destroyed and for what ?? just so a bunch of olduns can get there boat further up stream !! (no offence intended) i am dissapointed that this has come to fruition again after a few years in the wilderness

[dogfish]

I'm with Bruno on this one

I remember this being openly discussed many years ago. At that time it only seemed to be the Salmon anglers who were bothered!!!

 

Can't see it happening. Imagine what would happen in a good Severn flood!!!

 

DF