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Upton Dyke


Poppy

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This is concerning to anybody who moors in or visits Upton.

Despite considerable well based objections  from many sources, the Broads Authority planners are minded to approve the removal of piling!

 

http://www.broads-authority.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0019/703117/BA20150364FUL-Comp-37-South-side-of-Upton-Boat-Dyke-Upton-with-Fishley-pc050216.pdf

 

 

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Concerning indeed Poppy. As the White Horse is one of my favourite pubs we use Upton Dyke whenever we are on the Broads. The South bank will the one opposite the moorings. I managed to have a brief look at the document but can’t open it again now for some reason. However I think I got the gist of it. I’m just wondering if they are thinking of doing something similar to the Chet. There they seem to have removed the piling and created a shelving bank. The overall effect of this has been to narrow the navigation considerably. I always have my heart in my mouth when I go down there in summer in case I meet a forty footer steaming the other way.

The dyke at Upton is narrow enough at the best of times and particularly so in season when the boats are back from the winter. It can be a bit hairy down there if you meet another boat at one of the very narrow points. If this does result in any narrowing of the channel I think it would be very concerning indeed.

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5.4

In addition some 30 additional letter have been received from residents, mainly living in the village, objecting for the following concerns:

 Remove of piling will lead to difficulty for vessels navigating the Dyke

 

 Unacceptable reduction in amount of informal mooring

 

 Impact on number of visitors using key local businesses

 

 Piling still generally in good condition with several years before significant maintenance needed

 

 Removal of piling will reduce summer trade and seriously jeopardise the viability of the community shop and pub.

 

 Pile removal will increase silting up and harm water depth of the Dyke;

 

 Removal of piling will cause more problems for boats manoeuvring in the Dyke

 

 Concern this would be a precedent for removing piling on the north side of Upton Dyke

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From what I read, it looks as though they are going to encourage reed growth on that bank, as we know, once established the reeds do encroach very quickly on the navigation, you just have to look at Waxham cut, oh, no, most of you can't it's too narrow in places caused by reed growth.

We can just squeeze through with a beam of 7' just by the old wind pump.

So will this reed bed be cut back annually, or more often, as I see it, it will require more maintenence than what they have already, or I have I missed something here?

Don't get me wrong, I prefer natural banks to piled banks, more often seen on the canals, but is this appropriate on narrow dykes like Upton?

Observation.

We often cruise the outer edges of Broads like Barton, Hickling, and Horsey, and what we have noticed is a lot of new reed growth, some times several feet into the broad, we have not taken measurements, or observed reed cutting, but could it be the Broads are actually getting smaller?

It would be interesting to know how reed is managed.

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As with so many other cases around the Broads - this is much favoured because it is cheaper to spend money on a big single project and remove the piling than spend money to remove it and replace, and repeat the same over time to maintain piling. 

Of course it has yet to be seen how good the removal of piling and profiling of the river banks actually is over the longer period for the purpose of managing bank erosion. 

What also bothers me is the current pushing for ‘all natural banks’ when for many, many years banks have been managed by piling which serves a multipurpose roll: to permit mooring, stop bank erosion and maintain the strength of the river bank for the purpose of flood defences. 

This is a real landscape changer but because has been done in so many locations almost goes without question now.

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1 hour ago, ChrisB said:

I don't really understand how this aids flood defense unless the staithe is reconstructed. Surely the water would just overtop there.

Just as it did when the scheme was first tested by a tidal surge following completion of the Chet work.

A spokesman for the Environment Agency was quoted as saying that it performed just as the 'model' predicted......

This is not about 'flood defence' - it's about conservation and creation of wildlife habitat. 

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Iain surely if they Wanted to turn back the clock they would have to fill it in? Not sure how a man made dyke and I assume built specifically for boating access needs a natural bank?

maybe they should take the same attitude to Norwich or any other place built on a river. 

Sounds like money saving in the short term or no one has really thought about the outcome. 

As has been said if it isnt managed and kept back it will encroach on the access which surely is against the BAs requirement to keep navigation routes open. 

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Precisely Iain !   'Setting back' the banks encourages reed growth, which in turn encroaches on the channel. Also silt etc slides into the waterway, requiring more dredging to maintain adequate depth. In addition, I understand that the banks are to be 'stabilised ' with some form of netting or mesh... hook your stern gear in that (as HAS happened elsewhere........ :cry

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Sorry Iain didn't mean to sound like I was aiming this at you (but it did come across that way - oops).:bow:bow

Think we are all on the same wavelength on this one or anywhere that is narrow to be honest.

Hope I'm back in your good books?:kiss (ps I am going to ask Grace to deliver the kiss if that's OK?)

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32 minutes ago, Baitrunner said:

Sorry Iain didn't mean to sound like I was aiming this at you (but it did come across that way - oops).:bow:bow

Think we are all on the same wavelength on this one or anywhere that is narrow to be honest.

Hope I'm back in your good books?:kiss (ps I am going to ask Grace to deliver the kiss if that's OK?)

Like your style, Mark:party: You bet it's OK!:bow

cheers Iain

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21 minutes ago, ChrisB said:

I wonder what Eastwoods make of it? Their fleet are not exactly shallow draft.

They, as well as the Hunter fleet are objectors to the plan, along with the Hire Boat federation and a number of others.

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  • 1 year later...

The works are well under way. The piling has gone, and the bank profiling is being carried out.

Some form of matting is being put in place, as the last photo shows.   It'ss my impression that one or two casual moorings will have been lost at the mouth of the basin.( photo 2)

The final outcome remains to be seen.

DSC02587.JPG

DSC02588.JPG

DSC02589.JPG

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This is the first time I have seen photos of this project, and I have to say it does not alarm me!

There are two steps in the bank and the lower one is being covered by netting to re-inforce it while reeds and other plants are allowed to grow through. The netting will then rot away and the reeds will give strength to the bank, to protect it from our wash.

The step behind is the genuine flood bank, to protect the marsh, and this will soon grow over in rough grass.

I invite you to consider how lovely and "natural" this site will look, in ten years time. Just like the banks of the Bure in this area, used to look!

 

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Perhaps I should add that the only reason that reeds can now be allowed to grow on the bank is because of the enormous improvement to water quality, which allows them to grow, instead of die off, as they did before. This is why steel banks had to be built, to protect against wash erosion, which is what the reed used to do in the first place!

So maybe, in this case, we are making valuable progress?

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