BroadsAuthority

Hi there - yes we have no authority to issue trapping licences for crayfish etc! Trapping licences are issue by the EA: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/permission-to-trap-crayfish-eels-elvers-salmon-and-sea-trout Historically I believe they have been tight with issuing licences due to the potential for misidentification leading to harm for our native White-clawed crayfish? Tom

Hi there, Just to clarify, although the 'season' will start early this year on 23 March, the mooring charges at Ranworth will not apply before 1 April this year (as per the website). Best Tom

Hi Grendel, Our Vis Services Supervisor has confirmed we already have a set of lifejacket lockers at GYYS operated by a £1 coin which is returned when you have finished using them. Best Tom

Very sorry to hear this news, rest in peace Ian - sending condolences to his friends, family and loved ones. Tom

Hi Grendel, sorry for the delay in replying to this - Happy New Year! I've passed your suggestion over to the team that manage the Yacht Stations / Visitor Centres. Tom

The team at Yarmouth post the tide times for Great Yarmouth on our Facebook page every day during the summer season. If you need to know the best time to cross or any other tips give the guys at Yarmouth Yacht Station a call (01493 842794 or 07766 398238) and they'll be happy to chat to you about it. Also the below video might be helpful depending on your level of experience as well as this in-depth page: https://www.broads-authority.gov.uk/boating/navigating-the-broads/water-depths/breydon-water Other bridge heights are listed here: https://www.broads-authority.gov.uk/boating/navigating-the-broads/bridge-heights-and-opening-times including Haddiscoe, Reedham Swing Bridge and the Norwich Bridges. Hope that helps, Tom

Good afternoon all, Neil here has hit the nail on the head. I spoke to the Rivers Engineer a few days ago about the dredging at Stalham who kindly informed me that due to boat traffic increasing and the narrow width up there, we'll be returning outside of the summer season with a smaller, more mobile dredging rig to finish up. We've been communicating this with business owners/stakeholders up there and the current Notice to Mariners has been removed as it's now outdated. Hope that helps Tom

Hi both, The 24hr moorings at Gay Staithe (which I believe is now the accurate spelling!) is operated under an agreement between the Parish Council and Great Yarmouth Port & Haven Commissioners, dating from from the GYPHC days. We have been maintaining the mooring there during this time. The aforementioned agreement remains in place until 2028. Sorry for the delay, I've been on training the last few days and now on annual leave until next week. Best Tom

Hi Alan, The figures you've added up don't include the 'other moorings' listed below the main table. We also don't list a section of the frontage we have at Acle on the main table as, although it is usable with ground anchors, it isn't fully up to our spec yet. I should caveat my response above by saying that's total frontage we manage, not exclusively 24hr frontage (I am out of the office and don't have that data to hand!) Hope that helps, have a good evening. Tom

Hello CambridgeCabby, "The Authority currently manages 53% more mooring frontage than twenty years ago (data not shown in table), 9.9% more than 10 years ago and 4.8% more than five years ago. Although the total number of different 24-hour mooring sites has fluctuated from year to year, the length of mooring frontage has increased despite pressures from landowners as well as rising material and equipment costs." There's more information on this in Broad Sheet Feb 2023 and on this page here: https://www.broads-authority.gov.uk/news/frequently-asked-questions-navigation-charges-2023 (scroll down a bit) In response to whether the figures are accurate/include double mooring. They are fairly accurate but some mooring lengths on our website are approximations/rounded up so may not be to the exact metre. The figures above are for mooring frontage in metres, so don't include double mooring. Hope that helps, Tom

Hi all, There is an update on our website now regarding this: https://www.broads-authority.gov.uk/boating/navigating-the-broads/boating-news/an-update-regarding-langley-dyke-24hr-mooring "The current 20-year lease for the two sections of the moorings (totalling approx. 97 metres) finishes on 12 June 2023. The original owner who agreed the current lease at a £1 rent per annum passed away in 2014. The Authority’s policy on leasing moorings, agreed with the Navigation Committee, is that it is willing to take on the responsibility for the maintenance of moorings if a long lease is granted at a nominal rent. This is because the cost of repairing and replacing piled moorings is a long-term investment. If the landowner is willing to retain responsibility for the maintenance then the Authority will consider a shorter term for a lease at a commercial rent. Negotiations for a new lease at Langley started in 2021, with the new owner offering the Broads Authority an alternative location as they wanted to retain the current mooring for their own use. The alternative location would have provided the same length of mooring space but is not currently piled and is located at the mouth of the dyke. This was considered to be unsuitable because of the close proximity to the main river and unaffordable due to the extensive cost of piling works required at the site. Many other options have since been discussed, including the Authority undertaking additional work such as dredging for the landowner as an alternative to a large annual rent, however none of these have been acceptable to the landowner. The final offer from the landowner was the current mooring for an annual rent of £2,000 per annum on a year-by-year basis with no long-term security of tenure but requiring the Authority to assume the costly responsibility and liability for the piling. The cost of such works is currently around £1,600 per linear metre to install a standard 6m trench sheet and the associated quay furniture (mooring posts, footpaths, capping and walings). This option has been declined by the Authority as it is not financially viable. As a result the site will regrettably cease to be a Broads Authority mooring from 12 June 2023. We are continuing to explore alternative locations for new 24-hour moorings and hope to provide an update later on in the year." Tom

Hi MM, glad to be of help. I appreciate occurrences like the one documented in this thread might look a certain way, but due to how busy our work programme is it's very unlikely that our operations team would send multiple members of staff out seemingly doing nothing just for the sake of it. There should always be a legitimate reason for what you are seeing. Our volunteers usually wear different clothing to BA staff (who tend to wear the light blue/teal polo shirts, long sleeve shirts or the Columbia gear) but sometimes it's obscured by high-vis or PPE. Unfortunately we have incidents occasionally where people challenge our staff. I believe that one of our long-standing operations technicians was out over the winter with a group of new apprentices. He was teaching them/demonstrating to them how to undertake some countryside management tasks. Someone took it upon themselves to take close-up photographs of the staff and become abusive as they felt there were too many members of staff to undertake the task. Point being our staff are always keen to keep you in the loop if possible and have a chat about what they are up to. Visitors can always politely ask our staff what they are up to, or get in touch via the website/give Broads Control a call (01603 756056) if they want something clarifying. Best Tom

Hi there, Actually two of the four people are volunteers helping out for the day unpaid, and two are operations technicians. They are there cutting the grass and also combing through it beforehand for discarded pieces of metal (as Acle is a hot-spot for magnet fishing and the team often come across sharp rusty metal which needs to be removed beforehand). There's hand vibration limits regarding the use of the mower (hence they take turns). We also have health and safety rules around lone-working whilst mowing near the water. The mowing at Acle is just one job today. The team share transport and are off to How Hill later to do some more cutting, tidying and sprucing up of the How Hill moorings. Hope that clarifies, Tom

Hi MM, sorry to hear of this, I can see why you would be frustrated. If you're unhappy with what happened please drop a line through the contact form and it'll be picked up by the Visitor Services Manager who will take a look at it. It sounds like you possibly already did so (re the complaint) but just letting you know if not. The link is here: https://www.broads-authority.gov.uk/contact-us/contact-form Best, Tom

Hi all, For a Summary conviction (relevant to these tolls prosecutions) the 'Summons' must be issued within six months of the 'offence'. There are delays in the court system currently and the recent flurry of cases are all last years (2022/23 toll year) where summonses were issued some time ago. In relation to the process for dealing with non-payment, as mentioned above we will try to recover the owed toll charges by working with the individuals before pursuing the court option. If you look through navigation committee papers you can see all of the instances where we have taken this option. The background behind tolls charges can be found in the Norfolk and Suffolk Broads Act 1988 and Broads Authority Act 2009. Regarding the above link to the CE's report from the Navigation Committee papers in 2022 which referenced vessel names (but didn't provide the owner's names/ages/area of residence) we have since changed our policy on this following a review. Later papers (and papers going forward) don't give vessel names, they just give a description of vessel type and then any associated fines/costs/surcharges. Finally, following a call from a member of the public I've been informed that some of the original information regarding the prosecutions in the EDP article originated from the court directly. If you have any further detailed questions please get in contact with our tolls department by choosing 'tolls' from the drop down menu on our contact form: https://www.broads-authority.gov.uk/contact-us/contact-form Hope that helps, Tom

Hi all, To clarify, this article was not prompted by the Authority. It appears the EDP reporter either attended the court date or has access to the court records. As a point of principle we do not publish names, vessel names etc. as we don't feel it's appropriate given an individual's right to privacy. We were not approached prior to the publication of this article. Regarding court, this is always a last resort and our tolls team aim to work constructively with people where possible to ensure that the tolls are paid without going down this route. Best Tom

Hi Ian, there's accessibility information included in page 10 in Broadcaster 2023. Tom

Really sad news, condolences to Alan's friends and family.

Hi @catcouk Here are some suggestions for you: Northern Broads Take a wheelchair accessible boat trip aboard Ra the Solar Boat at Hoveton Enjoy an accessible sailing or canoe trip with the Nancy Oldfield Trust at Neatishead Visit the floating wildlife visitor centre and go wildlife spotting at NWT Ranworth Broad, or visit the Broads Authority information centre at Ranworth Staithe to learn more about the local wildlife and history St Helen's Church at Ranworth, the church tea-room, visitor centre and sensory garden offer an accessible visit, ramps are available to enter the church Hire a wheelchair-accessible day boat from Broads Tours and explore the River Bure Browse the exhibits and take an accessible boat trip at the Museum of the Broads in Stalham Hire tandem bicycles at Broadland Cycle Hire in Horning St Benet's Abbey near Ludham is a very atmospheric site to visit, with some accessible areas Enjoy the views and Braille signs on the accessible boardwalk at Barton Broad, and visit the viewing platform; there's also an accessible boardwalk at Filby Broad Filby and Rollesby Broads have suitable access for angling, and Martham Pits is another good place Hire a mobility scooter to enjoy the gardens and take an accessible boat trip at Fairhaven Woodland and Water Garden (South Walsham) Take a river cruise aboard the wheelchair-friendly 'Queen of the Broads' and 'Belle of the Broads' with Broads Tours, or the 'Southern Comfort' Mississippi River Boat in Horning Take a trip on the accessible miniature Bure Valley Railway or venture along the flat Bure Valley Railway Path Southern Broads Get close to nature and visit the Suffolk Wildlife Trust Carlton Marshes Nature Reserve and Visitor Centre (Oulton Broad) The Roman monument at Burgh Castle includes some accessible areas and offers one of the best views in the Broads Take an accessible boat trips with Waveney Stardust (Beccles) and Waveney Sailability (Lowestoft) Enjoy a picnic and relax at easy access green spaces near the waterways at Beccles Quay, Oulton Broad (with Nicholas Everitt Park), Cow Tower and Pull's Ferry (Norwich) Venture out to Wheatfen Nature Reserve at Surlingham and explore the easy-access boardwalk linking the car park to the bird hide Accessible places to eat and drink In addition to food and drink available at the places above, below are some places to eat which are wheelchair accessible (we suggest you call in advance of your visit to check any specific requirements you might have): Indulge in some shopping and refuel in one of the quaint cafes at Wroxham Barns Browse the brewery shop and eat at Woodforde's Flagship pub/restaurant The Fur and Feather Inn Enjoy delicious food and picturesque views at the wheelchair-accessible Filby Bridge restaurant Eat and drink at the wheelchair-accessible Ferry Inn, Horning Dine at the wheelchair-accessible Waterside Restaurant (Rollesby) and enjoy views over Rollesby Broad from their flat wooden decking Visit the Flint Barn Cafe at Whitlingham Country Park after exploring the paths around the Broad (advisable in summer/dry periods only) Accessible places to stay Below are some ideas for accessible places to stay during your visit: Self-catering stays at Hall Farm Cottages in Horning caters for disabled visitors Limes Farm self catering cottage in Ludham offers disabled access and has a wet room Wheatacre Hall Barns in Beccles have a number of easy-access cottages (contact first) The Nancy Oldfield Trust's Kenyon Bungalow at Neatishead offers accessible stays and boat trip opportunities Cotenham Barns (Panxworth) have accessible options, including the fully-accessible Cotenham Garden Cottage The Threshing Barn at Mill Farm Eco Barn, Winterton-on-Sea is accessible For links to businesses and activities: https://www.visitthebroads.co.uk/discover-the-broads/about-the-broads/accessible-visits Hope that helps, Tom

Hi all, Very sorry for the delay, got caught up elsewhere and needed to retrieve the information from another team. The attached PDF shows a relatively up-to-date list of the footpaths that we manage, which team is responsible, plus the frequency of cutting. If an overgrown path isn't on this list it's very unlikely that it's our responsibility and will likely be the council. If you do have an issue with a path on the list then please give Broads Control a nudge on Broads.Control@broads-authority.gov.uk. Best Tom Footpaths.pdf

Hi @kpnut Do let me know or get in touch via Broads.Control@broads-authority.gov.uk if you spot any of our footpaths overgrown, however as you've stated above the majority in the Broads area are looked after by the council highways dept. This is a good/effective site in raising issues such as overgrown paths, you fill out a form with details of the issue and it gets sent on to the relevant council. Worth a look: https://www.fixmystreet.com/ Best Tom

Hi all, We were approached by the EDP to respond to this story last week and subsequently provided them with a statement. However, the original article published this morning omitted most of what was sent over to them and instead placed a significant emphasis onto the quote that this is down to the Broads Authority 'not being able to afford £675 worth of rent'. The reason behind the offer from BTIPC being unanimously rejected by the Navigation Committee lies with the short lease duration (with no guarantees given after 7 years), plus the commercial rent and liability for the maintenance/associated costs for the piling having to be taken on by the Authority. I've reproduced the statement below just to show what was sent over (although it looks like it has been added now as of 13:40pm) Managing our network of 60 free 24-hour moorings represents a considerable liability and risk for the Broads Authority. Typically, where there is a piled edge, we take on the responsibility from the landowner to manage and replace this (at a cost of approx. £1000 per m) in return for a long-term lease at a nominal rent. The Authority inherited the lease for this mooring at Barton Turf, without liability for the piling, from the Port and Haven Commissioners. Despite this, we have managed and maintained the mooring over a fifty-year period. Barton Turf and Irstead Parish Council’s (BTIPC) offer of a short 7-year lease, with a commercial rent and liability for the piling resting with the Authority, was unanimously rejected as untenable by the Authority’s Navigation Committee. BTIPC will now be responsible for this short length of mooring. While the outcome of the negotiations is disappointing, a longer length of free 24-hour mooring is available at nearby Paddy’s Lane. The Nav Com report on the matter can be found here too in case you missed it: https://www.broads-authority.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0025/427561/Barton_Turf_Staithe.pdf I hope this is helpful, Best Tom

Hi all, Yes, the current number of units (5.5) is the same as last year's. It is usually reviewed every few years but wasn't changed last year. It is going to be reviewed shortly in May/June 2022 due to the changing energy costs. As @Meantimehas suggested, the rate for our energy cards is determined by the meter not the card, so there is no benefit to 'stockpiling' them before the rate is reviewed. Hope that helps, Best Tom

Hi all, From our FB page: 'Result! We are pleased to share that the missing vessel reported stolen on social media has been located today and phoned in to Rangers / the Police. Volunteer Rangers attended the scene and verified the vessel’s identity. It will now be passed over to Broadsbeat for their investigation and returned to the owner. Many thanks to the person who phoned the vessel in, and everyone who kept their eyes peeled and came forward with information.' Cheers all on here that helped and reported anything suspicious, Tom

For reference, a photograph of the missing vessel taken around 6pm on Sunday, at St. Olaves. Best, Tom