Jump to content

The Broads National Pike / The Answer Is! I Really Don't Know!


BroadAmbition

Recommended Posts

I had not had much dealings with the BA until this year when we put the boat back in the water at the beginning of the season following major works at Cox’s Boatyard, who are brilliant.  I know that fees are due at the beginning of the year but we did not know whether or not she would be back in the water this year and therefore held off until the last moment.  She went back onto her mooring on the  31st March and when we went to see her on the 1st April a ranger had already posted a ticket on her.  Far quicker than a traffic warden in central London on commission.

Perhaps the time has come to hit the BA where it hurts and to withhold paying fees until they sit up and listen to the stakeholders.

  • Like 1
  • Confused 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hopefully, some people might read this latest episode and just, perhaps just, pull their head out of the sand and realise the impact this project has on navigation, both in terms of budget and loss of amenity. 

  • Like 2
  • Thanks 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think I've seen more incisive journalism from Archant. This latest contribution from 'the pike' is very thin on verifyable information. but relies on peoples existing prejudices against Packman instead.

When reduced to important factual points, just what is it saying?

I suppose it is just possible that my head has been buried in the sand so long I've forgotten how to read!

  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, MauriceMynah said:

This latest contribution from 'the pike' is very thin on verifyable information

I think the verifiable information that this does bring to the public attention is that in May 2017 the Authority identified this site as an "high priority" in it "mooring strategy" and authorised the use of of £180,000 to buy it plus further expenditure to refurbish it. Where did that money come from? My understanding is that acquisition and repair of moorings comes from the Nav Budget.

Now suddenly it appears that these moorings are not quite as important now that the BA own them ........

What is clear is that the 2017/18 financial statement says that "The developments at Acle Bridge over the coming years will seek to further our National Park purposes"

Now I ask again. Where did that money coming from?

 

 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

When Tolls are increased again I am sure it will become abundantly clear.

I cant see how the development at Acle will be of any significant benefit to anyone actually using the water and if it transpires the significant Toll increases we have endured in recent years have been designed to harvest cash in order to pay for such then first of all I will be furious and second absolutely disgusted. 

Its about time this National Park fixation is put to bed once and for all. 

  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm sure someone correct me if I've got this wrong but here goes.

The BA bought the acle moorings for £180k from the Nav budget. ?

The BA now want to develope the land with a NP visitor centre thus stealing moorings which they are struggling to maintain let alone increase.

Should not the navigation budget be reimbursed to the value of the land annexed at commercial land valuation?

If it is necessary to purchase more 'farm' land in order to build this....thing. Then surely they can buy more land for moorings to replace those that will be lost.

Personally, this site seems far from ideal for the BA to build a flagship visitor centre when more appropriate sites must be out there.

Colin :default_beerchug:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It would seem to me, that if a 'Broads Visitor Centre' is to be built, then Acle is a fairly good choice. Very close to the A47, so easily accessible by road, for school parties from across Norfolk & Suffolk. There might well have been access problems for school 'coach parties' getting to many other parts of the Norfolk Broads, along narrow country lanes, but certainly not at Acle.

Regarding the moorings, I can't remember seeing too many boats mooring directly outside the 'Curtis Stores' or it's adjacent out-building, as there were usually tables and chairs there, for the stores customers to use. So, that's space that has never been available for mooring anyway. From the 'artists impressions' of the proposed building, it would appear about 30 metres or so, would cover the building space (or, about 3 boat lengths, maximum), so not such a great loss, when compared to the additional 200+ metres still available for mooring at the moment. There is also the possibility of extending the moorings, in the future, too...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

While I am not a fan of the  visitor centre I don`t understand what the problem or argument is here with the moorings, the only bit that is unusable at the moment is the short piece being worked on outside the shop, there were plenty of boats moored there when I went passed at the weekend.

Fred

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

36 minutes ago, rightsaidfred said:

While I am not a fan of the  visitor centre I don`t understand what the problem or argument is here with the moorings, the only bit that is unusable at the moment is the short piece being worked on outside the shop, there were plenty of boats moored there when I went passed at the weekend.

Fred

Fred the issue re moorings is simply that the 'visitor centre' plans show the proposed building to be right on the water's edge thus depriving boaters from however many mooring spaces that the building takes up. The land was bought under the pretext of providing moorings, the navigation budget paid for it, thus the entire bank should be used for providing necessary moorings, in my honest opinion of course. 

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

42 minutes ago, MauriceMynah said:

I keep reading the term "Navigation Budget", How many budgets does the BA have? What are they called? and are we sure that the navigation budget was used for this purchase? if so, how are we sure?

Because it's shown in BA minutes! 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, rightsaidfred said:

JM I appreciate what you are saying but from what I could see it would affect one boat length at most if at all as given the lay out there I doubt the building would be positioned right up to the waters edge, at the moment  there is a BA barge in that spot.

Fred

Fred, we shall have to wait and see! My guess is that the building would take up the space of at least three average sized boats. Losing moorings at a visitor centre is akin to losing car parking spaces, hardly logical. 

Consider that the land cost one hundred & eighty quid, add to that the seventy five thousand, and likely to be more, cost of the building and we are quickly up to a million pound project on top of which will be staffing costs. Value for money? 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Firstly I am not really sure that there is actually even a shortage of moorings in the Acle area, other than very occasionally and I am not sure that the BA has even said that you are going to lose spaces!

Perhaps they will allow mooring right outside the Centre so people can visit the Centre and then there would be no loss of mooring at all!

Indeed as always on this Forum its a lot of supposition about not a lot - why don't we all just wait and see and stop worrying about what might happen!! Or would we then lose yet another opportunity to have a poke at the BA???

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

£185'000 doesn't sound a lot if on says it quickly does it now?  Say it this way One Hundred and eighty five THOUSAND pounds.  From the NAV budget.  It seems to me that the Blessed authority can and has developed the habit of  just dipping into the Nav budget cart blanche willy nilly whenever it likes no matter what if the latest shiny ar5ed idea is owt to do with the navigation or not

Just what has a visitor centre got to with navigation then?  Unless of course it is to be sited floating on a damn river.  Waxham cut and others are crying out to be dredged, weeds cut, tress pruned.  £185'000 would see to that easily with change left over

Griff

  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

There are a number of points you are overlooking Marshy. Firstly the Authority identified the moorings as strategically important to secure Navigation Budget funding to buy and restore it, then turn the area over to a project which, by it's own admission will provide no amenity to the navigation. I know I'm a simple man, I see black and white, not all these shades of grey that everyone gets so excited about, but in my book that stinks. 

There may or may not be a shortage of moorings at Acle, but there certainly are shortages elsewhere which could have benefited from the money spent on Acle.

  • Like 8
Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 hours ago, JennyMorgan said:

Fred, we shall have to wait and see! My guess is that the building would take up the space of at least three average sized boats. Losing moorings at a visitor centre is akin to losing car parking spaces, hardly logical. 

Consider that the land cost one hundred & eighty quid, add to that the seventy five thousand, and likely to be more, cost of the building and we are quickly up to a million pound project on top of which will be staffing costs. Value for money? 

JM If that were the case I would agree with you and I am not in favour of the development either, however regarding moorings unless they have bought some of the farmland and it is kept within the existing shop boundary then it won`t extend that far along the bank and logically it seems unlikely to be built within a yard or so of the rivers edge.

Fred

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

For details of our Guidelines, please take a look at the Terms of Use here.