The British winter doesn’t stop rowers and kayakers on our stretch of the Thames from venturing out when the temperature drops!
In the last few months, your local Councillors have worked with the Environment Agency (EA), other water-sport clubs and the River Users Group to try to make our stretch of the Thames a safer place for the enjoyment of river activities. Fallen trees, many partially submerged along the bank, have been a constant reminder of the ruthless chainsaw felling earlier in the year and the aftermath of some powerful storms. The obstructions they cause can easily cause a capsize of an unwary visitor in any small boat which, in freezing temperatures, can be dangerous.
Cllr Ashley Tilling & Eva Ferlez winning their event at Walton SBH
We are pleased to report that many of the broken trees and overhanging branches were cut back and removed just in time for the Walton Small Boats Head race on the 11th December.
We continue to try to identify places where we could plant new trees to help to combat climate change and to make our green spaces more attractive (see article here). We will also keep working with EBC to persuade the EA to take their responsibilities seriously and remove the unsightly and polluting illegally moored boats that continue to proliferate on our Elmbridge stretches of the Thames.
Hi Judy
I share with you a love of the river, and went with you on the protest march about river effluence last autumn.
It is no more than two years since Dominic Raab created the EA enforcement brigade. In that time the number of permanently moored boats on the Desborough cat has increased from 3 to 14 at the latest count.
None of these boats appear ever to have been troubled by the ETA enforcement team, they have never moved, they are continuing to shoot with confidence into the river on a regular basis. I am not aware if they pay an EA license or have a boat safety certificate like other boat users but I doubt it very much. It is a travesty to see such increased devastation of the natural environment while the enforcement officers who were created to deal with them look the other way very conveniently.
I am triggered to write this note to you because a conversation held with the ladies of Weybridge ladies rowing club recently. They told me they were unable to run a regatta now, because the EA would not allow them to us the boats to move for a day, and we would also not allow them to trim back the trees on the Debra cut reach. This is a local amenity which is run for local residents for almost 100 years, is now threatened by its very existence due to EA mismanagement
I don’t know if there’s anything that can be done about this, but publicising the issue would be a starting point in my opinion. I wonder what do you think?
Many thanks
PS please forgive any typing errors because I am partially sighted and rely upon Apple dictation!