IN THIS ISSUE 115 Part 1- Chairman's Report Restoration Roundup Trust Accounts Recycling news Robin' the Chancellor Fundraising ideas Part 2 - A little bit of Give & Take LLEP report New kid? on the block Volunteer records The Life in the Day of.... CoM augmented AGM presentations News from The Granary Previous issues

Wey-South issue 115  ~ June - August 2001

Part 1 Chairman's Report - Peter Foulger Foot and Mouth With all the excitement of building Drungewick Lane Canal Bridge behind us and Foot and Mouth (FMD) precautions preventing access to most sites, very little physical work has been achieved this spring. Fortunately, the SouthEast has been spared from this devastating disease and the very stringent precautions are gradually being relaxed. The county of Surrey opened many of its footpaths a month ago and West Sussex is in the process of doing the same, in preparation for the Bank Holiday. Many of the paths cross or run beside grazing land and they will have to remain closed for the time being, which may well cause confusion to walkers. Boat trips Boat trips have started to operate again from the Onslow Arms and we are looking forward to the reopening of that establishment, after it having been closed for two months for major refurbishment. [It is now open! - Web Ed]. A new kitchen has been built and extra space for dining provided which should alleviate the pressures caused in the past, when passengers from Zachariah Keppel descended in large numbers for a meal. Future restoration projects There has, however, still been plenty of work in preparation for future restoration projects. Two projects have funding and should proceed this year, FMD permitting. One will be improvement to the clay dams at locks 9, 10 and 11 on the Bonfire Hanger section of canal, this will probably be done during a summer camp and has been funded by SITA and Waverley Borough Council. Drungewick heavy plant crossing The other is the building of the heavy plant crossing at Drungewick (phase 2 of the LLEP). This is a fairly large job costing around £30,000 and will be carried out by a mix of volunteers and sub contractors. I hope this will be completed by September 13th, the rescheduled date for Sir Neil Cossons to open the Drungewick Lane Bridge. The work entails constructing what amounts to a low level bridge, with a deck consisting of concrete planks which will be stored on the canal bank and put into place whenever required by the Environment Agency for access with heavy equipment to their Gauging Station on the River Lox, this was a condition of the planning permission. The structure will also provide a convenient place to fit stop planks and allow an extra 60 metres of canal bank to be constructed from the winding hole towards the aqueduct terminating at the stop planks. It will then be possible to stand on the Drungewick Lane bridge with the water beneath it and look across the river to see the water in the new section of canal. This must be a good fundraising ploy for the aqueduct, being the only thing preventing navigation through the bridge and on towards Newbridge. New slipway Planning permission is being sought for the building of a new slipway to provide improved facilities for slipping ZK for her regular inspections by the Marine Safety Authority and to improve slipping for boat rallies and even for licensed boats to use the available section when water supplies are improved. This requires building 130 metres of track from Drungewick Lane following the line of the original track to Drungewick Wharf, constructing a concrete slipway and moving a high-tension electricity pole. Funds have yet to be found for this work. Birmingham conference Some of us recently attended a conference in Birmingham organised by The Waterways Trust (TWT) entitled “Building Waterway Partnerships”. It was an interesting day with some excellent presentations. It would appear to be more important than ever to be able to involve partners in major restoration projects if there is to be a successful outcome. Dr David Fletcher, British Waterways (BW), gave a very confident and upbeat report about work achieved and proposals for the future. Chris Newbold, former senior wetland ecologist at English Nature (EN), gave a well delivered talk about compromises between navigation and ecology interests on canals. He made suggestions about ways of minimising damage to ecologically important features and yet still allow navigation. They included widening and/or deepening, where turbidity was causing a problem, providing off line refuges, promoting the growth of marginal plants. These are all things that are either being done or are possible on the Wey & Arun Canal. Chris admitted that mistakes had been made by EN in the past over their attitude to restoration, resulting in polarising opinions and making any compromise more difficult to obtain. I believe we have to be prepared to share the restored canal with wildlife interests if we are to gain the partnerships we require for complete restoration, we promote the canal as a multifunctional amenity in any case. We all get a thrill from seeing the flash of blue as a Kingfisher darts by, or seeing a Heron patiently waiting for it’s next meal to come within striking distance and the varied array of wild flowers on the banks. With the correct management it should be possible to have all these things and see the boats travelling along as well. Roger Hanbury, TWT, spoke about the ways they were able to help with bringing organisations together and the credibility they could bring to projects they backed. The IWAAC restoration priority report plays an important part in deciding which project should be supported, an update of this report has been promised for some months now, the latest estimate being the end of this month (May). New CoM members I welcome two new members to the Council of Management, David Isted and Bill Redpath. We are now back to a full council again and will have plenty of work to share out with all that is planned for the future. I hope to see as many members as possible when we are hopefully able to get our events running again in September. Please make the effort to attend the Mikron Theatre production at the Clock House on the 29th June, it will be an enjoyable experience and raise much needed funds. Restoration Roundup - John Wood A look at what’s been happening over the last few months It goes without saying that our work has been seriously curtailed due to the Foot and Mouth crisis. However, a limited number of sites have been accessible and the following activities have taken place. THE MONDAY WORKING PARTY GROUP Leader Brian Crossley - 01737 843192 Brian reports: If you saw three men of (early) retirement age, dressed in working clothes, digging a shallow grave close to the main Cranleigh to Guildford highway, would you - A) Pass by rapidly on the other side? B) Call the Police? C) Thank the members of the Wey & Arun Canal Trust for helping to keep up appearances? No prizes for the right answer - it was just one of the jobs in which our job happens to get involved -- We were giving the grass verges at Run Common their first cut of the year, when a lady from one of the nearby properties drew our attention to a dark object floating near the surface of the Canal. She said that, sadly, during the winter a deer must have walked onto the frozen canal and fallen through the ice to an unpleasant death. Using a grapnel, we managed to pull the decomposing corpse to the bank. None of us seemed keen on taking it in our cars to wherever one takes this sort of thing and at the time, the Foot and Mouth restrictions prevented us going along the towpath, so the only solution was to bury it near the roadside. All in a days work for our group - its not just litter picking, mowing and strimming! THE WINSTON HARWOOD GROUP Contact: Winston on 01737 768781 Through some clever detective work, Winston managed to find a free source of clay with which to repair the breach which had occurred during the winter floods at Tickner’s Heath. The clay has been delivered to our Depot and is being gradually transported by barrow to the breach site. By the time you read this, access may be available to Winston’s main project site - the rebuilding of the Canal Bridge at Orfold Flood Gates. THE MID-WEEK WORKING PARTY (MWWP) Leader: Colin Gibbs - 0208 241 7736 or mobile 07870 371019 Being unable to get out to the sites the MWWP had planned during March, April and May the members have been helping out with a grand Spring Clean and maintenance of equipment at the Tickner’s Heath Depot. Naturally, once we receive the green light to gain access to the countryside, there will be a great deal of work and catching up at numerous sites. All volunteers will be most welcome and appreciated, please contact Colin above. THE LOXWOOD LINK MAINTENANCE UNIT Leader: Peter Wilding - 01483 422519 Some dates had to be cancelled due to the wet weather and restricted access. The weather has also prevented the painting of the paddle gear at Brewhurst Lock. However, further work has proceeded at the lock to fit extensions to the gates and top paddle weirs to enable the water level in the Onslow pound, for the first time, to be maintained at the designed level as indicated by the water markers. This maintains trip boat Zachariah Keppel’s gunwale above the raised level of the Onslow Wharf. This ensures the safe boarding and landing by gangplank of the passengers. Once again our workboat May Upton has proved invaluable as the working access for this work, also for the completion of the fend-off boards at Onslow Wharf. The arrival of spring has been heralded by the migratory lawn mowers at the Onslow Wharf area and Brewhurst Lock, which will be a regular task now, together with the ongoing snipping and trimming. The resulting good-looking, well-maintained walkway is very satisfying, though during May only to be enjoyed by Zachariah Keppel’s passengers. THE NEWBURY WORKING PARTY GROUP We were very pleased to welcome back, for the first time this year the Newbury Working Party Group over the long weekend of 5/6/7 May. Their work, on this visit, concentrated on carrying out repairs to the towpath in Sidney Wood. These repairs were needed due to the serious floods (which none of us have forgotten) which occurred over the past winter These floods had damaged some of the work undertaken there last year. All of the Working Party Leaders very much hope that their regular get-togethers will soon resume, maybe by the time you read this Bulletin, and would welcome your enquiries. Needless to say, there is a lot of work to be attended to, which will need a goodly number of volunteers.   Working party clearing the non-towpath side of Lock 16. [photo: Iris Piggott]   The Trust Accounts for 2000 - Jim Phillips The Hon Treasurer highlights some items from the Accounts The WACT Accounts for 2000, as well as the Consolidated Accounts for WACT & WAEL, are available by post from the Treasurer. Please send a suitably stout A4 size envelope stamped with 33p if you want one set or 44p if you want both sets. The accounts have been audited, approved by the Council of Management and adopted by the AGM. Copies go off to Companies House, the Charities Commission and ENTRUST and to those grant-making bodies who have asked to be kept up-to-date with each year’s accounts as the LLEP progresses. The Trust became a ‘very large charity’ in the eyes of the Charity Commission as our cash income was above the quarter-million-pound mark. This required us for the first time to have a full audit. In fact, it made no change as we have been having such an audit for the past five years as reassurance for the Treasurer, and as a long-stop for the Council of Management and the members that they were not being misled. The Trust sold its reserve during the year - a holding in Anglian Water - to help pay for the LLEP. We have some money in the bank, mainly for the next two phases of the LLEP, but also including a large interest-free loan, about £9000 in the Life Membership Fund. Also, the balance of a grant for the Orfold Flood Gates Bridge where work has not been possible since last autumn. The income for 2000 reflects the great generosity, which the Trust received to help pay for the Drungewick Lane Canal Bridge. Grants from Charitable Trusts and local authorities brought in £75,000; the landfill tax contribution was a further £40,000. Members gave very generously in response to appeals and the taxman played his part in refunding tax on donations and subscriptions. WAEL contributed over £10,000 in Administration. Expenses, as identified by the auditor, were £11,635: this represents a whisker over 4% of the total £290,195 we spent during the year and that is lean, mean administration by any standard. The PODDLE raised £10,000 reflecting much hard work by walkers in extracting sponsorship money from their friends and work colleagues, and also by all those volunteers who each year make the admin. expenses of the PODDLE so low. Although sponsorship-in-kind was down on the previous year, the number of hours spent by volunteers on restoration (as opposed to admin.) was 9500 - the equivalent of nearly five full-time people right round the year. The Trust can be proud of its volunteer input for both restoration and administrative tasks: it is plain that without it the Trust could not go from strength to strength as it does. Expenditure was overwhelmingly on the LLEP - £203,000 during the year. Publicity and PR costs were significantly up on the year but we had to keep our members and other supporters informed on the progress we were making - or not making during the floods. I welcome any questions on the accounts, preferably by e-mail or snail-mail so that I can prepare the answers. It is your Trust and you should feel able freely to quiz the Treasurer on where the money comes from and where it goes to.   Recycling news Fundraising from this source amounted to £1,970 by selling 54 tonnes of old newspapers and magazines to Messrs Aylesford Newsprint during last year. Aylesford pay us £10 for every tonne we collect, with the balance coming by way of recycling credits obtained from West Sussex County Council, Chichester District Council and Mid-Sussex District Council. On top of this, Aylesford make a further contribution to Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital. So far this year our efforts have been somewhat thwarted by the Foot and Mouth crisis, which caused our skip at Hurst Farm, Crawley Down to become inaccessible. Thankfully, the Farm Shop alongside which our skip is located has now reopened. The extensive building works at the Onslow Arms at Loxwood has placed serious constraints in times of access to the skip in our car park adjacent to the Onslow (W-S Editor - You’re telling me. I can’t get in my shed for the piles of old newspapers and have had to buy a set of Crampons to access my lawnmower). Also, since April, Aylesford has been using a new contractor to empty the Loxwood skip and unfortunately, partly due to the building works, it has not been emptied as frequently as it should have been. However, by the time of reading this, the building work will have been completed and there should be no further problems (W-S Editor - oh no! There goes my excuse for not mowing the lawn). "Robin' the Chancellor" Triple Challenge Chase If you ever thought that your contribution was a mere drop in the canal, then this is one for you ............... Fundraising for the Loxwood Link Extension Project has been going very well indeed. Nearly half a million pounds has been banked, pledged or source identified. We are on target to afford to open 6 miles of canal to navigation within two years. Phase I - Drungewick Lane Canal Bridge is complete at a cost of £320,000 Phase II - Drungewick Missing Link/heavy vehicle crossing is funded at £30,000. Phase III - LLEP could be completed in 2002 with Drungewick Aqueduct built at an estimated cost of £396,000 if Heritage Lottery Funding of £238,000 is forthcoming. Matching funding of £158,000 has already been either received or identified. BUT in case we do not get the Lottery grant and even if we do, to start to raise the Phase IV - Newbridge Link - cost of £280,000 for lock gates and culverts to open the six miles, members have issued themselves the 25kClub challenge: Which 25kCIub will reach their target first? 25 Members donating £1,000 = £25k 50 Members donating £ 500 = £25k 259 Members donating £100 = £25k UK tax-paying donors can authorise the Charity to rob the Chancellor of the Exchequer of tax that you have already paid him. This increases your donation by 28% and could make the scheme worth £96,000 to WACT. The names of each member of the each consortium to hit £25,000 will appear on a unique WACT Golden Narrowboat Award, only otherwise available to major Corporate Partners. (Individual awards can be purchased). WACT member Robin Chase has launched the 25kCIub Challenge by pledging £1,000 and hopes to attract 24 others to join that 25k1000Club. (with Gift Aid that will be worth £32,000 to WACT). So the Chase is on - Just send the pledge form below to the WACT Office by 1st September 2001 (send no money now). We won’t ask you to part with your money until your chosen Club is fully signed up and anyway, not until next spring when the Aqueduct building should start AND you don’t even have to give your own money!! Run your own fundraising event to raise your £100 - £500 or £1000 (sorry can’t claim the tax refund on other people’s money) See the suggestions following - Fundraising ideas - Ian Lauder By their very nature, WACT members mostly don't mind getting out of the house but when raising funds, we have to tempt others to do so. It is generally getting more difficult to persuade people to leave their homes to support local charity events. Some blame it on a combination of longer working hours, central heating, Coronation Street and the internet, all of which means that once people do get home, they want to stay there. Your fundraising must therefore be imaginative and attractive but the old ideas still do work and the following are designed just to get you thinking.­ COMPETITIONS:- Whist?Beetle Drive, Bingo, Car Treasure Hunt, Call my Bluff, Generation Game, Just a Minute, News Quiz, Karaoke, Pick a Straw,Spot the Ball, Bran Tub, Darts, Skittles, Guess theWeight, Guess the Number, Duck the Lady,Tombola, Coconut Shy, Welly Throwing, Hoopla, Tug of War, Spinning Arrow, Talent Show,Draw/Lottery/ Raffle, Double your Money, BalloonRace, Barrow/Pram Race, Donkey Race Bulb/Seedgrowing, Panel Game, Trivia Quiz, Pancake Race. COLLECTIONS:- House to House (permit),Cash, Empty Bottles, Cans, Newspapers,Clothes, Toys, Carol Singing, Collection Pots,Street Collections (Permits), Offices, Shops,Pubs, Waiting Rooms, Hotels, Pile of Pennies. SPORT:- Raft Race, Sponsored Angling, CharityCelebrity Football/Cricket Match. Golf (18 holes at18 courses) Target Golf, Night Golf, Clay Pigeon,Highest score 24 hour BilIiard/ Pooh Darts/Snooker/ Domino, Bike Ride, Motor Rally,Walk/Dinghy/Jetski Race, Horse Gymkhana,Parachute Jump, Bowls, Swim, Squash, Dive,Aerobics, Badminton, Table Tennis, Jogging,Scalextric Car Race, Abseiling, Assault Course,Duck Race. PARTIES:- Buffet Lunch/Supper with Celebrities, Wine/Cheese,Punch’n Pie, Curry'n Rice, Sausage'n Mash, Sherry’n Nuts, Medieval Banquet, Tramps/Fancy Dress, Underwear, Jewelry, Toy, MayDay, Midsummer, Halloween, Christmas, Children’s, SquarelBam Dance, Disco, Disappearing Coffee Break, Harvest Supper, Austerity Lunch, American Supper, Bar-B-Q. EDUCATIONAL DEMONSTRATIONS:- CD. Film, Slide Show, Talks, Exhibition, Cookery, Beauty, Make-up, Hairaresslng, Winel Breaal Cake-Making, Brewing, Fashion or Flower show. EVENTS:- Bungee Jump, Dance, Concert, Film Premiere, Theatre/Night Club for the evening(with Stars help), Auction, Race Night, Roulette Night, Antique Road Show, Balloon Race, Bridge Drive, Cabaret, Fair, Fete, Flower Festival, Beer/Blues/JazzlFolk Festival, Carnival, Dutch Auction, Open Private Garden/House to Public, Give up Smoking, Rag, Pantomime, Sponsored Slim/Pig-Out, Recital, Vintage Car/Aircraft Show. SERVICES:- Baby Sitting, Shoe shining, Cleaning/ Car/ Screen/ Boat/ Windows, Gardening, Dog Walking, Pensioner Services. SELLING:- Fetes, Garden Stalls, Pub Table Sale, Craft Stalls, Hot Dog Stalls, Shop Window premises for a week, Bring & Buy, Lunch Hour Shops, Market Stalls, Charity Makers, Tea for Tourists, Jumble Sale, Nearly New, Coach Tours, Refreshment Stall, Chnstmas Cards, Plant Sale. INDIVIDUAL GIFT:- In lieu of Funeral/Wedding Flowers, In Memonam, Gift Aid (taxpayers can increase donation with gift aid form), Give a little each month through payroll at work, gift of Company Shares could save capital gain and other taxes, and finally - when you no longer need it - leave it to WACT in a Legacy. Fundraising must comply with the Charities Act and food handling, lottery or local regulations If you need advice, telephone Ian Lauder at AGEMICS Ltd Charity Consultants. 01403 752428 and have FUN .... FUNDRAISING.   NEXT - Part 2 BACK

Last updated June 2001