Trent sandbanks: CRT regional director replies
I’M WRITING in response to recent letters (Talkback, Issue 177, July) regarding sandbanks that have formed on certain sections of the River Trent, specifically near Stoke and Hazelford Locks.
We’re sorry that boaters have been experiencing difficulties and ask that they bear with us while we try to get the situation resolved.
The sandbanks have formed following the heavy flooding that we saw in the early spring. Unfortunately this period was immediately followed by the coronavirus pandemic which has restricted our ability to deal with the issue as we ordinarily would.
In normal circumstances boaters are an important source of feedback for us, letting us know where areas of siltation are building up; however as all but essential boating activity on the river had stopped during lockdown, we haven’t received the valuable boater insights which ordinarily are so useful to us. It’s only as restrictions on boating have eased, with more people getting out on the river, that we’ve been able to develop an understanding of the areas which are most in need of attention.
Of course we’ve also had to develop new methods of working which adhere to coronavirus guidance and protect our people, particularly around the use of workboats, and that’s taken a little time to develop.
In recent weeks with new safe working practices in place, and increasing insights from our customers, we have been able to install marker buoys in the worst-affected areas of the river. We’ve also published informative notices on our website and mailed details out directly to boaters that subscribe to receive our alerts. Our excellent team of highly trained, very knowledgeable lock keepers is also now back out on the Trent and is an invaluable source of local knowledge for boaters.
Our contractors are currently developing a schedule of reactive dredging on the river, although I can’t commit at this stage to specific dates when works will take place.
I also want to clarify that this is not an issue of resources; the trust invests around £8 million each year on dredging and the safety of our waterways is our absolute top priority. In this case it’s just incredibly unfortunate timing that the flooding, immediately followed by the lockdown, has severely affected our ability to respond. We’re working on it now and thank boaters for their patience and understanding.
Phil Mulligan Regional director, East Midlands