The Inland Waterways Association (IWA), on behalf of waterways businesses, welcomed Monday’s news from Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, that a new Bounce Back Loan scheme is being launched by the Government to help small businesses access loans of up to £50,000. This news goes some way to assisting the 2,000 or so waterways businesses that would otherwise be unlikely to survive the current lockdown. However, these measures do not go far enough and IWA is calling for additional financial assistance for the waterways.
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Monthly Archives: April 2020
tower works development on leeds & liverpool canal
Working with the Canal & River Trust at Tower Works
Richardson and Ask are proud to be supporting waterway and wellbeing charity Canal & River Trust, the organisation that looks after Leeds & Liverpool Canal.
Richardson and Ask are working with the Trust and its neighbouring developments, including Mustard Wharf, to improve a 200-metre stretch of the towpath, from the Canal Office to the Railway Bridge to provide a route by the water to and from Leeds train station.
Having been in need of repair for some time, the 200 year-old pathway is popular with
walkers, joggers, cyclists and anglers. This traffic-free route is a popular spot away from the hustle and bustle of the city centre. Design work is currently underway which will improve the section of towpath adjacent to the Tower Works site in the heart of Leeds and a start on site will be made as soon as the current restrictions allow.
Commenting on the works, Alan Daines, Infrastructure Services Regional Manager for Canal & River Trust said: “Leeds Southbank area is undergoing a huge transformation presently.
"Landmark developments close to our canal network, such as Tower Works, are coming to fruition all the time. With our research showing that spending time by water can help to improve our health, wellbeing and happiness we are working closely with developments to help communities to connect to their local waterway and realise the benefits of being by the water.
“Previous custodians of the Leeds & Liverpool Canal have undertaken a variety of approaches to towpath repairs over the years, leaving a disjointed and uneven surface due to the different materials used. Thanks to the support of developers like Richardson and Ask our charity is able to realise more ambitious programmes and extend existing works to provide safe pathways with improved access near to water. We have already begun work at Mustard Wharf and the new, continuous path of York stone will look superb."
Alison Carroll, development project manager for Ask Real Estate said: “Canal & River Trust is a key stakeholder and we are delighted to be working with them and our neighbours on this important work.
“When building work commences on the Tower Works site we will be partnering with the Trust and our construction contractors Sir Robert McAlpine to erect hoardings along the canal path where it borders the site which will ensure we have no impact on the canal during the build programme.
“During the construction phase the towpath will be out of bounds for safety reasons and the path improvement works will take place concurrently to the building of phase one at Tower Works, so when the development work is completed the canal path will also be ready for use.”
Tower Works
Tower Works site is located within the Holbeck Conservation Area, which features a number
of listed buildings across what was Leeds’ primary industrial area. The area is one of the only remaining places within Leeds where 19th Century industrial buildings have survived largely unaltered and uninterrupted, leaving a special character and appearance to the area.
Tower Works was founded on the site by T.R. Harding in 1864 to make steel pins for carding and combing in the textile industry. In addition to these items the company also developed a range of innovative and advanced industrial instruments, including speed indicators, counters, and gauges. The factory’s products were world class, selling all over the globe.
The original buildings, designed by Thomas Shaw, were erected in 1864-6, with the design being heavily influenced by his love for Italian architecture and art.
Within the Tower Works site, the Giotto Tower, Verona Tower are Grade II* listed, and the Engine House, Little Chimney, and 6-10 Globe Road are Grade II listed. The three towers are Holbeck’s most prominent landmarks and are an integral part of the area’s history and heritage.
The Grade II* listed Verona Tower can be recognised as the smaller ornate tower of the site. It was the first of Tower Works’ Italianate towers to be built and is based on the Lamberti Tower in Verona.
The Grade II* listed Giotto is recognised as the most ornate and largest of all the towers both in height and massing. It was designed as a ventilation tower and its structure contains filters that are able to collect metal particles produced during the pin making process. The Tower is based on the iconic Giotto Campanile, the bell tower of Florence’s Cathedral.
The Grade II listed Little Chimney is the latest of the towers and it is known as the Boiler House Chimney. It can be seen to represent typical Tuscan towers, such as the medieval towers in San Gimigniano, Tuscany.
For information about Canal & River Trust visit tower works development on leeds & liverpool canal
Design work is currently underway to improve the section of the Leeds & Liverpool canal towpath adjacent to the Tower Works site in the heart of Leeds and a start on site will be made as soon as the current restrictions allow.
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rcr launches new midi bilgeaway filter
River Canal Rescue (RCR) has extended its range of Bilgeaway filters with the addition of a new smaller midi filter, suitable for boat owners who have little or no bilge pollution, but want peace of mind they will not pollute the waterways if anything does happen.
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river canal rescue launches midi bilgeaway filter
River Canal Rescue launches midi Bilgeaway filter
River Canal Rescue (RCR) has extended its range of Bilgeaway filters with the addition of a new smaller midi filter, suitable for boat owners who have little or no bilge pollution, but want peace of mind they will not pollute the waterways if anything does happen.
Retailing at £60, the cartridge-free, ‘plug and play’ filter removes up to ¼ of a litre of hydrocarbon contaminants (petrol, diesel, engine oil etc) from the bilge area, using a non-toxic solution to render them non-reactive.
Typically requiring maintenance only once it reaches capacity, users empty out the filter by unscrewing the top and decanting the ‘crumb-like’ environmentally-friendly deposits into a container before disposing of them. The filter can then be refilled and repositioned back in place.
The Bilgeaway team describes the midi as an ‘ideal solution’ for those wanting peace of mind a filter’s in place to maintain their bilges. And with midi refills costing £12, the firm says there’s no excuse for pollution from bilges.
Its larger 10” counterpart - launched last year and described as ‘the world’s first truly environmentally-friendly bilge discharge filter’ - extracts ½ a litre of contaminants, leaving them in a cartridge which can be disposed of and the housing re-used.
In 12 months, demand for the 10” filter pushed its price down to £99 and ABC marinas and Lakeland Leisure now stock it in their chandleries. RCR is also looking to sign up more retailers.
RCR attends, on average, around 24 call-outs a month which it logs as ‘environmental near misses’ or pollution incidents, where fuel, oil, coolant and antifreeze has leaked into bilges caused by cracked filter pipes or there are spills into the engine bay, battery acid spillage and contaminated bilges.
Sales director, Damien Forman comments: “The midi and 10” filters are ‘no-brainers’; if everyone installs a bilge filter it will dramatically reduce the oil/fuel vessels discharge annually, reducing environmental pollution. In France it’s mandatory for boats to have bilge filters fitted and I hope the UK follows this example.
“If they do, in 10 years’ time the waterways environment could look completely different and the oil slicks in marinas and harbours would be a thing of the past.”
Simple to install and intended for use with a conventional bilge pump, both filters work with any current bilge system. Buy online
For more information on product there is a useful clip on YouTube