BEDFORD & MILTON KEYNES

July 2013 Volume 11 no 3

WATERWAY TRUST
PATRON Sir Samuel Whitbread KCVO

John Bunyan - Afloat At Last

After many months of planning and fundraising the boat committee have finally achieved their goal. The B&MK Community trip boat was launched on 3rd July. It made the 60 mile journey from boatbuilders Colecraft in Warwickshire by lorry and was ceremoniously craned into the water at Priory Marina in Bedford. This is almost exactly 2 years after we started planning the specification for the boat, and almost 3 years from when the idea was given serious consideration. The last six months has been very challenging. We have had a lot of difficulty with the electrical designer that has considerably delayed the boat build. Fortunately Colecraft have been very helpful in overcoming challenges we faced as the build progressed. Moreover, they agreed to Trust members painting the boat in order to keep the scheduled delivery date despite several setbacks. Drew Marchant agreed to manage this and keep everything on schedule in June. On the upside we have incorporated more features into the boat in the first year. We have full lighting that will allow us to run trips after dark. Continued on page 4

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Graham Mabbutt with members of Bedford Colleges Team 9 Marketing students celebrating the launch of the Town and Anchor cruises to Great Barford which the students have developed for the B&MK.

View From The Chair

What a busy and exciting period lies ahead of us. The Information Evening/Annual General Meeting that we held on 16th May was a great success. At that meeting we were looking forward to the launch of the community boat John Bunyan, overcoming some route planning problems in MK and elsewhere and searching for new directors to join the Trust. I can now report that by the time you receive this newsletter the John Bunyan will be in the water at Bedford and its initial trips may well have begun. The planning problems at the MK end seem to be close to being resolved as an indicative route has been agreed with MK Council, the Land Owners/Developers and the Trust. Our sponsors David Lock Associates are working up master plans for the route free of charge, for which we are very grateful. I am also delighted to announce that Jane Hamilton, former Chief Executive Officer of Milton Keynes Partnership has agreed to become a Trustee and to join our Board of Directors. Jane will bring with her a multitude of experience. She is familiar with the B&MK Project having signed off the original planning consent for British Waterways in her role at MKP. Jane has also worked with some of our other colleagues as a consultant for Renaissance Bedford and as a Bedford resident knows Bedford as well as Milton Keynes. She will be a great addition to our team. Having held the Info Evening/AGM our next major event is our Annual Partnership Conference. Please make a note of the date: It is on Thursday 7th November 2013 from 2pm. at the Rufus Centre, Flitwick. The meeting is open to all B&MK Trust members, partners and supporters. There is no entry fee, it is financed through sponsorship. I look forward to meeting many of you then. Graham Mabbutt. P.S. Check out our new website: b-mkwaterway.org.uk You can also follow me on Twitter and Facebook!

REAL PROGRESS ON PLANS FOR B&MK WATERWAY BUT TRICKY ISSUES AHEAD
BEDFORD COMMUNITY BOAT TRIPS IN JULY INTERESTING EVOLUTION OF MILTON KEYNES SECTION QUESTION MARK OVER COVANTA FUNDING B&MK CHAIRMAN GRAHAM BUTT TO STAND DOWN MAB-

A close-up view of the A to Z plan for the Bedford and Milton Keynes Waterway is pointing up real progress over the past year - and some tricky issues ahead. Everyone is working really hard on it and we are making progress. Another year has passed and next year there will be more progress. This was the assessment of Paul Vann, secretary of the B&MK Waterway Consortium, at this years B&MK Trust annual general meeting in Newport Pagnell. The eight-member Consortium, which includes the local authorities of Bedford Borough Council, Milton Keynes Council and Central Bedfordshire, is driving forward plans for the 26km of waterway between the Grand Union Canal at Milton Keynes and the River Great Ouse at Bedford. Councillor Brian White, newly-appointed Mayor of Milton Keynes, praised the enthusiasm of Trust members people who have kept the project alive through all the difficult times. He spoke of the effort that had gone into the Trust gathering information and supporting his col-

B&MK News
Published by the Bedford & Milton Keynes Waterway Trust.

Editor............Geoff Wheeler Proof Readers.............Don & Jill Allison Photo enhancement....Keith Malone Distribution.......Leigh Willows Printed by ........Murrays Comments or articles for inclusion in the next edition should be sent to editor@b-mkwaterway.co.uk
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leagues to make the case for getting the project into planning documents and core strategy. However, there had been a request to modify part of the route in Milton Keynes and this had resulted in a delay to the Councils core strategy. In a detailed overview of the proposed route, Mr Vann, who is also Economic Manager for Growth at Bedford Borough Council, identified achievements and complexities. He spoke of the need for flexibility and responsiveness to developments. Referring to the Milton Keynes area he noted the interesting evolution of some of the sections and tricky issues being addressed around this key delivery area for the waterway.

Bedford Community Boat

Don Allison, Finance Director of the Trust, said progress on the boat project over the past two years had been absolutely amazing. Construction of the boat John Bunyan was nearing completion and despite delays it looked like delivery by the end of June. Trips on the Great Ouse in Bedford should begin in July. Crew training was well underway with nine trainee boatmasters about to take final examinations.

Directors
The following directors who had completed a three-year term were re-appointed: David Fowler, Hilary Goldsmith, Richard Wood and John Best.

Buckingham Canal Society

Helen Preston spoke about progress on restoration of the Buckingham and Old Stratford Arms of the Grand Union Canal, including the imminent re-watering of a length of canal near Buck-

Paul Vann addresses the meeting

Mr Vann noted a number of other complexities as he highlighted sections of the route through Central Bedfordshire and Bedford Borough. A more detailed study was taking place on how to bring forward sections of the waterway through the proposed Innovation Park in Marston Vale including indicative costs and implications for wildlife. Summing up, Mr Vann said the fundamental tools were in place and the Consortium needed to be constantly vigilant, responsive, convincing, opportunistic and flexible.

Helen Preston from Buckingham Canal Society ingham. She said there should be closer working between her society and the B&MK as there are parallels between the two projects. Opportunism is also one of our essential strategies as well as constant awareness of changing circumstances, she said. The Societys aim is to create a rural canal, creating a green link from Cosgrove to Buckingham which might also mitigate some of the flooding problems in the area. Public awareness of the social, economic and environmental benefits of the project has grown owing to the hard-working volunteers who are the essence of the Society. This has led to developing partnerships within the community.

Covanta
The Covanta waste-to-energy development is obliged to provide a section of waterway as well as two bridges beneath roads that cross the line of the waterway. This amounts to some 3.375m of funding when the plant is operational. In answer to a question, Mr Vann said Covanta did not appear to have won a number of contracts they were hoping for and had decided to dispose of their UK assets. If a buyer emerges they would inherit the same obligations in the planning permission. So it was a question of wait and see, he said.

Graham Mabbutt and Claire Gathard

Graham Mabbutt announced that he would be standing down as Trust chairman during the 3

coming year. I have enjoyed the past two years immensely but the volume of work and the level of commitment it takes are also immense. However, the results make it worthwhile.

John Bunyan Afloat

We have 230V mains so we can boil water for teas & coffees etc as well as discos and entertainment, and the galley is partially fitted so that we can offer more in the way of snacks, cream teas and ploughmans lunches etc. The interior is fully lined which looks smarter and will reduce heat loss in winter. The challenge now is to have heating installed in time for our winter schedule starting in September. All 18 tables on the boat have been made by John Neale. In addition, we have been training over 50 crewmembers since March. Thanks to the dedication of our phone bookings team we have 16 charters in July and have scheduled 22 public trips each month in the summer. There are regular public trips on Thursdays and on both Saturdays and Sundays at the weekends see www.b-mkwaterway.org.uk/the-trips for details. how to book or get a brochure to send to a friend. Additionally there are special lunch trips to the Anchor Inn in Gt Barford on the last Wednesday of each month for a leisurely day out. There are also some special trips booked. The first is for an evening cruise with an RSPB guide on Friday August 2nd at 18.30, the second is on Thursday 15th August with a Bat guide leaving at 19.00 and the 3rd is a history guide by David Fowler on 3rd September . We hope to run special trips for Halloween and muchrequested Santa trips in December but dont have anyone to organise them yet. If this is your forte, do get in touch with us. We have an exciting variety of trips planned for Bank holiday Monday 26th August. Starting at 10.30 - 13.00 with a return trip through 2 locks to Cardington. This will be followed by a short return trip through Town lock 13.30 to 14.30. Then an elegant cruise to Kempston with cream teas leaving at 15.00 until 17.30. All these can be booked by calling The booking line 0330 1239 511 from a mobile (as part of your call allowance) or free on 0800 3282 803 from a landline this is open 7 mornings a week from 9.30 to 13.00 and on Wednesday & Thursday afternoons from 13.30 to 17.00, and Tuesday and Friday evenings from 18.30 to 21.30. Alternatively email bmkboat@gmail.com . Do contact us if you would like to organise a party, trip or meeting on the boat. To maintain the momentum we still need more volunteers; besides additional crewmembers, we need more people to help with bookings by taking calls redirected to their homes. Alan Mayo is doing the crew scheduling and needs more people to share the responsibility with him. We need people to help service the boat and top up with diesel etc. And we need coordinators for special trips particularly the Santa trips in December. If you could help in any way please email bmkboat@gmail.com . Roger Crews

Continued from front page

Claire was presented with a number of gifts from the Trust After the community boat launch, Grahams next project is to form a team of volunteers, identify parts of the route that the Trust could get, or already have planning permission for, and to encourage the Inland Waterway Recovery Group to assist in a self-dig-out-the-channel scheme. Ambitious it sounds, but doable. He added that the Trust was in a strong sound financial position but appealed for additional directors (three vacancies) and volunteers to drive the project forward. Earlier he paid tribute to Claire Gathard, who is retiring after six years as the Trusts project officer. She had been an absolutely wonderful support to the Trust, the members and volunteers. Councillor Brian White made a special presentation to Claire.

220 years since the Grand Junction Canal received Royal Assent for the Parliamentary Bill. In association with the I.W.A MK Branch and the Canal & River Trust, the B&MK Waterway Trust are taking part in the Milton Keynes Mayors Monthly Monday Meal. Monday 14th. October 7.00pm. The three course meal with a complimentary drink on arrival will be held at the famous MK Indian Restaurant The Jaipur. Tickets cost 25, profits shared between the B&MK Waterway Trust and the Mayors Charity. Menu will be a mild/medium Indian meal. There will be a vegetarian option, and an English/Continental alternative of roast chicken and chips. The evening will be hosted by the Mayor of Milton Keynes Councillor Brian White. This is a very important event for the Trust and we are honoured to have the support of the MK Mayor. Please do support the evening. We would also like donations for the auction or raffle. Tickets can be booked via enquiries@b-mkwaterway.org.uk 4

JOIN THE CELEBRATIONS:

The Launch In Pictures

The John Bunyan begins its first journey

Driving over our underpass on the A421

Under way at last Nail biting moment at Priory Marina She floats!

The first lock. Not much room to spare

Competition winner Basil Hubbard performs the naming ceremony

Left to Right, Cllr. Doug McMurdo, Sir Samuel Whitbread, Graham Mabbutt, and High Lady Sheriff, Deborah Inskip.

Pictures courtesy of Keith Malone and Alan Mayo

Along the Great Ouse as part of the Bedfordshire Walking Festival Organised by The Ramblers, Bedfordshire

Walk The Route

Saturday 14th September 10.30 Meet at Aspects Leisure Centre MK41 9LN Walk to Kempston Mill with the option of returning by boat (subject to river conditions)
Invitation The fourth Annual Partnership Conference of the B&MK Waterway Trust Thursday 7thNovember 2013 2pm. until 5pm. Lockyer Suite Rufus Centre Steppingly Road, Flitwick MK45 1AH.
It is the Trusts policy to hold the conference in different local authority areas each year, and this year its in Central Bedfordshire. We are waiting to confirm our main guest speakers, but we can assure you that you will be in for a very interesting afternoon! As well as our guest speakers we will have our usual Spotlight on Progress report with a panel of our Consortium Members led by Paul Vann, including a report on the cycle route Sustrans 51 led by Andy Knight. There will be an opportunity to put questions to the panel and the guest speakers before you are invited to mix and mingle with tea and coffee. There will be more details in our September Newsletter. The event is free of charge to all members, supporters and partners. Book your place at: ConferenceBookings@b-mkwaterway.org.uk 6

Events Calendar 2013

Date Tues 16 Jul Event Projects Group at Box End Park from 6pm. IWA National Festival. Cassiobury Park near Watford WD18 7LH. Visit the Trust stand in the marquee, hear the special invitation talks about the project and see the project showcased as one of the IWAs selected restoration/regeneration projects at this, the Inland Waterway Associations National Festival 2013. More information: https://www.waterways.org.uk/events_festivals/national_festival_2013/ iwa_national_festival_2013 Linslade Canal Festival. Visit the B&MK display stand (11am-5pm) at this annual festival with 100s of craft and demonstration stands in Tiddenfoot Waterside Park LU7 2AE. Woodworks festival at The Forest Centre in Marston Vale. Visit the Trust stand at this weekend festival of wood craft, trees, machines, real ale, arena displays and fantastic folk and roots music at the Forest Centre and Millennium Country Park. Walk the Route in association with the Bedfordshire Ramblers Walking Festival (7th-15th). Bedford Town Centre along the Great Ouse to Kempston Mill, with the option of returning by boat (subject to river conditions). Meet 10:30am at Aspects Leisure Centre, Newnham Ave, MK41 9LN Heritage Open Days: Talks and BBQ in Broughton. Join us for waterways and local heritage talks in the mediaeval church of St Lawrence in Broughton, followed by a BBQ (small charge to cover costs) in the grounds of the charming Old Rectory next door. Watch this space for the event programme, with more information on speakers and timings coming soon. Visit the Churches Conservation Trust website for news on this event and others, coming up this year in the churches they care for Projects Group at Box End Park from 6pm. Mayors Monthly Monday Meal 7pm for 7.30 see page 4 4th Annual Partnership Conference at The Rufus Centre, Flitwick, Central Bedfordshire with the latest progress on the route from B&MK Waterway Consortium. Projects Group at Box End Park from 6pm.

Fri-Sun 19-21 Jul

Sat 27 Jul

Sat-Sun 7-8 Sep

Sat 14 Sep

Sun 15 Sep

Thurs 19 Sep Mon 14 Oct Thurs 7 Nov early-mid Nov

Come and join in on walks, hear our talks or visit the Trust stand at the above festivals and activities. Un-shaded events are open to all, events shaded yellow are for Trust members see our website at: http://b-mkwaterway.org.uk to join us and support the waterway. Please contact the Trust Project Office

Please contact the Trust Project Office on 01908 302592 or info@b-mkwaterway.org.uk to register or to find out more about any of the above events. Or visit the B&MK website's Events page at: http://www.b-mkwaterway.org.uk/events/event/ where we post more information as events get closer.

Weekly and Short Break Holiday Hire

4-8 berth self drive Luxury Narrow Boats

Our base at Linslade is within weekend reach of the Waterways Museum at Stoke Bruerne or the Chiltern Hills and Aylesbury. Choice of exciting one or two week cruises including the River Thames. Also Waterside Cottage (sleeps up to 11) set in the boatyard grounds

Excellent Boats on a Beautiful Canal Cruise through the waterside parks of Milton Keynes

The Wyvern Shipping Co Ltd

Rothschild Road, Linslade, Leighton Buzzard, Beds, LU7 2TF

Tel: 01525 372355 Fax: 01525 852308 www.canalholidays.co.uk Email:James@canalholidays.co.uk

Take a Cruise - on Bedfords Great Ouse

tel. 0800 3282 803 from a landline 03301239511 from a mobile E-mail bmkboat@gmail.com

B&MK WATERWAY NEWS is published by the Bedford and Milton Keynes Waterway Trust, a non profit-making company limited by guarantee (No.5760839). Registered office 30 St John Street Newport Pagnell MK16 8HJ and a Registered Charity (No.1114294). Contact us at enquiries@b-mkwaterway.co.uk or Tel 01908 302592 (mornings) 8