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Water Voles Information
An information board about
water voles has been set up near Patch Bridge. This celebrates
the work of the Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust, the Canal &
River Trust and the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust to protect
the nearby colony of water voles.
Rising Bollard
After a long period out of action,
the rising bollard at the southern end of the walk-way alongside
the Victoria Dock is working again. This ensures that only permit
holders can park their cars around the northern end of the Dock.
Gloucester Tall Ships Festival
Huge crowds thronged the docks over the weekend 24-27 May 2013 to
see five tall ships, other smaller craft and a wide range of land based
entertainment. (Photos)
Awards for Gloucester Projects
Two Gloucester projects
featured in the 2013 Waterways Renaissance Awards which recognise exceptional projects that are helping to
care for canals and rivers across the UK. The regeneration of Gloucester Docks
won the award for Area-Based Regeneration, and the Friends of the Gloucester Waterways Museum
were runners up in both the Education & Learning and Historic
Environment categories for their restoration
of the Museum's steam dredger.
Two New Units Open
The two units at the west end
of the Barge Arm apartments opened for business on 23 May. One
houses the Barge Restaurant serving English food, and the other
is the Silent Water gifts, jewellery and home style shop.
Fire Brigade Exercise
Gloucestershire firefighters
held a large-scale exercise in the docks on 21 May to test their
ability to fight fires during a water shortage. With 14 fire
engines and high-volume pumps, crews pumped water through more
than two miles of hose which delivered the water back to the
dock. (Citizen 23 May 2013)
Preparing a New Lounge
Work has started on converting
the former Llanthony Mill on the corner of Llanthony Rd and
Merchants Rd to a new lounge for the Loungers chain based in
Bristol. The aim is to provide a neighbourhood food-led
cafe/bar with a relaxed environment.
Hoardings Painted
Following protests about plain
chipboard hoardings over the empty units in the Merchants Quay
building, City Council leader Paul James has persuaded the developers
to paint the boards blue. (Citizen 9 May 2013)
Boat Explosion
An explosion ripped the roof off
a small cabin cruiser at Sharpness Marina on 6 May and caused
a woman to be thrown overboard. Fire and ambulance
crews rushed to the scene, and the woman was treated for minor
injuries. (Citizen 7 May 2013)
Kathleen & May Export Licence
The three-masted
topsail schooner Kathleen & May, which once traded
to Gloucester and has attended Gloucester Tall Ship Festivals,
is due to be sold to the Middle East, although the Arts
Council has delayed the export licence until June in the hope
that funds can be raised to keep her in the UK. A Liverpool
group is setting up a trust, but raising large sums takes time,
and the South West Maritime History Society is lobbying the
Arts Council to change the way such matters are handled. (ePetition)
Flowers by Llanthony Bridge
The window box on Llanthony
Bridge cabin and the nearby plant box have been painted by a
CRT volunteer, and they have been filled with a variety of flowering
plants.
Red
Wheel for Docks
A Red Wheel plaque provided by the Transport
Trust was unveiled by Waterways Manager Nick Worthington on
27 April in the presence of the Mayor of Gloucester and members
of the Trust. The plaque, near the entrance to the Waterways
Museum, recognises that Gloucester has the best preserved
19th century inland port in the country. (Photo: Ray Wilson)
Museum Grant Approved
The Gloucester Waterways
Museum has been given a Stage 1 grant of £60,000 by the Heritage
Lottery Fund to help prepare a Stage 2 bid for a grant of almost
£1 million. The project includes developing displays
about the rivers and canals between the Midlands and the Bristol
Channel, building a new entrance and shop in front of the existing
building and refurbishing the barge Sabrina as an educational
facility.
Fire-boat
Restored
After a major restoration by T Nielsen &
Co, the famous Thames fire-boat Massey Shaw was prepared
for lifting on to a lorry on 24 April. After being launched
at Sharpness, it returned to Gloucester for fitting
out in the small dry dock. (Photo: Mike Wood)
New Exhibition Open
A new permanent exhibition
at the Soldiers of Gloucestershire Museum was opened by rugby
star Mike Tindall on 16 April. It is dedicated to life in the
modern army and features the essential 'black bag' which is
issued to all soldiers going to Afghanistan. (Citizen
17 Apr 2013)
Waterways Museum Reunion
A reunion of past and
present members of staff was held at the Waterways Museum on
13 April to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Museum's opening.
Those attending included most of the original management team
that set up the Museum in 1988.
Odd
Couple in Dry Dock
On 9 April, the dry dock at Sharpness
was occupied by the motor barge Wye Invader and the tall
ship Pelican of London. The barge became notorious when
it was taken up the Wye to Hereford over twenty years ago and
the tall ship provides adventure voyages for young people.
(Photo: Mike Nash)
Offices Plan
The owner of the Lock Warehouse has
applied for planning permission to use the ground floor of the
building for offices as he has not managed to attract any
shops or restaurants to the available units. (App Ref 13/00284)
Musical Creation Afloat
Citizen reporter Mike Williamson and composer
Nicholas Keyworth are using a boat moored in the Victoria Dock
as a place to finalise a musical set against the backdrop
of the war in Bosnia in the 1980s. Following pilot performances at
the Edinburgh Festival and elsewhere which were well received,
the pair are writing additional songs for a production destined
for the West End. (Citizen 3 Apr 2013)
Barber in Weighbridge House
Leigh Phillips has
opened a barber's shop in the former weighbridge house beside
the Southgate St entrance to the docks. Leigh formerly operated
from a shop on the other side of Southgate St. (Citizen
2 Apr 2013)
Tall Ships For Gloucester Festival
Ships confirmed
for the Festival over the late Spring Bank Holiday weekend include
the brigantine Phoenix, screw schooner Amazon,
replica of John Cabot's Matthew, gaff-rigged Ruth
and three-masted La Belle Angele. (Website)
Barge Elver at Work
The motorised former mud hopper
Elver has started to carry construction materials for
a sub-station being constructed by Western Power Distribution
to the south of Cambridge Arms Bridge. The barge is expected
to make about 100 trips, bringing
stone to the site and taking earth away. (Photo)
New Orchard
Volunteers have helped CRT to plant
twenty new apple and pear trees beside the canal at Parkend.
(Citizen 26 Mar 2013)
Double Divers
Two diving teams were working at
Gloucester on 26 March. While one team was replacing a damaged
paddle rod at the lock, a second team was clearing an obstruction
preventing sealing of the large dry dock gates.
Lottery Cash for Museum
The Soldiers of Gloucestershire
Museum has been awarded a grant of £493,000 from the Heritage
Lottery Fund to revamp existing displays and take new learning
programmes out into the community. The Museum has also been
given £94,000 by the people of the South Korean city of Paju
as thanks for the Glorious Glosters role in the Battle of Imjin
River. (Citizen 19 Mar 2013)
Kaskelot for Overhaul
The tall ship Kaskelot, recently
sold by the Square Sail Co, arrived at Sharpness on 17 March.
(Photo)
On the following day, she passed up the canal to Gloucester to be overhauled by T Nielsen & Co in preparation
for a long voyage.
Berkeley Boilers
The last two boilers from the
decommissioned Berkeley Power Station have left Sharpness on
a pontoon barge for Avonmouth, there to be transferred to a sea-going vessel for
onward shipment to Sweden for recycling.
New Role for Transient
The huge motor barge Transient,
which a few years ago was due to carry aggregate from Ryall,
near Upton-on-Severn to the Cemex concrete plant at Two Mile
Bend, has found a new role on the Thames. Now owned by S Walsh
& Sons and renamed Thurrock, the barge mainly carries concrete
and building waste materials between the Greenwich peninsular
and Pitsea Wharf between Dartford and Gravesend. (IWA Waterways
Spring 2013)
Personal Contact with CRT
From 4 March, CRT stopped
staffing their Dock Office reception. Instead, sanitary station keys, electric or pump-out cards,
long term boat licences and information
about local canals can be obtained in person from the Gloucester
Waterways Museum reception.
New Plans for Bakers Quay
Plans have been prepared
for the multi-million pound refurbishment of the derelict buildings at the
south end of Bakers Quay and the redevelopment of the surrounding
land. Rokeby Developments are proposing that the former Foster
Brothers Mill and Downings Malthouse extension be converted
to housing by Crest Nicholson, that the Malthouse in Merchants
Rd becomes an area for new food and drink outlets, that the
Foster Brothers engine house becomes a Brewers Fare family
restaurant and that new buildings nearby
would include an 80-bed Premier Inn Hotel and a Costa Drive Thru. (Citizen 2 Mar 2013)
Drinking Fountain Inscription
Thanks to Gloucester
City Council and Gloucester Civic Trust, stones have been removed
from around the base of the historic drinking fountain beside
the Commercial Rd entrance to the docks to reveal an inscription
saying Gloucester Local Board of Health 1863. Merchants had
requested a supply of water for the benefit of their workers,
and it was also much used for filling ship's water casks.
Ecclesiastical Pull Out
Ecclesiastical Insurance
has called off its agreement to build new headquarters on the
current car park between the Victoria Dock and Southgate St.
The group blamed the current economic conditions and the extremely
challenging office construction market in the region. (Citizen
22 Feb 2013)
Under Secretary Visits Docks
Lord De Mauley, parliamentary
under secretary at the Department for Environment Food and Rural
Affairs, visited the docks on 18 February accompanied
by Gloucester MP Richard Graham. They called at the Soldiers
of Gloucestershire Museum and the Furniture Recycling Centre.
(Citizen 20 Feb 2013)
Sims Bridge
CRT staff started replacing the decking
of Sims Bridge on 14 February. It was still possible to cross
the bridge during occasional breaks in the work.
Hoarding on Bakers Quay
The Canal & River Trust has applied for planning permission to erect
hoarding along the southern end of Bakers Quay to prevent access to their narrow
strip of property along the canal frontage which is considered to be subject to a health &
safety risk due to the poor condition of the adjoining listed buildings. (App
Ref 13/00072)
Beer By Tricycle
Gloucester Brewery is using
a pedalled tricycle to deliver beers around the city centre.
Use of the tricycle, which can carry six casks weighing 50kg
each, reduces the company's carbon footprint and improves
staff fitness levels. (Citizen 1 Feb 2013)
Swallow
at Gloucester
Historic tug Swallow is currently
based in the Victoria Dock, having previously had a mooring
near Parkend Bridge. Built in 1937 by James Pollock Sons &
Co Ltd at Faversham, she worked on the River Lee, the Regents
Canal and the Thames until the late 1960s. (Photo)
Regus in North Warehouse
The Regus Group opened
a suite of serviced offices in the North Warehouse on 28 November.
Gloucester City Council still have their council chamber and
civic suite on the top floor.
Sweep
Visits Docks
A narrow boat with a sweep's brush attached
at the stern visited Gloucester Docks on 27 January. It belongs
to certified sweep Graham Little who trades as Severnside Sweeps,
tel 07415 744261. (Photo)
Fire Dowsed by Canal Water
Thousands of gallons
of canal water were used to fight a major fire in an empty
building in St Ann Way on 27 January. The building had been
used as offices during the construction of the Gloucester Quays
outlet centre. (Citizen 28 Jan 2013)
Towpath Rangers
The
Canal & River Trust are looking for volunteer Towpath Rangers,
based at Gloucester Docks and Saul Junction, to befriend all
users of the canal and to help improve the towpath and areas
around canal bridges. (More
details)
Rowing Club Boost
Following
the success of Team GB rowers in the Olympics, membership of
Gloucester Rowing Club is up significantly on last year. The
beginners course in September was flooded with applicants and
there is a waiting list for the next course in April. (Citizen
16 January)
Nursery in Former Pub
The former Sir Colin Campbell
pub in Llanthony Rd reopened as a children's nursery for 0-5
year olds on 14 January. Known as Into-play @ the Quays, it
is an off-shoot of the established Into-play nursery in Longlevens.
Coal Boats on Canal
Narrow boats Bletchley and Argus
made one of their regular visits in early January to deliver coal to customers at
various locations along the canal.
To order coal or diesel for a future visit, phone Peter Hawker on 07984
900613.
Painting Trip Boat
At R W Davis & Son's yard
at Saul Junction, a ten-seater passenger boat is being painted
in the livery of the Cotswold Canals Trust. From Easter, it
is due to run trips, including private charters, along the
newly-restored stretch of the Stroudwater Canal at Ebley.
Boat Fire
Two fire engines from Stroud
attended a fire on the houseboat Eccles David moored
at Saul late on 1 January. The owner was alerted by a smoke
detector and attempted to tackle the blaze, but he was forced
to evacuate and later needed treatment for smoke inhalation.
(Citizen 3 Jan 2013)
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