COVID-19 update
Dear Boater & Supporter
I wanted to give you an update of the situation following the Prime Minister's announcement last night. Also I wanted to give you an update on the state of the navigation following six month of flooding.
Following from the Prime Minister's announcement we are asking leisure boats to restrict non-essential travel. This is for three reasons. One to support the Government in trying to stop the spread of the virus. Two to help those who live-aboard and will need to travel and have access to services and moorings on the river and thirdly to ensure that there are enough flood safe moorings available for those who need to travel for essential reasons or who are on their boats self-isolating.
In support of this we have therefore suspended the 24 hour and 48 hour mooring duration limit on all our public moorings until further notice and until government guidelines change. We have also suspended any overnight mooring charges that would normally have been in place at various locations. Also it is important that when boats do have to move that they moor up at flood safe moorings. This information is on our website and all services and moorings identified in our welcome leaflet link below.
Unfortunately both Pershore and Evesham pump outs were wiped out in the floods and the machines are away at the supplier being rebuilt. We are trying to get these reinstalled as soon as possible but obviously the COVID 19 situation is causing the contractor major problems who has now closed for at least two weeks. All other service sites are operational. Private marinas and boat yards will be taking their own decisions on managing the situation so you will need to call them to see if they can provide their normal services.
We request that everyone be considerate and make sure a minimal amount of essential movement is maintained to keep vital facilities available to those who need them.
To try and control boat movements in support of the Government's instructions, Tewkesbury lock is closed to normal traffic, however it can opened for booked essential passages. The Lock Keeper is self-isolating on site in a secure compound. Boats should book a passage 24 hours in advance by ringing 0300 999 2010. A team will then be sent to site to operate the lock at an agreed time.
Even though the ANT team is reduced due the need to for some of them to self-isolate, we still have two teams of field personnel out on the river doing essential flood recover and public safety works while strictly following the government COVID-19 guidelines. Our administration function has been moved to our satellite office (used in flooding) and the Trust continues to be administered in the normal way. Contact details are as below.
Unfortunately following six months of flooding the navigation has been hit quite hard. The river only went down just over a week ago so we still have a lot to do with a much reduced team. Below are the current issues.
- Barton Lock top gate has failed and the lock is closed.
- Evesham Lock is closed due to a significant amount of debris on the weir barrier and at the lock entrance.
- Nafford Lock is closed due to significant debris above the top gates.
- Eckington Bridge has debris on it partly into the Navigation arch.
- There are numerous trees down on the navigation partially blocking the channel.
- Most moorings and lock sides have mud and debris on them.
The tree shear and clearance barge is working its way down river from Pershore and it is hoped that we will clear from Pershore to Tewkesbury by the end of this week. An update will be issued later this week.
We will do everything we can to support our boaters by administering and maintaining the navigation so that we can all return to enjoy our lovely river once this crisis is passed.
We recommend that all boaters follow the government advice on the coronavirus by visiting the GOV.UK website by clicking the button below.
Please do not hesitate to contact us on our numbers below if you need any advice, guidance or support.
Satellite Administration Office & Customer Service: 0300 111 2010
Licensing Enquiries: 0300 111 2010
Navigation concerns or incidents including an update of the navigation condition: 0300 999 2010
For general enquires or online licensing visit our website by clicking the button below.
Thank you for your patience and continued support.
In these difficult times we need to all pull together to ensure that we get through this and are ready to once again enjoy our wonderful waterway.
Best Regards
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