Good afternoon everyone,

As I write this Christmas Briefing the uncertainty we have all faced this year still prevails. The Brexit negotiations have been extended and there are calls for the Government to change its mind over the arrangements for Christmas.

And yet… with thanks to our marvellous staff, volunteers and Members and all our boat owners the Broads and the Broads Authority has weathered the storm pretty well and we are well placed to make the most of the opportunities 2021 presents us with.

One of the jobs I had to do this week, which necessitated a rare visit to the office, was to seal the transfer documents for a small amount of land at Peto’s Marsh from the Suffolk Wildlife Trust. This will provide a secure location for the installation of a pontoon for water borne visitors to this expanding and important nature reserve and fantastic new visitor centre. I am looking forward to seeing it in place.

We are making rapid progress in delivering the package of safety measures approved by the Broads Authority at its meeting on 20 November. The on-line training for next year’s hire boat visitors is on the way and we hope to have the 9 videos complete before the end of the February. Our recruitment of additional Seasonal Assistant Rangers is also underway and I am delighted to announce that Jon Hopes, our former Broads Beat officer, has been appointed to the new post of Senior Ranger (Compliance and Safety). The safety package is being funded in the first two years form our National Park Reserves with the specific approval from Defra.

I am anticipating that both visitors and our private boat owners will notice and appreciate the increased level of patrolling next summer. Our plan is to have all the new Rangers trained and in place for Easter.

I am proud to say that we have been awarded a Knowledge Pioneer Award at the EDP Norfolk Business Awards 2020, sponsored by University of East Anglia.

The judges were particularly impressed with the Broads Authority's partnership working with stakeholders, research institutes, education establishments and local communities including farmers, landowners, and also visitors - whether locals or tourists. They loved our agenda of quietly getting on with sharing our knowledge and experience purely for the benefit of the Broads.

Congratulations everyone. This is a tribute to the work of every member of staff and all our volunteers, who all deserve this recognition of the fantastic contribution they make to looking after one of the world’s most important wetlands and inland waterways.

Here is a link to the EDP video: https://www.edp24.co.uk/business/knowledge-pioneer-winner-1-6941933

And the Broads Authority’s CANAPE project has received a Green Apple award, gold category, for Environmental Best Practice in Carbon Reduction. This was in recognition of the work we are doing with our 13 CANAPE partners, across five countries to address the problem of CO2 emissions from drained peatlands.

I am pleased to see that the three new electric charging points at Acle Bridge are now fully operational and being used by boaters.

Our Operations and Maintenance team have started to replace around 90 metres of quay heading timber, capping and waling at our Hardley Cross 24-hour mooring. For safety, the site is fully closed and boaters should instead use the nearby 24-hour moorings at Cantley or Chedgrave. Weather and tides permitting, the work is scheduled to finish in January. They have also installed new bridge height gauge boards on both sides of Potter Old Bridge and have been replacing lost and damaged mooring posts on the Rivers Bure and Ant.

We have recently purchased five new floating modular pontoons – known as NATO floats, which join onto our existing seven floats to create a mobile pontoon large enough to carry out a wide range of navigational maintenance work. The floats have a shallow draught so are able to manoeuvre easily and are used to transport equipment for tree work (excavator and tree sheers), piling and other equipment for working on 24-hour mooring refurbishment. They have dramatically improved the efficiency of our bankside tree and scrub management.

We have also gone out to tender for the refurbishment of our St Benet's Abbey 24 hour moorings to take place next year.

We look forward to welcoming back volunteers in the new year to help Rangers with conservation work at our fen sites.

Invasive killer shrimp (Dikerogammarus villosus) has been found in East and Suffolk Water’s Rollesby and Ormesby Broads. Boaters and anglers are being asked to help stop them spreading any further by ensuring that all boats, equipment and clothing are cleaned after use.

These predatory shrimp prey on damselflies, water boatmen, freshwater shrimp, fish eggs and fry and then dominate the river ecosystem.

If boating or angling in this area please:

• Check you're not carrying living organisms
• Check your equipment and clothing for living organisms
• Pay particular attention to areas that are damp and hard to inspect
• Clean and wash all equipment, footwear and clothes thoroughly
• If you do come across any organisms, leave them at the water body where you found them
• Dry equipment and clothing carefully
• Make sure you don't transfer water elsewhere

The first phase of the Upper Thurne dredging programme is almost complete. The dredging crew have been in place at Horsey Mere since early October and have moved an estimated 5000m3 of accumulated sediment from where Waxham Cut discharges into the Mere. This sediment has been transported to Hickling Broad for use in the Chara Bay reedbed creation.

December

Dredging moves from Horsey Mere to the lagoon behind Chara Bay at Hickling.

January to mid-February

• Dredging continues in the lagoon behind Chara Bay.
• During this period, dredging works will pause to enable preparation of the geotextile tubes for reed bed creation in February.
• From 15 February, dredging wherries will be diverted to transport reed rhizomes from a dyke off Heigham Sound to Chara Bay (for approximately 10 days).
• Mud pumping Catfield Dyke will continue throughout this period.
• Catfield Dyke will remain closed to all traffic as per Notice to Mariners No 11 - with a possible extension into February. Please check our Notices to Mariners
• The upstream section of Waxham Cut will be dredged this winter, commencing at the beginning of January. This will complete the dredging of the entire length of the Cut, from Bridge Farm to Horsey Mere, following the works on the downstream section last year.
• The sediment removed from the Cut will be placed on the adjacent western bank.
• This will require a closure of the Cut. See Notice to Mariners No 12.

Our Waterways and Recreation Officer Lewis is seeking the views of local communities and visitors regarding the future of the Riverside Park in Hoveton.

We want to hear what the communities of Hoveton/Wroxham and visitors to the area most value about the Riverside Park area of Hoveton and what improvements they would like to see in the future.

Please have your say and fill out the short questionnaire. It contains only 10 questions and your answers will be used to demonstrate to potential funders the direction that the local community want to take for the area: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/WFZ8LK6. Closes on 31 January 2021

Working alongside Norwich City Council and the River Wensum Strategy Partnership, we have installed new pontoons at New Mills on the River Wensum to improve access for paddle craft such as canoes, kayaks and stand-up paddle-boards (SUPs). The sluice, part of this impressive example of Victorian architecture, is still used to manage water levels upstream of the structure. With no easy way around the sluice, it was the end point for most canoe, kayak and SUP trips. Although there were a set of concrete steps on the downstream side of the river, they were usually underwater and not accessible. The work, which was completed in October 2020, allows paddle craft users to safely remove their craft from the river and re-enter either side of the sluice.

Please look after yourselves and remember you can contact me directly if you have any questions. If you know of anyone else who would like to receive my briefings please pass on this link. 

Best wishes, 

John Packman
Chief Executive