Sheffield Narrowboats

Ribble Link
1999 Anticipated Total Construction Cost £3,752,947.14
Revised to £4,091,138
Revised again and this is the figure you will see quoted £5.4 million

However there was an overspend of £1.1m
Therefore Total Construction Costs £6.5million
Add
'Maintenance' to year 2007 of £2.1m
= Cost to date £8.6m and rising annually by approx £400,000.

Estimated 'maintenance budget for 40 years, £806,000
Maintenance spent in first 5 years operation £2.1million

£400,000 or £600,000?
Ribble Link dredging on target

22nd Mar 2007

The Ribble Link is on target to reopen on 6 April following £600k of winter maintenance works, including channel dredging, repairs to a lock bywash and the filling of a number of voids behind lock walls. The £240k dredging works include traditional ‘bucket’ dredging and an innovative method of ‘cutter suction’ dredging which involves pumping the estuarine silt beyond the sea gate into the Ribble Estuary where it is carried away by an outgoing tide.

Steve Pugmire, British Waterways' (BW) North West asset & programme manager comments: "Pumping the silt over the sea gate into an out-going tide is a more sustainable and economic way of removing the silt that would otherwise typically go into landfill." BW was authorised to carry out the ‘cutter section’ dredging following an application approved by Defra. Following its success BW will be reapplying for further licences to carry out annual ‘cutter suction’ dredging to remove the build-up of silt that is bought into the Ribble Link throughout the course of a normal boating season.

http://www.waterscape.com/features-and-articles/news/889/ribble-link-dre...

Thought you might like to know, just 4 boats again today going 'up' (June 9, 2009).

as previous message, 'pcurtis link'

4 boats a day x 100 days [approx number of days open] = 400 boats a year (average)
£400,000 average 'operation costs' = £1,000 per boat trip (average)
(or one boat each way = £2,000)

BW may state the Ribble Link is 'fully booked' for four months, but yet again, it appears only 4 boats made the passage today (Monday June 8 2009). (I've just been down there and seen them). What's the daily capacity...???? More than 4 that's for sure! Clearly those people who are cancellng/not turning up (perhaps legitimately)are preventing others from making/enjoying the trip. Furthermore the literature states you operate the locks yourself... except 2 BW staff have just walked the whole length of the Ribble Link operating the locks for two of the boats.

106 passages are planned each year with a maximum of 6 boats each which only allows for just over 300 boats to visit the Lancaster when one remembers that only an up or a down passage can be accommodated in a day by the Link. If you assume the cost of money is about 7% a year that means that each visit is worth well over a thousand pounds even before the costs of staff and maintenance are taken into account. Taking everything into account, including the inevitable losses of passages through bad weather and cancellations, my guess is that the overall cost is closer to £2000 for every boat visiting the Lancaster Canal or vice versa.

This makes the efficiency of the booking system extremely important and it is with regret that we found that there were a large number of cancellations reported to BW which had not worked through to the staff on the ground. Two days before we crossed we understand that only one boat went from Tarleton across the Link although some of the cancellations had been made in plenty of time for the places to have been filled. Staff on the ground have taken to ringing people to confirm that they are still coming. For example, Ken had rung in and cancelled because his wife was ill well before the day yet his name was still on the list for the outward crossing - worse still he was on the return list two weeks later although it should have been obvious he could not return when he had not gone in the first place. And this was when potential visitors were told the Link was booked ahead for 4 months. We heard one cynic say that it ensured Waterways could report in their statistics that the Link was fully utilised!
http://www.pcurtis.com/canal05.htm#bottom

I can tell you by BW own figures (which are contrary to what's on their web site) have spent over £2million in five years on 'maintenance'. 200 boats a year...

cotswold man says
I crossed the Ribble Link on 9 May as the Link had been closed for the previouse 3 days I was one of 14 boats doing the crossing that day( 3 boats dropped out as they did not fancy the crossing with the high winds)
http://www.canalworld.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=22440