Spectacular launch of new boat at Honeystreet Wharf

Arriving by road at Honeystreet: Picture by Bob Naylor©

It was in 1933 with the final demise of the business of Robbins, Lane & Pinniger that the Kennet Barge, Unity, made her last delivery and returned to Honeystreet where she was built — and left to rot on her moorings.

     Although the sawmill and other businesses continued on the site it was the end of an era of canal-related activity at Honeystreet Wharf — until Moonraker Canalboats who operate their hireboat fleet from Builder's Wharf nearby launched a new wide-beam boat there last week.

Through the trees to the canal: Picture by Bob Naylor©

A Robbins, Lane & Pinniger built Kennet Barge at Honeystreet

When Robbins, Lane & Pinniger built their boats on the site they were built beside the wharf and then launched sideways into the canal. 

This new boat, however, started life in the midlands and was transported by road, then craned over the wharf buildings, through the trees that have taken over the wharf, and into the canal.

For more information about Moonraker Canalboats go to their website at: www.moonboats.co.uk

or phone 07973 876981

There is a feature by Di Harris about the rise and fall of trade at Honeysteet in the KAcanalTIMES 'Lost Wharves' series online at: Honeystreet Wharf feature

Some delays on the K&A

There will be work on overhead electricity cables at Honeystreet Bridge (124) on the Kennet & Avon Canal on Monday 6 June 2011 which could cause some delay for boaters during the day.

More information:  07710 175496

Gibson's Boat Services on the K&A — summer opening times

Gibson's Boat Services

George and Shelagh Gibson are now operating their Summer opening times at Old Builders Wharf at Honeystreet on the Kennet & Avon Canal on the Long Pound between Wootten Rivers and Devizes. 

They are open 7 days a week from 9am to 6pm weekdays and Saturdays and 10am to 6pm on Sundays and Bank Holidays.

Their services include: Deisel, Gas, pumpout & pottytip, Elsan chemicals, water, and solid fuels.   

They also have a few short-term bankside (non-towpath) summer moorings available between now and the end of September.

Contact them on: 01672 851232

For a comprehensive information about canal services go to: www.KAcanalTIMES.co.uk and follow the link to 'Canal Services'.

To update business information email: editor@KAcanalTIMES.co.uk

Wiltshire police pay compensation to journalist after unlawfully detaining him and preventing him from reporting

Wiltshire Police have paid damages and apologised to photojournalist, Bob Naylor, following an incident that happened when he went to report on a fatal fire onboard a narrowboat at Honeystreet near Pewsey on the Kennet & Avon Canal in May 2009

Bob Naylor in handcuffs on the ground at Honeystreet.

Picture by Diane Crofter-Harris HNA Media

The statement from Wiltshire Police says:

“On 22 May 2009 well-respected photojournalist Bob Naylor was reporting at a crime scene of a fire on a canal boat.

"Wiltshire Police have accepted that Mr Naylor was prevented from taking photographs and unlawfully detained and that his Article 10 rights under the European Convention on Human Rights were breached.

"Wiltshire Police apologise for this and have paid compensation and given this apology.

"Wiltshire Police confirm its recognition that freedom of the press is a cornerstone of democracy and that journalists have a right to report freely.

"Wiltshire Police recognise that on 22 May 2009 they failed to respect press freedom in respect of Mr Naylor contrary to Wiltshire Police’s own guidelines for working with members of the press.”

The attack on Bob Naylor happened when he attended a canal boat fire in which someone had died. He approached a police sergeant at the scene on the Kennet and Avon Canal at Honeystreet in Wiltshire and said he wanted to take a picture of the general scene. The policeman refused him permission, saying only that he ‘was in charge and would not allow it’ and eventually saying that this was  ‘out of common decency and respect for the deceased’.

Naylor decided it was pointless remaining at the scene and began to go back to his car, intending to call the Police Press Office to resolve the problem. As he was doing so he was seized from behind, forced to the ground and handcuffed and told that he was being arrested for breach of the peace.

Naylor was kept handcuffed on the ground for a considerable time before eventually being released.

Naylor’s solicitor, Chez Cotton of leading civil rights law firm Bindmans LLP, said: "It is crucial in a democracy that the police respect and support a free press. Mr Naylor was working in his capacity as a professional journalist and seeking to taking photographs of an incident of legitimate public interest. Despite the police being fully aware of the accredited journalist status of my client and his right to photograph, they refused to allow him to work, threw him to the ground and then handcuffed him, and all in the most public and humiliating of ways. This sort of violence against journalists is unacceptable and cannot be tolerated. It is right that the Wiltshire Police have apologised and properly compensated Mr Naylor for their treatment of him.

"Mr Naylor was working in a professional capacity reporting an incident where there had been a fatality following a fire on a canal boat. Despite being out of the way and not interfering in any way with any police operation, Mr Naylor was forbidden to take photographs and then, as he was walking to his car to leave, forced to the ground by a number of officers and handcuffed. 

"The incident took place on a public highway and in full view of members of the community to which Mr Naylor belongs. As well as paying compensation and his legal costs, the Chief Constable of Wiltshire Police has also apologised to Mr Naylor for the treatment he received and has confirmed the force’s recognition that journalists have a right to report freely.

Roy Mincoff, the National Union of Journalists Legal Officer said: “This was an outrageous and utterly unwarranted way for a police officer to behave to an ordinary member of the public, let alone a professional photographer properly identifying himself. Bob Naylor’s rights were seriously violated. Members of the media have a duty and right to report and photograph events. 

"They are the public watchdog. We hope Wiltshire Police have learnt from this and ensure all its officers are aware of the Police/Media Guidelines and of the legal rights of the media. The NUJ welcomes the award of compensation and the apology to our member.”

Bob Naylor said, "This happened two years ago when photographers were all too often being attacked whilst going about their lawful work.  I have worked with Wiltshire and other Police Forces for decades and I have never had cause to take issue with them until this incident. It was clear that neither the Sergeant nor the Inspector at the scene were aware of the Chief Constable's guidelines for working with the press. Not only was I stopped from doing my job but the violent treatment meted out to me was wholly unacceptable.  

"I understand that the necessary training has now been given to all members of Wiltshire Police and cannot imagine that an incident like this would happen in the future. The NUJ has been working with the Metropolitan Police and other forces to help to improve the working relationship between the police and the press with, I believe, great success."

Police guidelines for working with the press

Guidelines adopted by the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) in 2007 and by the Wiltshire Police Chief Constable state: 

“Members of the media are not only members of the public… It is important that we build good relationships with them, even when the circumstances are difficult. They have a duty to report many of those things that we have to deal with – crime, demonstrations, accidents, major events and incidents. Members of the media have a duty to report from the scene of many of the incidents we have to deal with.

“We should actively help them carry out their responsibilities provided they do not interfere with ours.

“Members of the media have a duty to take photographs and film incidents and we have no legal power or moral responsibility to prevent or restrict what they record. It is a matter for their editors to control what is published or broadcast, not the police. Once images are recorded, we have no power to delete or confiscate them without a court order, even if we think they contain damaging or useful evidence.

“If someone who is distressed or bereaved asks for police to intervene to prevent members of the media filming or photographing them, we may pass on their request but we have no power to prevent or restrict media activity. If they are trespassing on private property, the person who owns or controls the premises may eject them and may ask for your help in preventing a breach of the peace while they do so. The media have their own rules of conduct and complaints procedures if members of the public object.

“To help you identify genuine members of the media, they carry identification, which they will produce to you on request. Members of the media do not need a permit to photograph or film in public places. “


More at:
The Guardian
Hold the Front Page
Press Gazette 
The Media Briefing
Bindmans LLP
National Union of Journalists

Last surviving Kennet Barge is in Britain's biggest ships' graveyard says report

A report to be published in the summer recognises Purton, the final resting place of the only surviving Kennet Barge, Harriett, and another 80 hulks as the largest ship's graveyard in the British Isles.

The Purton Hulks with the River Severn on the left and the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal on the right: Picture by Hamish Fenton©

The Historic Environment Enabling Programme conducted on behalf of English Heritage surveyed all known 'vessel assemblages' (a term used to define two or more hulks which lie within 50m of each other) puts Purton's 81 hulks at the top of a list of 200 known hulk locations in the British Isles.

Harriett's sister vessel, Unity, after she was launched at
Honey Street on the K&A, c1885

As well as the Purton site on the River Severn in Gloucestershire other sites surveyed include the 26 barges on the Barksore Marshes, Kent, the 25 Mersey Flats at Sutton Locks on the Weaver Navigation, Cheshire and the 22 hulked vessels at Holes Bay, Poole, Dorset.

Friends of Purton Chairman, marine historian and tireless campaigner for the protection of the Purton Hulks, Paul Barnett, was jubilant at the news saying, "This report will go a long way to protecting the site which is a beacon of our glorious maritime heritage."

Harriett as she is now at Purton: Picture by Bob Naylor©

Links to other Purton Hulks stories:

Anger at damage to historic Purton shipwrecks

Dogged determination protects future of historic K&A barge

Severn railway bridge disaster victims remembered

Bells toll for Severn Disaster victims

Friends of Purton website:

http://www.friendsofpurton.org.uk/

Dogged determination protects future of historic K&A barge
Historic ships' graveyard is taken over by British Waterways
by Bob Naylor

Harriett, the last surviving K&A Barge built by Robbins, Lane and Pinnegar at Honeystreet in 1898 beached at Purton beside the River Severn. Picture by Bob Naylor

The tireless campaign by Paul Barnett, founder of the Friends of Purton, has finally paid off and BW has now taken over the Purton site on the banks of the River Severn that is the graveyard of 81 historic ships, including Harriett, the last remaining Kennet Barge built by Robbins, Lane & Pinnegar at Honeystreet in 1898.


In March this year, the former Labour Government Culture and Tourism Minister, Margaret Hodge, called together representatives of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, Local Authorities, English Heritage, Natural England and British Waterways, and of course, Paul Barnett, to discuss the crucial need for somebody to step forward to protect the site. As the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal is protected by the site and BW have a long-term interest in the embankment — they stepped forward to take ownership.

Paul Barnett, founder

of the Friends of Purton

Picture by Bob Naylor

Paul Barnett, whose dogged determination to protect the vessels will assure their future, said, "This is a great day for these last remnants of our maritime history.
     "For too many years we have witnessed our heritage being habitually destroyed by vandalism and arson, now at last British Waterways, by taking this monumental decision, has embraced the challenge to ensure that these few remaining relics are to be given a fighting chance."




BW Heritage Advisor, David Viner said, "It has become increasingly important to ensure that the site, which has 81 derelict vessels, has an owner to look after it properly. 
     "BW owns the canal alongside the site and a staff presence will raise awareness and help to tackle vandalism — our first responsibility is to make sure the site is protected."
     "A lot of the vandalism is because people don't realise the significance of the boats," he concluded.




Paul Barnett's first success in his battle to save the Purton Hulks was when he got Harriett listed and he then set his sights on protecting the rest of the site. He enlisted the help of the then local MP for Stroud, David Drew, who spoke about the Purton Hulks site in an adjournment debate in Parliament on 8th December 2009.  
     He said, “It certainly seems unique when one hears Paul Barnett talking about the hulks for several hours; he is most enthusiastic about them. I know that some find him somewhat difficult because he has driven things forward as a personal campaign, but with hindsight people will say thank goodness he saw it as a vision and as his responsibility.”