The River Dart
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A message from Adam Box - 7th Sept 2009 On Saturday 29th August Peter Thorn (Vice Chair SW Development Team) and I met with 2 representatives of the Dart Fisheries Association. We had met previously to discuss the new Canoe England access strategy but they had stated that a 365 day agreement would not be on offer. I explained that we could not therefore negotiate an arrangement (the new name for agreements) which would be CE ratified, but that we would like to seek an arrangement for the benefit of those who want to be sure that they will not face any legal challenges while on the river. Consequently we have agreed a set of terms which essentially provides for a re-worked and somewhat improved version of the existing agreement, the main points of which are:
http://riverdart.co.uk/Kayakers/kayakers.html
We are planning to support the canoeists shuttle service again at a cost of about £7,000, but this will have to be the last year that we can underwrite it as the Dart Access Fund is now almost empty. We will therefore be asking users to pay a realistic fee for the service, perhaps £2 per person? I have yet to negotiate the details with Dartmoor National Park Authority, but I will asking for pick ups at both RDCP and at the bottom of Lent Hill, so those who use our land for access can benefit from the service. Adam Box
6th Feb 2009 - Shuttle operation in snow This from Dartmoor National Park: Please note that after discussion with Wood Brothers, who operate the Canoe Bus, the shuttle WILL operate this weekend.
Jan 2009 Holne Bridge egress/access. We received the following from the occupants of Holne Lodge: "I am writing to introduce myself. We (my family and I) presently occupy the Lodge at Holne Bridge. This is a newish arrangement as the Lodge was previously a rental for the Dart Adventure Park. We have been here since last January and will continue to live here for some years. As you must be aware access to the Bridge at Holne is very busy during the canoeing season and as outdoors people ourselves we believe in outdoor activities and communal access to the land. In order to make it possible to ensure access for ourselves we have worked with the Dartmoor Park ranger to put down no parking cones along the wall side of the road. These stop near the top of the road where it is not so narrow and more cars can be parked. This is so that one side of the road is kept free for vehicles at all times. Since doing this and explaining the purpose to canoeists that we meet we have had a high level of co-operation and the access on the road has been much better. At the start of the season we were facing up to an hour lost on weekends not being able to get in and out of our property often in 10 minute gaps. This was due to vehicles stopping in such a way that the block the whole road “while loading up”. As you can appreciate if enough people do this all those few minutes become long hours. Could you pass on to the various clubs and possibly on your web site what we are trying to do. "Please try to paddle down to Buckfast if you can. Nov 2008 As far as we are aware the shuttle bus is running as last year. We do urge users to donate at least £1 in order to keep this service running as it cuts down on the traffic congestion around the Dart area.
17/11/07 SHUTTLE BUS After some
imaginative and pro-active work by the recreation people at Dartmoor National
Park working with the BCU Access Team, there will now be a canoeists' shuttle
bus operating at weekends between Newbridge and Holne Bridge. The service is due
to start this weekend and will be open to all paddlers with boats between 10 am
and 4pm, running every 30 mins. There will be no charge for use of the bus, the
cost of which is being very largely met from the Dart Access Fund, but users
will be invited to make a voluntary contribution of £1 via a box in the bus.
25/08/07 River Dart Access, 2007-2008 The River Dart has kept the BCU Access team extremely busy over the summer on several fronts:
We have:
Last week Fiona Edmonds and I had a very friendly meeting with officers of the Dart Fisheries Association after previously failing to agree on several points which were central to the access agreement. On this occasion we felt that there had been a sympathetic hearing of our points and that we had achieved most of what we sought, so we have agreed in principal to the terms of the access agreement which they have offered for a 12 month trial period.
So how does this affect paddlers?
Firstly, there will be no access to the River Dart Country Park for this season. Mark Simpson was pleasant, helpful and positive, but he has now established a very lucrative wedding business on his grounds during the winter and understandably does not want people in various states of undressing welcoming guests!! He has very kindly allowed us to use the egress point on river right immediately after Holne Bridge though, for this season. The very limited parking at this point means that many paddlers would be better advised to carry on to Buckfastleigh, but this is not compulsory. (now possible up to the 14th March) In addition, Mark has kindly offered to allow us to use a section of his land close to Waterworks Bridge to create a car park for canoeists, and we are already working with Darmoor National Park to look at the planning and costing issues with this. If it does go ahead it is unlikely to be ready during the coming season.
Secondly, we are now able to issue access permits to 60 people per day for Dartmeet (instead of 40), and the season for Dartmeet will now start on November 1st instead of December 1st. The access point for this stretch is changed and will now be much easier, with paddlers accessing the river immediately beside the Dartmeet car park, i.e. within 10 metres of the road bridge on either side, river left. The DFA members are very concerned about the safety of paddlers and it is crucial that paddlers take more responsibility for their safety and cause less wasted call outs for the Devon Air Ambulance, Dartmoor Rescue Group, the local fire brigade, etc. This means taking more care and thought over who is on the water, especially at high flows, and being prepared and equipped to conduct rescues without outside assistance. In addition all paddlers are required to indemnify the DFA and its members against any legal and/or financial liability which may arise as a result of their use of the river.
Thirdly, on the Loop (Newbridge to Holne Bridge) and below, it is no longer necessary to pre-book access. There are no dated permits to be issued and no daily numbers limit, though we suspect that numbers will become self regulating. We are currently considering a means of identifying those paddlers who are BCU members, as this will indicate that such people have the insurance cover required by the DFA. The non availability of the River Dart Country Park will impose parking pressures on Holne Bridge which we hope to reduce by sponsoring a shuttle bus with DNP. The funding of this transport has not yet been finalised but we are looking at a scheme whereby the Dart Access Fund would make a substantial contribution so that BCU members would be able to use the bus free. (See above)
We hope that paddlers will agree that we have gained some considerable benefits and improvements to the agreement. Sadly though, we did not get everything we had hoped for. Despite a very positive meeting in January which was attended and reported on by Simon Westgarth, amongst others, we have not been able to extend the agreement to cover any of the East and West Dart Rivers. We conveyed considerable disappointment at this as both the Environment Agency and Dartmoor National Park had expressed their support for paddling on agreed sections of these rivers. Paddlers do need to know though that the Cherrybrook tributary is considered to be one of the most important spawning places for the entire Dart system, so anyone paddling there could find themselves facing criminal proceedings for damaging spawning grounds. Similarly, some sections of the West Dart upstream of Huccaby Bridge are considered to be of very high ecological importance, such that dog walkers, horse riders and others are banned from the area. Under these circumstances it would seem appropriate for paddlers to respect the National Park’s wishes and stay away from this area.
I recognise that some paddlers will not support the access agreement and will continue to post stories of their ‘non-agreement’ exploits on the river on paddling forums. For the many thousands who have continued to use the river under the terms of the agreement I hope the changes described above will make their paddling days on the Dart more enjoyable and flexible.
Adam Box Regional Access Officer, Devon and Cornwall
07/08 Season RiverDart Adventures
(River Dart Country Park)
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