East Anglian Waterways Association
Encyclopedia
Waterway society
A Waterway society is a society, association, charitable trust, club, trust or "Friends" group involved in the restoration, preservation, use and enjoyment of waterways, e.g. a canal, river, navigation or other waterway, and their associated buildings and structures, e.g...
and an umbrella organisation in East Anglia
East Anglia
East Anglia is a traditional name for a region of eastern England, named after an ancient Anglo-Saxon kingdom, the Kingdom of the East Angles. The Angles took their name from their homeland Angeln, in northern Germany. East Anglia initially consisted of Norfolk and Suffolk, but upon the marriage of...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, UK.
The association was founded on 18 April 1958, and it campaigns for the preservation, restoration and good management of the tidal and inland waterways in East Anglia. One of its early projects was an investigation into the complex legal status of the staithes or landing stages on the Norfolk Broads, which was carried out in the 1960s. The research paved the way for many of the staithes to be adopted by the Broads Authority, and retained as public access points to the waterways.
For more than fifty years, EAWA has worked with other organisations to have the River Great Ouse
River Great Ouse
The Great Ouse is a river in the east of England. At long, it is the fourth-longest river in the United Kingdom. The river has been important for navigation, and for draining the low-lying region through which it flows. Its course has been modified several times, with the first recorded being in...
reopened to Bedford
Bedford
Bedford is the county town of Bedfordshire, in the East of England. It is a large town and the administrative centre for the wider Borough of Bedford. According to the former Bedfordshire County Council's estimates, the town had a population of 79,190 in mid 2005, with 19,720 in the adjacent town...
, the purchase and restoration of Dilham
Dilham
Dilham is a village and civil parish covering an area of with a population of 301 in 128 homes as of the 2001 census. It is on the River Ant just of the A149 road, near Stalham in Norfolk, England within The Broads...
Dyke on the Broads, and many other projects.
EAWA is also a member of the Broads Forum. Having suggested plans to reopen the North Walsham & Dilham Canal
North Walsham & Dilham Canal
The North Walsham and Dilham Canal is a waterway in the English county of Norfolk. It is accepted officially that this waterway is the only canal in Norfolk although it is the canalization of the upper reaches of the River Ant. This navigation was constructed with locks a little wider than most...
in 1992, and then working actively to achieve that aim, the EAWA helped with the launch of the North Walsham and Dilham Canal Trust in 2008.
The association is also one of the funding partners for the Fens Waterways Link
Fens Waterways Link
The Fens Waterways Link is a project to improve recreational boating opportunities in the counties of Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire, England. By a combination of improvements to existing waterways and the construction of new links a circular route between Lincoln, Peterborough, Ely and Boston is...
, a multi-million pound project for the creation of a navigable link through Lincoln
Lincoln, Lincolnshire
Lincoln is a cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England.The non-metropolitan district of Lincoln has a population of 85,595; the 2001 census gave the entire area of Lincoln a population of 120,779....
, Boston
Boston, Lincolnshire
Boston is a town and small port in Lincolnshire, on the east coast of England. It is the largest town of the wider Borough of Boston local government district and had a total population of 55,750 at the 2001 census...
and Spalding
Spalding, Lincolnshire
Spalding is a market town with a population of 30,000 on the River Welland in the South Holland district of Lincolnshire, England. Little London is a hamlet directly south of Spalding on the B1172 road....
to Ely
Ely, Cambridgeshire
Ely is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, England, 14 miles north-northeast of Cambridge and about by road from London. It is built on a Lower Greensand island, which at a maximum elevation of is the highest land in the Fens...
. The Link would open up 240 km of waterway
Waterway
A waterway is any navigable body of water. Waterways can include rivers, lakes, seas, oceans, and canals. In order for a waterway to be navigable, it must meet several criteria:...
.
EAWA also actively supports related projects, such as the Bourne Eau
Bourne Eau
Bourne Eau is a short river which rises in the town of Bourne in Lincolnshire, England, and flows in an easterly direction to join the River Glen at Tongue End. It is an embanked river, as its normal level is higher than that of the surrounding Fens...
restoration, the Stamford Canal
Stamford Canal
-New plans:The river Welland is not currently navigable above Crowland but plans for the Fens Waterways Link include a new link upstream of here to above the Dog in a doublet sluice on the River Nene. There are currently no plans to restore navigation to Stamford....
, and Clay Dike, in partnership with the Inland Waterways Association
Inland Waterways Association
The Inland Waterways Association was formed in 1946 as a registered charity in the United Kingdom to campaign for the conservation, use, maintenance, restoration and sensitive development of British Canals and river navigations....
.
EAWA's partnerships with other waterways trusts / organisations:
- Chelmer Canal Trust
- River Stour TrustRiver Stour TrustThe River Stour Trust is a registered charity and waterway restoration group. It was founded in 1968 to protect and enhance the right of the public to navigate the River Stour, Suffolk, England...
- River Gipping Trust
- Sleaford Navigation Trust
- Little Ouse Group
- Great Ouse Boating AssociationGreat Ouse Boating AssociationThe Great Ouse Boating Association is a waterway society on the rivers Great Ouse, River Cam, Lark, Little Ouse, River Wissey, and associated waterways in East Anglia.The voluntary association was founded in 1958, and has over 3000 members...
- Middle Level Waterman's Club
- Louth Navigation Trust