38 degrees river access campaign

[SimonMW]

Well, 38 Degrees involvement seemed to do the trick with the forest sell off issue, so why not for river access? Give it your vote here to move it up the priority rankings.
http://38degrees.uservoice.com/forums/7 ... in-england

[mcneilljamie]

Done!

[Pete K]

Write to your MP as well. Visit http://www.writetothem.com and put in your postcode. Love the 38 Degrees idea but I think we should be direct contacting our MPs too. There is a similar thread going on at SOTP with some template letters.

[Lidder]

voted

[Chris Bolton]

Done.

And spotted that Pete K has set up an underground movement.

Chris

[Pete K]

Done.

And spotted that Pete K has set up an underground movement.

Chris

Access issues effect us all, even when under the ground and not floating on it! Other outdoor pursuit sectors will no doubt see sense in supporting this movement too.

[Matt Fletcher]

the sotp lot have been on this for a few days now, lot's of people emailing mp's and posting their repsonses

http://www.songofthepaddle.co.uk/forum/ ... s-Campaign

[quicky]

http://38degrees.uservoice.com/forums/7 ... ?ref=title

Please get everyone you can to write to there MP's and vote.

[TonyM]

Done

[SimonMW]

Noticed that a fair few people have left comments on the campaign page, but haven't voted for it!

[quicky]

I know there are a few campaigns on there with a lot more votes but this is a change to help get the message across. Don't just natter about it. Vote and get as many people you know to vote too.

[quicky]

From SOTP

Don't Forget toVote
Hey Guys... many people are putting positive comments on 38 degrees but not voting... is this what you meant to do? Or have I got it wrong... it shows the number of votes you have made next to your atavar...

Wayne, John, paulsmith, ratty, simon knox, mark rainsley, Ian s, jenny cleverly, david walton, steve d, matt, andy shan, smudger, janet brown, christopher marriot, adrian cooper, carmen smith, tim, steve lee, jamie mcneill

Last edited by dougdew99; Today at 12:07 AM.

[quicky]

From SOTP

I just checked and sure enough I hadn't voted. i thought I had, but it's a badly designed site that doesn't do what you think it's doing!

If you think you've voted, check you actually have - unless there's an orange number next to your name (showing 1 - 3 votes that you can give to the campaign), you haven't voted! If that's the case, you can still sign-in and vote.

Please Check. If there is no number next to your name you have not voted.

[Adrian Cooper]

I have now gone back in and added votes to mine. When you first sign up it is not clear that you need to click more buttons.

[Richard M]

Done. Moved up from 35th to 34th place!

[Strad]

Done, looks like others have too - now it's at 30th place

[Denys]

Done.
Do people realise you can use up to 3 votes? Most have but there are still some with just 1 vote.

[Matt Fletcher]

people are still leaving comments but not voting?

[quicky]

Names and gently shame, or should I say guide them to the vote button on the top left.

[Jon Wood]

Write to your MP as well. Visit http://www.writetothem.com and put in your postcode. Love the 38 Degrees idea but I think we should be direct contacting our MPs too.

If you've got a Lib Dem MP, remind them of this little snippet from their 2010 manifesto:

The beauty of Britain’s natural landscape is vital to the quality of life of those who live there and to visitors.
Liberal Democrats will change the way the environment is protected so everyone has fair access to clean water, clean air, and open spaces.
We’re the only party that takes seriously the responsibility of protecting our natural inheritance and ensuring access for all.
Liberal Democrats will:
• Increase the general right of access to the countryside, along the lines of the model introduced by the Liberal Democrats in Scotland

[dougdew99]

Done.

And spotted that Pete K has set up an underground movement.

Chris

How can I find pete k?

[SimonMW]

If you've got a Lib Dem MP, remind them of this little snippet from their 2010 manifesto:

Unfortunately the nature of coalition Government means that compromises have to be made on manifesto pledges, otherwise a coalition wouldn't be able to be formed. Unfortunately River access is not mentioned in the coalition agreement.

http://www.libdems.org.uk/coalition_agreement.aspx

[dougdew99]

More things you can do...

Put a link on your Facebook page to the 38 degrees... this is the link

http://38degrees.uservoice.com/forums/7 ... in-england

and encourage your friends to vote


Post to any other canoeing or canoe club forum that you are a member of... try to get support on those forums too for the 38 degrees campaign

Write to your MP... http://www.writetothem.com/

I got a very good reply from my MP who knew nothing of the issue

Here is the letter I wrote

Dear Sam Gyimah,
I write to you to bring to your attention the fact that only 4% of English inland waterways have undisputed access for canoeists. Apart from England and Wales, other countries provide for shared responsible use of rivers by both canoeists and anglers and in my personal experience such arrangements work well. I understand this issue affects more 2,000,000 canoeists in the UK.

The law on this issue is unclear. Recent work by the Rev Douglas Caffyn ( http://www.caffynonrivers.co.uk) suggests that the right to paddle exists on many rivers hereto thought by many to be private.

There have been many attempts over the years to negotiate voluntary access agreements between canoeists, anglers and land owners. This strategy has met with very little success. I believe this is because there is no benefit to land owners to give up their assumed, though legally suspect, right to control access to the water itself.

Responsible access to our wonderful rivers and lakes would bring an immediate and direct benefit to the health, wellbeing and enjoyment of our fellow citizens, particularly young people.

My local river is the Mole. It is about 1 mile from my house. If I, or other Horley residents canoe on it, we risk prosecution from the riparian owners, and abuse, threats of violence and actual violence from anglers.

We seek only to gain access to the Mole from a public place, to paddle responsibly through beautiful Surrey countryside, showing respect to the needs of anglers, and to exit from another public place. Research shows that canoeing is not harmful to fish or any other aspect of the environment.

There are some parts of the Mole, further North (part of the 4%), where access is not disputed. It might would be my pleasure to take you on a canoe trip there, so you could appreciate the joy of our wonderful river landscape.

I ask you to respond setting out your position on this issue.

I think it is important you write your own letter and include a reference to the position on your local river....

[Poke]

Noticed that a fair few people have left comments on the campaign page, but haven't voted for it!

Thats annoying... when I left a comment on there yesterday, I thought that meant I'd voted...
Turns out I hadn't.
Cheers for pointing it out...

[Chris Bolton]

I thought I'd voted yesterday, but I didn't leave a comment; today it showed I have 10 votes left. So I logged back in, posted a comment to bring up my avatar and it showed no votes. So I've voted now and the total shows up.

Chris

[Pete K]

Done.

And spotted that Pete K has set up an underground movement.

Chris

How can I find pete k?

I'm here!
The quote above refers to a thread I got going on UKCaving Forum.

[quicky]

A lot of people still commenting without voting. Please remember to vote. Button on left of screen usually where you signs you name and email.

[Wildswimmer Pete]

I posted yesterday and gave 3 votes as soon as my 'flu-befuddled brain worked out how to do it.

Details of the campaign posted on SwimClub and the RALSA noticeboard.

Wildswimmer Pete

[Jim Pullen]

It's up to 17th now, but I got an email from 38 degrees saying there's only 48hrs left, so get voting if you haven't already!

As stated above a lot of people commented but didn't vote (this includes certain website owners and high profile coaches!) Even if you think you have voted, please check back on your account that you've got an orange 3 next to your name for this suggestion (you get up to 3 votes for each topic).

[steveg]

I've just counted 22 people who have commented but not actually voted, thats potentially another 66 votes!
If you have commented please check to see if that you have in fact voted as well.
Steve.