New River Path through the ladder

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Permalink Reply by Burgoyne Bec on March 10, 2015 at 20:26

I'd be interested in the answer to this too.

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Permalink Reply by Justin Guest on March 10, 2015 at 20:49

There is a little discussion of the topic here-http://www.harringayonline.com/photo/is-this-really-in-london?xg_so...

I actually have a call out to the lady dealing with 'Visitor Experience', but she has never got back to me, time to chase. I have asked if there is any chance we can open it up a little over the summer for us all to enjoy.

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Permalink Reply by Matt on March 10, 2015 at 22:14

Thanks Joe. Ran a search for 'New River Path' on the forum hoping to find a thread like that and got a bajillion and one results as you can imagine! For anyone quick scanning, 'fearful residents' is the answer. Harringay has come a long way from the picture conjured up in this article thank God!

On your point of reaching out to Thames Water Joe, I actually wrote to them today regarding the frustration of at least two local sections (Green Lanes - Seven Sisters Road and Woodberry Down - East Reservoir access road) that are open at one end, and accessed/exited by very small kissing gate at the other. I assume to prevent cyclists (which I discovered today are actually banned from the Path), but in reality a real inconvenience to those of us with pushchairs/buggies.

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Permalink Reply by Michael Anderson on March 11, 2015 at 13:06

I think there are a few problems with the path opening along the Ladder. 

There would need to be exits and entrances at each of the Ladder roads the river goes under, so gates or some kind of opening would have to be made, 30 of these if both banks are opened. 

The paths alongside the river are as narrow as 4 feet at some points and go alongside open concrete fencing between the houses and the river (the fencing belongs to Thames Water I think).  Other parts of the river that are currently open to walkers are well seperated from people's homes (the bit leading up to Hornsey station for instance).  Also, a portion of it would run directly by south Haringay school, just a few feet from the classrooms.

Don't get me wrong, I'd love to walk from where I live on Warham Road along the river to Endymion but I just don't think it's very practical.

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Permalink Reply by Justin Guest on March 11, 2015 at 13:30

Fair points Michael, but my suggestion is to use the gates that are already there on one or two sunny days over the summer, not every day. There is something nice about seeing something from a different angle- even if the opportunity may be fleeting...

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Permalink Reply by Matt on March 11, 2015 at 13:48

Part of Open House London perhaps?

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Permalink Reply by Justin Guest on March 11, 2015 at 13:49

That is an interesting thought...

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Permalink Reply by Michael Anderson on March 11, 2015 at 16:26

Actually Matt, that would be a really good idea. Wonder who could get it off the ground. Sure there would be people on each road who wouldn't mind stewarding it.

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Permalink Reply by Justin Guest on March 11, 2015 at 16:49

I just tried calling the contact I have at Thames Water, but it rang through- I will try again tomorrow. I will let you know if I get anywhere.

Open House is 19-20th Sept this year...

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Permalink Reply by Dick Harris on March 13, 2015 at 10:59

I have heard nothing about the practical aspects of opening a riverside path through the southern ladder but the following may illuminate the matter somewhat.  My garden lies alongside the section of the New River path that was opened from Wightman Road to Hamden Road about ten years ago.  In the years before the path was opened there was quite a bit of trespassing onto the river bank (mostly by boys fishing, smoking etc) and occasionally into gardens for scrumping or more serious intrusions.  When the proposal was made to permit access, we were contacted by Thames Water and assured that the fencing and other defences (eg grills for ground floor windows) would be improved at the company's expense.  Where the new path passes right next to private gardens this led to the installation of the seven foot high green steel palings which now line both sides of the path from Wightman Road down to the river bank and footbridge, ie about 100 metres of fencing on each side.  From the bridge to Hamden Road no new fencing was needed (or if it was, the railway was responsible) so a total of about 550 metres of path was openend up to the public with only 200 metres of new fencing and a couple of new gates.  The surface of the path had already been in daily use by Thames Water employees servicing the flotsam screen at the entrance to the Wightman Road culvert so there was not much to do to prepare it for additional pedestrians.  The section from the bridge to Hamden Road had always been used by Thames Water's motor vehicles so the surface was already level and safely distant from the water's edge.

I would hazard a guess that opening the eight or nine short sections of path between Seymour Road and Endymion Road would present quite heavy costs in improved fencing, new gates and the surface of the path.  I can however assure anyone who is worried about trespassers that since the path was opened next to my garden, there have been no incidents at all of intrusions over the new fence.  We still get the occasional daring boy but he has invariably got first into Thames Water's working yard and then over my much more modest wooden fence.

One of the drawbacks for Thames Water seems to have been an increase in the amount of flotsam and jetsam that they have to fish out of the water.  They will also tell tales of the odd bicycle and shopping trolley being dumped in the water.

I would love to see the whole river bank path through the ladder opened to the public (one side would be enough), but the job will have to be done properly including litter bins by each gate (which has still not been achieved for the section opened ten years ago).

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Permalink Reply by Matt on March 13, 2015 at 12:10

Thanks Dick, very insightful.

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Permalink Reply by Justin Guest on March 13, 2015 at 15:01

Dick. Thanks for this, I was down that stretch this morning and saw Thames Water had put some hardcore (if that is the right description) down at the point where the path flattens and often gets muddy and waterlogged before the bridge. Hope this will be an improvement.

I actually spoke to Kirsty Jones at TW, the relevant 'Visitor Experience Manager'... Rather than hit her with a 'can we open it the whole time' proposal I went with a more modest suggestion of opening for Open House London, to offer a brief but real window to open the New River path.

She was caution about the proposal. Kirsty did say TW are working with Ground Work London to look at open lengths of the New River. There are clearly internal hoops to jump through, not least of which are resourcing and health and safety. She said they normally do guided tours, but I would rather have a more free form walk at your own pace personally. I did suggest a few folks locally might act as gate openers and closers for the event, rather than having to use TW staff that may be in short supply.

Anyway, Kirsty, while cautious, said 'it is not a No!'. However, the Yes is more likely to be next year at the earliest.

I am due to speak again the week after next, so I will let you know how Kirsty has got on with any internal discussions.

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