Norfolk Broads new addition
Saturday 18 September 11am – 4pm
The village of Cantley is celebrating the opening of a new £300,000 riverside amenity on Saturday September 18th with a day of music, sailing and entertainment.
The derelict village staithe, which won village green status five years ago, has been transformed into an attractive community area with moorings, fishing facilities and one of only two slipways on the River Yare which will open up the river to a wide cross section of river users.
It has been redeveloped through an ambitious partnership project which has received investment both financially and in kind from the Broads Authority, Broadland Environmental Services Ltd (BESL), British Sugar, Broadland District Council, the Environment Agency, Inland Waterways Association, Cantley Parish Council and two landfill communities fund schemes, Biffaward and WREN.
The redevelopment of the staithe has been carried out by BESL as part of its flood defence work along the River Yare.
BESL has rolled back the flood bank to open up an extra piece of land which British Sugar is leasing to the parish council for a peppercorn rent and which has been grassed. It has also built a much needed slipway and riverside piling which has been fitted with safety ladders and chains.
A £35,000 floating pontoon will accommodate seven permanent moorings and two moorings for visitors using the slipway, which lies between two water ski zones. Six of the moorings have already been taken up by local people. The pontoon is available for fishing and part of it is specially designed to take wheelchairs. The pontoon was financed by a £20,000 grant from the Broads Authority’s Sustainable Development Fund, a grant from Broadland District Council and a donation from Hardley 100 Club.
A section of dyke has been filled in to create a shingled turning area for the slipway and the 300 yard road to the staithe has been resurfaced.
The Broads Authority has built picnic tables and seating on the village green and planted a mixture of native trees, silver birch, alder and weeping willows, provided by Broadland District Council. The staithe will be managed by the newly formed Cantley Staithe Charitable Association which aims to promote the safe use of the river for everyone.
Robert Beadle, Chairman of the Parish Council, said: “For many years we have sat by the river with no access to it. But at last we have a beautiful and safe area where people can sit and picnic by the river, fish and launch their boats. I am sure it will give many years of pleasure and will be a facility that the residents of Cantley can be proud of.”
The staithe will be opened on Saturday 18 September at 11am by the chairman of the Broads Authority, Dr Stephen Johnson. A day of fun and celebration will continue until 4pm against the spectacle of traditional Broads sailing cruisers racing in the Yare Navigation Race to Breydon Water and back.
Bands, a folk group singing sea shanties and clog dancing, pupils from Cantley School dressed as pirates and St Edmunds Youth Orchestra from Acle will perform outside the nearby Reedcutter Public House. The RNLI will be demonstrating their South Broads lifeboat and Broads Beat, the Broads Authority and Whitlingham Outdoor Centre will be represented among the stands.
Parking will be limited and the public are encouraged to travel by train to Cantley Railway Station which is just 300 yards from the staithe.
