DEBRIS — including trees and sunken boats — is causing a navigational hazard on the Tavy and Tamar.

Cllr Tony Knott has told Calstock Parish Council the situation was 'becoming damaging'. He said as well as trees and boats there were pontoons, sewage and silting — and even banks falling into the river.

'There is talk of re-doing the navigation charts, the situation is so serious. We don't want boats to be stopped from coming up to Calstock and Morwellham,' he said.

Cllr Knott claimed the husbandry of the river was 'not being done' and no-one was bothering. 'It is coming down to big finance and there must be a collated effort to get something done.

'We rely a lot on the river and it is our place to make a start on getting some answers,' he said.

Cllr Alan Parsley reported seeing sunken trees at Cotehele with limbs sticking out, which were a danger to pleasure boats.

Councillors agreed to write to the relevant authorities to try to resolve the situation — and hold a public meeting if this was not successful.

Alec Friendship, one of the pilots of the ferry which operates between Calstock, Ferry Farm on the Bere Alston side of the river, and Cotehele said there were problems with debris from Calstock to Weir Head at Gunnislake, but it was worse from Morwellham up.

'It could be dangerous for someone who didn't know the river. A lot of money has been spent on regenerating the Tamar Valley, but nothing has been spent on or done to the river for years.'

The general manager of Morwellham Quay, Barry Bodefroy, said there was no difficulty in landing there, and they maintained the banks and hedges to avoid problems.

Weir Quay Sailing Club member Mike Benson said that from time to time members cleared trees away which had been washed downstream. The club also had problems with bulks of timber coming upstream from Devonport Dockyard.

Queen's harbourmaster Commander Shaun Turner — who has responsibility for the navigable section of the river — recently took a canoe trip from Gunnislake to Calstock, when anomalies were recorded. 'There were trees falling into the river and some banks were getting badly decayed.'

The Westcountry Rivers Trust works in the freshwater catchment area from Gunnislake up. Director Arlin Rickard said they had run a Tamar 2000 project which had been 'extremely successful' in working with farmers and riparian owners.

Benefits such as reduced erosion, reduced seepage of fertilisers and reduced algal blooms had been achieved, which helped to lessen problems further downstream.

Martin Hawkins — president of the Bere Ferrers Boating Association and a regular user of the Tamar and the Tavy — said there was no conservation policy for the rivers.

'The policy is to do absolutely nothing and allow them to deteriorate. We have probably lost six feet in depth in the River Tavy over the past 30 years due to silting. It is an absolutely vital ground for bass and that is going to be lost to them if nothing is done,' he said.

Mr Hawkins said logs that settled in the mud became silt traps. 'I predict that in the next 50 to 100 years it is going to be marshland out there.'