Galleon Storage & Mooring at Puddingmoor Beccles, has invested £500,000 in transforming a run down yard into one of the most state of the art and environmentally friendly yards on the Norfolk Broads.

Among its eco-friendly features is a unique decontamination facility, which removes toxic chemicals from hull wash water and bilge water. After the boats are washed down in a specially built bay the wash water is stored in a decontamination tank. It is then run though a WashTek filtration system and 98% of the pollutants are absorbed by cartridges before the clean water is returned to the river.

The American WashTek system is considered to be the most efficient equipment of its kind in the world and it can be mobilised to deal with oil and diesel spills.

The Broads Authority's Sustainable Development Fund has contributed £12,500 to the project.

Conservation Officer, Andrea Kelly, who has worked closely with the yard, said: "This is an innovative boatyard development which has adopted very good practice in protecting the Broads from pollutants, and we hope other boatyards will be inspired by it."


The yard is also the first on the Broads to offer a 'dry stack' system of boat storage which does away with the need to antifoul boats. The yard is able to store boats up to 33 ft long out of the water, launching them when owners wish to use them, saving the cost of antifouling and the cost to the environment.

The yard also offers three EZdock pontoons for storing small boats out of the water.

To add to the yard's environmental credentials the navigation lights marking the entrance from the River Waveney are solar powered.

Work to the yard has included dredging out and piling a yacht basin, building a slipway for the launch and recovery of 'trailer sailers' and secure facilities for storage of cars and trailers. There are also ten berths for boats either awaiting their owners or left ready for returning to the shore after use.

The man behind the venture, Mr William Bent, said: "We were concerned about a lot of antifouled boats being in a basin where there were no tides to sweep the pollutants away. Although I'm not obsessive about being green I think everyone should do their best to protect the environment.

I adopted the dry stack system because of the limited bankside moorings and slipways in the area. I wanted to provide a specialist facility which would enable people to bring their own boats to the Broads."

 

The message comes from health professionals at NHS Norfolk and Waveney in the run up to the festive period. They have encouraged people to enjoy alcohol sensibly and stick to the recommended limits while making sure they are aware of how many units their favourite tipple contains.

Dr Jenny Harries, Director of Public Health for NHS Norfolk and Waveney, said: “Although many of us enjoy a glass or two as part of the festive celebrations, there are inevitably still those who will drink too much this Christmas. We’re appealing to them to think before they drink – and consider the impact that too much, too often, can have on their health.

“In the short-term, excess alcohol can cause people to lose their inhibitions. As a result, they may put themselves in dangerous situations or do something they later regret. Coupled with that, they could fall and injure themselves while under the influence of alcohol.

“In the long term, regularly drinking more than the recommended guidelines can increase your chances of certain types of cancer, memory loss, brain damage, certain types of stroke and heart and liver disease.”

The Department of Health recommends that women should drink no more than two or three units of alcohol a day and 14 units per week. For men, the figure is three to four units a day and 21 a week.

One unit of alcohol is about equal to a half pint of 3-4% beer, a small pub measure (25ml) of spirits or a standard pub measure (50ml) of fortified wine such as sherry or port. A small glass of wine (125ml) is about one and a half units and a pint of beer could be three units, or more if it is stronger.

Dr Harries added: “No one wants to spoil the fun, but pace yourself, eat before you go out, don’t cram all of your units for the week into one evening and take a break or move to soft drinks between alcohol.”

Pregnant women or those trying to become pregnant should limit themselves and, if they do choose to drink, should take only drink one or two units once or twice a week and not get drunk.

For more information on the number of units in various alcoholic drinks, visit www.units.nhs.uk

The call comes from health bosses at NHS Norfolk and Waveney in the run up to European Antibiotic Awareness Day, which takes place on Friday (18 November 2011).

The day has been designed to educate patients about the correct use of antibiotics, and will spread the message that the drugs cannot cure colds, most coughs and most sore throats. It will also be used to highlight that using antibiotics incorrectly can make people more vulnerable to other illnesses, such as clostridium difficile.

It is hoped the awareness day will help ease the increasing pressure placed on GPs to prescribe antibiotics when they are not appropriate for the patient’s illness.

Michael Dennis, of the prescribing and medicines management team at NHS Norfolk and Waveney, said: “Many people just aren’t aware that antibiotics don’t work on viruses which cause coughs and colds or other conditions like sore throats and earache, and will ask their doctor to prescribe them when they’re not needed.

“We want to use this awareness day to educate people about the correct use of antibiotics and promote more appropriate medications for colds, such as those available from your pharmacist which will help relieve symptoms.

“It is also vital to stress that overuse of antibiotics can make people more vulnerable to other illnesses in the long run, and can also mean the medication doesn’t work as well when it really is needed. As there are currently no new antibiotics in development, it is really important that we protect the ones we do have so that we don’t become resistant to them and prevent them from being effective.”

Community pharmacists can offer a wide range of advice to help manage the symptoms of coughs and colds, while NHS Direct is available 24 hours a day on 0845 4647 or online at www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk

For more advice about preventing common illnesses from spreading, visit www.norfolk.nhs.uk or alternatively go to www.gywpct.nhs.uk and click on the germbusters link.

The call comes in the run up to national self care week, which begins on Monday and is being supported by NHS Norfolk and Waveney. During the week, people are being encouraged to think about the technology available to help them manage their health, including:

* NHS Choices (www.nhs.uk) which can help you make lifestyle changes such as losing weight, stopping smoking or getting fit. It also has information on a wide range of illnesses and long term conditions such as asthma, diabetes and heart problems. NHS Choices can help people who have been diagnosed with a long term condition to understand more about managing the condition and how lifestyle changes could help. The website also includes films showing how others with long term conditions look after themselves.

* Visiting NHS Direct (www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk) gives you the chance to check your symptoms and get advice on conditions which may be causing concern. Based on the information you give about your symptoms, the site will also tell you the best course of action to take, from managing the symptoms yourself to getting medical help. Self care is the best option in the majority of case, but NHS Direct can give people extra confidence that it’s the right thing for them to do.

* LifeCheck (www.nhs.uk/lifecheck) is a free service which gives bespoke advice on changes you can make to improve your health. After filling in information about your age, weight, height and lifestyle, the programme will tell you which aspects of your lifestyle are good and where and how improvements can be made.

NHS Direct has an app which you can download free from www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk, while there are also Android and iPhone versions available. Alternatively, you can find your nearest pharmacy by texting the word ‘pharmacy’ to 64746.

For more information about self care, visit www.gywpct.nhs.uk or www.norfolk.nhs.uk and click on “your health”.