British Waterways cares for Britain's historic canals and rivers

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A lit bridge on the Regents canal

Waterspace Strategies

Waterspace strategies are important planning and design tools that outline our aims and objectives for the use of a particular canal, river, basin or dockside area. They seek to protect the waterspace as a special asset and to unlock its multi-functional potential so that it is not just a visual backdrop to the surrounding development but becomes a leisure and commercial resource and facility in its own right.

Our strategies take into account the wider environment of the site and look at how the waterway interacts with it, with the aim of enlivening and making full and appropriate use of the water. They encourage a structured approach to planning that brings together our aims and objectives with those of waterway users, the local community, local authorities, developers and other stakeholders, to ensure the water is successfully improved, enhanced and regenerated as well as its surroundings. They explore concepts, inter-relationships and different uses and help developers and their design teams to identify the right waterbased and waterside uses for their site.

They are not fixed solutions. Instead they are designed to be fluid and can be adapted over time. The benefit of this approach is that the 'added value' of the waterspace is fully explored but is also responsive to changes in project briefs.

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