Towpath Telegraph

British Waterways towpath telegraph – September 2011

Welcome to the newsletter for waterway stakeholders, updating you on:

• Defra gives green light to charity move;
• British Waterways publishes last Annual Report before becoming a charity;
• Housing Minister looks to canals;
• River Lee moorings consultation update;
• Next round of appointments for Waterway Partnerships;
• Managing canals in the summertime;
• Waterways Action Squad success.

Defra gives green light to charity move

British Waterways has welcomed the Government's report in response to its consultation, A New Era for the Waterways, on the move of British Waterways in England and Wales into the charitable sector.  There was broad support for Defra's proposals and some helpful insights that will shape detailed plans for the charity before it takes over as the guardian of the waterways in April 2012.

Tony Hales, chairman of British Waterways and of the Transition Trustees commented: "The Transition Trustees have engaged with and fully support the Government's response to the consultation in which it has reaffirmed its commitment to the formation of this exciting new waterways charity.  This ensures we have taken another major step towards seeing this important national treasure held in trust for the nation."

In publishing its report, Defra has simultaneously launched its planned supplementary 60-day consultation about the proposed Transfer Order.  This sets out the legal framework for transfer of the waterways and associated powers and responsibilities from British Waterways to the new charity.

You can read the full consultation response here.

Read the supplementary consultation response.

British Waterways publishes last Annual Report before becoming a charity

On 21 July 2011, British Waterways published its last Annual Report & Accounts before it is moved out of the public sector in England and Wales. Fittingly, the focus was on volunteers, with the number of people giving their time for the waterways increasing to more than 24,000 volunteering days, a three-fold increase since 2007. Volunteering now brings an annual value of over £1.6m.

The range of opportunities available for volunteers is growing and this year, for the first time, included iconic lock-keeping duties as well as a wide range of office, technical and waterway roles. In addition, fourteen new 'Canal Adoption' schemes have seen local communities and household-name companies take ownership of mile-long stretches of canal.

While the economic climate remained difficult, the Report charted a continued renaissance of the waterways which, when nationalised in 1948, were out of favour and in terminal decline. In contrast to that time, the latest Report highlighted that the waterways are now visited by nearly 13 million people each year – a quarter of the adult population – while boating is more popular than ever, with more than 35,200 boats on the network. Canals continue to reopen with the completion of the Droitwich Canals in Worcestershire adding to the 200 miles of waterway which have opened in the last decade and there has been a reduction in the proportion of historic structures, such as canal bridges, aqueducts and flights of locks, in the poorest condition.

More than 90% of people regard canals as an important part of the nation's heritage. The Report looks ahead to the charitable future of the waterways in England and Wales, setting out how the ageing canal network, which comprises the UK's third largest estate of listed structures, will have a firmer financial footing where responsibility and accountability for its future lies much closer to waterside communities.

Tony Hales, chairman of British Waterways, commented: "Britain's inland waterways have been on an extraordinary journey over the last century and are now better used and loved than at any other time in living memory. This good-will, enthusiasm and commitment will hold them in good stead as they embark on the next step of their historic journey."

The Annual Report & Accounts is available to read online.

Read Celebrating Our Canals & Rivers 1948–2011, British Waterways' Transition to Charitable Status.

Housing Minister looks to canals

August saw Housing Minister, Grant Shapps, urge local authorities to consider alternative housing such as boats with residential moorings when looking to meet local housing demands. British Waterways welcomed the announcement, which stated that new powers in the Localism Bill would restore local control over housing.

Mr Shapps said that more people than ever were choosing to make a boat their home and that boats with residential moorings could be an example of how unconventional housing could allow people to live in areas of the country where perhaps they couldn't afford to do so otherwise. Emphasising the need to find a mooring with residential consent before choosing to live afloat, Mr Shapps said that creating more residential long-term moorings could also help reduce the numbers resorting to unlawful overstaying on the towpath.

New moorings could be eligible for the New Homes Bonus, making a strong incentive for councils and communities to grant planning permission for more residential moorings. The money that they received could be invested in new marina facilities or waterside recreational activities that everyone could benefit from, as well as being used to attract further private investment and drive the regeneration of the often-Brownfield land around parts of the country's waterways.

Grant Shapps said: "The Government's commitment to Localism could be an opportunity for living on boats to be given a new lease of life. Where houseboats pay council tax, communities will be eligible for the New Homes Bonus, so the potential economic benefits are huge. Landlords, councils and communities all have a clear incentive to get more mooring sites in their areas and not become landlocked in their quest to meet local housing needs."

Sally Ash, head of boating business at British Waterways said: "The number of people visiting and enjoying our canals and rivers has grown in recent years and this waterways renaissance has triggered strong demand from people wanting to live afloat. We welcome the Minister's encouragement to local authorities to support the creation of purpose built residential mooring sites which we hope will help to alleviate localised congestion along the towpaths. We are also pleased to note the reassurance from Mr Shapps' department that people can qualify for housing benefit for help with mooring fees."

Visit the Department for Communities and Local Government website to read the full announcement.

River Lee moorings consultation update

Following a wide-ranging consultation that closed in May 2011, in August British Waterways published an update on proposals to introduce a new moorings management plan for the Lee & Stort Navigations. The plan was initiated by the need to manage the 40% increase in boat mooring in the area over the past four years.

After reviewing feedback from waterway users and local authorities, British Waterways wants to explore the potential for establishing a new facilitating body, such as a social enterprise, to help achieve a more sustainable model for residential boating on the Lee & Stort Navigations. To gauge support for this direction of travel and to develop the outline of an action plan, British Waterways will now hold discussions with stakeholder representatives.

British Waterways is keen to work with partners in the Lee Valley, local councils and representatives of waterway users, to develop the detail of a plan which would include setting up a social enterprise encouraging a much greater element of local management, working with local councils to create much-needed new residential moorings and introducing a new type of roving mooring permit to increase security for live-aboard boaters currently resident on the rivers without a home mooring. Income earned from roving mooring permits could be invested in improved facilities along the waterway while provisions should be made to ensure space at visitor moorings and hotspots is kept available for leisure boaters. Any future growth in boat numbers should be kept at a sustainable level.

Sally Ash, head of boating at British Waterways, said: "We believe that unlimited and unmanaged growth in boating numbers on the rivers will be detrimental to everyone, and that it is essential to protect this fragile and finite resource for the benefit of the general public. However we also recognise that the residential boating communities that have grown up along the towpath have a particular vested interest in their continued availability as a place to live. We hope very much that stakeholder representatives will support the concept of a new body to accelerate the development of better arrangements for boaters, and will help us to make this happen."

The consultation closed on 31 May 2011. Read the documents constituting British Waterways' formal response to the consultation.

Next round of appointments for Waterway Partnerships

The new waterways charity is recruiting people to chair the Waterway Partnerships that will help shape the future of the waterways in each of the partnership areas. The role of each Partnership is to give local people a greater say and role in how their canals and rivers are run, working with local managers to develop strategies and plans and to build local involvement and participation in the waterways.

Each of the eleven administrative areas of the waterways network will have a chair and Partnership board recruited and up and running by April 2012. There will be two further Partnerships for the waterways museums and All-Wales issues.

Chairs are being recruited before Christmas for Manchester & Pennine, North Wales & Borders, South Wales & Severn, Kennet & Avon and the All Wales Partnerships. The Kennet and Avon is included to bring this trial partnership appointment into the recruitment process agreed by the Transition Appointments Committee. Before Christmas there will also be a review of the trial partnerships in the West Midlands and North West with a view to confirming their position after April 2012, and arrangements will be made to set up the Museums Partnership as the successor to The Waterways Trust Museums Management Board.

Chairs for Local Partnerships in the North East, Central Shires, East Midlands, South East and London will be recruited in a second round starting in January.

The Transition Appointments Committee is recruiting the chairs on behalf of the new waterways charity. The committee comprises Roger Clarke and Dinah Nichols, who are members of the Defra Advisory Panel on First Appointments and Transition, and two transition trustees, Lynne Berry and Tom Franklin. They will be working with Roger Hanbury, chief executive of The Waterways Trust, and local waterway managers to recruit Chairs for the Local Partnerships.

Roger Hanbury comments: "The Waterway Partnerships are integral to the stewardship and development of the waterways within each Partnership area. They shape the strategies and plans for each waterway, guide decisions about spending, and help develop external funding and volunteering. They will champion the interests of the waterways at a political level, with business, and with the community and develop action plans for local engagement and participation."

A written record of all meetings will be publically available on the web. All positions on the Partnerships will be un-remunerated, but agreed expenses will be reimbursed.

Interested parties can find role descriptions and application details shortly at: www.britishwaterways.co.uk and www.thewaterwaystrust.org.uk.

Managing canals in the summertime

British Waterways faces different challenges throughout the year. This summer saw the consequences of an exceptionally dry spring followed by average rain conditions, and waterways across the country had to carefully manage water levels to keep the canals open.

In the South East, conditions were particularly bad as the region faced the driest conditions for 35 years, resulting in the increased drawdown of water from reservoirs and 'back-pumping of water' to keep the canals navigable. As the reservoirs headed towards their minimum levels, British Waterways took the decision to restrict lock usage on sections of the Oxford, Grand Union and Coventry Canals. We also ensured that locks remained open for essential traffic, such as hire boats and boaters with moorings in the local area.

The primary aim of the restrictions is to prolong the remaining water resource to ensure the system remains navigable for the duration of the busy boating season. This is vital to ensure trade for the businesses that rely on the canals. British Waterways is also calling for all boaters to take simple measures to conserve water, such as 'doubling up' to share locks where possible. Lock keepers and volunteers are on hand to help boaters pass through restricted locks efficiently.

During the summer months British Waterways, aided by volunteers, engages in a battle against invasive weed such as floating pennywort that spreads quickly and chokes the waterways' native flora and fauna. In the West Midlands British Waterways secured a £100,000 grant from the SITA Trust to tackle the problem of aggressive invasive plant species on this stretch of canal and is now working with local volunteers to reduce the spread of the plant. The works are expected to benefit species such as water voles, great crested newts, white clawed crayfish and red-eyed damselflies.

British Waterways also has to undertake some unusual activities to keep the network healthy. In July, specialist workers 'hoovered' the trees along the Grand Union Canal to halt the spread of the invasive non-native Oak Processionary Moth. The moths are the scourge of English oak trees, stripping them of foliage which can ultimately cause the trees to die.

Waterways Action Squad success

In June, Waterways Action Squad, a two-year waterway volunteering programme for young people in the North West, reported that it had created almost 50% more volunteering opportunities than it had initially targeted. Over the past two years, over 900 opportunities for 16 to 25-year olds have been created. Run by The Waterways Trust and British Waterways, and funded by v the national young volunteers service and the Bank of America, the project provided volunteering opportunities ranging from physical work on the canal bank to office-based waterway roles including marketing, interpretation and customer services.

Waterways are at the heart of the community, but young people have traditionally been underrepresented. The key aims of the project, which came to an end in June 2011, were to develop a Youth Involvement Strategy for the waterways, increase the capacity for The Waterways Trust and British Waterways to work with young people and to improve young people's attitudes to the waterways. Waterways Action Squad has been instrumental in positively changing perceptions, both amongst waterways users and amongst young people themselves, and the efforts of the volunteers have had a real impact on waterways across the North West.

The Waterways Trust and British Waterways remain committed to getting more young people involved in waterways volunteering and are eager to continue with a youth engagement programme that will form an important part of the overall volunteering agenda.

National youth engagement manager Lucie Unsworth said: "Giving young people ownership of waterways projects has opened up the waterways to a whole new audience, as well as building the confidence and skills of the volunteers. We need young people to be passionate about our canals and rivers, and young volunteers will play a vital part in ensuring the success of the new waterways charity."

To find out more about waterways volunteering, please visit: www.waterscape.com/volunteering