Towpath Telegraph
British Waterways towpath telegraph – June 2010
Welcome to the post-election newsletter for waterway stakeholders, updating you on:
- A ‘national trust’ for the waterways
- Future of waterway volunteering
- ‘Resilient Places’ – character & community in everyday places
- Canals as a focus for community renewal
- International Year of Biodiversity
A ‘national trust’ for the waterways
Britain’s canal network is busier today than at the height of the industrial revolution. Where commodities were the freight of the 18th and 19th centuries, people are the primary ‘freight’ today. That’s people walking and cycling, commuters taking a greener route to work, families on holiday or someone using a five-minute lunch break to get closer to nature.
The waterways have undergone a remarkable transformation over recent decades – from lost cause to national treasure. This growth however is fragile, and the waterways still suffer major problems, including an annual £30m funding shortfall. British Waterways believes that a radical change is needed to secure the future of our canals and rivers, a change which gives a far greater role to those people who live on and alongside them. Over the last 18 months we have been discussing with partners and stakeholders options for moving the network out of direct state control and into a new ‘national trust’ for the waterways. The proposal has won cross-party and stakeholder support and we are discussing with the UK and Scottish Governments how it might be put into practice.
As Tony Hales, British Waterways’ chairman, says: "We are the guardians of one of the finest examples of industrial heritage anywhere in the world. This is not just a legacy for future generations, it is a legacy for people now. If it is going to have a future then it is vital that we give people a greater role and sense of ownership in the way it is run, unleashing the huge passion and energy that our staff, stakeholders and visitors have for them."
Future of waterway volunteering
Volunteers give around 15,000 days of their time every year helping BW maintain and improve the waterways. During British Waterways' annual Towpath Tidy event in March, over 1,000 volunteers worked alongside our staff to clear 146 miles of towpath. They picked up 107 tonnes of rubbish from 126 locations, and painted over 100 items, from bollards to locks. As a charitable organisation, British Waterways would be able to increase volunteering opportunities and links with local communities, and we have recently established a senior management position to champion community engagement.
Caroline Killeavy, currently head of customer services, has been appointed head of community engagement and will seek to increase the number of people volunteering across the waterways over the next few years. Caroline said: “The canal network includes the nation’s third largest estate of listed buildings and is a valuable wildlife resource that is home to numerous SSSIs. Over the next few years we want to encourage more community ownership of the waterways which will mean lots of opportunities to get involved in something fun, really rewarding and of considerable benefit to the community and its waterways heritage.”
To find out more about volunteering, visit: http://www.britishwaterways.co.uk/be-part-of-it/volunteering
‘Resilient Places’ – character & community in everyday places
On 26 May Demos and British Waterways launched a major new report, ‘Resilient Places’, looking at the importance of historic infrastructure such as canals, railways and waterworks in supporting communities and places during the downturn. The report explored how local communities have been able to bring new and imaginative uses to old canals, bridges and other structures and called for greater efforts by authorities to pull down the fences – real and imagined – which prevent such community involvement.
Click here to download a copy of the report
Canals as a focus for community renewal
Once the butt of jokes about shopping trolleys and pollution, canals have, over the last decade, become an important focus for urban and rural renewal. Half of our waterways flow through government priority areas for investment and regeneration, and British Waterways is influencing and enabling an estimated £10 billion worth of projects to revive waterfronts in almost every major city and town that canals and rivers pass through.
Robin Evans, BW’s chief executive, comments: "The consultation looks at how we best manage the limited space along the line of the canals to protect the qualities that make them so special, not only to boaters but to the public at large."
Steve Dunlop, British Waterways regeneration director and director for Scotland, says: "While the recession will have an impact on the pace of delivery and the resources available for major infrastructure projects, these projects are long term and the time span will accommodate different market conditions. Regeneration will, I'm sure, remain a high priority locally, regionally and nationally, and the waterways will continue to be a major catalyst for successful regeneration across the UK."
For more on regeneration click here
International Year of Biodiversity
Waterways have come a long way from their dirty industrial image and today provide nationally significant wildlife corridors linking our towns and cities with the countryside. They provide excellent habitats and safe havens for a wide range of species and our ecologists undertake wide-ranging and innovative work to protect the important habitats that we care for.
British Waterways works in partnership with national and local organisations as well as volunteers to help deliver environmental projects. Recent work has included bat surveying, soft-bank creation for water voles, butterfly habitat creation, barn owl nest monitoring and the building of reed beds. We are also the European leaders in the conservation of floating water plantain – an incredibly rare native aquatic plant. With the UN warning this month that targets to save wildlife and habitats from extinction are not being met, this vital work is a crucial contributor to reversing this trend in the UK.
To find out more visit: http://www.waterscape.com/features-and-articles/features/support-the-international-year-of-biodiversity
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