British Waterways Press Update
24 July 2009
The latest round up of stories for the waterways press.
Waterways Press Update – July 2009
CONTENTS
1. 2020 Strategy Update
2. Restructure update
3. Defra grant funding for 2010/11
4. ‘Failing to display’ campaign
5. Waterwatch update
6. Liverpool Canal Link wins Street Design Award
1. 2020 Strategy Update
Following the positive initial response and feedback from boaters, towpath visitors and other stakeholders, much fuller detail is being formulated regarding BW’s plans to become a third sector organisation. The expanded proposals will go part way to answering many of the questions posed since the publication of Twenty Twenty: A vision for the future of our canals and rivers.
Robin Evans, BW chief executive, comments: “Over the next couple of months we will be conducting more research, which includes speaking to successful third sector organisations and other experts in the field. In particular we will look at governance, fundraising and marketing in the charitable sector and what a contract with Government might entail.
“The new strategy has been generally well received both inside BW and by boaters and the wider public. However, there is a hunger for more detail about how the change might work. It is important that we keep up the momentum towards providing a sustainable future for the nation’s waterways without forgetting the £30m gap between what needs to be spent on the waterways and what is currently available.”
2. Restructure update
The names of the 11 new waterway units in England and Wales which will become operational from October have been announced.
Waterway Waterway manager
North West Debbie Lumb
North East Laurence Morgan
Manchester & Pennine David Baldacchino
North Wales & Borders Wendy Capelle
Central Shires Darren Green
East Midlands Sean McGinley
South Wales & Severn Nick Worthington
West Midlands Dean Davies
South East Jeff Whyatt
Kennet & Avon Mark Stephens
London Simon Bamford
In the new structure, certain activities such as managing moorings and delivering major engineering projects will be undertaken by central specialist teams allowing the new waterways to entirely focus on improving customer service alongside the day to day operations and management of the waterways. These changes together with other cost savings will allow a further £10m to be redirected into waterways maintenance.
3. Defra grant funding for 2010/11
BW grant funding from Defra for England and Wales has been confirmed for the year 2010/11. After allowing for advanced payments of grants there will be an effective reduction on the current financial year of £4.6m.
4. ‘Failing to display’ campaign
As part of its continued focus on tackling licence evasion, BW has launched a network-wide ‘failing to display’ campaign. Stickers reminding boaters to display their licence will be affixed to the windows of ‘non-displaying’ boats – highlighting the drain on much needed resources when time is spent following up on seemingly unlicensed craft.
Simon Salem, marketing and customer service director, comments: “We’ve a great many customers out on the cut who take the time to point out unlicensed boats. This, together with BW’s robust enforcement processes and continued commitment to tackle the issue, is making a real difference in further reducing evasion rates across the network.
“Unfortunately much time and resource is wasted when, on investigation, unlicensed boats are simply found to be failing to display. This is time and money that could be much better spent tackling the real evaders who perhaps think that they are above contributing towards the cost of maintaining the waterways network.”
The ‘failing to display’ sticker for unlicensed boats is supported by further ‘failing to display’ stickers for both boat index numbers and valid mooring permits.
So far, in the first half of 2009, BW’s patrol staff have recovered almost £1.5million of overdue licence fee income and currently have further enforcement proceedings underway on over 1,200 craft.
Since the introduction of a £150 late payment charge for boaters renewing their licence more than one month after expiry, there has been a marked increase in people renewing on time. Now, 95% of boats have their licence renewed within one month of expiry (up from 82%).
• Available from the BW press office: image of BW’s new ‘failing to display’ stickers
5. Water Watch 2009
Despite the hotter and drier start to this year* the majority of the BW network reservoir holdings are stable. For some parts of the BW network however, the weather has meant that a number of the reservoirs used to supply the canals have had less inflow and refill, and therefore increased drawdown to meet canal demands. Both the Leeds & Liverpool Canal and the Peak Forest and Macclesfield Canal reservoir groups are currently at lower holdings than each of the corresponding months in the historical period 1998-present. This situation has resulted in some restrictions to navigation being applied to conserve water resources for later in the boating season.
*According to the Met Office, June was warmer and sunnier than average, and drier in most areas. The end of the month brought with it some of the highest temperatures in the past three years, but also some very heavy and intense thunderstorms. Mean temperatures were up to 1.5 °C above the 1971-2000 normal across the UK. For 2009 as a whole, mean temperatures have been above the long term average for all months except January, and rainfall has been below the long term average for the year so far.
The Met Office seasonal forecast for the rest of the summer is for average rainfall and above average temperatures.
For more details on any restrictions to navigation, log on to www.waterscape.com/stoppages and sign-up for email alerts of stoppages and restrictions. Alternatively, consult the local BW office before planning a cruise.
6. Liverpool Canal Link wins Street Design Award
The recently completed Liverpool Canal Link and Pier Head public realm has been chosen as the winner of the Waterways category in the Street Design Awards 2009. The award, presented to the project partners at the Link on Thursday 23 July, rewards innovation and good practice in urban street design schemes undertaken by, or on behalf of, local authorities.
Richard Longton BW project manager for the Liverpool Canal Link comments: “The Link has been a tremendous success and it’s great to see it being acknowledged as a project that has greatly enhanced the network. Since it was opened in April, the large number of boats coming through the Link has once again brought the famous Pier Head to life. The whole area is rejuvenated and is proving a popular attraction both to boaters and to visitors on foot. The exceptional quality of design of the Canal Link and surrounding area has truly demonstrated how our waterways can provide a focal point to rejuvenating our city centres.”