British Waterways Press Update
23 October 2009
The latest round up of stories for the waterways press.
Waterways Press Update – October 2009
CONTENTS
1. New BW structure – contact details
2. Waterway priorities – the boaters’ view
3. Volunteering
4. Mooring auctions
5. Foxton Locks hosts Olympic star
1. New BW structure – contact details
BW’s revised waterway structure comes into effect on Monday 2 November. A map showing the boundaries between the eleven operational waterway units in England and Wales together with the contact details for each office is available on waterscape.com.
In BW’s new structure activities such as licence enforcement, moorings management and the delivery of major engineering projects will be managed by central specialist teams allowing the new waterways to focus on improving customer service and day-to-day waterway operations.
When making changes like these it is important that boaters and stakeholders can continue to stay in touch, so at the end of October BW will be publishing a ‘getting in touch’ guide to make this easier. The guide will be available on waterscape and printed copies will be distributed via canal interest groups and our waterway offices.
Robin Evans, BW chief executive, comments: “I’d like to thank BW staff and customers for their patience throughout the restructure process. It’s always difficult to lose dedicated people, but going forward the changes will ensure that we’re better able to respond to customer priorities and that more of BW’s limited resources are directed towards day-to-day waterways maintenance and winter engineering works.”
• The revised waterway map is available from the BW press office or at www.waterscape.com/media/documents/22605.pdf
2. Waterway priorities – boaters’ views
During 2010 BW’s waterway managers will be inviting boating representatives to join their summer programme of waterway inspections. The process, part of the year-round condition checks of BW’s locks, bridges, embankments and other waterway structures, informs where BW targets the funds available to spend on waterway maintenance.
The summer inspections, much of which will be conducted by boat, will be a chance for managers to benefit from the boaters’ perspective and to ensure boater priorities are taken into account when planning future work programmes. The proposed initiative relates to BW’s wider 2020 proposals, which seek greater involvement in the governance of the waterways by customers and stakeholders.
BW director of operations, Vince Moran, comments: “Asking boaters to get involved in the summer inspections can only help to build upon the constructive dialogue we have with the boating community. The ‘onboard’ meetings will be an excellent opportunity for waterway managers and boating representatives to discuss maintenance issues on site and share views on expenditure priorities at local level. It will be an opportunity for BW managers to show first hand the choices and dilemmas they face when working with a finite pot of money.”
Further details on the meetings will be available early next year.
3. Volunteering
As part of plans to increase the number of waterway volunteers, BW has published new web pages at www.waterscape.com/volunteer, which highlight the breadth and diversity of waterway volunteering opportunities.
Edd Moss, BW’s national volunteering manager, comments: “BW has seen a welcome increase in the number of volunteers; especially graduates looking for experience, who have been helping within engineering, volunteering development, hydrology and more. Increasing this, together with more traditional areas of support, very much remains the corporate priority as BW continues to progress plans to move towards the third sector.
“We’re currently developing an online search mechanism for volunteering opportunities so that anyone thinking of giving up some time to assist a waterway project can view a list of volunteering organisations and find opportunities of interest.”
Through the Environmental Volunteering Group (national organisations in the environmental sector, which work with volunteers, including the RSPB, National Trust, Natural England, Woodland Trust and BTCV), BW is developing volunteer management training resources. Edd Moss continues: “Training should emphasise to BW staff the importance of volunteering – ways we can work with volunteers, the sorts of projects that volunteers can deliver and, importantly, how we ensure that volunteering on the waterways is a fulfilling experience for all those giving up their spare time.”
4. Mooring Auctions
In response to customer feedback, boater’s wishing to secure a BW online mooring will now take part in an auction for their preferred mooring rather than submitting ‘blind’ tenders as before. The auction process, which works much like the popular website, eBay, is available at the BW mooring vacancy website: www.bwmooringvacancies.com.
The notable differences from the previous tender system are that the starting (reserve) price is published along with current highest bid, and boaters have the facility to increase their bid during the auction.
As Sally Ash, BW’s head of boating development, explains: “The new auction system has taken the guess work out of the process for anyone looking for a BW mooring. This means that boaters don’t have to worry about paying over the odds by submitting a bid that’s way above any other. Just like eBay, the site is user friendly showing the reserve price for the mooring and allowing the system to make automatic bids up to each person’s theoretical maximum. If the mooring is secured at a price below their maximum then that’s great news for the boater concerned.”
Those looking for a specific mooring can log their requirements on the mooring vacancy website so that they can receive an automated email as soon as any matching vacancy arises. The relaunched site currently has over 40 vacancies from across the network – from the Lancaster Canal to London.
5. Foxton Locks hosts Olympic star
Artistic gymnast, Becky Downie, 2009 British senior champion and 12th at the Olympic Games in Beijing (the highest overall Olympic placing for a British gymnast in her first year as a senior at only 16 years old), was recently pictured at the Foxton Locks’ famous staircase of 10 locks.
The images were taken by East Midlands Tourism to appear on display in the baggage reclaims area of East Midlands Airport in order to showcase some of the region’s magnificent attractions alongside up and coming Olympic athletes. For more information, visit http://eastmidlandstourism.co.uk/article.asp?PageId=110&ArticleId=176
• Image available from the BW press office: Olympic gymnast, Becky Downie and BW south east regeneration manager, James Clifton, next to the new East Midlands Tourism poster campaign at East Midlands Airport