6th National Conference for Waterway Societies
November 24th, 2001

SCARS has sent a representative to this annual IWA- sponsored Conference at The Council House, Sandwell, West Midlands, since its inception. It provides a link with the wider Waterways community, and a vital forum for the discussion of subjects common to most restoration projects. Our representative this time was our Secretary, Peter Keen. His Report of the proceedings follows.

The representives were welcomed by the IWA's Chairman, Richard Drake, who gave the opening Address. He was followed by Mr. Bob Dewey, a Planning Officer, who spoke on "The Importance of Planning to Waterway Restoration". In his detailed account of the Planning structure, he emphasised the importance of the Development Plan pertaining to the relevant area. This governs policy on Planning Applications and must be followed "unless material consideration determines otherwise" In brief this means that work will normally follow the Plan, but nothing is ever guaranteed. It goes under various names: Unitary Development Plan, Ten Year Plan, and includes plans, policies, justification and demonstrations of compliance with National Guidelines. It takes 5 or 6 years to draw up a plan, but the public is involved for only 6 weeks so it is vital to be aware of this 'window of opportunity' otherwise the chance of influencing the plan is lost. Over the 5/6 years there will be an initial survey followed by a report from which a Draft Plan is produced for consultation. Following amendment the document becomes a Deposit Plan which is again put out for consultation. A public Enquiry follows, the Inspector reports back and the document becomes the Adopted Plan.

Waterway Societies must keep abreast of developments and comply with the rigid time scales or lose the opportunity to influence the plans. They must be aware of the actual process involved and make full use of it. They should also note that, even with a Development Plan in place, Planning Applications which may affect a waterway need to be monitored closely - developers are aware of "get out" clauses - don't sit back or assume anything - 90% of Applications are decided in favour of development.

He also emphasised the need for Societies to be part of the planning process, by building strong links with Planning Officers and Local Politicians. They should make sure that the planners know about the Society, what are its targets are, and demonstrate its ability to talk constructively and flexibly but remain firm in its demands. Societies should regularly send newsletters to planners to keep themselves in the foreground. They should invite Planners and Councillors to canal festivals, boat rallies and other events, and otherwise promote their cause with presentations, Christmas cards, and an outline of their ambitions for the new year.

If Societies object to an Application, they should note that the Government wants 90% of all applications to be Officer determined. Once their recommendations are scheduled to go before the Planning Committee societies will need to lobby Councillors and Planning Committee members to overturn the Officer's recommendations. N.b. A circular letter is not recommended: a personal approach is far more effective. Even if 800 objections are received to a given proposal, if they are all objecting to the same problem in the same way, they carry no increased weight.

The Inland Waterways Amenity Advisory Council (IWAAC) is shortly to publish its Planning Guide to assist Societies in this field.

The next Speaker was Dr. John Eaton of Liverpool University who spoke on "The Ecology of Waterway Restoration and Maintenance: The Changing Scene". He is to address our own Annual Meeting in March, so Members can come and hear how he judges the Sankey's restoration should be taking note of ecology issues. Having defined that ecology protection involves the conservation and development of native plant and animal communities, he went on to describe changes and advances over recent years which affect restoration.

Legislation has been strengthened in areas which embrace conservation/ environment/ restoration as water supplies become increasingly important. SSSI protection has also increased as there is an acceptance that the influence of the surrounding area needs to be taken into consideration. International, recognition of special sites has also increased. Locally, River Basin Management Plans are to be introduced during the next few years. Bio-diversity (the numbers of plants and animals in an area and how they interact) is the major area of development. High Diversity areas are more stable and can withstand stresses of climate / human impact. Local Bio-diversity Action Plans being drawn up by Local Authorities and the Wildlife Trust. They aim to identify areas of value in need of protection and describe opportunities for development (including waterways) to build wild life gains into all projects.

Societies need to make contact with these partnerships and offer co-operation.

Restoration Ecology: Dr Eaton gave examples of projects which showed long term success: Constructing Eco-Systems (Designer Wildlife). This is now possible due to increased understanding of the problems. For example, on the River Dee, banks were being destroyed by boat wake and cattle erosion. The planting of bank-side reed beds has reduced both problems. All the possible causes must be addressed if progress is to be made. The use of Geo-textiles has proved to be advantageous in stabilising plant rooting systems. Other methods include laying stones in the waterway to hold down root systems, or sinking hessian bags containing stones and plants to allow the latter to grow from secure anchorages. Canals lined with sheet piles are locked into a reflective state as wakes bounce off opposite banks, there is limited wildlife habitat and bio-diversity is low. The introduction of Geo-text has reversed this situation, even given 1000 boat movements per year, so that there is now a diversity of plants fish and invertebrates. Sedges protected by a simple timber barrier survive well as the wake show is absorbed by the wood. Dutch canals are being improved considerably to produce a higher bio-diversity, and their canals are much wider and deeper than those in Britain. There is now the knowledge and power to improve bio-diversity , for example in simply planting hedgerows alongside the canals.

Wildlife Gain: The canal bed silt in the Bootle section of the Leeds Liverpool Canal was dredged to one side, leaving a clear navigable channel and a raised bank-side area for plant and animal life to colonise. Societies need to have clearly defined targets. What are they restoring to? Is it a traditional clear waterway, fitting the historical model, with little consideration given to wildlife issues or an improved wildlife-tolerant version. It should be noted that in horse drawn days there was no wash, banks were stable and there were few trees or shrubs encroaching onto the line of the canal. Rural bank erosion is widespread owing to current farming methods. Hedge planting could reduce this problem considerably.

Simple single species conservation is not sufficient. Floating Water Plantain is in urgent need of conservation but different varieties have been identified in different watercourses, or even at different locations along the same watercourse. There is an obligation to conserve the plant and its generic diversity. The Rochdale Canal supports one of the largest communities of the plantain in the country, in four differing sections. The plants must be rescued, conserved during restoration work and replaced after the canal is restored.

Boat Traffic: The direct effect of boat traffic is that low traffic results in higher bio-diversity and vice versa. On the other hand, rampant vegetation results in low diversity, even down to 2 species. The extent of restoration affects bio-diversity to the extent that the restoration of a canal to between one-third and one half of its full width gives better diversity than before, but restoration to full width produces a wildlife desert. As far as the effects of boat traffic on bio-diversity are concerned, it is impossible to plot graphs to show because there are too many other variable influences, the impact of which cannot be ascertained in isolation. Modification to the cross section of the channel will help ameliorate the effects of traffic - the wider the channel the better. Also, the hull design of boats could be modified to reduce wake. Dr Eaton reported that experiments are under way on the Middlewich Branch at present to identify best method of channel/bank protection.

New Menaces: Tree growth has been allowed to develop unchecked, resulting in widespread shading to the canal surface and a reduction in photosynthesis. Work with aerial photographs on the Basingstoke Canal has revealed 70% to 95% increase in tree cover.

Invasive Species: Australian Swamp Weed and Floating Pennywort are causing problems at the moment and have the potential to cause more extensive damage if not contained.

It should be noted that all ecological management has to be done at local level and there is therefore the opportunity for Canal Societies to play a major role in shaping the eventual outcomes.

Follow-up: The designation of a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) is based upon its situation at the time of determination, but wildlife changes in number and distribution over time as a result of both natural and artificial forces. Such changes cannot be accurately forecast, or the influencing factors readily identified, but often a scapegoat is sought to take the blame (often canal boats). Some SSSI's have changed so dramatically that they no longer fulfil the conditions of SSSI designation.

Reduction of tree growth leads to a large net gain in bio-diversity. Continuous planting alongside canals should be discouraged, and selective copse planting encouraged away from the watercourse. Mass felling is not anticipated as this would prove highly expensive, but controlled felling of saplings over time would allow a return to the historic landscape.

Roger Butler, British Waterway's Strategic Initiatives Manager spoke next on the subject "Waterway Landscapes and Conservation Plans". His role is to develop stronger links with Waterway Organisations through rural regeneration and sustainable urban development. The linking of town and country is a prime concern. Canal pass through land-scapes of great historical and heritage value and the zone of influence of any waterway should be measured in miles, rather than restricted to a narrow corridor of a few metres.

Waterways influence more than the water they contain, influences can include impact upon all that can be seen from the waterway, towns villages farms etc.

He described current developments concerning the Kennet and Avon Canal as an example of how things are going in this sphere. John Rennie, the Canal's Engineer considered it the most difficult one to build in all his experience. Now, een after restoration there are out-standing maintenance problems. To address them the Kennet and Avon Partnership was formed. In 1997 the Partnership received a grant of £29M from the Heritage Lottery Fund to maintain the 87 miles of waterway in a sustainable fashion. Certain conditions were imposed: A detailed Conservation Plan must be prepared; this should be designed to guide a Five Year Plan; it should cover the built and natural environment; iIt should involve a wider Canal Corridor. Also, a strategy would be required to address Visitor Management and Public Transport Issues. Associate monitors include English Heritage, English Nature and The Countryside Commission, whose task is to identify the character and significance of canal heritage. The K. & A. is rich in variety from the Bathstone in the west through the Cotswold Downs, AONBs, 24 Conservation sites and extensive wildlife habitats.

A Visitor Amenity Study has been carried out, identifying tow path links to other footpaths and ridgeways. Fishing is widespread, disabled access is extensive, 750 full-time jobs are supported, at a total running cost of £10M per year. Policies exist for a variety of users : Boating and towpath activities, Landscape Heritage, Built Heritage, and Bio-diversity. Flexibility is built in so that a section which experienced frequent breaches has been bought from the landowner and a wetland site has been created in the flooded area.

Following the Speakers' contributions, a number of Workshops were held. Here are our representative's Notes of these:

Communication and Negotiation Methods: Who, How, Why and When Who?: Historical Experts - Established Canals - Waterway Owners - Riparian Landowners - Funding Partnerships - Regulators / planning authorities

With Whom?: Politicians - Figureheads - Press - Non-Government Organisations - Other Stakeholders - The Public - Advisors - Consultants.

Press: Let them know you exist regularly, magazines, local media coverage, interviews.

Timing essential - before rather than after Society events. First need is something to show / event launch, a viable plan, clear vision as to the future.
Regulators: The Local Planning Authority, which grants planning permission; the Environment Agency, which is responsible for water abstraction, waste discharge, land drainage, pollution; English Nature/ Countryside Council for Wales, responsible for designating SSSI's and approving Biodiversity Action Plans; the Department of the Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) is responsible for the protection of habitats, licensing, analysis and assessment and English Nature.

How?: Newsletters with efficient distribution network; Christmas Cards list to include many of the above people; Project fact sheets; Library displays; tourist office displays, regularly revised; Liaison groups, with regular meetings; a Web-site, kept up to date; Projects near, across or under waterways might bring contributions for publications; boat trips are a very effective way of publicising a Society; Presentations - members should be willing to give these regardless of inconvenience since they might bring long term benefits; a professional approach needed for all paperwork, well produced documents are essential.

Dredging Policies and Channel Sizes:
Issues: determining priorities; taking samples and carrying out analysis; planning disposal.
Methods: Walk through study of the Ecology; seek advice of B.W. and other relevant authorities re. present wildlife habitats and proposals; disposal on site: liaise with EA re. distribution pattern; disposal off site: liaise with EA re. destination, licensing etc.
Note that the profile of the canal is the responsibility of B.W. and not the local contractor.

Monitoring Methods : Why, What and How

Why?: The ability to demonstrate progress is essential in all large restoration projects. A good base line is need therefore from which to measure this. Often funders insist on monitoring as a condition of the grant. Restoration is not an exact science and needs in-built flexibility. Danger of too much time and resources going into the monitoring which could be more effectively spent on actual restoration work.

What?: Economic indicators : boat counts at locks; canal-side business performance.

Social indicators: Quality of life is difficult to quantify and monitor
Environmental indicators: recording anglers and other users: surveying numbers and types of fish, especially artificial stocking; water quality & quantity; vegetation change.

Water Abstraction and Conservation:
Two types of abstraction are recognised, for navigable waterways and for other uses. This situation may change as new laws are brought in. The Environment Agency needs to study canals as a means of transferring water from area to area. Abstractors need to demonstrate the initial need for water and for the continued use of water. Canals are inefficient water users since much is lost through seepage and via lockage and increasingly via evaporation.

Water Rights have already been purchased by some Societies so the EA has no further influence unless there is a pollution incident. New authorities can control water flow/supplies but some must be retained to maintain the water-based ecology. Draw up a Memorandum of Understanding so that this is available for adoption by the partners concerned. Problems occur where canals cross administrative boundaries and discharge into other regions, resulting in a reluctance to accept responsibility by either authorities, especially if an expensive problem occurs.

Managing Conservation and Amenity:

Considerations: Who the project is being managed for.
Methodology: Need for a vision of sustainable development and local distinctiveness.
Problems anticipated : Fear of change, especially in wildlife issues, emphasises the need to have available all the correct facts before choosing a course of action. Plan provision for the different user groups in such way as to satisfy all.

Round-up Comments

• Get to know local politicians and seek their support.
• Planning departments often unsympathetic towards canals "dirty ditches fit only to host run-down industries". Response should be a copy of 'Waterways for Tomorrow'. There is a clear need for good planning and the need to work together.
• Societies should demonstrate their commitment to IWAAC Good Practice Guide.
• Conference is planned shortly to include Planning Departments to promote better understanding.
• BW is a statutory consultant in large scale planning applications.
• If planning departments are not good enough it is up to waterway societies to point the way ahead

Our thanks to Peter for his note-taking - which the IWA have used as the basis of their Minutes of the Conference! Many issues are of direct relevance to SCARS' restoration hopes - and it is plain that we are in a time of changing attitudes towards our ecology.