Our April Society meeting should have been addressed by Dr.John Eaton of Liverpool University but due to pressure of work he had to postpone his visit until later in the year. Fortunately, John Fletcher kindly agreed to stand in for Dr. Eaton at short notice. John, who is the North West Region Chairman of the Iwa, and a Member of its Council, is a long-standing member of SCARS, among others, and is now a member of The Waterways Trust.

Before giving his own ideas on the subject John read out some notes taken at one of Dr. Eaton's previous lectures. As Dr Eaton will precede his talk with a personal fact-finding visit to the Sankey, this gave us an insight into his approach to the issues involved, and the areas he might want to concentrate on in our circumstances.

He began by stating the key areas, bio-diversity and sustainability. Bio-diversity includes the complexity, stability, competitive nature and succession of the environment.

The more complex pattern of species and life forms present, the more stable is the environment, since changes in one area can be compensated for by others. A canal, like any other water area is not a stable object but undergoes constant change. Ask any dredger operator on B.W.
Competition between species can lead to the survival of the fittest, which is not always beneficial to the environment as a whole.
The succession is the natural change which occurs at all levels within any environmnet. can be interfered with by the above factors or other continuous or short term disturbances, overgrazing, fire, flood etc.

Clearly the development of any environment is the sum of the many factors which have influenced it. Whilst some of these factors are beyond our control, some have a direct effect for which we must accept the responsibility. A sheet piled bank is excellent for maintaining the canal channel but offers little scope for wildlife. Anglers who arrive on a canal bank very early, and remain in situ for long hours, reduce the active life of the local fauna. Walkers are the largest user group along the canals but it is the dog walkers who cause the greatest disturbance to wildlife. Too few boats can be just as detrimental as too many boats. Where a site is designated as a SSSI restoration can lead to an imbalance in the environment and steps must be taken to address this difficulty.

The completion of the Ribble Link could have a knock-on effect upon the Rufford Branch of the Leeds Liverpool Canal. Once the Link is operational, the Branch will form a vital link between the Lancaster Canal and the national network, thus increasing the number of boat passages. This in turn will create greater bank erosion along a canal which lies across a sinking landscape with the potential for breaches.

Identifying and maintaining the correct balance of all these factors is not easy, especially as they will themselves change through time, however the long-term sustainability of the waterways should be our prime concern.

John then went on to give his own thoughts on Waterway Restoration, stressing the need for any partnerships to establish an official Policy which is fully understood by all. He also pointed out that the progress or otherwise of any project can frequently depend upon the personnel involved and that the influence of any particular partner can be changed as a result of changes of individual representatives.
At national and local government levels there are those who have given much support to the waterway restoration movement and whilst it is hoped that this will continue, it can only do so whilst they retain their positions.

The establishment of The Waterways Trust has been partly the result of the restraints of legislation upon British Waterways, which prevent it from raising loans to maintain and develop the national waterway network. The funding obtained by the Trust, and that made available by National Government have brought about a marked change in general attitude to the waterways.

Restoration schemes which only a few years ago seemed to have stalled, are now nearing completion. Others are receiving more active support and the possibility of new canal links has also been discussed, a laughable concept just a short time ago.

It should be noted that there is greater support among the general public for green issues than for canal restoration. Whilst one reason for this is simply that people are generally uninformed about the situation on the waterways, a greater problem is the differences in perception of the same topic by the organisations involved. John cited the case of assumptions about boat draft, speed and wash height, made without reference to actual evidence, which was causing opposition. When the organisations involved actually met to discuss the problems, they were soon solved.

Environmentalists, who have previously been very powerful, and negative towards waterway restoration, have recently been taken to task for insisting that environmental research is carried out by others instead of funding it themselves. The role of the Environment Agency is also coming under greater scrutiny with the possibility of it assuming responsibility for the waterways. BW is working to eliminate the concept of "remainder waterways"; it is earning more than previously through its business acumen and is stimulating funding from the environmental organisations. The recent foot and mouth outbreak will probably cause a greater governmental interest in rural regeneration, whilst English Heritage is more sympathetic than in the past.

Our thanks to John for coming on as substitute, his contributions are always lively and informative but this time he was clearly telling the Society that it should increase its efforts towards the restoration of the Sankey. Although it would seem that there is a certain optimism in the waterway movement, John warned that we must not be complacent but must push ahead with our aims. There is an increasingly common acceptance of the idea that the next ten years are crucial to restoration schemes and that those which are not completed within that period are unlikely to be completed at all. We have been warned.

By Peter Keen