The Mersey Basin Campaign

On Friday 18th June the Campaign held its 2004 Mersey Estuary Forum, at the Albert Dock Maritime Museum. The Forum gives the opportunity for various organisations to publicise their work as part of the bigger picture of the Mersey River Valley Initiative. As the event coincided with the Mersey River Festival the delegates were treated to a dock full of vessels of all shapes and sizes, including a sizeable flotilla of narrow boats which had travelled along the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, locked down into the Mersey, and travelled the short distance to Albert Dock.

The Chair of the Mersey Basin Campaign, Professor Peter Batley, listed the many water-based projects which are either under way or have been completed in the region: the Ribble Link, the proposed Ribble Estuary Waterside Park, Liverpool's Waterfront Regional Park and the Liverpool Capital of Culture amongst others. All are opportunities to develop aspects of the region's waterways, and he stressed the need to widen the area to include Manchester. All depend upon the provision of a good quality water supply. The tremendous improvement in the water within the catchment brought about by the Campaign and its partners over the years has resulted in it becoming a model to be followed, bringing visiting delegations from all over the world to see how it is done. There in no room for complacency however; more case studies are needed and more monitoring teams set up if the improvement is to be continued.

Sara Wilde, for Mersey Waterfront, defined the organisation's objectives as "transform, energise and connect". The Estuary offers 120 kms of diverse coastal area whose development is vital in revitalising its hinterland urban areas. Work planned in Liverpool, Halton, Sefton, and Wirral, includes such projects as a new cruise liner facility, Wigg Island development, Marine Lake improvements and additional facilities at the Historic Warships site, all tied neatly together with the proposed 'River of Light' project. Mersey Waterfront has supported 17 projects so far which have involved 1500 local people in 60 organisations. It has attracted over100,000 extra visitors to the area and generated an extra spend of over £1m.

Cathy Elwin and Claire Wilson described the Speke Garston Coastal Reserve scheme. This area occupies the old airport site, bounded by urban housing and the river estuary. At present it is much abused by the illegal use of 4x4 vehicles and trail bikes, whilst the local boating club headquarters was destroyed by fire. The aim is to work with various partners to turn round the area, making it into a public amenity. The plan is to make the site secure, consult the local communities and produce a development plan acceptable to the majority. This will then be implemented with the support of young people who will then have an interest in its preservation and continued use.

Peter Jones then spoke for the Environment Agency. He reminded the meeting of the situation in the 1970s when the Mersey was classified as "the most polluted river in Europe". The culprits were of course people (67 raw sewage out-falls), the factories (chemical waste, oil, soaps) and Agriculture (fertilisers and weed killers). The results of decades of improvement work have been spectacular. There is more oxygen in the water, which can now support over 50 species of fish including salmon at Warrington. The reduction in industrial discharge has been considerable, whilst the construction of many sewage treatment plants has almost eliminated raw sewage contamination. If seas are too high at Blackpool and North Wales, anglers are happy to fish the sheltered waters of the Mersey estuary instead. There is still room for improvement, however, as there are still high concentrations of nutrients and other contaminants. Also, some substances remain in shellfish long after the reduction or elimination of the source of those substances. Peter stressed that although the river does not look clean, it is only its natural suspended silt burden which gives it that appearance, ending with the statement "we can now mess about in boats instead of boating about in mess".

Halton Borough Council 's spokesman was Paul Wright. He described the benefits resulting from the formation of a Maintenance Team to travel around the Borough on a regular basis, carrying out day to day maintenance to public grounds, infrastructure, signage, pathways and security. The aim is to improve the standards of areas previously seen as low priority, to increase the number of wildlife sites and reduce anti-social behaviour. Targets include Spike Island, the Sankey, the Trans-Pennine Trail, Wigg Island and the western Runcorn promenade. The team has been successful, having received one of only two Team Awards outside London. Some of its sites have won Green Flag Awards and others given Beacon status. This winning formula can now be adopted along the rest of the estuary.

Keynote Address : Public Consultation. The Speaker was Claire Curtis-Thomas, M.P. for Crosby and Formby who is concerned that there should be appropriate public consultation where the public may be affected by any given proposal. All her Wards but one front onto the sea, including urban areas, sand dunes and pine forests. Land ownership is complex with the Local Authority, the Ministry of Defence, Mersey Docks and Harbour Board and numerous corporate bodies and individuals being represented. She cited the case of a Formby pine wood in which English Nature proposed to fell a large number of trees. A local group was formed to object both to this action and to the lack of public consultation. A 10,000 letter campaign to local people brought much support, resulting in a revised felling programme acceptable to all, but with the added benefit that in future the public would be consulted. Not every story can lead to a success however. The MD&HB has built a large £2M shed on its own land but in a sensitive area. There was no public consultation despite the effect its construction has had on large numbers of people. The need for correct consultation procedures is vital, and all organisations should be alert for proposals which may impact upon others' aims or their quality of life.

Mersey Basin Campaign. Walter Menzies, Chief Executive of the Campaign then spoke on the challenges for the future. Work remains to be done regarding industrial pollution whilst the impact of climate change will need to be constantly monitored. The North West Business Awards scheme offers positive rewards rather than criticism. Support is offered for the regeneration of Southport Pier, the Merseyside Waterfront Park, the Speke Garston Coastal Reserve and the revitalising of the Liverpool Garden Festival site. The European Water Framework Directive (2015) and the United Utilities expenditure of £3.2M (2005-2010) on improvements in the region will receive the full co-operation of the Campaign.

Liverpool Capital of Culture. Kris Donaldson of the Liverpool Culture Company described its major objectives: to contribute to the regeneration of the city; to reposition it in international perception; to produce a sustainable programme which will be effective beyond 2008; and to create a template for European city regeneration. Each year from 2004 will have a theme. This year it is 'Faith in one city', followed by The Sea and Liverpool', 'Performance' (including sport, art and business) 'Liverpool's 800th Birthday', 'European Capital of Culture', followed by 'Environment' and finally 'Innovation' in 2010. The project is to build upon the support given by the 300,000 people, 150,000 young people and 80 community groups who took part in the bid for 'Capital of Culture'. Major projects in the pipeline include the Kings Dock scheme, the Fourth Grace, the cruise liner facility and the Paradise Street development.

Finally, Graham Phoenix spoke on the 'River of Light' project, which aims to produce a night time environment, both as an attraction in itself and to bring people into the area. Proposals include the lighting of nodal points with joining routes, a series of beacons using existing lighthouses and new beacons, and lasers in permanent position to create a cross river light web. The Light programmes will have radio links for public interaction to vary the displays.

This was a varied programme with water as the linking theme. It is evident that through consultation and networking efforts can be efficiently co-ordinated into a regional strategy rather than being dissipated in small scale enterprises.

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