Northern Canals Association Meeting : October 2007

This was a departure from the norm in that the Northern Societies were joined by those from the south in a joint meeting, assembling at the Guild Hall in Lichfield as a central point.

Business started with a description by Charlotte Atkin MP of the Parliamentary developments following the recent Defra cuts and the consultations which have taken place between BW and MPs since then. The 2000 "Waterways for Tomorrow" paper seemed to indicate a great future for the waterways, supported at the time by Westminster. However it was the government which saw Defra as a soft touch when looking for money, and Defra in turn homed in on the waterways, causing disruption to BW's work programme and the withdrawal of support for restoration. Since then there has been much support from individual MPs. The Minister for Waterways at the time was most annoyed since he had not been fully informed of the whole situation by his team of civil servants when decisions were made. The new Minister, Johnathan Shaw, is more aware of the problems and is much more supportive.

It was pointed out that IWA and supporting organisations had obtained a great deal of publicity with their various campaigns, none more so than the appearance of canal boats outside Parliament itself. As a result some promising partnerships had been set up between Government and local groups. Waterways are no longer seen as a soft touch by Defra but IWA must maintain the momentum if long term benefits are to be obtained.

There have also been some weak areas in the campaigns. Very few people other than boaters were mobilised whereas there are large numbers of schools, walkers, cyclists, anglers, bird watchers and canoeists who could have contributed. Pubs and restaurants adjacent to canals could be brought in to add support as could sports centres, schools and colleges. Whilst 300 MPs have offered their support that means 300 have not. If individual MPs receive 20/30 letters about a subject, they must respond, so more lobbying is needed. Comments from the floor were very pertinent. It was pointed out that recent canal restorations projects are in danger of going to waste as money was made available for restoration but not for the continued maintenances of waterway. Paying out for maintenance is far cheaper than another restoration programme at some future time.

John Fletcher the National Chairman of IWA then took the floor and took the meeting through the past year of activity on the waterways. The IWA gave more evidence to the Select Committee than BW or Ministers.

The World Canals Conference was successful in focusing attention on what volunteer labour can achieve and no other volunteer group could put on an event such as the National Festival.

A Select Committee has been set up to investigate the Defra cuts to waterway funding. It is expected that Defra will admit to failing to plan and prepare efficiently. Though it is unlikely that future funding will be increased, some of it will be ring-fenced for waterways.

Government should recognise the special value of waterways, which they cross departmental boundaries. Education, Health and Transport should all be contributing funding.

The next speaker was Julia Simpson, Head of Recreation, Navigation and Marine for the Environment Agency. She began by saying that, although the EA didn't currently work with volunteers this situation could change in the future. It has a £60M backlog of maintenance on over 1000kmsof waterway. Over 23% of its assets are in a dangerous state.

The Agency has a three year "Changing Plan" with the intention to Change...:-

• Expectations: encourage users to value waterways and benefit from them
• Lifestyles: encourage more use of the waterways.
• Populations: encourage more diversity in its users, develop more lines of communication.

The Cotswold Canals Trust was represented by Keith Lloyd. He spoke on the increasing difficulties being faced by volunteer groups with special reference to those working with BW.

The CCT has 5000 members and 400 active restoration volunteers to restore the canal connection between Lechlade and Stroud. A recent tragic fatality during a work party has resulted in lengthy investigations and hearings with the possibility of prosecution in the future.

Under new Health and Safety rules, the volunteer is now classified as an employee and the Trust is an Employer, and both will be regarded and treated as those in commerce and industry.

Volunteers must attend training courses (any machinery, including strimmers) to prove competency at specific tasks, a course lasting upto 18 weeks. All this must be paid for. A Maintenance Review schedule must be kept listing projects, activities and physical checks carried out.

From the above it can be seen that there is a great deal of work involved in running the volunteer group, before any practical work has been done. There is some benefit to the training programme. The competency of the volunteers is assured if they have practiced the relevant tasks to the satisfaction of their trainer. Their certification can be entered on the Trust's database so that it is known what skills are available at all times.

On the other hand, 10% of the Trust's £10k annual budget is spent on training and the procedure for certifying volunteers deters them. If any society is required to complete documentation regarding health and safety or risk management, WRG is willing to assist.

The last session of the morning was taken by Brian Kingshot of the Lichfield and Hatherton Canals Restoration Trust. Its waterways lie at the heart of the BCN network and form the most northerly east to west route. This is a vital link to supply water to the Staffordshire and Worcester Canal.

He provided details on the Hatherton Canal, many of them very positive. The Trust's current project is the restoration of locks 24 to 26 along with their by-wash channels. Whilst assistance has been given by WRG (London) the Trust's volunteers have completed a large amount of work here, turning up to work on week days and weekends. The largest problem is a concrete pipe which runs along the canal bed and through the lock chambers (right). The Trust must determine when this was installed, establish the make p of its contents and pay for its realignment or possibly use the contents as a water supply for the canal.

The Trust's three main objectives are to secure the route of both canals, acquire any land which might be necessary and carry out the required studies to seek funding.

Lunch followed, then a visit to the above sites.

Afterwards there was time for the members present to exchange useful information and experiences, which hopefully will help other Societies in their restoration work.

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