Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs

Waterways for Tomorrow

Chapter 6
Integrating Other Policies

Leisure and recreation, tourism and sport

Leisure and recreation

6.1 The inland waterways are now used predominantly for leisure and recreation. There are about 100,000 licensed boats on the waterways and the system supports a holiday hire-boat industry of about 3,000 craft. Rowing, canoeing and sailing are widespread. Angling is very popular - some 300,000 people fish British Waterways' canals, 100,000 of them regularly.

6.2 Much larger numbers of people use the waterways for informal recreation activities such as walking, cycling, bird watching and exploring the waterway heritage. It is estimated that 165 million leisure visits are made each year to British Waterways' canals and rivers alone.

6.3 Waterway bodies are keen to help all sectors of society to enjoy the waterways. British Waterways is working with the Fieldfare Trust and Community Boat Association to encourage access to the waterways for children and young adults, and people with disabilities. The Environment Agency and the Broads Authority are also supporting groups promoting access to the waterways. IWAAC is looking at ways of improving access to the waterways for the disadvantaged.

6.4 The recreational use of the towpaths and other waterside paths has grown dramatically in the last 20 years. They provide access to open countryside from towns and villages and many people use them as pleasant traffic-free routes to walk or go by bike to and from work or school. Sometimes these paths form a part of a much larger network of routes or sections of long distance cycle and walking routes, for example the Sustrans National Cycle Network project.

6.5 Towpaths can form an important resource for walkers and cyclists but it is essential for them to be properly managed to avoid conflict between different kinds of user. Some towpaths may be unsuitable for unrestricted multi-purpose use for reasons of safety, or the risk of damage to the waterway fabric or the natural environment. Navigation authorities' operational requirements also need to be taken into account.

6.6 British Waterways has a duty under the British Waterways Act 1995 to have regard to the desirability of preserving public access to towpaths and works successfully with a wide range of public, private and voluntary partners to provide such access and to attract funding for facilities for users. The Environment Agency has also formed partnerships with other agencies and local authorities to improve access to rivers including the Medway and the Severn. The Agency supports the Thames Path National Trail created by a partnership led by the Countryside Agency and has installed tourist information points at some locks.

6.7 The Broads Authority is working with Norfolk and Suffolk County Councils to integrate the management of public rights of way in the Broads area. The Broads Bike Hire Network was launched in 1996 and is proving popular with holidaymakers. Around 3,000 people hired bikes during 1997/98. With help from the Broads Authority, the Network has bought tandems so that people with disabilities can enjoy cycling too.

6.8 The Countryside Agency's Greenways initiative aims to develop a network of largely car-free routes connecting people to the countryside and linked with towpaths and waterside walks. People of all abilities will share these routes on foot, bike or horseback, for commuting, play or leisure.

6.9 The Government is committed to giving people greater access to open countryside and to improving the network of public rights of way especially for equestrians and cyclists. Our plans to introduce a new statutory right of access on foot to mountain, moor, heath, down and registered common land, and for improvements to the rights of way system, are included in the Countryside and Rights of Way Bill. Last year we asked the Countryside Agency, the Countryside Council for Wales and the Forestry Commission to report on the case for extending public access to other types of open countryside. Their recommendations included proposals for a more vigorous use of existing mechanisms for extending access to land adjoining canals and rivers. We are considering their views carefully taking into account the access already provided by British Waterways and other navigation authorities. We will consult interested bodies before deciding how to proceed.

Tourism

6.10 Tourism is of enormous importance to the economy and can bring great benefits to local communities, particularly in areas where traditional industries or agriculture are in decline. It is a key aim of the Government's tourism strategy, Tomorrow's Tourism15 that everyone should be able to share in the benefits tourism can bring, while ensuring that future generations can enjoy the same experience.

6.11 The waterways are an important national tourism resource - they enhance the attractiveness of both urban and rural areas, they link places of interest, and they generate tourism in their own right. The Broads have long been synonymous with sailing and cruising, and the holiday industry based on this activity forms an important part of the local economy. Across the country, the holiday boat business alone is estimated to attract more than 250,000 customers per year (10% from overseas), creating and sustaining jobs, and contributing more than £40 million to local economies.

6.12 The Government wants to encourage people of all ages and backgrounds to take holidays or breaks involving the waterways so long as this does not lead to congestion, destroying their intrinsically attractive qualities. Navigation, tourist and local authorities should work in partnership with the inland waterways industry to encourage activity in the areas with the greatest ability to benefit from, and to cope with, increased tourism.

6.13 The British Tourist Authority has been working with the inland waterway industry for the last seven years, offering financial and marketing support. It has produced two publications. Waterway Britain and Ireland features destinations along the waterways and gives details of the major holiday hire boat companies. The Waterfront Britain and Ireland brochure features harbours, marinas and destinations around the coast. Waterway Britain and Ireland also appears on the Authority's Internet site. The site contains images of the inland waterways together with details of local attractions, tour operators, useful tips, and last minute holiday offers. The industry will now be taking forward this initiative with local authorities, a large number of whom have financially supported the British Tourist Authority's campaigns.

6.14 The holiday boat industry needs to respond effectively to changing customer expectations and competition from other forms of holiday. For example, there is a growing demand for short break boating holidays with the emphasis on comfort and convenience. The industry could explore other avenues such as setting up efficient overseas operations to market high quality holidays, and introducing specialist forms of holiday such as heritage waterway cruises or sailing holidays.

Sport

6.15 The Government is committed to encouraging sport and recreation on the waterways. Sport England is continuing to work with partners to ensure that outdoor sport is actively encouraged and that facilities are available. To date it has provided more than £22 million for waterway sports such as angling, canoeing, sailing and rowing. Funds have been used to provide changing facilities and boathouses, and to buy canoes and rowing equipment. Sport England requires projects they help fund to be sustainable and not have an adverse impact on the environment.

6.16 The Government wants to encourage people to make use of the inland waterways for leisure and recreation, tourism and sport.

Heritage, the natural environment and education

Heritage

6.17 The inland waterways have great heritage value, ranging from the river navigations created from the Middle Ages onwards, to the artificial canals of the Industrial Revolution period.

6.18 The canals were, for the most part, constructed to service an industrialising society and did much to enable Britain to become the world's first industrial nation. They helped to determine where industries developed, and hence where settlements grew. Many of these industries have now disappeared or have changed radically, but the canals have survived. Although their role has altered and commercial traffic has ceased on much of the system, the canals - and many other waterways - remain a living reminder of our industrial heritage.

6.19 The building of the canals changed the face of the countryside. Yet because they were built to a human scale using natural and locally-found materials, they have, over the last 200 years, blended harmoniously into the landscape. In towns and cities, they have become part of the built environment, the industrial buildings lining the canal creating a unique sense of enclosure. Since, unlike many continental waterways, most canals have never been modernised, they still have an individual identity and character. It is still possible to see and appreciate many of the remarkable achievements of their builders.

6.20 The waterways system is rich in historic buildings and examples of innovative civil engineering: British Waterways' estate alone contains 130 scheduled ancient monuments and 2800 listed structures, second only in number to those managed by the National Trust. There are also many historically important waterside buildings such as mills, maltings, warehouses and depots which form a vital part of the historic fabric of the waterway and contribute much to its character. Over 500 miles of waterways have been designated as conservation areas in recognition of their historic quality and local distinctiveness.

6.21 Because the historic buildings and structures on the waterways are irreplaceable, high standards of protection and conservation must be applied to prevent the character of the system from being eroded. It is particularly important that new waterside development, as well as improvement or restoration of the waterway itself, respects the historic fabric, and conserves and, if possible, enhances the waterway scene creating a worthwhile legacy. British Waterways has used architectural surveys of its waterways carried out jointly with English Heritage to develop training in conservation techniques to maintain the distinctive visual qualities of traditional materials and craftsmanship which contribute so much to the special character of the waterways.

6.22 Some of the former working boats survive in British Waterways' ownership or in the hands of museums, private individuals and trusts as tangible reminders of the days when the waterways played a leading role in moving the country's freight. Examples can be seen at the Boat Museum at Ellesmere Port and the National Waterways Museum at Gloucester Docks.

6.23 These museums, together with the Canal Museum at Stoke Bruerne, are operated by The Waterways Trust which is doing much to conserve the waterway heritage. The Trust is actively promoting the restoration and development of the waterways. It is helping to raise funds to enable the Anderton Boat Lift to be returned to working order, and it is also overseeing the completion of the restoration of the Rochdale Canal and the construction of the Ribble Link.

6.24 In 1998, IWAAC together with British Waterways and the Inland Waterways Association proposed that a significant part of the inland waterways system should be given World Heritage status in recognition of its crucial contribution to the world's first industrial revolution.

6.25 The Government did not accept this proposal because it believed that, despite the undoubted merits of the waterways, the proposal would not meet UNESCO's stringent criteria of outstanding universal value. However the UK's new Tentative List of potential World Heritage Sites announced on 6 April 1999 included specific sites with historic canal connections. These included Manchester and Salford (Ancoats, Castlefield and Worsley) which uses the Bridgewater and Rochdale Canals as a linking theme, and Pontcysyllte Aqueduct on the Llangollen Canal, one of the most dramatic civil engineering feats of the early Industrial Revolution.

6.26 Subject to UNESCO's requirements for new nominations, there will be another opportunity to consider the inland waterways for World Heritage status when the Tentative List is reviewed in five years' time. IWAAC has decided to consider whether there is a case for making a further bid and, if so, how it could best be presented. The Government and British Waterways will study IWAAC's findings carefully.

The natural environment

6.27 The inland waterways make a valuable contribution to the quality of the landscape and provide a rich and diverse environmental resource. British Waterways' canals include over 100 sites of special scientific interest (SSSI) and 800 more sites designated of local nature conservation interest.

6.28 The waterways provide a sanctuary for a wide variety of plants and animals, some of which have become rare elsewhere due to loss of their more natural habitats. Much of their wildlife value is due to the combination of different habitats within a narrow strip of land. This gives waterways a unique biodiversity while strongly influencing the character of areas adjacent to the corridor. Waterway corridors often form the most important linear wildlife habitat in urban areas and also in intensively- farmed countryside.

6.29 The waterways must be managed in a way that conserves and, if possible, enhances their environmental value. Some waterways pass through areas which have been severely damaged as a result of past industrial activity and offer great scope for habitat improvement and wildlife gain using the waterway as an axis for rehabilitation.

6.30 British Waterways has introduced an environmental code of practice to help ensure that both environmental and heritage issues are fully considered before any work is carried out. It has also prepared a Biodiversity Action Plan in partnership with DETR, English Nature, the Countryside Council for Wales, local authorities and the voluntary sector. This sets standards and targets for habitats and species that British Waterways will have to achieve through its waterway maintenance and renewal programme.

6.31 The Environment Agency also operates a stringent environmental code of practice. It must have regard to the Code of Practice on Conservation, Access and Recreation [16] which provides advice on measures to protect wildlife from harmful effects of bankside or navigation activities. The Agency has prepared separate guidance for bodies proposing to restore or create new navigations, setting out the Agency's policy on restoration and describing the steps the promoters of restoration projects need to take to appraise a project's impact on the environment.

6.32 The long-term restoration of water quality is a key priority for the Broads Authority. It has pioneered an innovative programme on wetland restoration and has won over £4 million in external funding and sponsorship for this work.

6.33 Electrically-powered craft can be energy-efficient and less harmful to the environment than conventionally powered craft. They are quieter and do not produce exhaust fumes or give rise to the risk of diesel spillage. Their hulls are often designed to create less wash, resulting in less bank erosion. British Waterways, the Environment Agency and the Broads Authority have all installed charging points at sites on their waterways to encourage the use of electric boats.

6.34 The Government plans to publish a draft Bill later this year which will include proposals to alter the existing water abstraction licensing system to ensure that water resources are used sustainably. Under these proposals, described in the paper Taking Water Responsibly [17], controllable abstractions for navigation will require a form of licence, referred to in the paper as a consent. Consents will not be required for abstractions which transfer water without intervening use, solely within a water system operated by a navigation authority. British Waterways has already concluded a number of operating agreements with the Environment Agency setting out how their canals should be managed to protect navigation and the environment. These will be extended and linked to the new consents to provide an efficient system of control.

6.35 On most of the waterways, protecting the natural environment and maintaining navigation goes hand in hand. A moderate amount of boat traffic is, in fact, generally helpful in sustaining biodiversity on canals [18]. In a small number of cases there has been conflict between navigation and environmental objectives, mainly when disused canals are being restored. The Government believes that the different parties should work together constructively to resolve these difficulties - the waterways serve many purposes and it is in everyone's interest to co-operate in using them to the full. We will be issuing guidance on the notification and management of SSSIs which we hope will help to minimise difficulties of this kind. English Nature is willing to consult the Inland Waterways Association - in addition to owners and occupiers - before it notifies new SSSIs affecting waterways.

Education

6.36 The waterways provide many opportunities for study in subjects as diverse as natural history, landscape, engineering, environmental science, architecture, industrial archaeology, and economic and social history.

6.37 The three museums operated by The Waterways Trust are devoted to the history of the waterways. The Trust has gained national designation by the Museums and Galleries Agency and cares for and interprets to the public the collections lent to it by British Waterways and other bodies and individuals. The Trust also looks after British Waterways' own archives. It has received a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund to enable it to create a cyber archive which will catalogue British Waterways' archives and make them accessible through the World Wide Web.

6.38 There are many other museums throughout the country with a waterway theme or containing historic waterway artefacts. One of the newest is the River and Rowing Museum at Henley-on-Thames which celebrates the cultural, sporting and natural heritage of the River Thames.

6.39 A major role of the museums is to introduce children and young people to the history of the waterways and so enable them to understand and appreciate their changing role. It is vital that today's generation of young people grow up valuing the waterways if the system is to have a safe future.

6.40 British Waterways operates educational programmes, tailored to the needs of local schools, to increase young people's understanding of the historic, present and future importance of the waterways, and to promote waterside safety. As part of the London Waterway Partnership, British Waterways plans to create a fleet of floating classrooms each capable of accommodating 35 children. These will be operated by local education and training trusts, who will teach subjects such as heritage and ecology.

6.41 Measures such as these are already helping to reduce vandalism and increase safety by the water. But, they will also bring invaluable long-term benefits in terms of encouraging young people to care for and provide a secure future for the waterways.

6.42 The Government supports the protection, conservation and enhancement of the waterways' heritage and their built and natural environment, and the use of the waterways as an educational resource.

Regeneration

Improvement and development,

6.43 The Government is committed to urban and rural regeneration as the key to tackling the causes of socio-economic decline, exclusion and deprivation. The waterways can make a major contribution to this by acting as a catalyst for economic and social regeneration.

6.44 The improvement of waterways and the redevelopment of disused and derelict waterside land produces many benefits: it removes a potentially dangerous eyesore; it creates a pleasant place in which to live, work and play; and it attracts private sector investment. Waterside businesses such as marinas, shops, pubs and restaurants create jobs and generate income from tourists and other visitors. Waterway-related property development can also provide additional income to support the publicly-financed waterways.

6.45 Waterway improvements foster good design. Once buildings turned their blind side to the waterway. Now with access to towpaths encouraged, new development takes advantage of the presence of the waterway and integrates it, often imaginatively, into the design, exploiting the waterfront situation.

6.46 This is particularly the case with new housing. People like to live by water and there are many examples of new development exploiting the added value offered by the waterfront location. The historic urban waterways are especially suitable for high-density waterside residential development both new, and created by the conversion of redundant existing buildings such as warehouses and mills, many of which are also converted for commercial use. Elsewhere there may be scope for mixed-use developments possibly incorporating a marina. The most successful and safe developments are those with buildings and spaces overlooking the waterway, with pedestrian and cyclist access from the towpath, so ensuring natural surveillance and policing.

6.47 The waterways are increasingly forming an integral part of wider regeneration initiatives which are bringing new life back to towns and cities, and former industrial areas. Birmingham's new waterfront has been particularly successful in integrating the canals into city life and has won international tourism and environmental awards. Other good examples of urban waterfront regeneration can be seen in Manchester, Salford, Leeds, London, Sheffield and Gloucester.

British Waterways has been working in partnership with Leeds City Council, private developers and others to revitalise the Leeds & Liverpool Canal and Aire & Calder Navigation corridor which passes through the city centre. The Leeds Waterfront initiative is the flagship project in the regeneration of the city and involves the construction of new offices, housing, hotels, and waterside walks. It is also the home of the Royal Armouries Museum. The project has stimulated development alongside the waterways for business, leisure and residential purposes and strengthened the city's role as Yorkshire's administrative centre. Leeds Waterfront is now one of the most desirable residential areas in the north of England.

6.48 The inland waterways also contribute to rural regeneration by offering opportunities for the development of small, localised industries and the encouragement of tourism and recreation. In particular they provide scope for rural enterprises focused on the waterways in market towns and at focal points along waterway corridors.

Union Wharf, at Market Harborough, is a good example of the waterways being used to promote rural regeneration and enhance the environment. The former under-used and partly derelict canal basin has been redeveloped over the last four years for a mixture of uses. A public house has been refurbished as a hotel/restaurant; the waterspace has been extended and sanitary facilities provided to facilitate water-based leisure activities; waterside buildings have been converted into craft units and for residential use; and new waterside residential apartments have been built.

The Middle Level Commissioners have enlarged Ashline Lock, Whittlesey as part of the Fens Waterways Regeneration Strategy. This aims to increase tourism based on the Fens waterways, their corridors and settlements, to increase local spending and job creation. Enlargement of the lock has allowed full-length narrowboats to cruise from the Great Ouse via the Nene to the main canal system. Restoration

6.49 Restoring disused waterways to full navigation also produces many benefits. IWAAC's Waterway Restoration Priorities report revealed that waterway restoration over the last 40 years had revitalised key parts of the country's transport and industrial heritage, generated jobs and development, and increased opportunities for leisure, recreation and tourism. Many projects are currently underway including major projects to complete the restoration of the Kennet & Avon Canal, the Huddersfield Narrow Canal and the Rochdale Canal. New navigations linking existing waterways, for example the Ribble Link, are also being planned and implemented.

6.50 The IWAAC report highlighted how much potential for restoration exists and how effective it can be when promoters, navigation authorities and local authorities form partnerships to carry it out. The Government supports this approach and looks to the Regional Development Agencies and local authorities to support worthwhile projects. Local authorities can help not only with funding but also by adopting appropriate policies and land use allocations in development plans.

6.51 The Government wants to see new road and other development proposals take proper account of waterway restoration. We will publish guidance for local planning authorities, and for those preparing new development proposals, to ensure in particular that the effect of new road schemes on waterways earmarked for restoration is considered fully from the outset.

6.52 The revised Planning Policy Guidance Note PPG13 will encourage local authorities to identify and, where appropriate, protect disused waterways where there is a realistic likelihood of a restoration project proceeding in whole or in part within the development plan period, by allocating the land in development plans and ensuring the sites and routes are not severed by other uses. Restoration projects will need to be assessed on a case by case basis taking into account criteria including whether the project is credible in concept and capable of delivering economic, environmental or social benefits.

6.53 We will also issue guidance in the Design Manual for Roads and Bridges encouraging Highways Agency road designers to consider waterway restoration projects at the outset and to provide navigable crossings where appropriate. This guidance will apply formally to road schemes taken forward by the Highways Agency but will influence other road designers who refer to the Design Manual when drawing up their proposals.

6.54 The Government wants to increase the economic and social benefits offered by the waterways by encouraging their improvement, development and restoration, wherever possible in partnership with the public, private and voluntary sectors.