Waterway Watch » Regeneration

Regeneration of Marsworth is given approval

Will Chapman — Sun, 06 May 2012 10:30:22 +0000

Published on Saturday 5 May 2012 08:00, Bucks Herald

APPROVAL has been given for a waterside residential development at Marsworth.

The application by British Waterways was for the building of 12 new dwellings and the conversion of the former carpenter’s workshop to provide a total of 13 new dwellings with new and upgraded boater’s facilities, a retained and refurbished crane, minor access improvements, parking and landscaping.

Work is not expected to start on the site until next spring, although this date could be brought forward.

Once work begins it is thought it will take between nine months and a year to be completed.

Head of property development south for British Waterways, James Lazarus, said: “We are delighted with the scheme.

“We think it is something that will work for everybody.”

The proposals aim to regenerate the site and create a “high quality and attractive residential location, with an emphasis on historical canal related uses”.

A previous application was submitted for the site by H20 Urban LLP in October 2009, but withdrawn in January 2010 to allow for wider consultation.

via Regeneration of canal site is given approval – Local News – Bucks Herald.

Big Society Bank to fund community projects

Will Chapman — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 14:31:06 +0000

Government has announced plans to create a Big Society Bank (BSB) that will concentrate on funding projects that benefit society. Initially, the money will be sourced from dormant accounts in banks and building societies, which the British Banking Association estimate to contain some £400 million.

Some third sector finance specialists estimate the sum could be ten times that but a spokesman for the Office for Civil Society said that the Co-operative Bank, which is administering the process of reclaiming money from dormant accounts, estimates that the bank is likely to have obtained only £60m to £100m of unclaimed assets by April 2011 when the bank is due to become operational.

Dormant accounts are deposits in banks and building societies that people have lost track of or forgotten about over a period of time. The actual percentage of dormant funds that will become available for distribution will be determined by the number of banks and building societies participating in the scheme, the success of the ongoing campaign to reunite individuals with their assets, and the sums held back for the creation of a Reclaim Fund to protect the interests of deposit holders.

It is expected that funds will also be sourced through private sector investment, and there are unconfirmed claims that the major high street banks – Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, RBS and Santander– are close to agreeing to commit hundreds of millions of pounds each to the Big Society Bank over the next two years.

The BSB will be an independent wholesale organisation that will work and invest its funds through existing financial intermediaries like social investors and community lenders, who in turn will increase access to finance for front-line social organisations.

The BSB will fund wide range of community-based projects proposed by people resident in those areas. Current examples under consideration include:

The Cumbria/Eden Valley community have proposed moving a community centre to a more suitable site; a renewable energy generation project; a community buy out of a local pub; provision of community broadband service
Windsor & Maidenhead want to see increased transparency of local spending decisions, with participatory budgeting for parks budget and delegating budgets to streets and devolving more powers to parishes
Liverpool would like to boost volunteering at a number of key museums; create a social enterprise to produce films and content for digital platforms; and develop neighbourhood media and cultural activities in poorer areas
Sutton would like to establish greater freedom to implement sustainable transport schemes and influence the provision of local public transport; identify ‘place shaping’ champions who can build good practice in greener living; create a project involving young people that invests in the local community

It seems likely that there will be opportunities for communities to fund waterway projects under the auspices of the New Waterways Charity. New moorings, winding holes, regenerating defunct industrial sites, etc.

A blog by Sky News, published online last month, claimed that high street banks were hoping in agreements to provide funds could help mitigate demands for financial penalties on the banking industry. The cabinet office has neither confirmed nor denied the claims.

199 years on for Bedford & Milton Keynes Waterway

Will Chapman — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 10:07:31 +0000

17th Nov 2010

One hundred and ninety-nine years to the day the Bedford & Milton Keynes Waterway (B&MK) was first proposed, the Mayor of Bedford Borough, Dave Hodgson, outlined his vision of how the waterway is at the heart of plans to regenerate the locality.

He said that the opening of the dualled A421 would create opportunities to attract businesses and raise public awareness along the waterway route through Marston Vale.

The proposed Marston Innovation Park should also bring the waterway a step closer by offering business headquarters alongside the improved road, just ten minutes from the M1. The stretch of waterway through the Park would also enhance the location as an attractive place to work, he added.

More than 100 delegates from local authorities, agencies, business, academia, sport, leisure and local communities were present at the first B&MK Partnership conference at the Marston Vale Forest Centre on 4 November, when the 199th anniversary of the meeting called by the then Mayor of Bedford, Charles Short, was celebrated, together with the founding of the B&MK Waterway Trust ten years ago by the late Brian Young, a Bedford resident.

Canals reinvented for 21st Century

“Brian wanted to celebrate waterway heritage by reinventing canals for the 21st Century in this ‘waterway for all’,” said Jane Wolfson, chair of the Trust.

In a call to action to communities along the 26km ‘missing link’ of waterway between the Grand Union Canal at Milton Keynes to the River Great Ouse at Bedford, Jane explained how the Trust’s role in the future would be to work with the Partnership and the 300,000 people living along the route on the various projects which will ultimately link the waterway.

“This is a ‘big society’ project – whether or not you like the label – with the community actively working to shape the locality and holding our public bodies to account. And there will be new sources of funding available. The key is to seek the opportunities at each moment in time. The economic and political climate gives us a breathing space.” she said.

Canal schemes take 10-20 years to complete

Earlier Jane said that the main lesson learned was that while the B&MK could, in theory, have been a 10-year project, in practice – like most of the original canal schemes – it was likely to take 10 to 20 years to bring it to completion.

“It took longer to secure the route in local plans, 8 years not 3, and it is taking longer to secure funding. The big money is still the big dilemma but every year we have made progress. We have a project which is generating its own success, even if at a slower timescale than we would have liked.” said Jane.

She highlighted the example of the Beeston Locks on the Shropshire Union Canal, where oak trees were planted to shape the landscape of the future.

“That’s what we want to do – make our mark, make this a better place for the next generations. Ten years ago we were the acorn, today the project is a sturdy sapling which we need to nurture to the very end. It is about identity. It is about saying that this area will be better and more distinctive with the waterway at its heart. It is about the challenge of innovation and making it deliver for the generations to come.” she said.

via 199 years on for Bedford & Milton Keynes Waterway | News | Waterscape.

Huge London Gateway Project Moves Ahead

Will Chapman — Sat, 13 Nov 2010 05:44:17 +0000

Dredging Today reports:

The London Gateway Project is one of the capitals largest construction sites on the former Shell Haven refinery near Stanford Le Hope. With a 1.5bn investment the site is being reclaimed and developed by DP World into the first major deep sea container port.Large scale land reclamation work is needed to build the new port with over 30M of sand being dredged from the channel allowing access to large ships.

The existing 10m deep channel is being expanded to depths of 17m and the new dock will be created by using the dredged material as fill.

Geotechnics Ltd is providing and installing soil monitoring equipment to allow management of the filling and reclamation work. It is being undertaken in two main phases as land becomes available.

The site, based on the banks of the River Thames, is underlain by a significant thickness of alluvium. The organic material is highly compressible so substantial settlement is expected following reclamation.

A total of 211 boreholes are being drilled to depths of up to 18m below existing ground level ……

….for more technical detail see Dredging Today – UK: London Gateway Project Moves Ahead.

New towpath on the River Lee

Will Chapman — Sat, 13 Nov 2010 05:21:44 +0000

12th Nov 2010

To celebrate the completion of a £400,000 maintenance project on a stretch of the River Lee Navigation in Hackney, British Waterways is working together with Hackney Borough Council to encourage local people to step onto the newly opened towpath and re-discover their local waterways.

Improvement works to upgrade a section of towpath along the River Lee Navigation started in July this year. The work was part funded with a grant of £250,000 from the London Borough of Hackney.

As well as up-grading 150 metres of towpath, DDA compliant access ramps have been installed near the Kingshead footbridge and the river bank walls were repaired with the addition of special areas created within the new brick work to provide permanent nesting sites for rare birds, such as sand martins, known to visit this area of London.

The completion of this section of towpath, and other planned improvements along the River Lee, means that visitors to East London will be able to access the Olympic Park and the surrounding Lee Valley area more easily, and will create a traffic free route through East London.

Jon Guest, British Waterways’ waterway manager said: “British Waterways attracts over 13 million people onto its towpaths every year and I am delighted that the local people in Hackney can once again access this stretch of the River Lee Navigation.

“As well as improving this stretch for walkers, cyclists and mobility users we have also provided new homes along the edge of the river bank for birds such as Sand Martins and Kingfishers in a bid to boost the numbers of these striking waterway visitors.”

Secret treasures on the doorstep

A few walks have been put together by Hackney Borough Council to encourage the local community to explore the beautiful River Lee Navigation and discover the secret treasures that are located right on their doorstep.

Drop by tomorrow to take part in a fun trail around the Lee Valley, and take part in the quiz while on the walk, spot the local wildlife, find out about the local area and experience the famous Hackney Marshes.

During the day a group of local volunteers will plant 800 bulbs and scatter wild plant seeds over the area along the edge of the new towpath to create a new lush boundary between the local park and river.

A new walking map has been put together by Hackney Borough Council to encourage the local community to explore Hackney by foot, which includes the beautiful River Lee Navigation encouraging the community to get to know the borough by foot.

via New towpath on the River Lee | News | Waterscape.

British Waterways ‘unlocks’ the potential of volunteering

Will Chapman — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 13:35:09 +0000

4th Nov 2010

As part of its scheduled move to the charitable sector, British Waterways has been developing its volunteer programme to improve the volunteering experience for those donating their time and increase the value they bring to the nation’s canals.

Integral to the plans has been the recruitment of five dedicated volunteer managers, implementation of a company-wide training programme and an overhaul of British Waterways’ online communication with both existing and potential volunteers.

In the past six months British Waterways has recruited its team of volunteer leaders to liaise with partner groups and manage the many enthusiasts volunteering across the waterways. The dedicated resource allows volunteers to have closer contact with British Waterways staff in a much broader range of locations and roles and gives greater scope to develop both new and existing projects.

The organisation will be implementing a company-wide training and communications programme over the next six months to increase awareness of the importance of volunteers to the canal network and the opportunities that the waterways provide to volunteers.

As more British Waterways staff than ever are working closely with volunteers – from community canal wardens to web developers and even a lawyer – the organisation will be running in-depth volunteer management training to ensure both staff and volunteers are confident in the relationship.

Accessible volunteering

British Waterways is aiming to make volunteering as accessible as possible to a wide audience and work continues on developing the volunteering sections of the organisation’s corporate and consumer facing websites. Both sites now offer comprehensive information on volunteering opportunities, including details of roles currently available. Waterscape also celebrates volunteer achievements through volunteer case studies and blogs, and provides information on different initiatives such as community or corporate canal adoptions.

Nigel Johnson, corporate services director at BW, said: “This is a really exciting time for British Waterways and our volunteers, who will have a greater role than ever in the running of their local canal or river. With our goal of forming a new ‘national trust’ for the waterways ratified by government, this offers a window on to the future of how we can work with volunteers as a charity, and the changing and expanding nature of volunteering across our canals and rivers. As we grow as a volunteering organisation we want to ensure that our staff and volunteers work side by side to achieve the best possible results for British Waterways and for themselves.”

via British Waterways ‘unlocks’ the potential of volunteering | News | Waterscape.

Canal access improvements in Wolverhampton

Will Chapman — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 07:04:39 +0000

1st Nov 2010

Local communities are enjoying cleaner, greener and more accessible waterways in Wolverhampton as a two-year canal access enhancement scheme nears completion.

British Waterways has worked in partnership with All Saints and Blackenhall Community Development’s (ABCD) New Deal For Communities project and other partners on the £425,000 transformation of an area of Wolverhampton’s Old Main Line Canal.

The aim of the project which is expected to be fully completed by December was to forge better and safer access to the canal network. As part of the project an access ramp suitable for use by disabled people has been created at Monmore Bridge, Cable Street and a set of access steps have been constructed at Lower Walsall Street Bridge. Previously access at Monmore Bridge was unsuitable for cyclists or those with pushchairs or wheelchairs, while at Lower Walsall Street Bridge there has been no access to the canal for 40 years.

The creation of these new access points, which have been completed in recent weeks, have been complemented by the installation of a pedestrian counter, new paving to the towpath under bridges and works to enhance biodiversity including hedge planting and reed-planting. A successful volunteer day was also held in which 10 volunteers assisted with tasks such as clearing litter and vegetation.

Tony Harvey, British Waterways’ Head of Regeneration (Midlands) said: “This has been a very successful two-year project bringing big improvements to the area by providing greatly enhanced canal access and safety. The scheme has opened up Wolverhampton’s canal corridor to encourage everyone to take full advantage of this fantastic amenity – and positive feedback from passers-by tells us the local community are already enjoying the benefits of better access.”

via Canal access improvements in Wolverhampton | News | Waterscape.

Canals as a focus for community renewal

Will Chapman — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 06:17:49 +0000

Once the butt of jokes about shopping trolleys and pollution, canals have, over the last decade, become an important focus for urban and rural renewal.

Half of our waterways flow through government priority areas for investment and regeneration, and British Waterways is influencing and enabling an estimated £10 billion worth of projects to revive waterfronts in almost every major city and town that canals and rivers pass through.

Robin Evans, BW’s chief executive, comments: “The consultation looks at how we best manage the limited space along the line of the canals to protect the qualities that make them so special, not only to boaters but to the public at large.”

Waterside regeneration is one of the main public benefits provided by BW.

Development by the water’s edge plays a key role in regenerating both cities and rural areas by creating attractive and sustainable developments for the wider community. Over the past decade, BW’s joint ventures have regenerated the waterfronts of major cities including Birmingham, Edinburgh, Gloucester, Sheffield and Leeds, as well as Paddington Basin in London.

British Waterways is influencing and enabling regeneration around the country alongside our canals and rivers. This includes modern commercial and residential developments, ‘brownfield’ development land, as well as boatyards, docks, historic warehouses, lock cottages and marinas.

Regeneration public benefit created by British Waterways and its joint ventures include:

200 hectares of brownfield land development across 70 schemes
17,000 new homes created of which 2,000 will be affordable, and 9,500 created on our land

Steve Dunlop, British Waterways regeneration director, says: “While the recession will have an impact on the pace of delivery and the resources available for major infrastructure projects, these projects are long term and the time span will accommodate different market conditions. Regeneration will, I’m sure, remain a high priority locally, regionally and nationally, and the waterways will continue to be a major catalyst for successful regeneration across the UK.”

via Newsroom – British Waterways.

Llangollen – £15m marina plan at former chemical works

Will Chapman — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 07:03:18 +0000

25 October 2010 |

Published by: Claire Gallagher, Wrexham & Flintshire News

The plans for a £15m marina in Cefn are continuing to gather support.

Dave Metcalfe, group leader of the Plas Kynaston Canal and Marina Group, said he was “amazed” by the response so far.

Mr Metcalfe said Wrexham Council was looking to put £10,000 towards a feasibility study.

British Waterways, the Welsh Assembly Government and the Rural Development Fund are set to foot the rest of the bill for the study, which in total could amount to about £40,000.

In June Mr Metcalfe announced the idea to extend the Llangollen canal and to build a marina for 60 boats on the site of the former Flexsys factory.

Since then the group has been gathering public and political support and a 2000-strong petition was handed into the council last month.

Mr Metcalfe said: “I think the feasibility study is the best news we have had.

“It’s a positive step and it’s a good indicator that an official body has recognised the work we are doing.

“Everybody who looks at the plans can see their worth.”

Another group member Yvonne Pryce said: “I was brought up in Cefn and I couldn’t breathe because of the chemicals from Air Products, Monsanto and the brickworks.

“This is an opportunity to release the natural beauty of the village and call on the traditional and historical heritage.”

In August, 2011 the Welsh Assembly will consider whether the marina plans can form part of the Local Development Plan (LDP) for Wrexham.

The Plas Kynaston Canal and Marina Group, which consists of about 12 people, has gained support from politicians and the public and members now hope to set up a meeting in December consisting of representatives from the council, Welsh Assembly, Chamber of Commerce, Cadw and other interested bodies.

The proposal could take many years to come to fruition as the former Flexsys site is still owned by Solutia and the company may not vacate until 2013.

- Cefn Mawr and District Heritage Group is holding an open event at the Ebeneezer Centre in partnership with Dee Valley Community Partnership between 10am and 2pm on Saturday, November 20.

There will also be a public consultation between November 17 and 19 into proposals for the second phase of the Cefn Mawr Townscape Heritage Initiative.

via The Leader – News from Wrexham & Flintshire – Boost for £15m marina plan at former chemical works.

New partnership to promote Stoke-on-Trent canals

Will Chapman — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 11:26:38 +0000

A partnership which plans to strengthen the appeal of canals has been formed in Stoke-on-Trent.

The city council said it would work with a number of organisations, including British Waterways and Inland Waterways Association.

It added the group would work to apply planning policies that identified sites “that can bring forward high quality waterside environments”.

Lord Mayor Denver Tolley said it was a “landmark partnership”.

The partnership will look at reviewing the boundary of the Trent and Mersey Canal conservation area in consultation with local groups and residents in early 2011.

The council added the group would work to install welcome signs incorporating tourist information at the three water gateways into the city.

Other groups the authority said it would deal with included English Heritage, Caldon and Uttoxeter Canals Trust, RENEW North Staffordshire, Staffordshire Wildlife Trust, Stoke-on-Trent Boat Club and Trent and Mersey Canal Society.

via BBC News – New partnership to promote Stoke-on-Trent canals.