Waterway restoration on the agenda
THE value of our waterways has been firmly in the spotlight this summer, and remains so with the upcoming annual Waterway Restoration Conference, jointly organised by the IWA and the Canal & River Trust.
Taking place on the morning of October 10, this year’s online format means that numbers are unlimited, so this is a good opportunity to take part for those who would in normal times be unable to attend. The breakout sessions are now scheduled as webinars on Thursdays across October and November and sign-up is via the IWA website.
Canal restoration has also been occupying MPs’ minds. An adjournment debate secured in June by Craig Williams, MP for Montgomeryshire, saw Rebecca Pow, Under-Secretary for State for Defra, declaring: “I am a convert to canal restoration,” and speaking fondly of growing up near the Kennet & Avon and the restoration that has taken place during her lifetime.
She said: “The Government recognises the very considerable benefits our canal network brings, the myriad ways they provide greater access to the outdoors, enhancing well-being, bringing us closer to water and engaging with nature, increasing leisure and recreation, and regeneration and bringing value to the economy.”
Since then, in July, the All-Party Parliamentary Group for the Waterways has met by video to discuss restoration as a catalyst for regeneration and economic recovery, hearing about work currently being carried out on the Lichfield & Hatherton Canal, Montgomery Canal and Buckingham Canal, as well as the waterways’ potential role as part of a water-transfer system around the country.
Mike Palmer, chairman of the Waterway Recovery Group, which in August celebrated its 50th anniversary, underscored the huge contribution that a national infrastructure project of restored waterways would make to many issues that concern the Government.
With Craig Williams’ point during the adjournment debate that “if we look at the GVA (gross value added) effect of restoring canals, we see that there is a huge positive return to the Exchequer and the public purse”, it looks hopeful that Government might place the waterways in a more central position in future plans for the economy and environment.