Region hosts first virtual forum
THE Canal & River Trust recently held its first virtual West Midlands User Forum which allowed attendees to find out more about the work being done locally and to hear from a number of senior members of staff.
Regional director Adnan Saif’s overview highlighted an exceptional year with £19 million being spent on improving the waterways. During the year the region celebrated 250 years of the Birmingham Canal Navigations and despite the difficulties, 163,000 volunteer hours have looked after 900km of waterways and on average 7500 boats.
The pandemic and its resulting lockdown has had an impact, with only a skeleton team being available to carry out safety work over the lockdown period. However, Adnan said: “Nearly all our staff are back off furlough and over 500 volunteers back in 67 locations around the region.”
Regional engineer Sally Boddy also highlighted the problems that Covid-19 had caused with the budget for planned works cut from £6 million to £4.2 million. She went on to say: “We have secured external funding totalling £3 million spend this year, including towpath resurfacing between Sixways Stadium and Tibberton on the Worcester & Birmingham Canal – approximately 1.8km.
“It is funded by Highways England from their Designated Funds Programme 2020/21 with a £500k project cost. It is due to start in October 2020.” The Roundhouse project in Birmingham is a project being undertaken in partnership with the National Trust; £2.4 million has been spent over the last 18 months resulting in the near completion of the practical works.
Nick Leech and Rebecca Whitehouse spoke about some operational issues including ‘a huge increase in towpath users’. The downside to this would seem to have been a rise in fly-tipping and antisocial behaviour. A new customer service facility check was also brought in, whereby staff use their phones to scan a barcode when they enter a facility: “It allows the team to show they have gone in to check the area and highlights what cleaning has been logged at these locations.”
They went on to say that some 10,542km of grass is cut every year on 35 canals, 10% of which is carried out by volunteer groups. There is also a fiveyear rolling programme which aims to cut 20% of the offside vegetation per year, the idea being this helps to manage the impact on wildlife and the use of trust resources. Last year 200km of offside vegetation was cut and this winter there are plans to tackle the Birmingham & Fazeley, Coventry, North Oxford and Shropshire Union canals.
A question was asked about the poor facilities at Hawkesbury junction, and it would seem that this area is due to be tackled as part of the City of Culture 2021. Sadly it would seem that this only amounts to “community engagement, more signage for better branding and information”. Rebecca Whitehouse pointed out that the rise in fly-tipping can cost £30-40k to clear in some areas.
Dredging and environment matters were covered by environmental scientist Charlie Hughes. He discussed the new prioritisation model. “It focuses on a risk-based approach and can rank the worst blocked canals in the region. This then guides decision-making and where is best to prioritise spending on dredging works.
“The model can use existing and historical data and includes information from the public, which feeds into the dredging programme. So please email enquiries.westmidlands@ canalrivertrust.org.uk if you believe an area is in need of dredging.” Apparently, some dredging works in 2021/22 will include: Dudley Canal and Netherton Tunnel, Grand Union spot dredging, Staffordshire & Worcester Canal and Cannock extension dredging along its full length.
Helen Underhill talked about boating in the region and said that four officers in the team were looking after more than 7500 boats on the canal network. The current evasion rate of 2.6% in the region is up from 2.3% at March’s National Boat Count.
A question was asked about removing the opportunity to renew licences face-to-face, and it would seem that this facility is to remain; however, users are encouraged to use the portal website. A question was also asked about urban moorings and the possibility of more residential moorings in the Birmingham area. Adnan Saif pointed out that there have been a number of sites considered; however, no progress has been made due to a number of factors.
Some perennial issues were raised and suggested solutions were offered, including one to require cyclists, using towpaths, to have working bells on their bikes. This, it would seem, isn’t possible under current by-laws. Adnan added that the aim was to encourage civility on towpaths – the use of which has, according to him, increased by 60%.
As for the post-pandemic future, the trust has not yet decided on the format of future regional forums and a consultation is currently taking place to gauge users’ opinions. One option being considered is to hold informal surgeries on the towpath as well as local and regional meetings, possibly online.