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THE exposure in narrowboatworld of the deplorable condition of canals and rivers maintained by British Waterways has just achieved a remarkable result.
Despite British Waterways' reluctance to publicly acknowledge the deterioration of its network, it appears, that at long last, Government is beginning to take note, writes Allan Richards.
Waterways for Everyone
In 2000 Government produced a document Waterways for Tomorrow, which was the first comprehensive statement on the inland waterways for 30 years. This 'charter for the waterways' is being updated (or refreshed in government speak), and Government have just started a public consultation under the new title of Waterways for Everyone.
As the Waterways Minister, Huw Irranca-Davies, has seemingly swallowed BW's claim that the waterways are in good shape, and made a statement in the House to that effect, it is unsurprising that an introduction to the consultation document states:
'Since 2000 considerable investment in the waterways has resulted in our waterways being in a better condition today than at any time since the Second World War. We now need to build on what has already been achieved.'
Statement not correct
However, the consultation document acknowledges that this statement may not be correct. In the second of 23 questions it asks:
'Do you consider that waterways are in a better condition now than they were 10 years ago? What have been the main achievements over this time and what could have been done better?'
It is thought that the recent NbW articles, including 'NABO condemns better shape claim' and 'The time for denial is over' have directly resulted in the question being asked.
Poll and survey
Following several articles expressing concern about the condition of BW's waterways, and in particular, a statement by BW's Chief Executive, Robin Evans, that 'the network is now in better shape than at any time in decades', it may be remembered that narrowboatworld conducted a poll. A staggering 97.7% of 5,254 respondents disagreed with the chief executive about the condition of the network.
A later detailed survey by the National Association of Boat Owners (NABO) confirmed the poll with 75% of respondents noting a decline over the last year. Additional credibility was given to NABO's finding that BW's waterways were in a 'parlous state' as a parallel survey of other waterways authorities found that their waterways were being properly maintained.
NABO's Chairman, David Fletcher, told NbW:
"Robin Evans still says in public that the waterways have never been in better condition. He even got the minister to say it in Parliament at the recent debate."
Maintenance backlog
The hidden implication of the poll and survey is that we again have a significant backlog of maintenance on BW's waterways running into hundreds of millions of pounds due to under spending and misspending.
Bearing in mind the current economic climate, Government would prefer to ignore this! It is therefore imperative that individuals and user groups respond to the Government consultation (even if only responding to question two) to ram home the message that British Waterways have not been carrying out Governments' primary objective of maintaining the waterways in satisfactory condition.
The consultation document can be found at:
http://www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/consult/waterways/index.htm |
