BRITISH WATERWAYS BACK OUT OF STROUD CANALS PROJECT

[Chickadee]

BRITISH Waterways has announced it is withdrawing from the Cotswold Canals Partnership.

 

Its chief executive Robin Evans blamed a "finite" pot of money and said he knew the decision would disappoint the rest of the project's partners.

 

He said British Waterways would leave in April this year after finishing work at Oil Mills, at Ebley in Stroud, which is part of the first phase of the partnership's dream of eventually re-opening two canals to re-link the River Severn with the River Thames.

 

Mr Evans said BW would instead spend its money on its existing waterways, including 16 miles of the Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal which currently needed "massive" repairs.

 

 

http://www.thisisgloucestershire.co.uk From the front page of the news. Feel free to leave coments.

[stewey]

Also on Narrowboatworld:

 

http://www.narrowboatworld.com/

 

Shocking news for the future of canals in the West Country.

 

Stewey

[Chickadee]

Thought i might get to see some of this finished in my life time. Maybe not now.

[denboy]

well they`ve got to spend the money on london area canals for the olympics i believe,,,, and isnt that more important than something that folks have been working on for years off there own backs

[fender]

I read in the IWA bulletin last week that BW had accepted ownership of the T&S from Wallbridge to Brimscombe.

 

Does the current news mean BW has also reneged ownership of this section of canal?

[Chris Pink]

Thought i might get to see some of this finished in my life time. Maybe not now.

 

Is it cynical of me to think that it might get finished quicker now without them?

 

Perhaps the Cotswold Canals Trust will refuse to hand it over to BW when the canal is open.

[stewey]

Is it cynical of me to think that it might get finished quicker now without them?

 

Totally cynical. And probably true!!

 

Stewey

[Chickadee]

Is it cynical of me to think that it might get finished quicker now without them?

 

Perhaps the Cotswold Canals Trust will refuse to hand it over to BW when the canal is open.

 

mmmm i never thought about it that way!

 

When i was little i used to love BW growing up near Gloucester i went to the museum a fair few times and loved it.

Now i am older and wanting to get myself on the water it seems that BW arent the people i thought they were.

[fender]

Is it cynical of me to think that it might get finished quicker now without them?

 

Perhaps the Cotswold Canals Trust will refuse to hand it over to BW when the canal is open.

 

 

The Cotsworld canals Trust dont need to do any handing over, not at least Wallbridge - Brimscombe PS Thought you might read my comments first??

 

I'll post the entire text from the IWA so you can see that BW has already gained ownership of some of the T&S:

 

"Ownership of the Thames & Severn Canal between Wallbridge and Brimscombe was transferred from Gloucestershire County Council to British Waterways in December. British Waterways and Stroud District Council Planners are currently discussing the possibility of submitting a single planning application for restoration of the ‘Phase 1a’ restoration of the Canal. This would exclude the County Council's proposed road works at Merrywalks (A46) , which is due to start in autumn 2008, and work at Brimscombe Port, which is being undertaken by Stroud District Council as a separate project. The consultation for the Area Action Plan for Brimscombe Port is due to continue throughout 2008, with the intention of starting construction there in late 2009."

Edited February 4, 2008 by fender

[MartinClark]

Also on Narrowboatworld:

http://www.narrowboatworld.com/

 

Also on Save Our Waterways.

Feel free to leave comments on the Blog there.

[Rick-n-Jo]

I will be going to the monthly Cotswold Canal Trust western branch social and news meeting tonight, so will report back. I don't expect this to be the happiest gathering I've ever attended!

 

Still, as BW are not my favourite people at the moment, then wearing my cynical hat I can't help wondering if we won't be better off without them. We'll miss their £6M share, but then they'd probably have spent most of it on more pointless surveys, consultants, clueless staff and high vis jackets anyway!

 

More later

 

Rick

 

Just found the IWA response here

 

Glad to see that they're not pulling their punches.

 

Rick

Edited February 4, 2008 by Rick-n-Jo

[Chris Pink]

oops wrong topic

Edited February 4, 2008 by Chris Pink

[fender]

Just found the IWA response here

 

Glad to see that they're not pulling their punches.

 

Rick

 

 

If BW have renenged their section of T&S altogether then good!

 

Why should they have a bit of the canal and not do anything?

[Rick-n-Jo]

Well, it was a very well attended meeting, news travels fast these days.

 

The most shocking aspect is the way this has been announced without any consultation. Liz Payne, the chairman of the CCT, only heard about it when she got a phone call from Robin Evans at 10.30AM, on the same day as the press release. The other partners in the project were all apparently equally in the dark. Doing it this way just seems to risk unnecessarily damaging the credibility of the whole project.

 

What has actually happened seems to be that BW have decided to withdraw their share of the match funding promised when the HLF awarded the project £11.3M. Feeling (rightly?!!) that they may no longer be welcome at the table, they are also withdrawing as senior management partner in the project, from April. To put that in context, they are removing £6M from what is, with property deals and other funding streams a c. £37M project. In fact, as there have been delays in signing contracts etc. it seems that little or no HLF lottery money has been drawn yet, and BW have already spent (depending on who you hear) between £1.5M and £2.6M. The inference is that they will be trying to get that money back as well, although the trust will do their damnedest to see that they don't! So the financial loss may only be about £4M, not necessarily disastrous or unmanageable. What is unknown is how the the HLF and the other project partners will react. Is it unprecedented for a major lottery match funder to withdraw?

 

The mood of the meeting, rather than anger or despair, was actually one of quiet determination. The challenge over the coming days and weeks is to put in place a new management team, and convince the funders that the project can still be delivered in reasonable time and cost. The CCT, as the largest canal society in the country, after the IWA, are well able to rise to the occasion. Andrew Stumph, the BW project manager, explained to the meeting the work already done and the many funding packages already in place, and promised a smooth handover. Many members actually seem relieved to have the dead hand of BW lifted, the feeling being that they can now step up a gear in fund raising and cutting costs by hugely increasing the volunteer component of the restoration.

 

So, difficult times ahead, but also an opportunity.

 

Rick

 

edited to add £3m. Small change really!

Edited February 5, 2008 by Rick-n-Jo

[Rick-n-Jo]

If BW have renenged their section of T&S altogether then good!

 

Why should they have a bit of the canal and not do anything?

 

Early days, but I got the impression that BW would like to see one of the other partners take over the lease, perhaps one of the local councils. Of course they would also be taking on the liabilities associated with an old and unmaintained canal.

Not clear at the moment if they plan to keep their stake in Brimscombe port, about £1.8M. If the "build houses all over it" option is the one eventually adopted, that has the potential to be profitable for them (albeit tragic for the rest of us) but they'll see no return for quite a few years, the planning application is not due to be approved until 2010.

[PaulG]

Many members actually seem relieved to have the dead hand of BW lifted, the feeling being that they can now step up a gear in fund raising and cutting costs by hugely increasing the volunteer component of the restoration.

 

So, difficult times ahead, but also an opportunity.

 

Right on the button, Rick. Just think of all the miles of waterways that have been restored without (and often in spite of) BW.

 

If the CCT had been given a grant £24 Million a few years ago, the canals would be open by now.

 

Time that "sleeping tiger" the IWA woke up and got some old-fashioned campagning underway, mobilise the volunteers, etc, etc.

 

I'm off to polish me mattock.....

[tony collins]

On the matter of BW withdrawing from the Cotswold Canal project, I have some sympathy for BW having to cut it's suit according to the cloth, after all there are several existing businesses in Wales reliant on the breach being repaired on the Mon and Brec. However I am totally horrified at the way Robin Evans behaved in the matter, only telling the trust on the day the press release was issued.

 

It seems we can now add him to the list of those (mostly politicians) who cannot be trusted.

 

Tony

Edited February 5, 2008 by tony collins

[Hobbler]

Anyone know what the future roll of the Waterways Trust will be or are they out of the picture as well ?

[mikes]

Here is the CCT Press release:

 

The Cotswold Canals Trust issued the following Press Release earlier

this afternoon:

 

Canals restoration still going ahead...

 

Despite the unexpected and sudden withdrawal of British Waterways

from the partnership responsible for restoring the canals link from

Saul to the Thames, the Cotswold Canals Trust, along with other key

partners, is determined that work carries on.

 

"This is far from being a show-stopper," says Liz Payne, chairman of

the Trust, "only a major hiccup. And our work will go on unabated."

 

Monday's announcement by British Waterways was made without prior

notice to the Cotswold Canals Partnership, and prompted some

immediate examination of the funding issues involved. "There was some

confusion in the minds of the public that linked this latest issue

(BW's withdrawal) with the unsuccessful bid for a second round of Big

Lottery funds," said Ken Burgin, the Trust's newly-appointed chief

executive. "But that was for the restoration of an entirely different

section of the canal."

 

British Waterways' decision is likely to mean a shortfall of around

£4.5million from the overall identified funding of £35million (for

Phase 1a), after all of the figures have been worked through. "That's

less than 13 per cent, and we shall be looking for new partners, as

well as discussing with our present partners the way forward from

here," said Liz Payne.

"We mustn't ignore the fact that British Waterways' decision was a

result of their own funding crisis over the Monmouth and Brecon canal

repairs. Progress on the Cotswold canals has been much slower than

originally expected and the Trust hopes that the inevitable changes

resulting from BW's withdrawal will mean the restoration making more

rapid progress."

 

Meanwhile David Drew, Stroud's MP, wants an urgent meeting with the

Minister responsible for waterways, and is seeking to reconvene the

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs committee that investigated

British Waterways' funding. The remaining members of the Cotswold

Canals Partnership will be meeting urgently to plan their next steps.

 

As someone who lives in Ebley, Stroud and has reserved a mooring at the new Saul Junction marina, not good news

 

Mike

[PaulG]

Latest from the Cotswolds Canals Trust:

 

"The House of Commons Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee is set to re-examine British Waterways' regeneration and restoration role, WITH PARTICULAR REFERENCE TO BW'S DECISION TO WITHDRAW FROM THE COTSWOLD CANAL PARTNERSHIP."

[whammy]

"We mustn't ignore the fact that British Waterways' decision was a

result of their own funding crisis over the Monmouth and Brecon canal

repairs. Progress on the Cotswold canals has been much slower than

originally expected and the Trust hopes that the inevitable changes

resulting from BW's withdrawal will mean the restoration making more

rapid progress."

 

 

In a perfect world there would be money for every project on our inland waterway system but as we all know it is a far from perfect world but I do not understand why so much money is being diverted to a small Welsh canal that is not connected to the main system and therefore has little or no interest to the majority of boaters who pay for a annual BW licence and have little or no say in where and when the money is spent. Heres me thinking we live in a democracy. The Cotswald canal restoration would open up such a valuable link on the MAIN SYSTEM and give so much benefit to far more people/boaters than a small stretch of canal that is used in the main for hire boat fleets. I know some people will say that if we abandon such projects like the Mon and Brec it would be the start of a slippery slope but in a far from perfect world we must have more say in how we prioritise. In the recent canal mags the repair works estimates for the Mon and Brec has gone up to £15 million and we all know what happens to estimate costs (look at the olympics). Maybe that money should be spent on the Cotswald canals - who knows ???????

Or maybe the government should stop wasting billions in far flung shores and killing our troops - sorry

[Chickadee]

Surley if the Cotswold Canals (and other more profitable canals on the main system) were finished quicker the money made from it could then be plowed into smaller canals?

[PaulG]

I'm not sure that the reopened Committee enquiry is going to find anything that they did not know before. They were told several times, albeit in "Corporatespeak", that BW would pull the plug on the Cotswold Canals.

 

For example, in the enquiry evidence is a letter from the BW Chairman (Tony Hales) to the late (un)lamented Barry Gardiner (Waterways Minister) on 20th April 2007.

 

"Moving to the Cotswolds, I included this in my letter as this is the most sensitive restoration scheme in which we are involved....BW would have been reluctant to carry the risk [of cost overruns] in the current scheme with or without grant cuts. The grant cuts leave no scope for the Board to carry that risk."

 

Which means (with apologies to "Dragon's Den") - "we're out!"

 

The Mon and Brec can be viewed as either the last straw or an excuse. Either way, DEFRA were informed in writing almost a year ago that, as a result of grant cuts, BW could not afford to continue with the CC project in its current form.

 

However, they might possibly ask why BW were involved at all, never mind as Lead Partner, in a project where they were retrospectively "reluctant" to accept risk. Any competent business manager will evaluate the risk in a deal before it goes ahead and not wait until the deal is done to decide he doesn't like it.

 

I wonder how funding bodies like the HLF will view projects involving BW in the future? It seems to me that there will be a certain lack of credibility.