Council to rule on Essex marina

By Stephen Harris

A council verdict on proposals to build a new marina in Essex is expected in the next few weeks.

Roydon Mill Estate, a holiday park near Harlow, has submitted plans to turn a 32-acre lake into a marina connected to the Stort Navigation and River Lee.

A spokesman for Roydon Mill Estate said: “The application is going through the statutory consultation. We have met with the district and parish councils and they have guided the process.”

A spokeswoman for Epping Forest District Council said 18 March would be the most likely date for a decision.

The estate estimates the marina will cost £1.5m and aims to complete work by 2010. It anticipates using local labour in the construction process.

It would create moorings for up to 315 boats as well as a new lock, workshop and fuel storage facilities.

The plans are part of a multi-million pound redevelopment of the park. Work has already begun to turn it into a five-star resort, replacing caravans with log cabins and building a restaurant and entertainment complex.

Glasgow canal festival seeks business support

By Stephen Harris

Organisers of Glasgow’s canal festival are seeking local businesses to fund this year’s event.

The city council was a key financial supporter of the 2008 celebrations but will not be reprising the role this year.

Glasgow Canal Regeneration Partnership, which includes the council and waterside regeneration company Isis, is now looking for alternative funding.

Gillian Lang, spokeswoman for the council, said: “It was always the intention for us to take more of a back seat in subsequent years, letting the local community take ownership of the festival.”

Brian McGraw, group manager for the council’s development and regeneration services, said: “We are trying to get people motivated about the canal’s regeneration, but we can’t maintain that level of commitment in the current economic climate.”

Last year’s festival was organised by Glasgow Canal Regeneration Partnership with the Waterways Trust Scotland and local housing associations.

Additional support came from drinks company Diageo. Activities included canoeing and kayaking, boat trips, exhibitions and live music.

The first festival was organised in October last year to promote the canal’s proposed development.

Masterplans for sections of the Forth and Clyde were approved by the council in December and it is hoped construction will begin later this year.

The scheme involves plans for 700 private and social rented homes at Maryhill Lock while and commercial and industrial properties at Speirs Wharf Lock.

Defra turns to canals in fight against climate change

Government canal policy could be influenced by a new report on how waterways can lessen the effects of climate change.

Research due out at the end of March will examine how canals have been used across Europe. Defra will use it to establish strategies that could be copied or adapted in the UK.

John Manning, policy adviser at the Inland Waterways Advisory Council (IWAC), which commissioned the study, said: “We expect the report to cover issues such as transport, energy production, flood prevention and biodiversity.”

Jan Brooke, the environmental consultant conducting the research, said: “We want to learn lessons from other countries and find initiatives that might be appropriate here in the short and long term.”

A Defra spokesman said: “We’re serious about the issue of climate change and there is great value in this information. Any forward-thinking ideas will inform future policy.”

By Stephen Harris

Profile: Isis Waterside Regeneration

British Waterways’ development company is attempting to find new ways of riding out the recession while sticking to its founding principles. Stephen Harris reports.

Losing half your staff, including your chief executive, would be a tough blow for any business. This is what happened to Isis last September. The recession forced the waterside regeneration company to scale back its operation, closing two of its offices and putting many of its schemes on hold.

Activity has slowed down, but it hasn’t stopped completely. Glasgow City Council approved Isis’s masterplan for redeveloping Speirs Wharf and Maryhill locks at the end of 2008. And work on the Granary Wharf complex in Leeds is due for completion in a few months’ time.

British Waterways is a stakeholder in the company, and 50 per cent of profits are reinvested in the canal network. But public-private ownership is not the only thing that makes Isis different from most developers: its sustainability manifesto guides its work and requires every project to put the needs of the community first.

“We try to engage residents and get them excited about our plans,” says Glasgow project manager John Sherry. “At Maryhill we organised a festival with local businesses, as well as trips for primary school children. Some didn’t know the canal existed. Through public consultation we realised how important the canal was as a green corridor, rather than a waterway though an industrial area, and we’ve used that in the design.”


Model of good practice

Glasgow City Council, seeking a better way to connect with British Waterways, has been keen to work with Isis since its launch in 2002. “It’s a model of good practice,” says regeneration services group manager Brian McGraw.

“Isis had real enthusiasm for the Speirs Wharf project and delivered much more than we expected. Inevitably there will be disagreements with a developer, but they were always able to sort things out. Even when there were problems with the initial plans, they were very respectful and appreciative.”

Isis also tries to be different when it comes to design. For inspiration, the team turned to Europe, visiting the canals of Amsterdam, Copenhagen and Malmo. Contracts are often awarded through competitions, and Isis has worked with firms ranging from the highly-regarded Make to the “quirky and personable” FAT.

Proposals: how Granary Wharf in Leeds will look

Learning from mistakes

Isis doesn’t always get it right, says its planning and regeneration manager Chris Breslin. “In Brentford in London, our planning application was unsuccessful because we didn’t follow our own rulebook. There was too much on the site and we didn’t make enough of the waterside location. But you have to be big enough to learn from your mistakes. Now we’re trying to engage more closely with communities and rebuild trust.”

During a recession it’s difficult to predict the future, but financial constraints don’t hold back Isis’s ambition. In Glasgow, construction should begin later this year and there is talk of a watersports centre and another festival. It is hoped a masterplan for Tottenham Hale Wharf in London will be finished within nine months.

And in Warwick Bar in Birmingham, Isis is attempting a new approach. “We’re trying to develop the area by encouraging designers and photographers to base themselves in our buildings,” says Breslin. “We may have put down some of our tools, but we’re still looking at growing our sites.”

Isis Waterside Regeneration is owned by:
• British Waterways, which has a 50 per cent stake
• Igloo, the regeneration fund of Morley Fund Management
• Muse Developments (formerly AMEC Developments)

Timeline
• October 2002 – Isis Waterside Regeneration is formed
• January 2006 – The company’s first scheme is launched at Islington Wharf, Manchester.
• March 2007 – Work begins on the Granary Wharf development in Leeds
• September 2008 – Chief executive Mark Ryder leaves the company following large cutbacks
• December 2008 – Glasgow city council approves Isis’s masterplan for Speirs Wharf and Maryhill locks