Sarkozy canal plan to boost economy

By Menaha Thiru

Canals are high on the agenda in French president Nicolas Sarkozy’s economic stimulus plan.

He plans to build a canal system to join the Oise river to the high-capacity canal system in the north of France.

The European Union is giving £374m to the project, as part of a wider policy to make transport sustainable and environmentally-friendly throughout Europe.

The enhanced waterway system aims to increase waterborne freight in France by 25 per cent to 11.5 bn tonnes by 2012.

The plans for the French canals are the first stage in constructing the Canal Seine Nord Europe.

This waterway will extend from France into Belgium, Germany and Holland to encourage strategic trade between European cities and ports.

It is the first joint European waterway venture of its kind.

Grantham awaits River Trent link update

By Nadia Ghani

Grantham Canal could become a rural leisure destination, if a Green Infrastructure Study reveals that it could be connected to the River Trent.

The study’s results will be made public on 2 March. If they are positive, the Grantham Canal Partnership hopes there will be greater possibility of capturing private sector funding, which is needed to restore the canal.

Mike Stone, chairman of the Grantham Canal Society, said: "While the area is very rural, there are opportunities for the service industry. There could be business openings for caravan parks, angling clubs, cycling tour operators and pubs."

Stone said the canal will act as a "green buffer" between urban areas, preserving an area of “natural rural delight”.

He estimates the restoration of the entire 33-mile stretch may cost anything up to £40m.

The Grantham Canal Partnership has been campaigning to restore the stretch, which was once a major commercial route in the area, since 1997.

British Waterways recycles to offset dredging costs

By Nadia Ghani

British Waterways has offset the high cost of dredging for the first time by recycling waste created in the process.

Silt and debris that was dredged from the Brookfoot Lock near Halifax has been blended with green waste from Bradford City Council’s household rubbish plant.

The treatment created a soil substitute, which can be sold off to construction companies.

The waste would normally have been scrapped as landfill or sent to a dredging lagoon.

Although other companies have utilised this process in the past, it is a first for BW and comes at a time when funds are in short supply.

This financial year, BW has spent £4.5 million on dredging.

Tracey Garrett, marketing manager at BW Yorkshire, said:

“Due to the current economic climate, British Waterways has limited funds available and the dredging of the canals is expensive.

“Being able to create something out of the dredging process that can be sold off is a key opportunity.”

BW also highlighted the environmental benefits of using this process. Recycling material is far more energy efficient than creating refined soil from scratch using virgin materials.

Gavin Beat, BW’s waste management surveyor, estimated that 106 tonnes of carbon had been saved.

Kirkintilloch contracts going to tender

By Carolyn Wilson

Major construction contracts for new canalside developments in Kirkintilloch, Scotland, will go to tender in the next couple of months. They are expected to create 1,000 jobs.

One contract is for the town's proposed arts and culture centre after the project received a £1.7m grant from the Scottish Arts Council. It hopes to see the project finished by 2011.

Another is for the development of a six-storey block of flats, in the now lucrative area behind the town's 44-berth marina.

Duncan Hamilton, project director for development scheme the Kirkintilloch Initiative (KI), said: "These canalside flats will be at the top end of the market. Businesses are starting to see that sites next to the £2m marina are key areas for development."

Sandra Adams, KI project organiser, said: "Although we are not in a good economic climate there are still new pockets of business that we can tap into."

KI is also looking for a marketing company to promote the redevelopment. The canal, which runs through central Kirkintilloch, has previously been promoted as "the tool for business, in a town of two halves."

The town’s continued growth is largely due to a £56m investment in 2007. This was secured by Lottery grants and by selling land owned by the NHS and East Dunbartonshire Council.

Canalside projects have boosted business in Kirkintilloch by 75 per cent during the last two years. Eleven projects, including two new canalside schools, are scheduled for completion by 2015.

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.

New roads open up canalside land for business

By Susie Sell

Large tracts of land beside the Manchester Ship Canal will be opened up for development following the approval of Peel Holdings’ Western Gateway Infrastructure Scheme.

The £25m scheme involves the building of new roads that will provide a link to currently inaccessible canalside land. The roads will also connect to the proposed £100m Port Salford multimodal freight terminal.

Peel hopes that the scheme will facilitate the development of sites on each side of the canal.

The plan is part of Peel’s wider Ocean Gateway scheme, which will involve a series of developments along the canal between Liverpool and Manchester. Peel claims this will bring jobs, investment and environmental improvements to the area.

Scarisbrick marina ready to open

By Kaye Wiggins

A canal enthusiast is about to open his second waterway development.

Entrepeneur Alan Mawdsley’s £2m Scarisbrick Marina will open at the end of March. It will include moorings for 200 boats, a new footpath bridge, an office and café.

The marina, on the Leeds-Liverpool canal, will be used as a base for boat owners touring the UK’s canal network.

Architectural and planning consultant Graham Salisbury from Graham Anthony Associates, which is in charge of the development, said: “Marinas are very much a niche market, where developments are going well despite the economic climate.

“The construction and manufacturing industries are struggling at the moment. But the leisure industry is still going strong.”

Mawdsley decided to fund the development privately after realising the potential for profitable canalside leisure developments. He also owns the nearby Fettlers Wharf marina on the Rufford branch of the canal, which he opened in November 2003.

£4.5m workshop conversion to open in Stourport

By Katie Barker

A four-year redevelopment scheme on Stourport Canal will be finished next month.

The conversion of a Victorian workshop into a restaurant, offices and a heritage information centre marks the last stage in the £4.5m project. It is due to open on 1 April.

Interviews have been carried out this week to find a tenant for the restaurant, and the new owners will be announced next week.

The restoration of the Stourport canal basin won an outstanding achievement award in the 2008 Waterways Renaissance Awards.

It also won a historic environment award for its improvements to the 18th and 19th century buildings, locks and basins surrounding the canal.

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.

Nominees for Waterways Renaissance Awards 2009

The finalists for the 2009 Waterways Renaissance Awards have been announced.

There are 28 nominees in ten categories. Among them is the £40m Irwell City Park project, providing waterside spaces along an 8km stretch of the Manchester Ship Canal and River Irwell.

Other nominees include Clydebank’s Animating the Canal venture, Lincolnshire’s water railway and the Bude Canal regeneration project.

A Lancashire initiative to create heritage walks for visually impaired people has also been nominated.

John Ferry, manager of last year’s winning project at Hemlington Lake in Middlesborough, said: “We attracted a much wider audience after winning, and it has put us in good stead for the future.

"The award helped us to gain more funding and we have now extended the lake.”

This year’s nominees were chosen by an independent assessment panel comprising waterway, conservation and regeneration experts.

The winners will be announced at an awards ceremony on 31 March.

By Jamie Stuttard

Exeter canal basin plans get go-ahead

By Mark Wilding

Authorities are going ahead with plans to redevelop Exeter canal basin, despite worries that the project is losing momentum. Exeter City Council has committed to infrastructure improvements and Devon County Council will submit a planning application for a watersports centre in the next few weeks.

There were claims the project was under threat after a developer put plans for a hotel on hold. But Exeter councillors have since agreed to provide £850,000 in funding and Devon County Council has secured over £2.5m for the watersports centre. It will submit a bid to Invest in Devon for a further £1m of funding in three weeks time.

Whitbread proposal prompts interest from developers

By Menaha Thiru

A planning decision that allows Whitbread to build a Premier Inn on Walsall Waterfront has prompted other businesses to consider buying property there.

Councillor Mike Bird, chairman of the development control committee, said: “It is very positive news that the hotel is coming to Walsall, especially at a time when the construction industry is on its knees.

"This is an anchor to allow the rest of the development to go ahead and provides concrete evidence that businesses are interested in coming to Walsall Waterfront.”

There had been fears that plans to develop Walsall Waterfront would be abandoned due to the credit crunch.

The Waterfront project includes Urban Splash’s £180m development comprising housing, shops and offices.

Whitbread plans to start construction of the Premier Inn this year. The 120-bed hotel will sit between Wolverhampton Street and the town arm of the Walsall Canal.

Travel agents failing boat holiday companies

By Holly Barder

Narrowboat holiday operators could increase business if travel agents had more confidence to sell their packages, according to a major self-catering holiday company.

Hoseasons has started taking its sales staff out on boats in the hope they will be more inclined to promote this type of holiday.

The company’s head of sales, Zena Calderbank, said: “If travel agents don’t know enough about a specific market, they tend to shy away from it.”

“We are training them to be able to say that a canal-boat holiday is a great way to spend a weekend. It’s in the UK and it’s different.”

Sales of canal-boat holidays are booming in the economic downturn and Hoseasons hopes to take advantage of that.

Government injects £750,000 into Caldon Canal development

By Susie Sell

A housing development along the Caldon Canal is to receive a government cash injection to help carry it through the recession.

Work began at City Waterside, North Staffordshire, last year but plans to create 2,500 canalside homes have slowed considerably in recent months.

The government’s Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) will invest £750,000 in the scheme to ensure work continues throughout the economic downturn.

Paul Spooner, regional director of the HCA, said: “The credit crunch has not helped housing developments in the area. But we have got much of the infrastructure in place.

“We are particularly keen to ensure that flagship housing developments like City Waterside do not fall victim to the slump.”

The HCA will receive a percentage of the profit when the homes are sold. It will invest £36.9m in housing developments across north Staffordshire between 2009 and 2011, to ensure they stay afloat during the recession.

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

Book celebrates 'rejuvenated' canals

By Jamie Stuttard

A guide book celebrating a 'new era of waterways' claims interest in canals is at an all-time high.

Cool Canals: Slow getaways and different days aims to encourage more adventurous canalside trips.

Author Martine O'Callaghan said: "Investment in the inland waterways over the past few years has rejuvenated the canals and they are continually attracting new visitors."

Half of Britain's population is estimated to live within five miles of an inland waterway.

O’Callaghan hopes Cool Canals will inspire a new generation to explore them.

The book will be published in March. Two further canal titles are planned for 2010.

New focus for Oxford tourism

By Kaye Wiggins

Canals may become the focal point for tourists in Oxford, after regeneration work began this week.

The £25,000 project to renovate a city-centre stretch of the canal is the first in a series of plans to clean the waterways and create waterside parks and wildlife corridors.

Bob Price, leader of the city council, said: "This is the start of a new type of tourism in Oxford. Instead of walking around the busy streets to visit the colleges, tourists could reach them by strolling or boating along the waterways.

“This will take them to attractive parts of the city that they wouldn't normally see.

"Until now, the canalside has been neglected. The stretch we've started working on had dustbins from the college scattered around, and had been left to grow wild."

The scheme will dredge the canal, relay the towpath and plant greenery alongside the waterway.

West end project

It is part of a scheme worth more than £100m to regenerate Oxford's west end. While other parts of the project are struggling in the recession, the canal plans are going ahead.

Price says: "The bigger west end regeneration project is difficult to get off the ground without credit, but the canal scheme is doing well because it's more accessible financially.

“There's also more funding available for environmentally-friendly schemes like this.”

British Waterways and Oxford city council are working closely with an Oxford-based canal partnership on the scheme. Its members include narrowboat owners, community organisations, preservation trust, ramblers and the civic society.

Council seeks developer for port site

By Mark Wilding

A crucial site in a multi-million pound canalside redevelopment scheme is now open to commercial ventures.

Stroud District Council is looking for a developer to invest £7.9m in Brimscombe Port.

The site was previously earmarked for industrial use, but the council is keen to see an employment-led commercial venture and will work with developers to make sure planning permission is granted for this.

The Heritage Lottery Fund will provide £12m for the regeneration of the Cotswold canals if a developer for Brimscombe Port is found.

The council became the lead partner for the Cotswold regeneration in December and has invested £2.3m in the scheme.

Dave Marshall, marketing officer at Stroud district council, said: "This is a cracking development opportunity to produce a real flagship scheme."

More than one party has expressed interest, but a decision has not yet been made.

Brimscombe Port was once the largest UK inland port, used for moving cargo from the Thames to the Severn.

It became an industrial site but in recent years has become increasingly run down. It is hoped the re-development will provide jobs and rejuvenate the area.