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IWA Launches Proposals For Inland Waterways Conservancy

The Inland Waterways Association unveiled its own proposals for a vision of Britain's inland waterways

The Inland Waterways Association (IWA) has unveiled its own proposals for a vision of the nation’s inland waterways, following British Waterways’ recently stated intentions to seek to move itself into the third sector, and Government’s recent publication of a consultation on its own Waterways for Everyone document.

Over 50 years ago the Inland Waterways Association’s (IWA) co-founder and great visionary Robert Aickman proposed that a National Waterways Conservancy be created as an all purpose authority concerned with all the functions and potentialities of every navigable waterway in the country. Since that time IWA has always maintained the vision of a single body managing the inland waterways although it remained a long term aspiration. However, change for the waterways is back on the national agenda with DEFRA producing a new consultation document Waterways for Everyone, BW proposing a move to the third sector with their 2020 vision and political parties beginning to lay out their stall in the run up to the general election. IWA believes it is time to revisit the idea of an Inland Waterways Conservancy and this paper sets out the arguments in the modern context.

Currently there are over 5,000kms of navigable waterways in the ownership or control of over 30 navigation authorities, the two largest are the government funded and controlled agencies, British Waterways and the Environment Agency.

Speaking on behalf of IWA, Clive Henderson, national chairman said:

‘We have had a long stated vision and aim for a National Waterways Conservancy, going back to the 1950s. Today we are launching a revised version of this vision to encourage wider public and stakeholder discussion , at a time when we feel that there is an opportunity to seek to widen the discussion on what is the right model for the sustainable governance of the inland waterways of this country.’

‘Our vision is to encourage the formation of a larger, rationalised organisation, incorporating both British Waterways and Environment Agency managed waterways, together with the opportunity for other non-publicly funded navigations to join a national Inland Waterways Conservancy. It wouldn’t be a case of a take-over by one organisation of another, but something completely new.’

He went on to say;

‘The Inland Waterways Conservancy could offer a single licensing authority for navigation, and greater stakeholder input , it would almost certainly give greater economy of scale with a single headquarters, shared maintenance equipment, increased purchasing power for outsourcing of services and a flexible workforce. The use of volunteers, if suitably utilised, could also further reduce running costs. BW in its 2020 vision has already identified that a move to the third sector will open up new funding possibilities; we believe these are even more likely for a Conservancy that has a larger role and scope.’

A copy of IWA’s Inland Waterway Conservancy proposals can be obtained HERE