BEDFORD & MILTON KEYNES JANUARY 2010 WATERWAY TRUST Volume 8 no 1

Negotiations are under way for the Trust to hand over responsibility for taking the project to the next stage to a Consortium of local councils and other agencies. The Trust will be a founder member of the Consortium and maintain its core role as a campaigning and community involvement body. “As the project moves forward different organisational structures are required,” says B&MK Trust chair, Jane Wolfson. “The project has made tremendous strides but it has grown and matured beyond the capabilities of a single charitable trust. The time is right for our partners to share the lead in delivering the Waterway and I’m looking forward to the Inception Meet-ing of the Consortium early in the New Year” Under the Trust’s leadership, working closely with partners, planning permission has been secured on a quarter of the route, there are detailed ‘line and level’ plans for half the route, and the whole length is protected in local and regional plans. The first funded structure – an un-derpass under the new duelled A421 near Stewartby – was completed this autumn. Over £2m has been raised and invested by partners since 2001. David Hackforth, Chief Planner (Special Projects) at Milton Keynes Council, is liais-ing with partners to set up the B&MK Con-sortium. “It is closely modelled on the well-established east-west rail consortium and is designed to ensure that key partners work effectively together to progress the project” says David.

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The start of the new Consortium coin-cides with the end of the secondment of our Senior Implementation Officer, Rich-ard Wood, who has to return to the de-partment of Communities and Local Government Department in January. Jane Wolfson said, “Richard has done an absolutely fantastic job in bringing the project to this point, and I am de-lighted that we will retain his knowledge and experience as a volunteer director of the Trust.”.

Project Outgrows Charity’s Resources - Consortium To Take Over

New Role For Richard

Underpass is Now Complete

The underpass which will carry the Waterway under the new A421 near Stewartby was completed in October and as you can see it makes a very impressive structure. The pic-ture shows the channel for the multi user path on the right and the waterway course on the left.

The proposed Consortium’s terms of reference are to secure the route, under-take preliminary planning and design and obtain planning permissions as pre-requisites to the delivery of the Water-way via the creation of a ‘single purpose vehicle’ delivery agency. When com-plete, the waterway will pass into the care of consortium members funded to maintain it in perpetuity.

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View From The Chair It’s great that our partners Bedford Borough Council have secured the ‘minerals and waste’ planning application that could enable up to 2km of the Waterway to be dug. Bedford Bor-ough are also meeting with the Environment Agency to look at funding a Waterspace strat-egy that will revitalise the whole of the river from Kempston through to below Cardington Lock. These are precisely the kind of inventive and collaborative approaches that will get the Water-way built in sections, as opportunities arise. They underpin two of the ten ‘Work Packages’ which we are handing over to staff in partner organisations as Richard Wood completes his secondment and returns to Whitehall. The best way to take them forward is through the public sector agencies with responsibility for the qual-ity of the places in which we live, work and play. I am delighted that partner organisations, in-cluding all three local authorities, are keen to move to the next stage of project partnership and form a Consortium to maintain progress, in the same way that the East-West Rail Consor-tium keeps a great idea alive and makes pro-gress when and where it can. I look forward to the official ‘sign up’ in the spring. This change will allow the Trust to return to our core role as ‘keepers of the vision’ and commu-nity activists. We’ll draw up a plan with a Volun-teers Meet in the spring, but the key is 3As: Access to the route, so that there can be Activity on the route (land and water!) and Adoption of the route to provide the people and funds and the people to create the access and activity. I’m looking forward to more walks, ‘Head of the river’ trips during the Bedford River Festival and – if my Christmas wish comes true! – a plan for a Trust boat that we can move from section to section. Under the leadership of the Trust and its staff team, the Waterway has become widely recog-nised as a worthwhile and achievable strategic goal. It’s symptomatic that Alistair Burt MP should write in a recent open letter to the new Mayor of Bedford that he is ‘a willing partner on efforts to build the new canal link to the Grand Union’. All our MPs and Councils, and many other or-ganisations are willing partners. Where there’s a will there’s always a way … I look forward to working, and celebrating further successes, with you all in 2010.

Jane Wolfson

Richard Wood for the imagination, drive and de-termination he has brought to his secondment as Senior Implementation Officer. His efforts have moved the project further and faster, and built its credibility, in ways that volunteers alone could not achieve. His skills and boundless enthusiasm for the project are widely recognised by our partners. We are delighted that Richard has accepted the Board’s invitation to become a volunteer Director of the Trust with effect from 1 January 2010. Our thanks also go to Claire Gathard, who so ably and cheerfully researches, communicates, plans and supports the Trust activities … and volunteers in her spare time. In the New Year, Claire will be supporting the setting up of the new Consortium, arranging the AGM and ensuring partners can access all the progress files, reports and data that we have built up over the last two years. The Trust and its partners have had capable sup-port from a range of consultants this year, and we would like especially to thank both Halcrow and URS for ‘going the extra mile’ recently to ensure that the Minerals and Waste application finally went through with no objections. We’d also like to thank particular individuals: Valerie Findlay of Woodfines, who hosts and sup-ports the Trust Board at every meeting (and in-between if the need arises). Phil Marsh at Halcrow for continually evolving the engineering design to fit WRG’s needs near Stew-artby Lake. Roy Romans and James Delafield in the Central Bedfordshire Minerals and Waste Planning Team for their professional support and advice in help-ing the Trust as we prepared for the Minerals & Waste planning application near Wootton. Jamie Worthington and Mike Farrer at Anglian Water for their continued efforts working with the Trust and Halcrow to find a solution to accommo-date the Waterway with the new Kempston Water Main. Natalie Stirrat, in the British Waterways GIS team, for help again in the last quarter, creating profes-sional OS based route maps for briefings and for new walking routes planned for 2010. And of course all the volunteers and benefactors who give so generously of their time, thought and energy to promote and progress this project. So far this financial year: 427 Volunteered days valued at over £108,000 Plus over £70,000 of donated professional work and materials (£40,000 of this in 2008-9, as we missed capturing and reporting this figure earlier).

With A Little Help From Our Friends

Our thanks this month to :

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B&MK News Published by the Bedford & Milton Keynes Waterway Trust. Editor…………............Geoff Wheeler Proof Reader...............Marian Wheeler Photo enhancement....Keith Malone Distribution……….......Leigh Willows Printed by ………........Murrays Comments or articles for inclusion in the next edition should be sent to

editor@b-mkwaterway.co.uk

The Big Issues 2010 is a landmark year in many ways. We asked B&MK Chair Jane Wolfson if she’d be willing to take part in a somewhat hard hit-ting interview. She very bravely agreed. Jane, ten years ago the Trust had a banner which read ‘Target Opening Date 2010’. It’s now 2010 and there’s little sign of the water-way even starting. What happened? When the partners said 2010, it was to indicate that, if everything went smoothly, this type of major engineering project could be completed in a decade. In practice, consultations took longer than expected and by the time a route was an-nounced in 2003, we faced a five year process to get the Waterway into all relevant local and regional plans. But that’s done and we are con-tinuously making progress, despite recession, local authority reorgani ation and political change. Looking back, perhaps we shouldn’t have put the date on the banner! What’s the latest estimate for the cost of the waterway? Halcrow have sensibly inflation-proofed our costings and also ensured there is suitable con-tingency. So it’s still in the range £160-£200 million, depending largely on how much spoil we can reuse and the cost of the major engi-neering solutions. So where’s the money coming from? From where the partners have always thought it would come from: contributing to development, providing flood relief, green/blue leisure space, and sitting at heart of housing, leisure and eco-nomic development. We will also need, at some stage, to win public sector and charitable fund-ing through a range of possible sources. Surely in these difficult economic times a new waterway will be way down in any Gov-ernment’s list of priorities? Governments need to do those things that help economies recover in the long term. This is one such project. Currently it needs relatively little investment to keep making progress and in the first instance create ‘ponds and paths’ along the route. When do you think we’ll see the first stretch being dug, and where will this be? Well, living in MK, I’d hope it’s the Grand to Willen stretch, with the most spectacular deep lock and those fabulous water fountains. But the way things are right now I think Bedford Borough might well beat us to it, with the stretch close to the Forest Centre, which would make a great start to the ‘Bedford arm’.

The project has always been described as a ‘partnership’. How well has this worked and how do you see the partnership developing in the future? At the start, it was ‘hub and spoke’ arrangement with BW at the centre. Then first the Trust vol-unteers, and for the last 3 years, the Trust Pro-ject Office, has been centre stage. All this time we’ve building a web of collaborative relation-ships with and between project partner organi-sations and key stakeholders, including other charities, developers, and local groups. This web is now strong enough to sustain the weight of the project and it is a much stronger structure for moving forward. In the past, the Trust has leaned heavily on its army of enthusiastic volunteers. How dif-ficult will it be to maintain this enthusiasm if work on the waterway does not start soon? I think our members understand that – in com-mon with the restoration charities - we’re in it for the long haul. The move to Consortium leader-ship will allow the Trust to concentrate on com-munity activity, which I think will be a refreshing change and generate new, interesting and excit-ing challenges for 2010 onwards. The joy of volunteering is that you can choose what you do when; so the important thing is to do what mem-bers enjoy, and recruit new ones, so that the Trust remains vibrant and lively. On a personal level, you’re a family woman and you run a successful training business. How do you find the time - and keep up the enthusiasm? My family will tell you I’m restless without at least 3 projects on the go. And I have a passion for the BMK, which will create a better environ-ment for future generations. Like most volun-teers I have the odd ‘down’ moment – but then we meet and talk and have another set of great ideas and I’m off and buzzing again! Jane thank you very much. Geoff it’s a pleasure –more so than speaking to a camera and microphone!

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Union

The Bedford & Milton Keynes Waterway is an ambi-tious project to connect the Grand Union Canal at Mil-ton Keynes with the Great Ouse river at Bedford, cre-ating Britain’s first major waterway in a century and providing a cross-country link that connects east and west. It opens up the Marston Vale region, and pro-vides amenities and opportunities for communities in the rapidly-developing Milton Keynes South Midlands area. This summary document by SQW Consulting provides an overview of the potential economic im-pacts that could arise from such a development. The Bedford & Milton Keynes Waterway concept The Bedford & Milton Keynes Waterways Trust (BMKWT) proposes the development, over a period of years, of a new stretch of inland waterway which will connect the Grand Union Canal at Milton Keynes with the River Great Ouse at Bedford. The new Waterway will cover a distance of 26 km and is expected to cost between £167 million and £206 million. Economic impacts The revival of waterways in Britain means they now serve a wider social and economic purpose than they have in the past. The proposed Bedford & Milton Keynes Waterway can therefore be expected to have a range of economic impacts: Tourism and recreation – the visitor economy of-fers a number of opportunities for economic impact from the Waterway: Boating – the creation of the Waterway would result in a through-route for boats in the Milton Keynes and Great Ouse areas. For the 4,800 privately-owned boats in the area, we estimate that some 7,200 boat-movement days would occur, generating spending of £633,600 each year. Hire boat usage, estimated at 5,000 craft, could potentially increase by 10%, gener-ating additional gross spend of £559,300 each year. These boat movements would need to be supported by additional marine infrastructure. With marinas in the Waterway catchment area operating at high levels of utilisation, we estimate that two additional 150 berth marinas could generate an annual spend of £652,500. Visitors to the Waterway – a new Waterway would be attractive to both local residents and to visi-tors to the area. For both of these groups, planning and investment is required to maximise the level of activity that can be supported. From an economic per-spective, attracting and retaining visitors from outside the area is most advantageous. Based on visitor activ-ity in similar areas, with appropriate waterside facilities, we estimate that between 43,000 and 85,000 day visi-tors, and 33,000 and 64,000 tourists would visit each year. This would equate to gross expenditure of be-tween £1.7 million and £4 million each year. There is also the potential to link Waterway-related develop-

ments with the wider visitor economy, including the proposed Center Parcs and Nirah sites Iconic structure – to complete the Waterway it will be necessary to construct an engineering solution at Brogborough Hill to overcome the height difference in this area. This presents a great opportunity for the pro-ject to develop an iconic structure visible to millions of passers-by on the M1 and which can form a visitor at-traction in its own right. Developments such as the Falkirk Wheel or the HELIX project show the social and economic spin-offs that can be realised through creatively addressing engineering challenges. The ad-dition of an iconic structure could provide a substantial boost to economic impact. Drawing on the experience of the Falkirk Wheel, a structure of similar quality and interest in the Milton Keynes South Midlands catch-ment could draw between 243,000 and 342,000 day visitors, and 183,000 and 258,000 tourists. This would generate gross visitor spending of between £11.7 mil-lion and £16.5 million.

Place shaping – linked to both the recreational uses of the Waterway and the iconic structure, place shaping is the use of striking physical infrastructure to establish a local or regional identity and communicate it nationally or internationally. Man-made structures from Dubai’s Burj al Arab, Paris’ Eiffel Tower, or Gateshead’s Angel of the North can act as a visual shorthand for an area. Local communities too can gain a sense of identity and pride through these develop-ments. The economic impact of such developments is harder to measure, but can include improved marketing of the area to potential residents, the attraction and retention of businesses. Transport – while the original use for the canal sys-tem, competition from road and railways has meant

that the waterways network is now used for bulky, non-perishable goods and some limited passenger trans-port. There are aspirations to increase the use of water-ways as a transport conduit to reduce social and envi-ronmental impacts from other forms of transport. In the near term, the Waterway is most likely to support the movement of construction materials within the Vale, and some passenger transport. Ecosystem services – waterways provide a range of what are known as ecosystem services, such as flood control and water transport. While these benefits are difficult to cost, they do make a contribution to sus-tainable economic development – in the case of the Waterway, this will include helping manage water movements in the Marston Vale area. Property uplift and regeneration – Waterfront locations have been shown to raise the value of proper-ties located close to them, in the case of residential properties by up to 20% of their value. These effects, while powerful, accrue to the landowners in the first instance and only occur once. However, they can help support the sustainable development of an area by in-creasing the desirability of a location for new residents and businesses. Waterways have played a role in regenerating existing urban areas, with successful examples including the revitalising of areas within Manchester, Birmingham, and Sheffield. By providing an attractive environment and an interesting backdrop, waterfronts, whether ca-nals or rivers, can draw in residents and visitors. The construction of the Waterway will itself help sup-port employment. Drawing on the example of the forth-coming Olympic Games in London, the construction

phase of the Waterway could support around 2,500 person-years of employment. Delivering economic impacts The creation of a new Waterway between Milton Keynes and Bedford will not be sufficient to realise all of these economic benefits alone, partners will need to work together to make them a reality. In particular: • Including the Waterway in development plans

and using its contributions to amenity and inter-est to leverage other projects

• Ensuring that provision is made for visitors and boat users along the route of the Waterway

• Development of a high-quality and high-impact iconic structure at the Brogborough Hill site.

The scale of the project is such that, should the Water-way be realised, the contributions to amenity, to sense of place and identity, to the visitor economy, and to physical regeneration can be expected to be felt for many decades. The estimates tabled below would suggest gross an-nual spend levels arising from visitors and tourists of between £16.7 million and £26.5 million were the Wa-terway to be developed to its full potential. Over a ten-year period, and factoring in the potential for displacing existing visitors, this would give net annual spend of between £112 and £167 million at a local level, and £73 and £103 million at regional level. This summary document is a précis of the report Bed-ford & Milton Keynes Waterway: Economic Impact As-sessment by SQW Consulting, available from the Bed-ford-Milton Keynes Waterway Trust.

Economic Impact Study Towards the end of last year an Economic Impact Study, commissioned by the Trust on behalf of partners, was published.

It provides invaluable evidence for future funding bids.

Economic Impact Estimated Scale of Impact Comment

Employment creation 2370 to 2925 person-years of employment

A one-time impact

Property uplift £45 million increase in property values

A one-time impact based on 1,500 housing units benefitting from improved amenity

Visitor economy: Waterway with towpath and picnic sites

42,400 to 84,800 day and tourist visitors Gross spend of £813,436 to £1.6 million

Estimates of visitor economy activity with only minimal accompanying infrastructure

Visitor economy: Waterway with towpath and picnic sites, and marina/basin development

75,000 to 150,000 day and tourist visitors Gross spend of £2.1 million to £4.2 million

Estimates of visitor economy activity with the addition of marina facilities and other waterside services

Visitor economy: Waterway with tow-path and picnic sites; marina/basin development and iconic attraction at Brogborough

500,000 to 750,000 day and tourist visitors Gross spend of £13.8 million to £20.7 million

Estimates of visitor economy activity with the addition of a high-quality iconic structure at Brogborough Hill

Summary of potential economic impacts

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The Brogborough Whirl — an iconic structure and a possible solution for Brogborough Hill

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Boating to Bedford Bedford's biennial River Festival is taking place again in July and we are hopeful that by then there will be lots of progress on the B&MK to be announced. So we intend having a large bank side display and we want to get a line up of B&MK boats alongside. So ahoy there all you boat owners how about getting your boat to Bedford by Friday 16th July? If we book early we hope to get all our boats in the pound above Bedford lock and lined up close to our display stand. We hope to open up one or two of our boats so we can show our various videos. We hope also to offer free trips up the river to the current limit of navi-gation and to take part in the boat parade. In addition we will be talking to Priory Marina and to Danish Camp about their becoming involved and possibly running their own boat trips from our site. And finally in view of the expected pro-gress in the Bedford sections of our waterway we hope Bedford Council will assist us with a really impressive display on the expected trans-formations of the Great Ouse upstream of the town centre.

If all that comes off we will make a big impact at next year's Festival. So if you fancy cruising your boat to Bedford next year let me know as soon as possible. Jill and I will be taking our 45ft narrowboat Starodavny there in stages from May onwards, starting from the Northampton Boat Gathering.

Don Allison

Car Raffle

Talks Report Last year our stalwart team of speakers gave 14 presentations to various groups in and around our area as well as being featured at the I.W.A. national festival at Redhill. Audiences have to-talled in excess of 400 and donations to the Trust have added over £450 to our funds. Five talks are already requested for 2010 and even two for 2011! We are pleased to welcome a new speaker to our team for 2010. He is Trust Member, Roger Crews, from Leighton Buzzard who is an enthu-siastic supporter of our cause, If your group/association would like a talk or update please contact us :- John & Sally Gunning Tel. 01234 305925 talks@b-mkwaterway.co.uk

B&MK Volunteers were out in force in Central Milton Keynes in December. 193 tickets were sold for this years car raffle. Another welcome addition to the Trust’s coffers

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Membership Guru Admits ‘I was wrong

– so very wrong!’ Last year was an excellent year for recruiting new members and our membership is now at its highest level ever. The welcome list for recent members, represents only the ones I’ve re-ceived since the last newsletter went to press. I believe that this is the result of three factors. Firstly, of course, to the great efforts made by our volunteers at the various exhibitions. We find that many people we meet at exhibitions are interested in the project, but only a few make their own move to join the Trust. Most people need a bit of a nudge to go that extra step to becoming a member, and this is where a little encouragement can make all the differ-ence. So, well done and thank you to those who have helped in the recruitment drive. Secondly, I am sure that having something hap-pening on the ground makes the project more credible. Now we can show potential members that this is not just the crazy idea of a few peo-ple in a pub, it is actually going to happen. This makes it easier for people to join up and help swell the ranks. Thirdly, we changed our incentive this year. One thing you discover very quickly is that if someone leaves the stand without signing up, the chances of seeing the form they took with them, ever again, are pretty small. So, in the past we have offered an extra year’s member-ship for people joining at certain events, as an encouragement to join on the day. This was successful, but not overwhelmingly so. Last year, against my advice, it was decided to offer half price membership for the current year in-stead of a free year. The effect has been dra-matic - new members have poured in, proving me very wrong. And rarely have I been so pleased to be wrong! So to new members, welcome and thanks for your support. To all members, new and less new, your support is critical to the campaign, both financially and as a demonstration of public support. Your renewal request should have been with this newsletter - I look forward to re-ceiving your cheque over the next couple of weeks! Leigh Willows

Hello and Welcome to : Mark Phillips, Drove Keith & Kathy Oxer, Milton Keynes Charles Fox, March Linda Campbell, Dunstable Wendy Beamont, Wantage G A Wells, St Neots Peter Moores, Flitwick Rebecca Carpenter, Eaton Socon Charley Johnston, Plymouth D G Tomlinson, Stafford S Norton, Cambridge David Dyer, Bletsoe Christopher Plaster, Kempston Mr Berryman, Milton Keynes Mr & Mrs J Kitchener, Sandy NA & A Binks, Berkhamstead Bob & Karin Cotter, Brixworth Carol & Stuart Palmer, Ely Tony Teague, Upper Stowe Graham Cookham, North Crawley Neil Barker, London David Stevenson, Coalville Pete Brownlow, Wellingborough Mr & Mrs PJ Swinge, Biggin Hill Linda Wilding, Bedford Howard Trendall, Eaton Socon Nicholas Green, Wyton Roger Crews, Leighton Buzzard Jan Andrews, Blisworth N Houston, Frensham Derek Jones, Cranfield R Preen, Southam Mr & Mrs A Earle, Northampton R E Boddy, Newark Mr Dawson & Ms Llewellyn, Cople Mr & Mrs D Brown, Clapham David Lloyd, Lidlington Andy Douty, Lidlington Neil Gordge, Wootton Andy Collier, Marston Moretaine CJA Beattie, Huntingdon B Venskunas, Marston Moretaine, Brian Harding, Wootton, D O’Connell, Lidlington Gary Mudge, Wootton Allun Williams, Bedford Malcolm Morgan, Luton Norman & Jill Buckle, Milton Keynes David & Gillian Ostler, Wavendon Denise Aaron, Milton Keynes A J Harries, Dunstable Anthony Tovell, Wokingham Tony Dunning, Egremont The Cooper Family, Wallingford M E & H D Nellist, Ampthill

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Details in the next edition of B&MK News

Diary Dates WALK THE ROUTE May 3rd

AGM

May 19th

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B&MK WATERWAY NEWS is published by the Bedford and Milton Keynes Waterway Trust, a non profit-making company limited by guarantee (No.5760839). Registered office 16 Cuthberts Street, Bedford MK40 3JG and a Registered Charity (No.1114294). Contact us at enquiries@b-mkwaterway.co.uk or B&MK Waterway Trust, PO Box 3611, Newport Pagnell, MK16 OXN

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Website Breaks The Record It’s just emerged that hits on the B&MK Website went through the roof last July following the publicity surrounding the Forest Centre Event and all-day coverage on BBC Look East. The normal 700 hits per day shot up to 15,359 on 29th July. Interestingly, the BBC did not mention the website address so presumably many of the viewers Googled B&MK. Thanks to our Webmaster, Len Barrows for the information and to Neil Hayes for some extremely effective press work !