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Central Riverside Future Maintenance of the River

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REPORT OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR DEL REPORT TO CABINET 9th APRIL 2008 RIVER STEWARDSHIP COMPANY FORMATION AND COUNCIL PARTICIPATION 1.0 Purpose of Report 1.1 The purpose of the report is : a) to highlight the growing importance of waterside sites in Sheffield’s economic regeneration and leisure strategies and the consequent need to address the management of the city’s main urban rivers in a more effective way b) to seek endorsement of the pilot stewardship scheme on part of the River Don between Neepsend and Meadowhall to be funded initially from European Union and South Yorkshire Key Fund, including the attached Business Plan summary c) to approve the setting up of a new River Stewardship Company and the participation of the City Council in the company in partnership with Groundwork Sheffield, the Sheffield Wildlife Trust and the Environment Agency 2.0 Background 2.1 Water quality in the urban River Don and Sheffield Canal is now generally good and supports a healthy and growing coarse fishery as well as a varied fauna including heron, moorhen, dipper, kingfisher and otter. The banks are lined with self- set trees especially willow, alder and birch and a profusion of plants, including an exotic mix of native species and foreign imports such as fig, Himalayan balsam and Japanese knotweed the last of which is becoming particularly problematic. 2.2 This improvement has taken place over the last 25 years and is mainly due to the decline and better control of industrial pollution and the elimination of storm water sewage overflows by the Don Valley Trunk Sewer and other major investments. 2.3 New development is now under way or imminent on most of the Central River Don on sites at Neepsend, Kelham Island, Exchange Riverside, Blonk St, Wicker, Smithfields and Savile House. There are also major development proposals along the Lower Don at Meadowhall and Vantage Park, on the Canal at Attercliffe/Woodbourn and along the lower Porter and Sheaf Valleys. All these developments offer potential for river improvement. 2.4 Over the same period a continuous public walk/cycle-route has been established or is now under construction to form the Upper Don and the Five Weirs Walks from Rutland Rd, Neepsend as far downstream as Rotherham Town Centre (about 12km in total). The Sheffield and Tinsley Canal forms a roughly parallel route of another 6km joining the Don at Tinsley. Together these routes combine to create an 18km circuit of waterside cycle footpaths, linked to the Trans Pennine Trail, the National Cycle Network and many other local routes. 2.5 The new routes are now well used both for walking, cycling, jogging, canoeing and fishing activities and for occasional major events (e.g. sponsored walks). They are connected to the Trans Pennine Trail and the National Cycle Routes. Part of the FWW was included in this years Yorkshire In Bloom route for the first time. 2.6 The Sheffield First City Strategy 2005-10 identifies Environmental Excellence as one of its five Key Themes to be delivered inter alia by enhancing our natural assets and strengthening the environmental business sector. Following this lead Sheffield First for Environment’s Waterways Strategy Group, brings together all interested parties from the public and voluntary sector convened by the City Council and Groundwork. One of its priorities is to promote improved stewardship of the city’s waterways. 2.7 Under the aegis of this Group a proposal has been developed for several stakeholders to work together to provide a river stewardship service, organised as a Company Limited by Guarantee along the model of the Manor & Castle Green Estate Company. The proposed initial members of the company are Groundwork Sheffield, Sheffield Wildlife Trust and the City Council. 2.10 A Business Plan has been drawn up by the partnership, which is attached to this report. 3.0 The Task 3.1 Although the waterways have seen huge physical improvements over the last 20 years, the achievement has been slow and opportunistic. Responsibilities for rivers are diffuse and uncoordinated. As a result maintenance is still at best patchy and is now a subject of frequent public criticism. The main issues are : Large amounts of refuse , Unmanaged tree growth Invasive species Discarded needles Fly-tipped commercial waste Structural repair of historic waterpower structures Vandalism and wear and tear Normal cleansing/landscape services 3.2 These problems are exacerbated by the lack of any clear overall responsibility for the river and its banks. Formal Council responsibility is limited to the adopted sections of highway, mainly cycle footway and adjoining green space and is currently divided between Streetforce (Highway Maintenance and Cleansing), Public Rights of Way and Parks and Countryside. The Environment Agency has responsibility for flood protection and pollution, but will not deal with invasive species, visually offensive rubbish or bank management. British Waterways own and are responsible for the fabric of the Canal only 2 Otherwise all riparian owners have responsibility for their own banks and usually up to the mid-point of the channel, but rarely take any active part in management even when they own a major section.. The Council also has responsibility for some parts of the river itself where it is the owner of the bank (eg Nursery St or Kelham Island Museum). 3.3 With the ever increasing accessibility and prominence of the rivers and canal in Sheffield’s regeneration it is becoming urgent to put in place sustainable maintenance arrangements to at least a similar standard to those applied to other public spaces. 4.0 Existing Resources 4.1 There are actually already on paper a significant number of agencies contributing or available for instance: Parks and Countryside Streetforce Highways and Cleansing Public Rights of Way Unit Environment Agency City Centre Ambassadors Environment and Regulatory Services British Waterways The Wildlife Trust Volunteers from the FWW Trust, Pedal Pushers, Wildlife Trust, Adsetts Project and Trans Pennine Trail 4.2 This range of activity is almost impossible to fully cost, but it is reasonable to assume that there could be significant savings and efficiencies for all the agencies by combining some of the basic regular activities in the work of a small focussed team of dedicated, multi-tasking stewards. Others, like structural repairs, are likely to remain outside the scope of the project. 5.0 The Proposal 5.1 It is proposed to set up a pilot stewardship scheme on a not for profit basis with considerable community engagement covering the River Don from Rutland Road Bridge to the Tinsley Viaduct. Funding is already in place for at least two years to set up, equip and employ two stewards and a part-time Business Development Manager. The aim, set out in the Business Plan Forecast, is to build a customer base from riverside businesses who would pay an annual service charge for maintenance of their river banks and if required, involvement of their workforce in volunteering and team building activities. The income projection starts with a target of £2,000 in Year 1 rising to £50,000 in Year 4. So far the response from the private sector is well ahead of this target. 5.2 To meet the requirements of the public funders – in particular the EU’s Intereg Programme, and to meet the urgent need for better management after the June floods, the first two stewards were appointed on a limited two year contract in September 2007. The establishment of the Stewardship Company is designed to 3 support a long-term business plan and income stream from service contracts with riparian businesses. 5.3 . From the first six months’ experience it has been demonstrated that a team of two stewards can manage the pilot area, supported initially by a part time development worker plus appropriate equipment (tools, vehicle and a workboat with a small mess facility, garage and store on the river). Their principal activities are: Daily routine patrols to address small scale litter and regulatory issues Co-ordinating with the planned work of specialist agencies to maximise efficiency Organising volunteers, corporate training events, schools etc to both contribute to river management and generate income Providing an element of interpretation and educational input, Occasional events such as boating, walks, clean-ups Calling on specialist services as required for heavy tree or waste removal, car salvage, pollution incidents etc 5.4 The two stewards are based in and managed by the Council’s Park Ranger Service, with Groundwork providing promotion, outreach and interface with the private sector through a part-time post and the Wildlife Trust monitoring bio-diversity and providing advice on habitat protection and improvement, subject to separate funding. These activities are drawn together through the new River Stewardship Company. 5.5 The estimated cost of the basic two steward operation plus overheads is £196,000 for the first two years (2007/8 and 2008/9) – see attached Business Plan Forecast for full breakdown. 5.6 It is proposed that an initial target for the project would be to attain Green Flag status for the Riverside walk within three years. This could be a first for Sheffield as there are no urban river corridors in the UK qualifying for this accolade at present. 6.0 The Pros and Cons of the Company Route and Risk Assessment 6.1 There are a number of reasons for adopting the Company approach for this purpose. a) it allows the complementary contributions and skills of the partners – the
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